Lost Passport in Chiang Mai: Police, Embassy, Immigration

File a report at the local police station in the area where the passport was lost or stolen. Take it to your embassy or consulate for a new passport or substitute document. Then bring the new passport, the police report and the embassy's letter to Immigration to have your stamp redone.

By Vincent Nguyen

Your first stop is a police station, and the report is the paper every later step asks for. A passport lost or stolen in Thailand starts with a report at a local police station.

The order of steps

1. Police report.
2. New passport or substitute document from your embassy or consulate.
3. New stamp at Immigration with the new passport, the police report and an embassy letter.
4. Keep the stay date in view while you wait.

The official procedure for step 3 is written for Bangkok. Visa changes in Chiang Mai go through the foreigner section, so call 053 201 755 and press 20 before you go.

Step 1: report the loss to the police

File the report at the local police station in the area where the passport was lost or stolen. The Tourist Police hotline is 1155, available 24 hours. The Mueang Chiang Mai Tourist Police Station is at 196, Sriwichai Alley, Chang Phueak, Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai 50300, Thailand.

Keep a copy of the report. The embassy and Immigration steps both ask for it.

Step 2: replacement from your embassy or consulate

Bring the police report to your embassy or consulate and apply for a new passport or substitute document. If there is no embassy or consulate in Thailand, contact the Passport Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

A UK emergency travel document is usually only valid for one single or return journey. A passport reported lost or stolen is refused at entry.

Step 3: new stamp at Immigration

When the new passport is issued, the embassy writes a letter to the Immigration Bureau asking it to put a new arrival stamp in the new passport. In Bangkok the request goes to the Change Passport Book counter of Immigration Division 1. A foreigner who lives in Thailand sees the visa department.

For Chiang Mai, the foreigner section handles applications for and changes to all types of visa. Call 053 201 755 and press 20. The documents listed are:

• the passport or substitute document;
• the report from a police station;
• a document from the embassy or consulate certifying the new passport (if any).

The address is 71 Moo 3, Sanam Bin (Airport) Road, Suthep, Mueang, Chiang Mai 50200. The telephone is 053 201 755.

Embassies and consulates in Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai has several consulates, and three of them list passport services. See the consulates guide for the rest.

The U.S. consulate is at 131 Moo 4, Chiang Mai-Lampang Superhighway Road, Nong Pa Khrang. It handles passport services by appointment only. For a U.S. citizen the lost-passport application fee is USD 165, and a full passport takes six to eight weeks. With proof of imminent travel, a limited-validity emergency passport can be issued within 72 hours.

An emergency passport has only 5 pages, and its validity cannot be extended.

The Chinese consulate is at 111 Changlor Road, Hai Ya. It lists 053-280380 for passports and travel documents.

The Indian consulate is at 172 Moo 5, Sanpakwan, Hang Dong. Its visa and passport services run 09:00 to 12:00.

While you wait: your stay clock

If you need more days, apply for the extension before the permitted period ends; approval is at the officer’s discretion. An overstay costs THB 500 per day, up to THB 20,000. See overstay fines.

If you must leave Thailand

Leaving the Kingdom is treated as the end of a temporary stay permission. A single re-entry permit costs THB 1,000 and a multiple one THB 3,800. The permit is applied for on form TM.8 with one 4x6 cm photo. See the re-entry permit guide.

Section 12 of the Immigration Act excludes an alien who has no genuine and valid passport or document in lieu of a passport, apart from visa-exempt cases. A passport reported lost is refused at entry even if you find it, so re-enter only on the new one.

Proof of your entry date

A letter on your arrival-departure record is a separate request at Immigration. The handbook gives a total time of 23 minutes. An officer searches for the travel record in the Immigration Information System and prepares a letter with the result.

Checklist

1. Police report in hand.
2. Application to your embassy or consulate for a new document.
3. Police report, new passport and the embassy letter ready for Immigration.
4. Extension applied for before the stay ends, if you need one.
5. Re-entry permit before any trip out.

If an agent offers to do these steps, read the agent vs DIY guide. Emergency numbers are on the emergency numbers page.

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Not confirmed: Which Chiang Mai Immigration counter re-stamps your visa: the official procedure read covers Bangkok, so call 053 201 755, press 20, before you go. Whether an extension of stay moves to the new passport: no official text read addresses it. Embassy fees and times: each embassy sets its own.

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General information checked against the sources listed above, not legal advice for your situation. Rules and office practice change; confirm with the immigration office or a licensed adviser before you act. See how guides are checked.

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