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6-month Passport Validity Requirement


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Hello. My friends and I are going to Bangkok this weekend, but just learned of the 6-month passport validity requirement.. thing is our passports are expiring in 4 months, and it's quite late to have our passports renewed. worse, we've already made arrangements for our travel from bangkok to phuket as well... Considering that we're only staying in thailand for four days, and a visa is effectively not required, is there a chance that we'd be allowed entry in thailand?

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Hello. My friends and I are going to Bangkok this weekend, but just learned of the 6-month passport validity requirement.. thing is our passports are expiring in 4 months, and it's quite late to have our passports renewed. worse, we've already made arrangements for our travel from bangkok to phuket as well... Considering that we're only staying in thailand for four days, and a visa is effectively not required, is there a chance that we'd be allowed entry in thailand?
Not a chance you will just waste your time and money.
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Hello. My friends and I are going to Bangkok this weekend, but just learned of the 6-month passport validity requirement.. thing is our passports are expiring in 4 months, and it's quite late to have our passports renewed. worse, we've already made arrangements for our travel from bangkok to phuket as well... Considering that we're only staying in thailand for four days, and a visa is effectively not required, is there a chance that we'd be allowed entry in thailand?

The airline may not even board you on the flight.

Once on a return from Austrailia to Bangkok the airline checkin person pointed out my passport only had 7 months left and had it been under 6 months they would only board me on flight back to the country that issued the passport.

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In 2003 I came 2 days to BKK with a 45 days passport validity. None bothered me.

In your case, I really don't see why they would bother you for 4 days.

As long as your passport is valid for the duration of your stay and unless the officer is in very very bad mood you shouldn't have any problem.

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The requirement is 6 month validity of passport and that is what the airline staff will see - along with

Non-compliance with the visa regulations will result in:

- refusal and immediate deportation of passenger;

- fines for the airline of THB 20,000,-;

- overstay fine for passenger of THB 500,- per day (but not

exceeding in total THB 20,000.-).

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In 2003 I came 2 days to BKK with a 45 days passport validity. None bothered me.

In your case, I really don't see why they would bother you for 4 days.

As long as your passport is valid for the duration of your stay and unless the officer is in very very bad mood you shouldn't have any problem.

You were lucky
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In 2003 I came 2 days to BKK with a 45 days passport validity. None bothered me.

In your case, I really don't see why they would bother you for 4 days.

As long as your passport is valid for the duration of your stay and unless the officer is in very very bad mood you shouldn't have any problem.

You were lucky

Agreed they are clamping down on this 6 month requirement rule, my Mrs hit this rule trying to travel to KL with me for business we were only going for 7 days...the funniest part was that the airline said she didnt have 6 months validity on her passport, but when I counted up the remaining validity on her passport at the airport I came up with 7 months validity..so in the end she was allowed to travel...

So the lesson learned is if you passport is close to the 6 month validity make sure you count up the remaining time yourself and dont rely on the airline to tell you, as it appears they can't count...

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Hi,

... but just learned of the 6-month passport validity requirement.

Where did you see that ?

If I remember well, this requirement has been removed 3 or 4 years ago.

French consulate by instance now ask tourist passport

to be valid until the return day on your air ticket + 7 days, not 6 month or more.

Please show me the actual regulation if I am wrong :o

Pattaya46

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Hi,
... but just learned of the 6-month passport validity requirement.

Where did you see that ?

If I remember well, this requirement has been removed 3 or 4 years ago.

French consulate by instance now ask tourist passport

to be valid until the return day on your air ticket + 7 days, not 6 month or more.

Please show me the actual regulation if I am wrong :o

Pattaya46

http://www.mfa.go.th

Under the Q/A Section...Quote ""However, please make sure that you are in possession of a passport valid for

at least 6 months, a round-trip air ticket, and adequate finances equivalent to

at least 10,000 Baht per person or 20,000 Baht per family. Otherwise, you may be

inconvenienced upon entry into the country"

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Where did you see that ?

If I remember well, this requirement has been removed 3 or 4 years ago.

French consulate by instance...

The talk was about an airline requiring a minimum passport validity of 6 months.

I understand that IATA members, which includes most airlines, refer to this information database:

http://www.delta.com/planning_reservations...ation/index.jsp

For travel to Thailand, it says:

“Passport required, which must be valid at least 6 months and in good condition.”

It is, of course, up to each airline whether or not to enforce this requirement.

--

Maestro

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/ 03MAY08 / 0857 UTC

National U.S.A. (US) /Destination THAILAND (TH)

THAILAND (TH)

Passport required, which must be valid at least 6 months and

in good condition.

1. If travelling for touristic purposes:

visa not required for a max. stay of 30 days.

Extension possible. Fee THB 1,900.- (1 photo required).

Note: there is a max. limit of a total of 90 days stay

within any 6 month period. Return/onward ticket is required.

2. In all other cases: visa required.

Travel on one-way ticket is permitted.

Visas issued by the Thai Consulate in Amman, Jordan (now

closed) will only be honoured when issued to nationals of

Jordan. Visas issued to any national by the Thai Embassy

in Amman, Jordan, will be honoured.

If holding APEC Business Travel Card (clearly stating on the

reverse that it is valid for travel to Thailand):

visa not required, for a max. stay of 90 days, provided APEC

card is accompanied by passport and, in the case of being a

resident of Hong Kong, a Hong Kong Permanent Resident Identity

Card.

Visitor must hold all documents for next destination.

If being over 12 years old, visitor must also hold sufficient

funds to cover stay (at least THB 20,000.- approx. USD 640.-

per person/family).

Proof of funds includes letter of credit, vouchers, MCO's or

well-known credit cards (not applicable if holding re-entry

visa).

Non-compliance with the visa regulations will result in:

- refusal and immediate deportation of passenger;

- fines for the airline of THB 20,000,-;

- overstay fine for passenger of THB 500,- per day (but not

exceeding in total THB 20,000.-).

CHECK TINEWS/N6 - CHANGES TO TRANSIT THROUGH NEW ZEALAND

Timaticweb Version 1.3

03 May 2008

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Hi,
... but just learned of the 6-month passport validity requirement.

Where did you see that ?

If I remember well, this requirement has been removed 3 or 4 years ago.

French consulate by instance now ask tourist passport

to be valid until the return day on your air ticket + 7 days, not 6 month or more.

Please show me the actual regulation if I am wrong :o

Pattaya46

http://www.mfa.go.th

Under the Q/A Section...Quote ""However, please make sure that you are in possession of a passport valid for

at least 6 months, a round-trip air ticket, and adequate finances equivalent to

at least 10,000 Baht per person or 20,000 Baht per family. Otherwise, you may be

inconvenienced upon entry into the country"

Long story, sometimes funny, that I'll not bore folks with.  But about 5-6 years ago Sunee, the wife, & I were at Don Muang headed to Seattle on EVA.  I noticed that while her 10-year visa had five years or so to go, her passport expired in 17 days!  After some discussion with the EVA staff, she was given a boarding pass, then the same discussion with Thai Immigration on departure, they let her through.  And about the same discusion with INS/CIA on arrival in Seattle, they finally choped her in for 15 days.

Lesson learned, be polite to everybody, don't piss off a bureaucrat!

Mac

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Actually I have used my old passport till 2 weeks before it expired, with a 30 day stamp. If you need a visa you would probably not get it, a 30 day stamp was in my case no problem I got more than one with a validity of les than 6 months.

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Guest Bellini
Actually I have used my old passport till 2 weeks before it expired, with a 30 day stamp.

But did you travel by air? It seems to be primarily the airlines that look at the passport validity.

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Actually I have used my old passport till 2 weeks before it expired, with a 30 day stamp.

But did you travel by air? It seems to be primarily the airlines that look at the passport validity.

My friend with a British passport with 5.5 months went over the border to Poipet and was refused renetry into thailand. He had to stay in Cambodia for 3 weeks until he got a new passport. This happened last month :o

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I can't comment on the passport time left required to come into Thailand, but Australia doesn't seem to mind if you have less than 6 months validity on your passport.

My Thai wife was just issued (on 2nd May 2008) a 12 month multi entry Visitor visa (90 days at a time) by the Australian Embassy and her passport expires on the 19th August 2008.

She put on the application form - Depart Thailand 21st May- Return on 17th August 2008. (2 days before her passport expires) and the visa was issued, no queries. I saw on their website the passport had to be valid for 6 months OR the duration of the stay.

The problem I did have was when I tried to book online (Tiger Airways) they wouldn't issue a ticket unless the passport had a minimum 6 months validity.

She applied for a new passport that afternoon (2nd May) paid the fee and was given a new passport number and expiry date (1st May 2013).

We will receive the new passport by mail by the 15th May (they said).

It really only makes her passport good for 4 and a 1/2 years insead of 5.

Does anybody know why the airlines require the passport to be valid for 6 months when the Embassy (Australia at least) only require you to be covered for the time of your visit?

Regards from

Peter.

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I came from the Uk this year with less than 6 mnths to go on my British passport. BA absolutely refused to let me fly with them, but Thai Airways said as I could show A return ticket they would let me get on the plane.

When I arrived in Thailand Thai Immigration officials were quite happy as I had a British passport and I came straight through with no problems at all. I dont know how you would get on travelling to Phuket but as you are already in Thailand then you might be OK

Good luck

lisa

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I can't comment on the passport time left required to come into Thailand, but Australia doesn't seem to mind if you have less than 6 months validity on your passport.

My Thai wife was just issued (on 2nd May 2008) a 12 month multi entry Visitor visa (90 days at a time) by the Australian Embassy and her passport expires on the 19th August 2008.

She put on the application form - Depart Thailand 21st May- Return on 17th August 2008. (2 days before her passport expires) and the visa was issued, no queries. I saw on their website the passport had to be valid for 6 months OR the duration of the stay.

The problem I did have was when I tried to book online (Tiger Airways) they wouldn't issue a ticket unless the passport had a minimum 6 months validity.

She applied for a new passport that afternoon (2nd May) paid the fee and was given a new passport number and expiry date (1st May 2013).

We will receive the new passport by mail by the 15th May (they said).

It really only makes her passport good for 4 and a 1/2 years insead of 5.

Does anybody know why the airlines require the passport to be valid for 6 months when the Embassy (Australia at least) only require you to be covered for the time of your visit?

Regards from

Peter.

:o It's not the immigration that may bother you, it is the airline. As somebody pointed in a post above out it is an international airline organization requirement that the airline must meet the immigration requirements of the country that they carry their passengers too. Thailand has the requirement for a individual's passport to be valid for 6 months on arrival in the country. If it isn't the airline can be fined for bringing that person into the country. Not the person, the airline can be fined. That's why they don't want to bring someone into the country without a passport valid for six months after entry.

That, by the way, is why the airline may also require a return (or at least onward travel ticket) for passengers who enter Thailand without a visa (stamp on entry). Same reason, the airline may be fined for bringing that passenger in to Thailand.

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the six month rule seems pretty clear. my problem is a bit different: my passport is full with stamps long before its expiration. mainly because careless officers stamp only six instead of eight stamps per page. can i be denied entry just because the officer believes, that there is not sufficient space for his stamp? anyone with experience about this? and how would you define 'sufficient'? btw, many of these stamps overlap already!

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  • 3 months later...

Hello,

I will be traveling to Thailand in mid october and traveling to Cambodia, now some people in our group have their passports expire in Mid march next year.

We will have full onward proof of travel, what is the likeliness of us being stung by this?

Thank you

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  • 5 months later...

My experince... here is the story:

Came in to thailand on Jan 6th 2009. My passport was still valid for 6 months and 1 week. I was going to stay about 1 month.

But on the 3rd week of my stay, I had to do a business trip to Taiwan. When leaving the airport at Suvanabhumi, I asked the immigration if it would be a problem to enter again 2 days later after the business trip, as my passport will be valid less than 6 months. They said: "NO problem".

Entering Taiwan was a problem! The immigration guy didn't want to let me in! I told him I had a return ticket only 2 days later, asked him to contact the people from the factory, etc. etc. After some nice talking, I talked my way into Taiwan! But if the immigration guy of Taiwan wanted to play the tough guy, I'm sure I wouldn't be able to get into the country.

Having this happened in Taiwan, I was kinda stressed to return to Bkk. That's when I came to look at this tread!

Leaving Taiwan only 2 days later: China airlines started to make some trouble again. I told them I have a valid return ticket leaving Thailand, told them also that I take full responsibility and if necessary I will sign a paper! I got my boarding pass, then the immigration guy from Taiwan was looking at my passport maybe for 4 minutes! He didn't say anything and finally let me go out of the country! Gosh, I was happy to leave, but didn't know what was going to happen in Thailand.

When arriving in thailand, the immigration queue was immense. I have chosen a nice thai lady (with a big smile, maybe she would allow me :o)

When it was my turn, no problem, she let me in. I kindly told her that I was aware my passport was close to expiry, but ONLY after she gave me the stamp. She told me: oh, no problem. I see you come very often and never offended the law!

Be aware I speak very fluent thai, so that might have helped as wel.

So for those who are not sure: no guarantee. This is my experience. I would recommend to follow the rules and keep your passport valid. In case you have no choice and get into trouble, don't make the fellow customs guy mad, better choose a lady and always smile.

In case you get into trouble, imagine your passport is still valid for 5 months and 2 weeks, kindly ask the immigration to stamp allowance for 2 weeks and get out of there, so you don't get into trouble.

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  • 3 months later...

i will be traveling to bkk from singapore next friday 22/05/09 and my passport is expiring on 17/12/09. there's actually 7 more months to my expiry of passport. i did a checked with our local immigrants and was told over the phone that it wouldn't be a problem. however when i send an email to check with them again, i got this reply.

2 We would like to advise that most countries impose a minimum entry

requirements of 6-month passport validity from the date of entry.

Possession of a valid passport however, does not guarantee entry to the

foreign countries.The grant of entry into a foreign country is the

prerogative of the foreign immigration authority concerned, based on the

country's assessment criteria.

3 Singaporeans intending to travel overseas should check with the

relevant foreign authorities and ensure that they meet the entry

requirements before embarking on their journey. Perhaps, you may liaise

with the foreign embassies/high commissions of the respective countries

where you are travelling to for information.

.

i'm concern that is it 100% confirmed that I will be able to enter Bangkok? My stay in BKK is only from 22/05 - 25/05, will there be any chance where I will not be allowed to enter the country?

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it is always the case that you might be dnied entry into a country, even if you have a valid visa. The disclaimer just point this out. In reality that doesn't happen very often, unless you are on some wanted list or are broke when you arrive.

In short, don't worry. Your passport is long enough valid.

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  • 6 months later...

I'll be entering Thailand on Dec 15th with a passport expiry date of 03/08/2010, more than the six months required, but as I will be staying three months the travel agent says I will need to renew before I go as I'll be under the six months limit when I leave Thailand.

I rang our 'Honorary Consul' who agreed with six months on arrival requirement but wouldn't commit to the six months on departure 'rule'.

Suggested I ring immigration but after a number of automated responses and non existant phone numbers I gave up and thought I would ask here.

I have never heard of the six months on exit 'rule'. I reckon I could get one more trip out of old passport, what do you blokes think?

edit. One more thing, as I will have a double entry visa and will have to leave and return in February, I won't have six months left at that time. Could be a problem?

Edited by krading
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