How does obtaining a fresh passport affect my visa history and immigration when returning to Thailand?

Visa Types Thai Immigration Entry-Exit Regulations Passport Renewal Visa Strategies Thai Elite Visa

Mar 28, 2019

6 years ago

ORIGINAL POSTER

Hi, I've been in TH for the last 16 months and am heading home for a long while (UK) in 4 weeks. My visa journey: exempt -> 1 year ed -> tourist + extension -> tourist + extension.

I'm wondering how a fresh passport would affect this process? Say I came back in a year with a fresh passport, would I be treated as a new traveller or would their systems still flag me?

My plan long-term is to get a Thai Elite visa and be done with it, but need a few more years of saving for that.

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TLDR : Answer Summary

The user's inquiry centers around the implications of returning to Thailand with a fresh passport after a year away, considering their past visa history including exemptions and extensions. Multiple comments emphasize that immigration maintains a database of entry and exit histories, indicating that a new passport would not erase these records. Some suggest that if the user waits a year before returning, they might not encounter problems, although there are potential risks if they frequently apply for various visas consecutively.

Robert *******

You can ask the question next year again if you come over. But as said, your records are in a Database and for the rest it is hard to tell what happens in a year time

6 years ago

Steve *******

No affect, you're entries/exits are logged in the system

6 years ago

Ron *******

A years time? Nobody knows what's coming next week!

6 years ago

Frank **********

A fresh passport would not help or hurt. They maintain a database of your activity. Waiting a year to come back is probably good, but if you plan a series of different visas back to back to live here long term, you may run in to an IO that determines your activity to be questionable.

6 years ago

Thomas ********************

Your entry-exit history would still be there for immigration to look up. But if you're away for such a long while, I don't think you'd have any problem.

6 years ago

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Thomas ********************

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