Update for everyone-I had no issues whatsoever. Including in Russia aka my transit stop. Actually wh

It s Sunday evening, 15-hours before our Monday departure to Thailand, and my wife and I discover that my passport expires exactly long term car rental in malaysia 10 days short of 6-months from our date of departure. Huston, long term car rental in malaysia we have a problem. After discovering this, I was quickly reminded (rather informed) that most countries require a minimum validity of 6-months on a passport before they will give you the stamp you need to set foot on their soil. Panic. Seriously panic. Time to obtain a new passport? 24-hours—won long term car rental in malaysia t cut it. Cost to re-book flights? Over $3,000—not happening. long term car rental in malaysia We re screwed. Or are we? After almost a dozen hours of online research, it turns out I know more than the Canadian, USA, or UK Government and Embassy websites do.
If you review almost every site on the Internet you ll find a consistent theme: your passport must be valid for at least six months beyond the date of your entry into Thailand . I scoured forums, embassy sites, government travel sites, airline sites, called multiple airlines, tried calling the Canadian Embassy in Thailand (they were closed of course as was the Thai Embassy in Canada) and almost every single place I looked, it was clear that I wasn t going to get into Thailand. Everywhere except a few vague references to some recent change in entrance requirements (who knows what that means or how valid it is).
Both sites indicated that I was fine and that the requirements indeed were that the passport must be valid for the intended duration of stay. That s it! So if you re reading this, thinking about going to Thailand, already have tickets booked, or just curious what the requirements are, every site is wrong except for this one and the two above.
Well perhaps these airline sites of yours might have a word with the thai immigration police. I was refused entry into thailand long term car rental in malaysia on a 60 day visa with 5 1/2 months left on my canadian passport in january of 2013. And it was the immigration computer that flagged long term car rental in malaysia me , not just the whim of the immigration officer.So long term car rental in malaysia I suggest you are wrong.
long term car rental in malaysia @Tony thanks for your comments. I wonder if it had anything to do with the length of your visa or if the 6-month requirement was dropped to 3-months between your trip and ours in May (it was changed recently, we know this for sure)? We had no issues and the IATA site should be pretty accurate (though of course IATA does not enforce immigration laws). We also had no issues long term car rental in malaysia entering long term car rental in malaysia Cambodia on the same passport and Cambodia shares the same immigration passport long term car rental in malaysia requirement timeline as Thailand (3-months).
Thanks long term car rental in malaysia for the post. I am having a similar issue, however I had realized that my passport will expire about a month before the trip. I am a Russian citizen however, so renewing my passport would take anywhere from 4 to 6 months!
long term car rental in malaysia I had made traveling arrangements, even went ahead and got Indian visa (everyone at the consulate and third party visa processing office told me I won t get it, after letting another person apply for me I still got it is this luck?).
@Tanya I just updated to post to indicate that in fact we did go and had no issues getting in whatsoever. That said, I suspect you will have issues if your passport is to be expired by the time you plan to travel to Thailand. I know here in North America we can do 24hr passport processing which might be something worth looking into in your home country. Best of luck and please let me (us) know how you make out!
So did everything go smoothly with your trip? I have a similar situation and I just found out about this 6 month thing this morning. Im going to Thailand at the end of Jan. 2014 and my passport expires May 2014, Im currently living in South Korea and going back to the States for Christmas so I dont have time to get a new passport with these two trips.
@Jeremy Everything went perfectly smooth. While I cannot guarantee that rules or laws have not changed in the past 7-months, I can confirm that the airline (Asiana Airlines) welcomed me aboard and that Thai immigration had no concerns long term car rental in malaysia whatsoever. The only comment that would have indicated even a hint of concern was the ticketing agent who said: Oh your passport expires soon! .
I would suspect that you ll be just fine and hopefully long term car rental in malaysia the embassy and travel sites will eventually update their documentation on this matter! long term car rental in malaysia Do be sure to run through the IATA form I posted long term car rental in malaysia a link to in my post above and if it says that you re a go, I d feel pretty confident in heading to the airport.
I m clinging to the hopes that you ve given me in this entry, as I m currently living in Fiji and my husband and I are planning our honeymoon in Thailand- we leave in 10 days. I was so busy organizing my husband s visa (he s a Fiji citizen) that I neglected to look at my own passport and it expires at the end of March 2014. I called the US embassy and it would take at least 10 working days to get a new passport, so a no go there. The IATA site says I m clear, but thank you for giving me a little piece of mind. Fingers crossed
Hey Molly thanks for your note! While I m still confused as to why IATA is the only official resource that backs this information, I m confident you ll get in :) Either way, comment back once you re back from your honeymoon. Fingers crossed!
My fiance and i are leaving for Thailand tomorrow for 10 days. We just spent a day with the family celebrating christmas as we will be overseas and my mum has told me the 6 month passport thing. Little bit stressed as my passport expires mid May 2014.
Andrew thanks for taking the time to post about your plans. I hear you on the stress part as despite my findings, I was still a bit anxious through the stages of security, boarding, and immigration. Let us know how you do though once your trip is over.
Thanks for the update Andrew! This ll likely help give some of the others with upcoming trips a bit more peace of mind. Today we booked tickets for our return long term car rental in malaysia to Thailand long term car rental in malaysia and can t wait! Enjoy Phuket, Merry Christmas and have a happy New Year! RK
Yikes! long term car rental in malaysia I. Leaving tomorrow for Thailand from Canada- thought my passport was good until the end of June but it expires on the 10th. I m supposed to be I m Thailand until the 25th of January so hopefully no issues! My stomach is in knots!
@Miranda: while I make no guarantees obviously, I would imagine you ll be okay on the passport expiration. We ve had a few examples since my trip to confirm that the 3-month change is in fact real. Andrew did write in on Dec 23rd to indicate that he made it into the country without a hitch.
@Alain we looked at going to Vietnam during our stay however this was one of the reasons we chose note to (they have a 6-month long term car rental in malaysia requirement). Same with Malaysia. Cambodia and Thailand both were 3-month requirements. Did everything go smoothly with Thailand immigration?
Update for everyone-I had no issues long term car rental in malaysia whatsoever. Including in Russia aka my transit stop. Actually when I was leaving toronto the check in agent read the co diction to her colleague and it said for tourists the passport needs to be valid for the duration of the stay. I wouldn t risk going with less but if anyone travels Aeroflot you can be assured you ll be fine! Still, a nerve wracking 40 hours to say the least!
I realised yesterday that my son s passport expires in 5 months and 25 days and we were flying to Thailand today. All doom and gloom googling and even calling the Thai embassy until I found your blog and my hopes picked up and decided to chance long term car rental in malaysia it. Went to the airport today and not a word said, got to Phuket and no concerns from immigration either.
We are British but I suspect the same rules apply to Canadians and all other Visa exempt countries. My guess is that if you need or have any kind of visa as with your first commenter then your passport needs 6 months. But if you are visa exempt and staying less than 30 days then it only needs to be valid for your trip. I expect it might get a bit more spicy at immigration if your passport expires very close to your departure date but otherwise they seem fine.
I'm Ryan Kononoff and one of my greatest passions is helping others achieve their own goals. I love to teach but I also love to learn and I put efforts in every single day to expand and grow my own skill-sets.