Didn't receive a stamp on arrival at Suvarnabhumi Airport? Feelings of panic set in as I scanned the last four over five pages of my passport in a taxi heading to Hua Hin. An unusually friendly immigration official welcomed my returned to Thailand, laughing when he said you will need to go to immigration again. I asked my taxi driver to change the destination from my condo to Hua Hin immigration and sort out this mess. In the back of my very tired mind I'm thinking arrest and deportation, due to my using covid extentions on my previous trips. Then I remembered Tod Daniels an expert in these matters and massaged him. He quickly replied with an unusually blunt reply "I don't believe you at all. Sorry it's a tiny red entry stamp and you don't get into the country without it. You don't receive a TM6 departure card anymore, but you definitely got stamped in."
In my panicked state of mind sent Tod a picture of the last page of my passport. Then calmed down a little. I scanned every page of my passport starting at the first page. I knew it wasn't in the last 5 pages and had nothing to lose looking over the many years of stamps. There it was 7 pages from the end. Feeling like a complete idiot immediately messaged Tod the super news and he replied "imagine that"! I would have given him a big hug if he was there.
It seems in recent years Thai immigration has changed their stamping policy of wasting page after page of our passports and now there looking for and filling in any open spots they can find. Good on them for doing this. I hope one day your truly rewarded for the service your providing travelers to the land of smiles. Thanks again Tod your a diamond!
TLDR : Answer Summary
The author experienced panic after not finding an entry stamp in their passport upon arriving at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Thailand. After communicating with an expert, they thoroughly checked their passport and eventually found the stamp several pages back. The post highlights that recent changes in Thai immigration may lead to stamps being placed in less obvious locations, encouraging travelers to review their passports carefully.
