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What should I do about my damaged passport and visa when traveling from Thailand?

passport damageAustralian passportThai visaimmigrationtravel advicedomestic flightsvisa transfer
Mar 6, 2018
7 years ago
Oliver ********
ORIGINAL POSTER
I managed to get a little yellow highlighter on the biodata page of my passport, which rubbed off from airline staff highlighting my boarding gate number on the boarding pass. I assume i'll have to go down to the Aus embassy to apply for a new one, as I might have some trouble down the line due to the damage. Once I receive my new passport, do I need to go to immigration to transfer my visa (tourist visa), or do i just show both passports when flying out?

I'm also flying to Chiang Mai next week, i'm assuming there wouldn't be any issues with using my other passport (British) to travel since I won't have my Aus one? Similarly, anyone have experience on the processing times, it says 15 working days, and I fly out in 18 working days, so not sure if that is cutting it fine in case it sometimes takes longer.
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TLDR : Answer Summary
The individual is concerned about a little yellow highlighter mark on the biodata page of their Australian passport, which may cause future issues when traveling. They asked if they need to go to immigration to transfer their tourist visa after getting a new passport or if showing both passports would be sufficient. Comments from the community suggest that minor damages like a highlighter mark usually do not prevent entry or exit, and that both passports can be used for travel in Thailand. One user advised they were able to renew their passport without causing issues, while others shared experiences of using damaged passports without major problems.
Terary **********
Not for nothing and contrary to what others are saying.. I put my passport through the wash. The only damage was to the Thai visa stamps. I went to the immigration to ask it was still ok, they made me get a new passport.

I would guess that if you are on a tourist visa they wont stop you from leaving (may have issues extending), once your return everything will be new again so not an issue.

Good luck
7 years ago
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Shane ******
Washing your passport is an entirely different circumstance and in pretty much every circumstance you would be required to get a new passport
7 years ago
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Shane ******
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Oliver ********
ORIGINAL POSTER
A quick update. I made my way down to the Aus embassy this morning and they said there were no issues with the passport. So hopefully all should be fine.
7 years ago
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Shane ******
Was never going to be a drama, there are some horrendous passports out there that are still being travelled on! 555
7 years ago
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Oliver ********
ORIGINAL POSTER
Fortunately I also have the British one. So I think to be safe I'll use that one for any places I need to apply for a visa in advance and then use the Aus one for visa free entry. Then if I have any issues on the Aus I should be able to say I will enter on the British one
7 years ago
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Tod *********
(y) or so they say :O Good luck :)
7 years ago
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Tod *********
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David ********
Immigration won’t refuse entry to an Australian passport holder because of that. Plus you just use the e-gates, so long as the photo is fine then I wouldn’t foresee any issues
7 years ago
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David ********
Not sure because I can’t speak from experience. But I personally wouldn’t consider the markings as “serious” damage
7 years ago
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Oliver ********
ORIGINAL POSTER
Thank you, would there be any issues leaving other countries ie Thailand? I also have my British passport so I was thinking if there are any issues leaving Australia, I can just say I plan to arrive in the next stop using that one.
7 years ago
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Frank ********
my passport went through the laundry half the stamps were washed away kept using it for years no one ever said a thing but they did not use the damaged pages was U.S. passport
7 years ago
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Shayne **********
Internal flights, I used my Thai license.
7 years ago
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Henri ******
The Brit passport has no entry stamp, so can't be used to leave.
7 years ago
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Tod *********
they are flying domestically inside of thailand and using that passport for i/d purposes
7 years ago
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Tod *********
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Shane ******
The highlighter damage on the bio data page would have to be quite significant to require you to need to replace it
7 years ago
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Shayne **********
When you photocopy, it doesn't copy properly and the highlighted bits are dark shaded. Australian passport control nearly wouldn't let my friend on the plane. It just takes one immigration guy.
7 years ago
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Shane ******
@Oliver *******
 that will actually be your least worry
7 years ago
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Oliver ********
ORIGINAL POSTER
My main concern was getting back into Australia later on.
7 years ago
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David ********
Someone marked my passport main page with a black marker. Got pulled aside flying back into the UK because it wouldn't scan, but it wasn't a problem...
7 years ago
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Shane ******
I can’t foresee you having any issues at all pretty much anywhere in the world with those marks, it’s quite evident it doesn’t effect the integrity of the document and it’s applied to the coating only. I have seen much much worse and I have seen thousands and thousands of Aussie passports!
7 years ago
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Shayne **********
In and out of Australia, you may have a problem. A person I know had about 4mm square highlighted area and had to get a new passport.
7 years ago
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Oliver ********
ORIGINAL POSTER
Like this, i managed to get into Thailand without any issues, but thought it could be an issue if i get a stricter immigration officer somewhere
7 years ago
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Oliver ********
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Tod *********
You don't turn in your australian passport when you apply for a new one and it can be used for domestic travel without a problem. you could also use your brit one if you wanted as well, because you're just using it as i/d.

You can just use both passports when exiting the country because you're on a short term visa.
7 years ago
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David ********
When you renew your Australian passport, your current one is physically cancelled
7 years ago
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David ********
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