Visa Question - Thai Wife now Citizen of My Country.

[PattayaGik]

Guys

 

The better half is Thai by birth and since marrying and living with me for several years has been granted Australian Citizenship.

 

She is yet to return home subsequently, so my question is what happens when she returns to Thailand to visit family for an extended period of say 3 months. I assume she travels out of Australia on her new Aussie passport, but what happens entering Thailand?

 

Does she need a Thai Visa like us Aussie's would, or are there some sort of special arrangements for Thai Nationals returning home? She still has a Thai passport as well as a Thai ID & a Thai Drivers Licence etc.

 

No doubt some of you good folk will have already dealt with this scenario, so any advice would be appreciated. I guess the same would apply to any Thai wife who gains citizenship of any country other than her own.

 

Anyone know the deal?

[quietguy77]

My sister has Australian and British Passports. I am told it is easiest to use the passport of the country you are entering, on arrival, and the passport of the country you are going to, on departure. But don't show them both passports as this can lead to questioning and complications.

[kansuwan]

Been there, done that.

 

1. Travel with both passports.

 

2. Enter and leave Australia on Australian passport

 

3. Enter and leave Thailand on Thai passport.

 

 

On departure from Thailand for Australia, Thai Immigration and the airline may ask why the bearer is leaving Thailand for Australia with no Australian entry visa; no problem - show the Australian passport.

 

On arrival in Thailand, Thai Immigration may ask why the bearer has no entry and exit stamps for another country covering the period since the departure stamp. Again, show the Australian passport.

 

NB: This can get problematic if the passports have been issued in different names. In which case, travel with legal documentation (wedding certificate, notice of name change etc).

[key visa thailand]

All good advice as normal,

 

Leave Aus on the Aussie passport, enter Thailand on the Thai

 

Leave Thailand on the Aussie and enter Aus on the Aussie passport

 

Carry both passports

[Vortex]

copied from http://www.smartraveller.gov.au/tips/dual-nationals.html#4

 

Leaving and entering Australia

If you hold another country's passport, seek advice about how it should be used. Take your Australian passport and use it to depart from and return to Australia. An Australian citizen cannot be granted a visa for Australia.

When entering Australia, all Australians, including those who hold dual nationality, must be able to prove that they are an Australian citizen. An Australian passport is conclusive evidence of a person's identity and citizenship and provides the holder with right of entry to Australia.

An Australian citizen who arrives without an Australian passport may be delayed until their identity and claims to enter Australia have been checked. If a foreign passport holder claims to be an Australian citizen, immigration officers must confirm and verify this through official databases, which will cause delays.

International airlines have an obligation to ensure that they only carry appropriately documented passengers to Australia. In the absence of an Australian passport, airlines are unable to verify a claim of Australian citizenship at the time of check-in and may refuse boarding. The airline may have to make inquiries with the Department of Immigration and Citizenship in Australia seeking approval to carry the passenger, which takes time and may cause delays.

Entering and leaving the country of other nationality

Dual nationals may find it easier to enter the country of their other nationality on that country's passport, but leaving can sometimes be more difficult.

In some cases, there may be entry and exit requirements in place, such as currency, customs and quarantine regulations and compulsory vaccinations.

You may need an exit visa if you entered on a passport of that country. Before leaving Australia, check with that country's embassy or consulate in Australia to find out what the entry and exit requirements are when using the passport of your other nationality.

[PattayaGik]

Thanks for the responses folks, I hope this information will help others in the same boat as me.

[Pen-fifteen]

All good advice as normal,

 

Leave Aus on the Aussie passport, enter Thailand on the Thai

 

Leave Thailand on the Aussie and enter Aus on the Aussie passport

 

Carry both passports

 

If, as you advise above, a dual national was to enter Thailand on the Thai passport and try to exit on the Australian passport, I suspect that Thai immigration would want to know why the person is trying to depart Thailand without any Thai entry stamp in their Australian passport.

 

To travel effectively on both passports, the bearer should have both passports in the same name.  If the woman has married in Australia and has not registered the marriage in Thailand, she will have her Thai passport in her maiden name, so she needs to have the Aussie passport in the maiden name too.

 

My understanding is that Thailand does not allow dual nationality - if a Thai citizen obtains the citizenship of another country, the person is required to renounce their Thai citizenship.  However, that may have changed since the last time I looked.

 

Assuming that it has not changed, it would be wise to not show the Australian passport to Thai immigration officers.

 

So there we have the dual national, 2 passports, same name in each of them.  A good start.

 

Depart Australia on the Australian passport.  Enter Thailand on the Thai passport.  Easy.

 

Return journey is a bit different.

 

At check-in for the flight, present the Australian passport to allow boarding and travel, and your Thai passport to show that Thai immigration [entry] requirements have been satisfied.  Then the Australian passport should be put away, and the Thai passport [only] presented to Thai immigration, together with the boarding pass.

 

On arrival in Australia, the Aussie passport should be used for entry.

 

I'm sure that there are plenty of dual nationals who have allowed a Thai immigration officer to see both passports, and got away with it.  However, you wouldn't want your wife to be the unlucky one who gets asked why 2 passports, different nationalities, and gets what could follow [stripped of Thai citizenship].

 

PenXV

[Scumbag]

If, as you advise above, a dual national was to enter Thailand on the Thai passport and try to exit on the Australian passport, I suspect that Thai immigration would want to know why the person is trying to depart Thailand without any Thai entry stamp in their Australian passport.

I am sure he made a mistake and he meant that the person should leave on the Thai passport rather than the Australian one.

[kansuwan]

At check-in for the flight, present the Australian passport to allow boarding and travel, and your Thai passport to show that Thai immigration [entry] requirements have been satisfied.  Then the Australian passport should be put away, and the Thai passport [only] presented to Thai immigration, together with the boarding pass.

It doesn't quite work that way - on departure, Thai Immigration ask to see, as a mater of course, boarding cards as well as passports, entering the details of both into their data base. Hence the need, IF ASKED, to be able to produce the Australian passport as an indicator that the passenger will be granted entry into Australia.

 

You're right about dual nationality not being allowed under present Thai law (unless your name is Thaksin Shinawatra). However, I've never heard of it becoming an issue for courteous/ordinary/low profile 'respectable' travellers who stick to the basic suggestions above. Been doing it for 20+ years without difficulty.

[Pen-fifteen]

It doesn't quite work that way - on departure, Thai Immigration ask to see, as a mater of course, boarding cards as well as passports, entering the details of both into their data base. Hence the need, IF ASKED, to be able to produce the Australian passport as an indicator that the passenger will be granted entry into Australia.

 

You're right about dual nationality not being allowed under present Thai law (unless your name is Thaksin Shinawatra). However, I've never heard of it becoming an issue for courteous/ordinary/low profile 'respectable' travellers who stick to the basic suggestions above. Been doing it for 20+ years without difficulty.

 

I agree with you, but I would like to note that Thai immigration officers are unlikely to worry about whether a passenger is going to be allowed entry into the country of destination [of their flight]; that has already been checked by airline staff.  If an immigration officer asks for it, then certainly one should produce the passport of other nationality.  If I was the dual national, I wouldn't be too eager to show the other passport to Thai immigration, but I would be complying with any request by Thai immigration to produce it.

 

I don't expect that Thai immigration officers are checking on visa requirements for other countries, that's for the immigration officers of the other country to worry about.

 

My thinking is that the dual national should not voluntarily do anything that may jeopardise his/her dual citizenship status, but should comply with any request by Thai immigration so that he/she does not appear to be trying to hide anything [which could prompt further questions].

 

As you note, courtesy and politeness are the order of the day when dealing with ANY Thai officials.  I would also add compliance.

 

PenXV

[pattayaman2001]

Guys

 

The better half is Thai by birth and since marrying and living with me for several years has been granted Australian Citizenship.

 

She is yet to return home subsequently, so my question is what happens when she returns to Thailand to visit family for an extended period of say 3 months. I assume she travels out of Australia on her new Aussie passport, but what happens entering Thailand?

 

Does she need a Thai Visa like us Aussie's would, or are there some sort of special arrangements for Thai Nationals returning home? She still has a Thai passport as well as a Thai ID & a Thai Drivers Licence etc.

 

No doubt some of you good folk will have already dealt with this scenario, so any advice would be appreciated. I guess the same would apply to any Thai wife who gains citizenship of any country other than her own.

 

Anyone know the deal?

 

Hi. If she enters on an Aussie passport She must have a visa, she will be treated as an Aussie. Sure She could stay in Thailand but on the way out showing Her Aussie passport she could be fined for overstay.

 

My Wife has UK/Thai Nationality we have had the same issues.

[Scumbag]

I don't expect that Thai immigration officers are checking on visa requirements for other countries, that's for the immigration officers of the other country to worry about.

 

This is what I think. The Thai government is not responsible for ensuring that Thai citizens (or anyone else) leaving the country have any appropriate visas. The airlines are interested but not immigration. I don't even think that immigration has access to information about electronic visas.

[Quackado]

 

My understanding is that Thailand does not allow dual nationality - if a Thai citizen obtains the citizenship of another country, the person is required to renounce their Thai citizenship.  However, that may have changed since the last time I looked.

 

Assuming that it has not changed, it would be wise to not show the Australian passport to Thai immigration officers.

 

 

I would like to know more about this & if anyone knows for sure the current Thai law about dual citizenship.

 

My Thai wife is not yet an Australian citizen but will have that opportunity in time.

[Ru4Real]

There's no problem as far as I'm aware. US centric but same same:

 

"Some are under the mistaken impression that Thais and Americans cannot have dual nationality. This is not true. There is no provision under Thai law prohibiting dual nationality. Further, United States nationality law does not prohibit dual nationality. The major issue for dual nationals concerns their two home countries. A Thai-American with dual nationality is considered exclusively an American citizen when in the United States of America (or one of its protectorates, possessions, or territories) and exclusively a Thai citizen when in the Kingdom of Thailand."

 

http://integrity-legal.com/legal-blog/thailand-visa/consular-reports-of-birth-abroad-for-thais-born-overseas/

[Quackado]

There's no problem as far as I'm aware. US centric but same same:

 

"Some are under the mistaken impression that Thais and Americans cannot have dual nationality. This is not true. There is no provision under Thai law prohibiting dual nationality. Further, United States nationality law does not prohibit dual nationality. The major issue for dual nationals concerns their two home countries. A Thai-American with dual nationality is considered exclusively an American citizen when in the United States of America (or one of its protectorates, possessions, or territories) and exclusively a Thai citizen when in the Kingdom of Thailand."

 

http://integrity-legal.com/legal-blog/thailand-visa/consular-reports-of-birth-abroad-for-thais-born-overseas/

 

Wow, thanks Ru4Real for your answer.

 

PS:- yes I am Real.

I have pity & empathy for most of the pretenders.

I have been confused about who I am in years past.

I know now that just being yourself is the secret to true happiness.

 

& I would like to say sorry to the OP for hijacking his topic (but my question was related)

[Ru4Real]

No worries ... the Prime Minister before Thaksin's sister has Brit and Thai citizenship I believe.

 

PS:- yes I am Real.

I have pity & empathy for most of the pretenders.

I have been confused about who I am in years past.

I know now that just being yourself is the secret to true happiness.

 

[kansuwan]

No worries ... the Prime Minister before Thaksin's sister has Brit and Thai citizenship I believe.

Incorrect: Thaksin's Thai passport was restored in 2011 by the government led by sister. He also has a Montenegro passport on the basis of investment there. He has never, rpt never, had a British passport/nationality, only a visa to enter the UK.

[Ru4Real]

Incorrect: Thaksin's Thai passport was restored in 2011 by the government led by sister. He also has a Montenegro passport on the basis of investment there. He has never, rpt never, had a British passport/nationality, only a visa to enter the UK.

 

Thaksin wan't the Prime Minister before his sister.

[pattayaman2001]

All good advice as normal,

 

Leave Aus on the Aussie passport, enter Thailand on the Thai

 

Leave Thailand on the Aussie and enter Aus on the Aussie passport

 

Carry both passports

Yes. She has to though show Her Thai passport at checkout. If she shows her Aussie passport they look for entry stamps.

 

Then She can board the flight using Her Aussie passport.

 

You helped me a long time ago Darren. Cheers...

[pattayaman2001]

I would like to know more about this & if anyone knows for sure the current Thai law about dual citizenship.

 

My Thai wife is not yet an Australian citizen but will have that opportunity in time.

 

Dual Nationality is recognised by Thailand.

My Wife made Her Thai passport at the London Embassy last Month She showed Her UK Passport and both childrens to apply for the childrens Thai as well. It's NOT an issue.

[spinklerhead]

Dont go back to Thailand. Come to Tasmania instead. Cheaper, Cleaner, better food, better beer,  hardly any  foriegners 

[Scumbag]

Dont go back to Thailand. Come to Tasmania instead. Cheaper, Cleaner, better food, better beer,  hardly any  foriegners 

Yeah but it is full of Tasmanians....lol

[kansuwan]

Thaksin wan't the Prime Minister before his sister.

Thaksin was PM from 2001 until the 2006 coup. His sister Yingluck became PM following the 2011 General Election.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16215695

[Ru4Real]

Your point?

 

Or are you being deliberately obtuse to try and show you are so much more knowledgeable than I?

 

Before you head off on another tangent (and to get back OT re dual citizenship); the Prime Minister before Yingluck Shinawatra was Abhisit Vejjajiva; who happens to have British and Thai citizenship.   

[kansuwan]

Thaksin wan't the Prime Minister before his sister.

^^ Perhaps if you'd written 'immediately before' I wouldn't have bitten.

 

Of course, you're 100% correct about Cameroon Abhisit.

 

Have a nice day!