floridarob Posted Saturday at 09:04 AM Posted Saturday at 09:04 AM How's that for a click bait title? But is true... I had a feeling my passport was getting a little too full. But with many eVisas, no stamps are required. They didn't want to let me in, hindsight is 20/20...I should've gone back to BKK instead maybe. They were SUPER nice and explained after they put their visa and stamps, there is really no more place to stamp (Mexico has stamped and would stamp on the "endorsements" page). They were afraid that if they filled up the passport, upon my return to BKK, they might not accept a full passport and return me to Laos and then they'd have to deport me to the US from here..... I should've asked who pays for the flight 😁 While they were deciding what to do, I called the US Embassy here and they said I could stop in the next day and they'd issue me an emergency passport on the same day. The Laos immigration guys accepted that, let me in but had me sign a paper saying they had explained what could happen of I didn't get a new passport. Checked into my hotel and went to the Embassy the next day, Taxi driver from the airport came the next day to take me there, wait and back to the hotel...nice guy. Awake next morning early, very difficult for me, taxi driver was early, went to the embassy, they let me in early and everyone was so nice. But the guy I spoke to misunderstood what I needed and then the girl in charge came out to explain that emergency passports aren't issued for tourism reasons to continue traveling, they are for lost/damaged or last minute medical/funeral travel, stuff like that. She said I could apply for a regular passport on Tuesday and wait 2-3 weeks for it to arrive.... Just from the short ride from the airport, I could tell that Laos isn't somewhere I want to be for up to 3 weeks.... Then I tried to reason with her, I tried to play the geriatric card but she wasn't blind so that didn't work....in the end I convinced her to feel bad for me and she agreed to issue an emergency passport. The night before I'd read online that India doesn't accept eVisa with emergency passports so after the US embassy we went to the Indian embassy. The guy in the Visa section said he's never come across this issue before, didn't think it'd be possible but would send a message to India to find out. That was Friday, they're closed the weekend and Monday is some holiday and I leave to BKK Tues.... so I've given up on going to India this trip, some 19 yr old I met last trip was looking forward to my arrival because we were going to Pune and Mumbai together......So I cxl'd all those flights and all got reunds with small service charges, so not too bad....oh, I did invest another $30usd to try and apply for an eVisa using the emergency passport number, but it got rejected....Everything I could find online indicates if the guy in the embassy issued a paper visa in the emergency passport, it would've worked. I'm waiting to hear from Sri Lanka if they'll allow me to come, I'm not hopeful so I used miles to hold flights back to USA from BKK via LHR. I haven't been in ages, does someone know if in transit in LHR you go thru passport control, I don't think so but not 100% sure. BKK seems to allow emergency passports, I HOPE....I'll be back in BKK for 2 nights, as originally planned...but then I'll stay 2 weeks in Pattaya splitting my time in Ambiance and probably the Venue ..... @bkkmfj2648 Looks like we might meet after all and I can try the Mexican place, gotta look at the bright side of things, no 😉 reader, FunFifties, TMax and 3 others 2 1 3 Quote
10tazione Posted Saturday at 10:19 AM Posted Saturday at 10:19 AM 1 hour ago, floridarob said: I had a feeling my passport was getting a little too full. I wanted to comment "first world problems" but then realized Cambodians who did border runs every 14 days could have had the same issue ... If I am not mistaken some countries entry requirements are "passport valid at least 6 more months" plus "xxx empty pages in passport"? floridarob 1 Quote
floridarob Posted Saturday at 12:11 PM Author Posted Saturday at 12:11 PM 1 hour ago, 10tazione said: If I am not mistaken some countries entry requirements are "passport valid at least 6 more months" plus "xxx empty pages in passport"? Is what I thought, and the emergency passport has that...but some countries won't accept it and no one has a list, just some are "known" not to accept it and a lot of the times the airlines make the decision to let you board or not....no chip in the temp passport. Quote
reader Posted Saturday at 05:15 PM Posted Saturday at 05:15 PM Have you found a carrier that will get you home (US or Mexico) with emergency passport? floridarob 1 Quote
10tazione Posted Saturday at 06:27 PM Posted Saturday at 06:27 PM 1 hour ago, reader said: Have you found a carrier that will get you home (US or Mexico) with emergency passport? Are you asking for the boys? Quote
Moses Posted Saturday at 07:06 PM Posted Saturday at 07:06 PM You may spend some days on Bali, if Indonesia is visa free for you, because they do everything paperless on the border and don't stamp passports. Just make online customs declaration within 48 (or 72?) hours before arrival. Quote
Travelingguy Posted Saturday at 10:33 PM Posted Saturday at 10:33 PM You will need a British ETA even if you are in transit at LHR per my understanding, if you aren’t traveling on British or Irish passport or have some sort of permanent residency in Britain. Quote
floridarob Posted Sunday at 12:17 AM Author Posted Sunday at 12:17 AM 6 hours ago, reader said: Have you found a carrier that will get you home (US or Mexico) with emergency passport? I thought so, going thru LHR....now not sure 1 hour ago, Travelingguy said: You will need a British ETA even if you are in transit at LHR per my understanding, if you aren’t traveling on British or Irish passport or have some sort of permanent residency in Britain. My understanding is if only transiting, not required? 5 hours ago, Moses said: You may spend some days on Bali, if Indonesia is visa free for you, because they do everything paperless on the border and don't stamp passports. Just make online customs declaration within 48 (or 72?) hours before arrival. Not for Bali....there's an article from someone that had to spend a night in Bali immigration waiting for next flight out.... https://bali.com/bali/travel-guide/practical-tips-must-know/passport-requirements/ Quote
Travelingguy Posted Sunday at 01:27 AM Posted Sunday at 01:27 AM 1 hour ago, floridarob said: My understanding is if only transiting, not required? Interesting. I stand corrected. I just checked the UK.gov website and they say that you do not need it if transiting and will not go through UK border customs. They recommend checking with your airline to be sure that you will not be going through customs/border control. floridarob 1 Quote
Keithambrose Posted Sunday at 04:24 AM Posted Sunday at 04:24 AM 5 hours ago, Travelingguy said: You will need a British ETA even if you are in transit at LHR per my understanding, if you aren’t traveling on British or Irish passport or have some sort of permanent residency in Britain. I think the requirement for an ETA in UK for transit pax was dropped some months ago. Travelingguy and floridarob 2 Quote
Moses Posted Sunday at 05:42 AM Posted Sunday at 05:42 AM 5 hours ago, floridarob said: Not for Bali....there's an article from someone that had to spend a night in Bali immigration waiting for next flight out.... I'm just 5 weeks from Bali and have no one Balinese (Indonesian) stamp in my passport. Quote
floridarob Posted Sunday at 06:24 AM Author Posted Sunday at 06:24 AM 40 minutes ago, Moses said: I'm just 5 weeks from Bali and have no one Balinese (Indonesian) stamp in my passport. I was just there, with my regular passport....the stamps are not a problem for them, it's the type of passport... is why I put the link. Quote
