Answered7 months ago
What should you do if you receive a 'bad' entry stamp in Thailand?
ATTENTION ALL MEMBERS
What to do if you get a "bad" entry stamp?
"Bad Stamped" <- getting stamped in to thailand on an entry stamp that is wrong, (as in wrong entry/visa code, or for the wrong amount of time)
Surprisingly (or not) people get "bad stamped" into the country all the time.
This happens for a variety of reasons,
BUT
100% it's due to people not checking their passport before they walk away from passport control. 🙁
Now a couple things about bad stamps.
First; Immigration offices inside the country are NOT obligated to correct a bad entry stamp, although they sometimes will correct a bad air entry stamp, they will almost always decline to correct a bad land entry and instead send you to the border you stamped in at to get the stamp corrected.
Good news is; if you get bad stamped in from an air entry and you go back to the airport you can get the stamp corrected in a matter of minutes. Go to the customer service counter and they'll page an immigration officer to come up.
Second if you are bad stamped in for longer than you should have been stamped in for you are not allowed to stay that length of time.
Just because the stamp was wrong doesn't mean you get to stay if they gave you more time than you were supposed to get. You will get caught out and fined for overstay when you stamp out.
It is the responsibility of the passport holder to know how long they'll get stamped in for and to check that they got the correct entry stamp when they stamp in
If you have an eVisa from a thai consulate, we recommend you print out the PDF that they emailed you when they approved the visa <- that PDF actually IS your visa..
Hand it and your passport to the officer at passport control when you stamp in.
AND
check your entry stamp when they hand the passport back to you..
The time to correct bad stamps is when you're still standing at the stamp in counter in front of passport control rather than a couple weeks later when you finally notice you got stamped in wrong😲
Best of luck and safe travels to everyone 👍
What to do if you get a "bad" entry stamp?
"Bad Stamped" <- getting stamped in to thailand on an entry stamp that is wrong, (as in wrong entry/visa code, or for the wrong amount of time)
Surprisingly (or not) people get "bad stamped" into the country all the time.
This happens for a variety of reasons,
BUT
100% it's due to people not checking their passport before they walk away from passport control. 🙁
Now a couple things about bad stamps.
First; Immigration offices inside the country are NOT obligated to correct a bad entry stamp, although they sometimes will correct a bad air entry stamp, they will almost always decline to correct a bad land entry and instead send you to the border you stamped in at to get the stamp corrected.
Good news is; if you get bad stamped in from an air entry and you go back to the airport you can get the stamp corrected in a matter of minutes. Go to the customer service counter and they'll page an immigration officer to come up.
Second if you are bad stamped in for longer than you should have been stamped in for you are not allowed to stay that length of time.
Just because the stamp was wrong doesn't mean you get to stay if they gave you more time than you were supposed to get. You will get caught out and fined for overstay when you stamp out.
It is the responsibility of the passport holder to know how long they'll get stamped in for and to check that they got the correct entry stamp when they stamp in
If you have an eVisa from a thai consulate, we recommend you print out the PDF that they emailed you when they approved the visa <- that PDF actually IS your visa..
Hand it and your passport to the officer at passport control when you stamp in.
AND
check your entry stamp when they hand the passport back to you..
The time to correct bad stamps is when you're still standing at the stamp in counter in front of passport control rather than a couple weeks later when you finally notice you got stamped in wrong😲
Best of luck and safe travels to everyone 👍
Answer summary
This post discusses what to do if you receive a 'bad' entry stamp upon arrival in Thailand, referring to a stamp that is incorrect either in terms of the visa type or duration of stay. It emphasizes the importance of checking your stamp before leaving immigration, as corrections must be made immediately to avoid complications later. The post outlines the protocols for rectifying a bad stamp, particularly for air entry, and urges travelers to carry a printed copy of their eVisa to present upon entry.
12 repliesnewest first
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Khun ******
Thailand 4.0 😜
Francis ********
This happened to me after land entry we fixed it right after I noticed. It happened a second time when I flew in. They fixed it at immigration in Bangkok.
Martin *********
Isn't it time long term visa holders/extensions etc don't get stamps and can use e-gates on arrival ? Thailand likes to ridicule Cambodia and yet their immigration tech is far superior
Khun ******
@Martin ********
. agreed. Entry and exit stamps are so last millennium.I now travel in and out of Indonesia, Cambodia, Hong Kong and Singapore without them. Thailand still has some catching up to do, although at BKK they’ve recently added places like Hong Kong and Singapore for eGate entry.
Perhaps Europe, Canada and the US will follow next. We live in hope.
Tod *********
OP@Martin ********
nope, no foreigners use eArrival gates, you can use eDeparture gates but foreigners get hard stamped in to thailand
Dan *******
Good advice. I’ve never had a problem but I always check the stamp before I leave the airport.
Ken ********
I only got stamped for 60 days instead of 90 and I gave a printed copy of my non o. Luckily I noticed and queried it straight away and the Immigration officer crossed out the exit date and wrote the correct date...... Still had grief at jomtien immigration office, they asking who change, where and why they not sign it 🙄
Ken *******
I have never understood why people don't check the Immigration Officer's work before they depart from Thai Immigration. The time to fix errors is before you leave, not afterwards. If you wait until afterwards, you are just creating your own problems. 😎
Colin *********
@Ken ******
you've "never understood" which may indicate you have done a reasonable amount of international travelling. What about the first time you travelled? Do you remember checking the stamp to check it was correct? Be honest, and not give an answer to 'save face'. I've travelled outside of my own country on two occasions, 2005 & 2023, in fifty plus years of adult life. On neither occasion did it occur to me to check the stamp. These were 'big' occasions for me and I guess that I was in very unfamiliar 'territory' and a little nervous...making sure that I went to the right place at the airport departure, same at the layover airport, arrive at the destination airport, wonder where I 'need to go from here' (collecting baggage, finding immigration), then standing somewhat nervously in front of a strict looking Immigration Officer, the thought of checking the stamp wasn't even in my thoughts. I'm sure it's the same for many inexperienced travellers.Ken *******
@Colin ********
Good point! 😎
Ant ***********
Thanks Tod
It happened to me arriving into
Phuket in 2024
Came in on a Visa exempt and was stamped in for 90 day instead of 60
Went back and they restamped it 😎
It happened to me arriving into
Phuket in 2024
Came in on a Visa exempt and was stamped in for 90 day instead of 60
Went back and they restamped it 😎
Trevor *********
I got one stamp last year .didn't have an exit date
I didn't check . Thai airways pointed it out . Didn't seem to matter ,I didn't over stay the 60 days anyway
I didn't check . Thai airways pointed it out . Didn't seem to matter ,I didn't over stay the 60 days anyway
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