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Why can't my friend transfer her marriage visa to her new passport before it expires?

Feb 24, 2026
2 months ago
Francesca ******
ORIGINAL POSTER
Asking for a friend: she is from Switzerland, married to a Thai national. She has to renew the marriage visa in March 2026. In June her passport expires, she was told that she has to re-apply for the marriage visa for the new passport.

We were wondering why they cannot just transfer the visa she will get in march on the new passport.

Thought to check here.

Thank you
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TLDR : Answer Summary
A Swiss woman married to a Thai national must renew her marriage visa in March 2026. Since her passport expires in June 2026, it has been suggested that she must re-apply for a new marriage visa once she obtains her new passport. The reason for this is that visa extensions in Thailand are granted only for the duration of a valid passport. Therefore, if she applies for an extension with an expiring passport, it will only be valid until the passport's expiration. It is recommended to get a new passport before applying for the visa extension.
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Phil *********
Just get a new passport now.
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Kelly **********
I recommend getting a new passport before the stamp. I went in Oct to get my marriage non o extended then went back to transfer the stamp. Passport needs to be valid
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Andrew *********
Visa or extension ?

You can only get an extension until the valid date of your passport.

You need to get a new passport before you apply.
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Tod *********
We normally don't do "asking for a friend" but I'll answer this post so she knows the answer.

When you apply for a long term (one year) extension you need a passport valid as long as the extension you'll get

OTHERWISE you only get the extension up to the expiration of your passport and when you do renew the passport you have to apply for a whole new yearly extension again.

When she gets the new passport they WILL move the year extension stamp to the new one BUT they won't give any more time because of the rule you can only get an extension up to the validity of the current passport ๐Ÿ˜•

SO if she applies on this passport (expiring in June) for an extension in March but , she's going to get an extension until then, after that she'll get a new passport and apply for a whole new year extension >

OR

She gets a new passport NOW and then can apply for the year like normal
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Tod *********
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