1. Article 12 (1) of the Immigration Act of the Kingdom of Thailand B.E. 2522 sets forth that “an alien entering into the Kingdom of Thailand must have a genuine and valid passport”. While the Agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Thailand and the Government of the Russian Federation on the Terms of Visa Exemption for Mutual Visits of the Nationals of the Kingdom of Thailand and of the Russian Federation reads that “Nationals of the State of one Party holding valid passports (other than diplomatic and official), giving the right to cross the border, shall be permitted to enter into, stay in the territory of the State of the other Party for up to 30 days and exit from it”. However, the requirement for validity of passport was not mentioned in both of the 2 documents.

2. Normally the Thai Immigration Bureau authorizes a 30-day period of stay in the Kingdom for holders of Russian passports with more than 30-day validity. Those, holding Russian passports with less than 30-day validity, shall have the same period of stay permit as the validity of the passport.

3. Some airlines might not allow the holders of passports with less than 6-month validity to board the airplanes. This depends on the practice and consideration of each airline.

4. The Embassy would like to emphasize that the authorization to allow an alien to enter into the Kingdom of Thailand is under the Thai Immigration Bureau, whose officers can use consideration in allowing or not allowing the entry of an alien into the Kingdom, based on the Immigration Act B.E. 2522 and the Agreement.

5. As for those applying for visa at all Royal Thai Embassies and Consulates, the passport or travel document must be valid for not less than 6 months. All required documents must be submitted for consideration.