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Post by carvets on Sept 17, 2012 6:00:35 GMT 7
I wasnt going to go back this year as finances are a bit tight, but Scoot have tempted me so im going to do a 30 day trip to Thailand in Nov , ( with Scoot return to Singapore and other carriers connecting to and from Phuket , will work out around $450 ) .
But my passport is almost full , and i would like to not have to fork out for a new one just yet . I have a page and a half at the end of my passport and oddly the first page , even though its not marked with a number, is free . i dont understand why they do what they do, but my first stamp from my first trip back in 2005 was actually entered on page 5 and then they went backwards from there but never using the first page .
I would think that just the fact the first and last pages are free should be enough room, but im a little unsure as to why page 1 was never used and isnt numbered . I'll be doing Australia- Sing - Phuket ,.....then the same in reverse . Do you think that would be fine,......would i need to take control and point out available spaces at passport control ? Does it matter if stamps from the same trip are worlds apart in your passport ? Thanks in advance.
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Post by Banker on Sept 17, 2012 6:29:47 GMT 7
Pages that are not numbered can not be used for stamps.
How much space get used for a trip like that Oz>>Sin>>Thai>> return? go back through your PP & check on previous stamps.
Why do they do it? Because they want to be a pain in the ass, no other reason.
This is all my opinion someone else may have more knowledge on it than me.
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Post by Banjo on Sept 17, 2012 7:00:45 GMT 7
My passport has a few blank pages in it, they missed a double page once.
Carvets I'd get a new passport before you leave, I know it's an expensive pain in the arse but the hassles if you run into some nitpicker at immigration, and believe me, our own beloved country has a few of them, are not worth it.
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Post by carvets on Sept 17, 2012 7:21:37 GMT 7
Looking back is a trial,...stamps on stamps, some faded , 2008 over 2006 , they seem to have no order these guys,...just open a page and whack in a stamp. Although sometimes in Thailand , and now that my passport is nearly full, i see them flicking through the pages trying to figure out the timeline,....then i think they give up .  A page and a half should be enough , Thailands only one in and one out, while Sin will be 4 but they are not giant stamps, least they werent when i was last there years ago . I was specially curious about that first page as a backup if someone got stamp happy . The other thing i noticed looking at my passport is I have one stamp from Oz upon re-entering in 2005 , but apart from that one, no others . Odd . |
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Post by carvets on Sept 17, 2012 7:23:55 GMT 7
My passport has a few blank pages in it, they missed a double page once. Carvets I'd get a new passport before you leave, I know it's an expensive pain in the arse but the hassles if you run into some nitpicker at immigration, and believe me, our own beloved country has a few of them, are not worth it. Banjo , do you recall if that first page has been used on yours ? |
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Post by Denis-NFA on Sept 17, 2012 9:21:37 GMT 7
Carvets.....for what its worth I'm up to page 10 in my passport since May 2011 which is the grand total of 4 visits of 13 weeks.
Page 1 is not used.
Pages 4 and 5 are also not used.
Personally I would get another passport if I was in your situation.
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Post by carvets on Sept 17, 2012 10:04:50 GMT 7
Carvets.....for what its worth I'm up to page 10 in my passport since May 2011 which is the grand total of 4 visits of 13 weeks. Page 1 is not used. Pages 4 and 5 are also not used. Personally I would get another passport if I was in your situation. Thanks NFA,...just got replies from 2 Aussies on another forum whose first page was well stamped , so it sounds like its not an " off limits , stamp free " zone , which was what i was concerned about . So with that in mind i have 2 1/2 pages free . |
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Post by chillout on Sept 18, 2012 18:08:56 GMT 7
I wasnt going to go back this year as finances are a bit tight, but Scoot have tempted me so im going to do a 30 day trip to Thailand in Nov , ( with Scoot return to Singapore and other carriers connecting to and from Phuket , will work out around $450 ) . But my passport is almost full , and i would like to not have to fork out for a new one just yet . I have a page and a half at the end of my passport and oddly the first page , even though its not marked with a number, is free . i dont understand why they do what they do, but my first stamp from my first trip back in 2005 was actually entered on page 5 and then they went backwards from there but never using the first page . I would think that just the fact the first and last pages are free should be enough room, but im a little unsure as to why page 1 was never used and isnt numbered . I'll be doing Australia- Sing - Phuket ,.....then the same in reverse . Do you think that would be fine,......would i need to take control and point out available spaces at passport control ? Does it matter if stamps from the same trip are worlds apart in your passport ? Thanks in advance. G'day Carvets, I think I remember you mentioned Byron Bay. I have been there a few times, many interesting stories.....the Railway Friendly....the colourful characters....the easternmost point. I used to take the bus via the colourful towns of Mullumbimby, Byron, et cetera, when I was coming and going from the cheap Air Asia flights at Coolongatta airport. With regards to the passports, I am on my fourth passport, which is quickly filling up and will be completely full by next March, only 2 years after it was issued. My third passport was the extra chunky 64 page version, it cost 100 bucks extra. However, it got wet, I dried it, but after a few years it started to deteriorate and the Immigration officials at the airport instructed me to replace it, although only three quarters full. So I would advise others to buy the cheaper 32 page version, particularly if you do adventurous travel near water, such as hopping in and out of small boats in South East Asia, for example. Actually, my fourth passport got a little wet just a few days ago, during a boating trip. However, I dried it, and it should last until next March. The cheaper 32 page version costs $6 per page, which is an added cost when you get those full page visas---from many countries around Thailand, for example. With regard to the stamps, I also have 4 passports in which the stamps from countries all over the world are scattered haphazardly and even randomly throughout the passport. Some countries like stamping in blank pages at the back of the passport, they have no rules or order, or their writing system is from right to left. I don't think it makes any difference, just as long as you have a legitimate, legible entry and exit stamp from each country, and a valid visa according to their rules. I am increasingly assertive about trying to get the immigration officers to put the stamps in order from front to back. In Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore, they have small stamps (visa not required for Australians) and in many cases, perhaps 50 visits to both Malaysia and Thailand), the Thai and Malay immigration officers have agreed to put their small stamps in empty spaces which I pointed out to them and politely asked them to use, using polite words in Thai and Malay, and Asian sensibilities. With regard to having a completely full passport, well I came close, but never had a completely full passport, but I have met overseas travellers who have. My view is that in an 'emergency' situation, where you really need a stamp to pass the immigration and make your stay in that country legal, they will use every available page, including all of the unnumbered pages, the 'observations' page, and the pages inside the cover which are covered with writing. But when you get back to Australia, Immigration will make a note on your Immigration file, visible to all immigration officers, and you will probably not be allowed to leave Australia until you replace your passport. When my third passport was water damaged, they twice made notes warning me that my passport was deteriorating. My view is, if you have an adventurous spirit, go for it, push your passport as far as it will go, because its $250 bucks for a new one. |
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Post by Banjo on Sept 18, 2012 18:35:53 GMT 7
I used to get harassed regularly at immigration in a certain Australian city's airport because they claimed the barcode was hard to read.
Never anywhere else, in or out of Australia, just this one place.
Edit: God I miss the days when I thought this type of thing was a problem!!!!!
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Post by Denis-NFA on Sept 18, 2012 20:23:55 GMT 7
Obviously you are far older than some of us.... ;D
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Post by anotherdsp on Sept 18, 2012 21:16:13 GMT 7
i just chexed my passport, which is the electronic chip type,, no stamps from aust ,page 1 stamped by indo,i have gotton 2 new passports whilst o/s it only takes 3 days and ready to pickup no probs.
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Post by Banjo on Sept 19, 2012 4:50:51 GMT 7
Obviously you are far older than some of us.... ;D Hey, there's older than me on the forum. Just checked my chipless passport... must have been one of the last, and including the first page there are 4 blank (missed) pages and, strangely enough, 2 half pages left blank. One of the missed pages seems to have been overlooked because the ink from a full page Lao visa has soaked through tot he other side.  |
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Post by carvets on Sept 19, 2012 5:35:30 GMT 7
I have the ink seepage problem on a few pages as well , and when i came back in July i also had problems with them reading the bar code . They passed me over to someone else and my paranoia levels skyrocketed as i was carrying some pain medication and muscle relaxants obtained without a prescription from the giant pharmacy that is Thailand . But just a legit bar code problem ..
And thanks Chillout for your detailed reply. It does appear now that Page 1 is usable, so that gives me 2 1/2 pages and the stamps from Singapore and Thailand are small so i'm sweet .
The $233 dollars will now be allocated to living expenses in Thailand. Its amazing how far that money will go there. Its a shame pensioners dont get a discount on their passport like seniors do . Thanks for the replies.
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Post by Banjo on Sept 19, 2012 5:45:56 GMT 7
i just chexed my passport, which is the electronic chip type,, no stamps from aust ,page 1 stamped by indo,i have gotton 2 new passports whilst o/s it only takes 3 days and ready to pickup no probs. Did you have to pay the "express rate" to get them in 3 days? I remember my current passport cost a fortune with the double size and charged extra not to wait for 2 weeks for it. I remember when a 30 day visa run from Thailand to Burma cost half a page every time, IF the nice immigration officers squeezed 4 stamps into half a page. |
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Post by Banker on Sept 19, 2012 10:31:49 GMT 7
I have the ink seepage problem on a few pages as well , and when i came back in July i also had problems with them reading the bar code . They passed me over to someone else and my paranoia levels skyrocketed as i was carrying some pain medication and muscle relaxants obtained without a prescription from the giant pharmacy that is Thailand . But just a legit bar code problem .. And thanks Chillout for your detailed reply. It does appear now that Page 1 is usable, so that gives me 2 1/2 pages and the stamps from Singapore and Thailand are small so i'm sweet . The $233 dollars will now be allocated to living expenses in Thailand. Its amazing how far that money will go there. Its a shame pensioners dont get a discount on their passport like seniors do . Thanks for the replies. Discount for seniors...What a FU*ING joke that is. Yes you get it for 1/2 price but you only get 1/2 a passport about 5 pages, but you must be over 75 years old to apply. Im surprised they dont want your grand mother to sign a guarantee for the applicant.  |
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