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What should I be aware of regarding visa applications and passport numbers when applying for a Thai visa?

Thai visa application passport number issues visa system complications Thai immigration rules e-visa application common mistakes in visa applications

Aug 15, 2022

2 years ago

ORIGINAL POSTER

Hey Guys, I like to warn you if you have a null in your passport and like to apply for a visa... Thai embassy seems to be really crazy... 6500 thb for nothing is gone.... Its absolutely not easy to separate for a person. So if you type a wrong letter, your money will be gettin lost... It kills every fun to visit this country again... And the funny thing overall, the e-visa system detect the O by itself...

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TLDR : Answer Summary

The discussion highlights frustrations faced by individuals applying for Thai visas, particularly concerning the correct entry of passport numbers. A user warns that mistakes such as confusing the letter 'O' with the number '0' can lead to application rejections and monetary losses. Comments suggest that the Thai immigration system is strict, and many have shared similar experiences, emphasizing the importance of careful attention to detail when filling out applications. Additionally, there is debate about the formatting of passport numbers in different countries, particularly focusing on the German passport, which does not use the letter 'O', potentially adding to the confusion.

Praewa ******

@Fabian *********

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Mike **********

There's never a letter O in a passport number. This is to avoid confusion. And while I believe it's just stupid you didn't check this beforehand by a simple Google search, it's even more absurd that they refused it because of this. They know right away what's meant when a letter O appears.

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THAI ******************************

@Mike *********

This is not entirely correct as some countries do issue passports with the letter O.

But a german passport does not contain the letter O, and can be safely assumed to be a 0.

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THAI ******************************

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Andre *********

I think everyone knows, also the Thai immigration officers, that in the Passsport number system the letter “O” doesn’t exist. It’s always a zero “0”.

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Greg ********

Maybe I’m just a bit crazy but I have no idea what “a null“ is, I’m pretty sure it’s not “anal “like it reads

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Ivan ************

null = German word for zero

It actually also means zero in English, but it's not the primary use of the word. So sort of a false friend.

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Greg ********

@Ivan ***********

I’ve heard of Null and void ….butt anal just begged for that when they said “A Null”

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Greg ********

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Judd **********

When you upload the picture of your passport they have an automatic OCR reader ( optical character recognition) It brings her information up in front of you and asks if this is correct. The machine changed one of the letter O‘s in my name to a number zero. My application was rejected and the money was lost. Identical the second time. I corrected the number and once again the machine changed another letter to a number zero! Again I lost money. It took me three times and the embassy actually told me to re-type in all of my information to prevent that from happening a third time.

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THAI ******************************

@Judd *********

This is bad software because in most cases this should fail.

MRZ codes include a checksum, so a 0O error should be avoidable in most cases (the OCR should know it failed).

Not sure why they didn't just opt-out of using 0O all together in your passport number issuance if they must use alphanumeric instead of fully numeric 😓. Many people make this mistake everyday, but passport numbers last 5-10 years. So it's best figuring out beforehand what your passport number really is if you have a O0, and hold a passport from a country which is using alphanumeric passport numbers.

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THAI ******************************

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Luc ************

You made a mistake, sit on it.

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Joel *******

I'm sorry you made a mistake on your application, this would probably happen in any country, not just Thailand. Hopefully you have learned the correct way to write your passport number now and won't make the same mistake again!

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Mark ********

It seems like they are making traveling more difficult everywhere and killing the joy of it. It can be a huge headache.

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Marco ********

German Passport, right? Everyone in the IT knows, that you don't use ambigious symbols in codes that have to be read and typed like wifi passwords. No 0O 1l 6b etc. But for the german government thats "Neuland"

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THAI ******************************

Also note germany also uses D as their nationality, which is non-standard for the ISO-3166 spec which should be used (DEU).

If you are really unsure about your passport, you can always download a passport reading app which will process, and validate the MRZ code.

That being said most passport number formats do not include alpha characters in them, or only start with them. However germany is one of the exceptions, and mixes them in randomly. Specifically for the dutch passports numbers they will never contain a letter O, it's a 0.

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Andre *********

The German passport doesn’t use the letter “O” it’s always “0”.

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Marco ********

@Andre ********

That is part of the problem, they should use neither "O" nor "0"

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Marco ********

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Steve *******

You filled out the application wrong and are now trying to blame someone else!

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Phil ********

****************************

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Garrett ***********

Let's not post pictures of members and try and insult them please.

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Peter ****************

NO God Dieux,

is not abusive, creepy nor kicking. He is just the perfect man who never makes mistakes, please understand !🤪

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Steve *******

@Peter ***************

Very kind of you Peter, I have made mistakes but not when filling out visa applications and then bleated about it on FB 😂😂😂

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Steve *******

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Till ******

ORIGINAL POSTER

Are you kidding me? I dont blaming anybody, I only like to warn people, because you CANT easily see the differeces between 0 and O if you dont know that.

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Marc ********

So you trying to warn people not to fill out the application wrong?

Wow it would never accured to me to make sure not having a typo in my application.

Thank you very much for letting us know to pay attention filling out forms

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Steve *******

Why would you even type letters in a passport NUMBER?

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Till ******

ORIGINAL POSTER

In my passportnumber are numbers and letters !

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Till ******

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Steve *******

What? You dont know the difference between a 0 and a O? That's no-ones fault but yours.

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Till ******

ORIGINAL POSTER

Ok, you can tell me. Is this a 0 oder an O?

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Steve *******

I'd know what it was if I typed it. You filled out the visa application, not me!

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Till ******

ORIGINAL POSTER

And this is a 0... It looks more than a O than a null.

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Till ******

ORIGINAL POSTER

Spoiler-> this is an O

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Till ******

ORIGINAL POSTER

But you told the people have to know... But its not that easy. thats why I wanted to show

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Steve *******

It is easy. One's a letter and one's a number. How can you mix the 2 up? You typed a letter into a passport number, it's bound to be rejected, it's an online visa system.

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Mark ******

many passports (my Australian one included) have letters as well as numbers

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Jon *****

My passport number has 2 letters

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Steve *******

Yes but you dont mix them up with numbers 😂😂😂

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Jon *****

No because they are letters easy to recognise but if I had an O it could be confusing

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Steve *******

If you say so. I dont understand how it's confusing, it's not like it's handwritten!

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Bruno ********

you’re a clown

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Till ******

ORIGINAL POSTER

This is not correct. I have in the passport-number 2 letters in a row.

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Till ******

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Phil ********

0h NO !

Although unfortunately this happens, in the editing area, it could have been corrected.

Heard it happened often to YOK0 0NO 🙃

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Jeremy ********

Can you get a new passport with a new number or is the passport number from your country yours forever?

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Jo **********

good that you post this I have heard of this happening to other people

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Jo **********

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