Transfer of stamp to new passport at Jomtien

[jesimps]

Went to Jomtien Immigration this morning to have stamps transferred to my new passport. Thought the hard part was over after two six-hour round trips to the Trendy Building in Bangkok and that the transfer of stamps at immigration would be a five-minute job. Wrong! I thought I might be in trouble when I was given a ticket for counter number six (the dreaded marriage extension counter). After about a forty minute wait, I was told to leave the passport and return to collect it at 3pm. She did smile for once, but how difficult and time-consuming can it be to transfer a stamp? Maybe I've missed it, but I didn't realise that two trips were needed for a stamp transfer, so beware! It's either two journeys, or spend the day in Jomtien. I arrived there at 9am, so maybe for those getting there after lunch, it'll mean having to return the following day to retrieve their documents. I don't know. Documents I presented as well as both passports and the completed form which I downloaded were the letter provided by the passport agency, copies of photo page and all stamped pages of my old passport, copy of the photo pages of my new passport and I threw in a copy of my TM6 departure card because I wasn't sure if they needed it or not. 

Edited July 3, 2020 by jesimps

[Kerryd]

I did it last year after I came back from "home" with a new passport. Almost exactly a year ago in fact.

It was relatively simple (I thought), but I don't live far away. Dropped off the form and my passports (new and old), picked it up the next day. No charge.
I remember being quite satisfied with the process.

Never needed any letter from any passport agency and I don't recall photocopying anything, but it never hurts to have extra photocopies as you'll need them sooner or later.

I'll have to do it again soon as my current passport only has a 2 year validity (frikken Canada B.S.) so in a couple weeks I'll have to apply for a new one and then when it arrives I'll have to transfer those stamps over.

Probably should start making photocopies of everything now, just to be safe !

[Eff1n2ret]

1 hour ago, Kerryd said:

I did it last year after I came back from "home" with a new passport. 

Never needed any letter from any passport agency 

If you were entering the country, your passport would have been inspected by Immigration on arrival, and given an entry stamp. That is sufficient evidence for a regional Immigration Office that the new passport is genuine, so no other letter is required.

Foreign passports issued within Thailand must be accompanied by a letter from the relevant Embassy (not a "passport agency") when they are presented to a regional Immigration Office for the transfer of stamps from the old passport. The only reason I can think of for this requirement is that the authorities are insufficiently confident of the forgery detection equipment or the ability or probity of their staff at regional offices to detect counterfeit documents. This is laughable, given that the letter issued by the British Embassy, which you have to fill in yourself with your personal details, is a lot easier to reproduce than a convincing simulation of the average passport, which contains a lot of security features. I assume the scan of the document at places like Suvarnabhumi is deemed sufficient. 

[Kerryd]

Ah OK.
The last time I had a passport issued in Thailand (through the Embassy) was back in 2005. I was only here on a 30 day stamp and when I departed they stamped me out on the new passport no questions asked (I had the old one with me as well to show where I'd been stamped "in").

The other times I've had new passports, they were issued from back home. So as you say, they were scanned on arrival at the airport and "passed inspection" so deemed authentic.

So if I renew my current passport at the Embassy this time, I will have to get an official letter from the Embassy and that's it ?
Or do I have to jump through some other hoops in Bangkok before going to the Immigration Office in Jomtien (where I normally do my Immigration stuff) ?

[Eff1n2ret]

I don't know how Canadian passports are issued in Thailand, but we unfortunate Brits have to submit to a process involving 2 trips to a government-appointed agency in Bangkok, the first to submit the application, the second to pick up the new passport, which is accompanied by the blank proforma letter from the Embassy. I guess your Embassy, whether you apply direct to them or through an agency, will supply the requisite letter.

I don't know of any other hoops to jump through. Unlike the OP, I found the process at the Rayong Immigration Office perfectly straightforward. It took about 20 minutes, no fee.

[Max69xl]

7 hours ago, Kerryd said:

Ah OK.
The last time I had a passport issued in Thailand (through the Embassy) was back in 2005. I was only here on a 30 day stamp and when I departed they stamped me out on the new passport no questions asked (I had the old one with me as well to show where I'd been stamped "in").

The other times I've had new passports, they were issued from back home. So as you say, they were scanned on arrival at the airport and "passed inspection" so deemed authentic.

So if I renew my current passport at the Embassy this time, I will have to get an official letter from the Embassy and that's it ?
Or do I have to jump through some other hoops in Bangkok before going to the Immigration Office in Jomtien (where I normally do my Immigration stuff) ?

Yes, you need the document from your embassy when renewing the passport there and are not leaving the country. The letter just asks immigration politely to transfer the stamps to your new passport. If leaving the country straight after obtaining the new passport,then immigration at the airport will do the transfers.