How can I re-enter Thailand with a new passport if my old passport with my visa is damaged?

May 16, 2024
6 months ago
Christian ********
ORIGINAL POSTER
Hi everyone 🙏 THIS IS FOR EXPERTS:

I am from Italy and I have a 1 year Business Visa.

I'll visit Italy for a month, in September.

Someone water damaged my passport, part of my stamps and visa stamps are liquified.

This stamps are still being accepted in government offices inside Thailand, but maybe they won't be accepted when I'll start flying internationally, as they say water damaged passports are not valid.

I'm thinking to do a new passport when I'll go back to Italy, and I'll do a re-entry permit before leaving Thailand, but:

Once in italy, when I'll do my new passport, I think the visa and the re-enmtry permit will stay in the old passport, how can I re-enter Thailand?

THANK YOU VERY VERY MUCH 🙏
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TLDR : Answer Summary
The user, an Italian expat with a damaged passport containing a Thai Business Visa and re-entry permit, is seeking guidance on how to renew their passport in Italy while ensuring their visa status remains valid for re-entry into Thailand. Community responses suggest bringing both the old and new passports upon return, with the old passport needed to demonstrate the visa and re-entry permit. Suggestions include renewing the passport either in Thailand or Italy, with experiences shared highlighting the ease of having the Thai immigration office transfer visa stamps to a new passport.
Tod *********
and just like that we're done, the O/P can message me IF they have questions

Your choices, get the new passport in Italy and fly back with both

OR

get a new passport here, get the stamps moved and fly out after that

there isn't a lot of leeway, it's one or the other,
Tullio *******
Rewriting in English…..

If you are AIRE get your passport renewal here at the embassy, you get the appointment online and can get it done in half an hour and the embassy will give you a letter for the extension of stay transfer (if you are on one) if you are not AIRE you can still get it done here it might take a little longer as they will have to get the nulla osta from your city of residence. Still it’s faster that doing it in Italy as the time nowadays to do it in Italy can be months and having to enter with two passports one of which damaged.

For admins, I appreciate this is an English group but the question is very italian related in terminology that’s why I wrote it in italian.
Kumar **************
Seems you have answers:

1. Thailand like most countries, will have your primary visa record on a computer system. As far as immigration are concerned,the stamp in your identity document is secondary verification . But the computer systems are not international and so that is where the stamp in the passport is more important for the purpose of identifying where you have been and where you have a future right of entry.

2. It’s easy to get stamps transferred. It may not be the same stamp but an officers entry confirming what the system says.

3. This seems to give 3 options: noting Guiseppes comment about passport delays in Italy and your travel day of September - you may want to renew your passport now and get the stamp transferred.

4. Otherwise the thai embassy in Italy will have access and can transfer your stamp. (Edit: apparently this is not possible)

5 i otherwise again, I suspect ithe re-entry stamp in a clear part of your passport will be enough. But you could always go into immigration where you are or in bangkok and ask them to put a new stamp in your old passport..

K1♥️
Ellie *******
@Kumar *************
, the Thai Embassy in another country would NOT touch the immigration stamp. They cannot transfer stamps to a new passport.
Kumar **************
@Ellie ******
thanks for that update. It was suggested as possible, but I ended up doing it in bangkok.. .I take it everything else is accurate?
Will ************
Get a new passport NOW
Giuseppe ***********
Be careful buddy because to apply for a new, or renew, passport in Italy it's going to take up to
***
months, it depends on the Questura of your area. There are a lot of delays on that matter, since I chose to apply for a new passport at the embassy of Italy in Bangkok. I had the same need to keep the old passport due to the visa stamp on it. I got the new passport at the same price (116€) but in
***
weeks, just because the embassy must ask the permission to the Questura of your italian town before proceed. Afterwards I showed both passports at the Thai immigration office. They kept both the passport for one day and they moved the visa stamp from old to new passport for free.
Christian ********
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Giuseppe **********
hey thank you very much this is really valuable! I can’t even book the appointment from the website, it keeps freezing at some point!

So you are not AIRE and you had a long visa (eg. Business). No problems with that, didn’t they “invite you” to become AIRE member?
Carlo ******************
@Christian *******
following...
Kumar **************
@Giuseppe **********
this looks like something to take into account.
Giuseppe ***********
@Kumar *************
yes if you are italian. I don't know the situation of other countries.
Tullio *******
@Giuseppe **********
if you are AIRE, that is registered as resident with the embassy passport renewal takes 30 minutes.
Carlo ******************
Just keep your old passport with the Visa on...not a big deal😉
Carlo ******************
Of course with the new one...
Roberto *******
Both passport, I had the same problem
Wolf ******
Take both passeport with you.

In Thailand transfer you extension and entry-permit to your new one.

Thailand is well connected and the stamp is only the visible part.

You are in the system.
Christian ********
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Wolf *****
thank you very much! 🙏❤️ did you do this yourself?
John **********
You could always get a new passport in Thailand before you travel
Ellie *******
Bring both passport to enter Thailand, and show extension and re-entry permit in old passport to the officer. They will stamp on your new passport based on old passport. Then once back in Thailand, go to the immigration office that issued your extension to transfer extension and re-entry.
Curt *******
i had to do this same thing in 2019. Pain in the ass but it all worked out
Christian ********
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Curt ******
thank you ❤️

What part was the pain in the ass?
Curt *******
@Christian *******
the US passport replacement! The Thai visa replacement was as bureaucratic as you’d expect but everyone involved had seen similar instances so folks were helpful. Once I got the new passport; the visa reissue happened within a week.
Christian ********
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Ellie ******
thank you very much! 🙏❤️ did you do this yourself?
James ********
@Christian *******
Ellie is a Moderator and knows what needs to be done.
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