New Passport in Thailand: Transfer Visa and Stay Stamps

A renewed or replacement passport gives you a valid travel document. It does not automatically reproduce every Thai immigration record that appeared in the old passport. Treat the passport issue and the Thai visa/stay record as two connected but separate jobs.

The aim is not simply to obtain a stamp. It is to preserve a chain showing the old identity document, the new identity document, the visa or status, the latest entry, any extension, any re-entry permission and the date until which you may remain.

Process reviewed 2 September 2026. Immigration handling differs by visa format, nationality, reason for replacement and responsible office. This guide is a control checklist, not a universal document list. Confirm the current process before surrendering an old passport or booking travel.

Use the registered Thai address and the visa or permission held to confirm jurisdiction. For a Pattaya-area case, Chonburi Immigration’s official contact page is the starting point for current office contact and public-service information; it does not replace a route-specific transfer checklist.

Start with the passport event

Situation	First authority	Immigration question
Routine renewal or expiry	Your passport-issuing authority	Which visa, entry, extension and re-entry records must be transferred or annotated?
Lost or stolen passport	Police and your passport-issuing authority under their current procedures	How will the old Thai record be reconstructed when the passport is unavailable?
Damaged passport	Your passport-issuing authority	Is the old book readable and acceptable as transfer evidence?
Emergency travel document	Your embassy or issuing authority	Does it support the intended journey, and what must Immigration do before exit or return?
New passport issued abroad	Issuing authority plus Thai Immigration or mission handling the return	Can the current status be used with two passports, or must a transfer/reissue occur first?

Do not apply a routine-expiry answer to a lost passport. A missing book removes the easiest evidence of the Thai record and may trigger separate police, embassy and Immigration requirements.

Before a routine renewal

If your issuing authority allows you to retain or later receive the cancelled book, preserve it. Before submission, make clear copies or scans of:

• the passport biodata page and every passport-number page;
• the Thai visa sticker or e-Visa document;
• the latest arrival or entry stamp;
• every extension-of-stay stamp still relevant;
• single or multiple re-entry permission;
• TM47 or LTR reporting receipt;
• TM30 accommodation evidence used with recent applications;
• the TDAC confirmation or older TM.6 where relevant; and
• application, payment and collection records for the new passport.

Record the current permitted-until date separately. A memory such as “my retirement visa runs for a year” is not a usable recovery record.

Where possible, avoid putting an international trip, annual extension, status change or 90-day report in the same narrow window as passport renewal. If dates must overlap, get written instructions from the responsible offices before surrendering anything.

Build the transfer bundle

Immigration publishes a dedicated transfer stamp to new passport form. General and route-specific official guidance points to a bundle built around the old and new passports, identity pages, last entry, visa/status and latest extension evidence. The exact requirements are not universal.

Use this as a preparation ledger, then replace every “confirm” with the current office answer:

Record	Why it matters	Confirm locally
Old passport, if available	Connects the original visa and stay records to the holder	Whether the cancelled book must be presented as an original
New passport	Supplies the new number and validity	Whether any name or identity change needs extra evidence
Transfer application	Identifies the requested Thai record action	Current form version and signature rules
Biodata-page copies	Links old and new document details	Copy count and certification method
Last arrival and visa evidence	Reconstructs how the current stay began	Which e-Visa PDF, sticker or entry page is required
Latest extension and re-entry records	Shows the permission and travel protection to preserve	Whether each item is transferable or separately reissued
TDAC or TM.6, if applicable	Connects the latest arrival record	Whether the office requests it for this case
Reporting and accommodation records	Connects TM47/LTR reporting and TM30 details	What must be updated after the passport number changes
Embassy or issuing-authority document	Explains the replacement or number change	Whether it applies to this nationality and passport event

Bring originals and complete copies. Do not hand over the only evidence without keeping a secure duplicate and obtaining a receipt if an office retains a document.

Embassy letters are not universal

Some Thai guidance refers to a certificate or document from the embassy or passport authority. That must not be converted into a claim that every embassy issues the same letter.

For British passport holders, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office says British embassies cannot issue a “no objection” letter to transfer residency or visas. Its Thailand information note says Thai authorities have acknowledged that a Thai visa can be transferred to a new British passport without a British Embassy visa-transfer letter.

That is a nationality-specific instruction, not an exemption for everyone. Ask your own issuing authority what record it supplies when a passport number changes, and ask the Thai office handling the transfer whether it accepts that record.

If the passport is lost or stolen

Act on three tracks rather than waiting for a new passport to solve everything:

1. Loss record: follow the local police-report process and keep the original or certified evidence required by the next authorities.
2. Replacement travel document: contact the embassy or passport authority for your nationality and follow its lost/stolen passport procedure.
3. Thai immigration record: contact the responsible Immigration office for the lost-passport and stamp-restoration route, explaining the visa/status, last entry, extension and travel plans.

Use secure copies of the missing passport and stamps if available. A photograph of a biodata page does not itself grant permission, but it can help officials locate records and identify the correct sequence.

Do not publish the police report, full passport number, address, signatures, TDAC record or visa barcode while asking for help online. Give sensitive records only to the responsible authority or a verified professional under a clear scope.

LTR holders have a separate route

The BOI’s current LTR guidance directs LTR transfers to the Immigration office at the Thailand Investment and Expat Services Center (TIESC), One Bangkok, Bangkok. It distinguishes a transferable LTR stamp from sticker/e-Visa formats and warns that passport expiry can limit the stay permission recorded in the passport.

Its current checklist includes old and new passports, the transfer form, identity pages, arrival and LTR records, the prior extension where relevant, TDAC or TM.6 evidence, BOI endorsement, reporting card and TM30. It also lists embassy certificates for specified nationalities. Follow the live LTR page rather than an ordinary local-office checklist.

If an LTR passport is lost abroad, the BOI FAQ directs the holder to file a police report and contact the LTR team because the procedure varies with the visa format. Do not assume a replacement passport plus a different visa preserves the LTR permission.

Inspect the new record before leaving

At the counter, compare the passport against the evidence file. Check:

• spelling of the name and the new passport number;
• the original visa or status used for the stay;
• the latest entry and extension references;
• the permitted-until date;
• the re-entry permit, if the old passport contained one;
• any notation connecting the old and new passport; and
• the next reporting or extension action given by the office.

A transfer does not create a fresh year or repair an expired permission. If the date or status appears wrong, raise it before leaving and preserve the correction record.

Reconnect reporting and travel controls

A changed passport number can affect records outside the stamp-transfer page. Ask the responsible office how the new number must be reflected in:

• the next 90-day TM47 report or LTR annual report;
• the TM30 accommodation record used for later applications;
• any pending annual extension or status application;
• the next TDAC submission; and
• the re-entry permit needed before foreign travel.

Do not assume that one database update propagates to every service. Keep the old and new document numbers in the immigration calendar until the next successful entry, report and extension have all been checked.

Before flying, confirm whether both passports must be carried, whether the current permission and re-entry authority appear in the accepted place, and which passport number must be used for the TDAC and booking records. Airlines and border authorities make separate document checks; obtain current instructions for the actual itinerary.

The bottom line

The safest passport change preserves a visible chain from the old document to the new one. Classify the event, copy the complete Thai record, obtain the current route-specific transfer checklist, resolve any nationality-specific letter requirement, and inspect the new passport number, stay, re-entry and permitted-until date. Only then reconnect reporting and travel plans.