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2 passports, 2 Visas?


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Hello all,

I am a UK national with 2 passports (due to traveling a lot I am allowed to have 2)

 

in one passport I have a 12 month extension of stay based on volunteering, can I also apply for and get a Non B visa in my other passport At the same time (I have no problems getting a B Visa from back home)

 

 

thanks 

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4 minutes ago, Jajazazajaja said:

my question is more is it allowed to have 2 different Visas at once, or do I have to cancel my existing one?

You can only use one passport while in the country and it has to be the passport you used for entry.

If you left the country using your current passport your current extension would become invalid on the day you leave. Then you could enter using the other passport with a new visa in it.

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2 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

You can only use one passport while in the country and it has to be the passport you used for entry.

If you left the country using your current passport your current extension would become invalid on the day you leave. Then you could enter using the other passport with a new visa in it.

Thanks Joe

yes I know, I have a re entry permit for my extension of stay by the way so could re enter with it.
my concern is having 2 visas at the same time 

so I don’t need to cancel this if i also get a B in my other passport

 

cheers 

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3 minutes ago, Jajazazajaja said:

yes I know, I have a re entry permit for my extension of stay by the way so could re enter with it.

If you  leave the country that voids your extension until you enter using a re-entry permit.

It would be best to cancel you current extension before leaving the country by getting a letter from the school starting on certain date you will not longer be attending classes shortly after the day you plan on leaving the country. Immigration would post date the cancellation to the date on the letter.

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Hi Jaj,

 

Just a cautionary note - I hold 2 UK passports [for the same reason as you].  I flew back to Thailand from a job and was only staying a few days before leaving again for another.

 

I decided to use my second passport at Immigration  to save stamps in my main one and thinking as I was only here for a very short time a normal Tourist entry would suffice [pre-covid].

 

At Immigration I presented by passport, landing card etc. The Immigration Officer scanned the passport and stamped it for the normal 30 days and suddenly I had two Immigration Officers, one either side of me, and was taken to an office.  After explaining about being a double passport holder and why I had used my second passport the entry stamp was over-stamped 'VOID'.

 

I was taken back to the Immigration Desk and had to present my main passport.  Please do not get me wrong - I was treated with politeness and respect but it was explained to me that I should have entered Thailand with the passport which had my Non 'O' extension in it - not my second one.

 

How they knew it was my second passport I will never know, but somehow the scan must have shown it up with me normally entering on a different one.  No complaints - Immigration was helpful, understanding and polite. 

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11 hours ago, Shannoblic said:

How they knew it was my second passport I will never know, but somehow the scan must have shown it up with me normally entering on a different one.

Have you had your finger-prints scanned? This is one way the 2 passports can get tied together, although the same name, nationality and D.O.B could do it too.

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12 hours ago, Shannoblic said:

Hi Jaj,

 

Just a cautionary note - I hold 2 UK passports [for the same reason as you].  I flew back to Thailand from a job and was only staying a few days before leaving again for another.

 

I decided to use my second passport at Immigration  to save stamps in my main one and thinking as I was only here for a very short time a normal Tourist entry would suffice [pre-covid].

 

At Immigration I presented by passport, landing card etc. The Immigration Officer scanned the passport and stamped it for the normal 30 days and suddenly I had two Immigration Officers, one either side of me, and was taken to an office.  After explaining about being a double passport holder and why I had used my second passport the entry stamp was over-stamped 'VOID'.

 

I was taken back to the Immigration Desk and had to present my main passport.  Please do not get me wrong - I was treated with politeness and respect but it was explained to me that I should have entered Thailand with the passport which had my Non 'O' extension in it - not my second one.

 

How they knew it was my second passport I will never know, but somehow the scan must have shown it up with me normally entering on a different one.  No complaints - Immigration was helpful, understanding and polite. 

The 2 passports are linked, they're fully aware you have 2.

 

 

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1 hour ago, Dusty Dog said:

When I worked in Bangkok I had 2 UK passports and was told by Immigration that this was not acceptable in Thailand and this was confirmed by UK Embassy. One passport had to be cancelled. 

You can have 2 passports but you cannot use both of them while in the country. Many people have 2 passport so they can apply for visas needed for other countries without using the passport they have used for here. 

Many people with dual nationalities have used both of their passports to enter the country.

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Slightly off track, as a dual national, but I have at different times come in on one or the other and no problem at immigration.

 

However, bank was a different deal once I'd opened a bank account. A few years later when wanting ID, they insisted on my original passport which I had, but wasn't the one I now had my visa stamp in. Despite giving them both, they wouldn't accept that as acceptable for id'ing me.

 

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9 hours ago, Dusty Dog said:

When I worked in Bangkok I had 2 UK passports and was told by Immigration that this was not acceptable in Thailand and this was confirmed by UK Embassy. One passport had to be cancelled. 

I have a hard time believing it's against any law having 2 passports if it's allowed to have 2 passports in your home country. But, you must use the one you used when entering the country and if you entered on a  re-entry permit. In most countries you can't have 2 passports, a new one cancels the old one. 

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My experience in late 2018 on arrival at Suvarnabhumi is the same as @Shannoblic's. I was advised that I could only use the passport that had my Retirement Extension and not the other 'blank' one for a 30-day visa exempt entry. Per @Dusty Dog's experience, the Immigration Supervisor also chided me about two passports and told me I have to cancel one.

 

For clarity, passports are now linked in the Immigration database. The passport officer who bailed me up was busy reciting my travel history to his supervisor including the fact that I had previously had Marriage Extensions, all this from the screen in front of him. Before this event, I was in and out of Thailand several times a year, using either passport without let or hindrance since before 1980.

 

British citizens can legally hold two passports but is illegal to shuffle them when entering Thailand. The Thai authorities cannot force you to cancel one of your passports. It's just their way of saying they are more clever than you think while being ignorant of our law that says we can legally have two passports.

 

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15 hours ago, Dusty Dog said:

When I worked in Bangkok I had 2 UK passports and was told by Immigration that this was not acceptable in Thailand and this was confirmed by UK Embassy. One passport had to be cancelled. 

Absolute utter and complete Nonsense, I’ve been living here for 15 years coming and going twice a month with dual passports. It was only commentated on once when a friendly IO casually asked me if I had 2 passports, I said I had and she just said oh

 

its none of Thailand business how many passports you have 

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5 hours ago, NanLaew said:

My experience in late 2018 on arrival at Suvarnabhumi is the same as @Shannoblic's. I was advised that I could only use the passport that had my Retirement Extension and not the other 'blank' one for a 30-day visa exempt entry. Per @Dusty Dog's experience, the Immigration Supervisor also chided me about two passports and told me I have to cancel one.

 

For clarity, passports are now linked in the Immigration database. The passport officer who bailed me up was busy reciting my travel history to his supervisor including the fact that I had previously had Marriage Extensions, all this from the screen in front of him. Before this event, I was in and out of Thailand several times a year, using either passport without let or hindrance since before 1980.

 

British citizens can legally hold two passports but is illegal to shuffle them when entering Thailand. The Thai authorities cannot force you to cancel one of your passports. It's just their way of saying they are more clever than you think while being ignorant of our law that says we can legally have two passports.

 

Depends what you mean by shuffling them, I’ve had business visas on one passport for 15 years, but have used my other passport to enter Thailand on a 30 day waiver about 70 times in that time when the passport with the B visa was back in the Russian embassy in the U.K. or whatever 

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11 hours ago, Jajazazajaja said:

Depends what you mean by shuffling them, I’ve had business visas on one passport for 15 years, but have used my other passport to enter Thailand on a 30 day waiver about 70 times in that time when the passport with the B visa was back in the Russian embassy in the U.K. or whatever 

By "shuffling" I mean doing exactly the same as you; either using the passport with the extension if my planned stay in Thailand was going to be longer than thirty days or using the other passport that never had a Thai visa or extension if my tenure was only for a few days or a couple of weeks. I did this over a total of around four dual passport renewals for over twenty years. With the exception of maybe four Thailand entry/exits via Phuket, all my visits have been via Don Meuang or Suvarnhabhumi.

 

Passports are linked in their database; I know this from the immigration officer stating my Marriage Extension history that was over eight years previous (I had since switched to Retirement Extensions for the last couple of passports). The immigration officer turning a blind eye to a visitor using two passports may be less of an option these days. Good luck if it persists with you.

 

YMMV

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