Can I use an emergency travel document to leave and re-enter Thailand while waiting for a new passport?

Education Visa Emergency Travel Document Re-entry into Thailand Passport Application Process Visa Guidance

Apr 7, 2023

2 years ago

ORIGINAL POSTER

My current Education Visa finishes on 11 June 2023. This week I've applied for a new passport and estimated waiting time is around 11 weeks which would approximately be the end of June. Ive read its possible to leave and re-enter Thailand using an emergency travel document. Does anyone have any experience with this?

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TLDR : Answer Summary

The user is seeking advice on using an emergency travel document to exit and re-enter Thailand, as they are waiting for a new passport following the expiration of their education visa. Some commenters confirm it is possible but share mixed experiences regarding the process.

Shayne **********

Someone's last week commented the passport was about 3 to 6 weeks.

2 years ago

Dan *******

ORIGINAL POSTER

@Shayne *********

That would be perfect 🙏

2 years ago

Reply to

Dan *******

Craig **********

Yes it's possible but it felt very sketchy. I flew from Bangkok to Ho Chi Minh and back to get a new tourist exempt stamp while waiting for my new passport to arrive to Thailand. I used a ET passport from the British consulate to do it. Got stopped at immigration both ways but after explaining the situation, I was let in.

2 years ago

Dan *******

ORIGINAL POSTER

@Craig *********

Perfect thanks for your reply 🙏🙏

2 years ago

Reply to

Dan *******

John **********

I thought the UK emergency travel document was just to get you to the UK?

2 years ago

Dan *******

ORIGINAL POSTER

@John *********

No it allows you to re-enter the country you are leaving from, specifically to gain more time if there are delays in recieveing your passport. Ofcourse this is the advice from the UK embassy id like to hear that someone has experience of this

2 years ago

Will ************

@Dan ******

only if you actually live in Thailand full time

2 years ago

Dan *******

ORIGINAL POSTER

@Will ***********

and i guess if your visa has expired you cant technically be living there full time? I actually do live in thailand full time but my visa will have expired

2 years ago

John **********

@Dan ******

sounds pretty messy. I can't see how you could possibly prove you live here while asking for a tourist visa. Can you not pay for an expedited service?

2 years ago

Dan *******

ORIGINAL POSTER

@John *********

well my wife is thai, if they issue me with a tourist visa we will begin the process of applying for a marriage visa. However usually when things arent straight forward in thailand they can be very complex to resolve.

There wasn't an option for an expedited service (that I'm aware of) and also to make things messier there's talk of the passport office going on strike in the uk 😂

I mean as a last last resort i have the means to fly back to the UK, wait for the passport to arrive in Thailand. Send it back to the UK and fly back to Thailand 😂 id just rather not have to do that

2 years ago

John **********

@Dan ******

I'm aware of the forthcoming strike but no idea how this will affect processing time. It might be worth trying to find out if you can get a visa from a Thai embassy nearby with the emergency travel document, if so you could apply for the Non-O 90 day visa for being married to a Thai. I know they say you can't use your passport to travel once you've applied for a renewal but can you use it to apply for a Non-O visa which you can do inside Thailand? No idea if this is possible, just a thought.

2 years ago

Dan *******

ORIGINAL POSTER

@John *********

the beers are on me if that works 🍺🍺 seems like it could be possible, and hopefully the foreign consulates can provide some advice

2 years ago

Reply to

Dan *******

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