Thai dual nationality....show me the legislation!

[samran]

I know, I know, this is a topic which has been done to death on this site..and yes, I know the concensus is that, yes, you are permitted to have dual thai/foreign nationality. But try convincing certain officials about that fact!!

Now as we all know being in thailand you inevitably run into a document which asks to state your nationality (FYI, am Aust/Thai).

In these situations, even though I have all the documentation that I need to show that I am actually thai (including speaking fluent Thai), due to having a more farang face than anything else, the person I hand the documentation to sometimes ask me if I have dual citizenship. Now just out of principal (and stubborness knowing that I am right) I would just rather not lie, so I say, yes I do have dual citizenship.

When I tell them this, the zealous thai bureaucrat/bored desk person/ or "official" love to start telling me that either 1) no you are not supposed to have it or 2) you have to choose your nationality at 20 years of age. So therefore, I can't really be fully thai so therefore I can not apply for whatever I am applying for.

Now, even though I politely try and tell these people is that:

A) the Royal Thai embassy in Australia has explicitly told me that dual citizenship is NOT illegal and that I DONT have to choose my nationality at 20, and that

the thai embassy regularly re-issues/extends my thai passport,

I still occasionally end up having a hard time convincing them that dual citizenship is legal, even when I show them my recently renewed Thai passport.

So my question is, where can I get my hands on legislation, in Thai obviously, which states in clear language, that dual citizenship is legal???

If I could have this legislation in my hand, it would be good to stick in these annoying peoples face when I get such a hard time about my citizenship status.

I know the easy answer is to just lie, but I hate doing that!!

Cheers

[cbatson]

Your Thai passport is your legal proof that you are a Thai citizen.  Now, dealing with pig-headed bureaucrats is a whole other issue...  =^)

Chuck

[lopburi3]

I believe the answer is that there are no specific laws on duel citizenship as it is a 'can of worms' that officials would rather ignore than try to explain in law.  For Thailand is seems if you appear for draft registration as a male you may have to declare your citizenship to be only Thai.  But this could be considered a choice under duress and not be accepted by your other citizenship state.  Don't believe that there is any legal basis you can quote but know that the Royal Thai Embassy Washington web site used to have this in a FAQ so you might get a copy of that.  As you get older you will get more respect and officials are, really - they are, getting much more service oriented in the last decade.  The futures bright!

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Females have had the right to hold dual citizenship for a very long time. Males were given the same rights a few years ago by regulation so it isn't enshrined in legislation. Any competent

Thai lawyer can source the information and give you a letter confirming your legal status. It stands to reason that both of your countries are aware of your situation, and nevertheless issue you with passports.        

[dazdaz]

Why don't you write to the Government, hopefully receive a reply stating the case, photocopy that, and then take that photocopy with you to stave off any potential hassles when dealing with beauracrats.  I guess you could call this having one up your sleeve, because it should shut them up instantly  

[samran]

Hi Dazdaz,

Actually I have tried that, especially by writing to Thai embassies (as they should be the ones in the know).

The answer I get when I ask them how do they know if Dual Nationality is legal is basically something that amounts to "well erm...um, we just know it is. It never used to be, but we have been told that it is now".

One person at the Thai embassy in the US (which has a great web site) basically told me that they have been issuing Thai passports to American born Thais for so long now, they just have always assumed that is has been legal.

I was told by another member of staff there that officially dual nationality is illegal but Thai law has no penalty for people who actually are dual nationals so they can't do anything to people who have 2 passports anyway....so they just continue to issue passports to people.

Other people tell me that I should have chosen my nationality when I was 20.

So you can see why I am confused, but to be honest I am beginning to think that the actual regualtions are pretty confused themselves and are a mish-mash of old and new regulations which all contradict each other.  

I am pretty hesitant writing to Thai govt departments here in Thailand, well, because actually I work for a Thai Ministry and I know what it is like to deal with them.....ie they are utterly useless. I have tried using connections at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the answer you get there depends on who you speak to, which is why I put my post up here!! ahhh, C'est la vie!!