International Transport Permit

[BobS]

After reading Peter Hooper's post about his trip to Singapore, I decided to get an International Transport Permit in Chiang Mai. According to Peter, the ITP is required to enter Malaysia. I wanted to try it entering Laos.

The ITP is essentially a passport for your vehicle. It has all the registration info, and pages for entrance and exit stamps. It costs 55 baht annually, and expires when your road tax sticker expires.

I went to the main vehicle office on Hang Dong Road. While they had issued these for cars and trucks, this was the first time they had done one for a motorcycle.

What they wanted:
Copy of the registration page and road tax page from the green book
Copy of my Thai driver's license
Copy of my International driver's license
Copy of my passport and visa
Application form
55 baht

They also kept my registration book overnight, and the ITP was available the next day.

At the same time, a friend from Phuket was in Chiang Mai, and wanted to get an ITP. We tried at the main office, and at the motorcycle office near the Sheraton. At both places, we were told that he could not get the ITP in Chiang Mai, because his bike was not registered there. He would have to get one where the bike was registered, OR he could get one at the office in Nong Khai - the border crossing to Laos.

A phone call to the Nong Khai office had different information. While they do issue the ITP for travellers, they only do it for cars and trucks. They do NOT issue them for motorcycles.

BobS

"The true secret of giving advice is, after you have honestly given it, to be perfectly indifferent whether it is taken or not and never persist in trying to set people right."

 

[DavidFL]

Bob
So what happens when you enter Laos - was / is the International Transport Permit of any value / use?
Does it make it any easier than it is now?
Is it worthwhile getting?

Davidfl
Keep The Power On

 

[BobS]

That was going to be in my trip report on Laos - but I will list it here.

Check out Link removed, for the most recent proceedures without the ITP. Here are some differences.

On the Thai side of the bridge at Nong Khai, I only had to have the T2 form filled out, and take a copy with me.

On the Lao side, I did not have to go upstairs for a entry form and the director's permission. First stop was the outdoor booth.

I still had to go inside to the Customs office, and had to get my insurance paid before coming back to the booth, with final approval by the official at the outside desk.

The book was stamped in for one week. Since this was adequate for the trip, I did not ask if they would issue a two week entry without special permission.

They also give you a small sign for the windshield. This sign was smaller than on previous trips. I do not know if it different in any way. BTW, I have never displayed one and have never been stopped.

The next day, I went to the transport office in Vientiane for the internal travel permit. I was told that the windshield sign had a notation that it was good for all cities in Laos.

There was a problem with the paperwork, and it was particular to the bike. The first time that I had that bike in Laos, it had the original number plate. Since then, the registration was changed to Chiang Mai.

But, the bike is listed in the Lao computer system with the original plate, and that is the number on all the paper work. I did not notice this at the bridge, and will try to get it changed the next time.

I left Laos on the Savannakhet-Mukdahan ferry. No problem on the Lao side. On the Thai side, there was some confusion. I was sent into Customs, where the official looked at a Thai registration book and the Thai ITP - and still filled out a temporary import form. We pointed out his error, but it did waste some time.

The question is - was the ITP helpfull?
1. Getting the bridge director's permission can be a problem. One time, I had to wait 2 hours for him to get out of a meeting. Having the ITP eliminates this.
2. There is the one week/two week issue. I still have to find out if you can get two weeks on the ITP entry.
3. Not needing the permit for travel in Laos is a big plus. On previous trips, I was told that I would have to go and get that permit. BUT, they did give a windshield sign to you in the past. It is possible that the previous ones had the same notation about being good for all cities.

The ITP is easy enough to get, and is required for Malaysia. It did not hurt to use it for Laos. I don't know if it would help entering Cambodia.

Now that certain GT riders have finally gotten number plates, maybe some research trips are in order.

BobS

"The true secret of giving advice is, after you have honestly given it, to be perfectly indifferent whether it is taken or not and never persist in trying to set people right."

 

[BobS]

Renewing the ITP

There are two spaces in the ITP for extending the validity for a additional year. The process is similar to getting the original ITP, and still expires with the road tax sticker.

What they wanted:
Copy of the registration page and road tax page from the green book
Copy of my passport and visa
Application form
25 baht

This time, they kept the green book and the ITP for 2 days before I could pick it up.

BobS

"The true secret of giving advice is, after you have honestly given it, to be perfectly indifferent whether it is taken or not and never persist in trying to set people right."

 

[DavidFL]

Re confirmed in Chiang Mai.
NO International Transport Permits for bikes not registered in Chiang Mai. Only Chiang Mai registered bikes. Go to Bangkok. Cars are ok. Only bikes are "the problem."
Below is the application form for the ITP.

Too bad it's in Thai & most of us can't read it.

 

[SilverhawkUSA]

When I renewed my ITP for my truck in Chiang Mai, they seemed a little confused and not sure what to do. Rather than deal with it they suggested I go to Nong Khai as they do more and it would be easier. I said "No, I live here and the truck is registered here". They had me leave the book and ITP and come back in 2 days. Apparently they found someone who knew what to do as it was finished and ALMOST correct. I checked it before leaving and they had used the wrong year as the expiration as it was just after new years. I had to find a supervisor who simply laughed and used a marker to change the date.

Davidfl, you didn't mention in this post but I believe you said, and also confirmed by another rider, that one cannot do bikes in Nong Khai.

 

[DavidFL]

quote:

---

Originally posted by SilverhawkUSA

When I renewed my ITP for my truck in Chiang Mai, they seemed a little confused and not sure what to do. Rather than deal with it they suggested I go to Nong Khai as they do more and it would be easier. I said "No, I live here and the truck is registered here". They had me leave the book and ITP and come back in 2 days. Apparently they found someone who knew what to do as it was finished and ALMOST correct. I checked it before leaving and they had used the wrong year as the expiration as it was just after new years. I had to find a supervisor who simply laughed and used a marker to change the date.

Davidfl, you didn't mention in this post but I believe you said, and also confirmed by another rider, that one cannot do bikes in Nong Khai.

---

---

---

---

---

Silverhawk
No, the Chiang Mai office also said you could get the ITP for the bike in Nong Khai, but from my very brief experience there & what is on this thread, I think that the Cnx office knows SFA re ITPs, and so Bangkok it is for non-Chiang Mai registered bikes. But nonetheless the next time I am in Nong Khai I will ask & see what happens.