Dazinoz

4 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

There is a person I know who makes a living as a tour guide and handyman. Works in Chiang Mai and elsewhere. He is stateless. Originally Vietnamese, speaks perfect Thai, fluent English, Chinese and Japanese. AFAIK he gets to stay in Thailand by doing a lot of border crossings, although I don't know how he does that without a passport. PM me, maybe he can give you some advice IF he agrees to do it.

PM sent. Thank you.

2 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

Does she know somebody that speaks Thai and Burmese from Myanmar that enter at the crossing you mentioned and have them find her father to get some info about where she was born the nationality of her mother and etc. It could be her mother was Thai.

She had some phone numbers but she is shocking at keeping any type of records. Change her phone and number and lost all contact including her fathers. He also had her number but she failed to tell him when she changed so he has no way to contact her.

3 minutes ago, sanmyintmaung said:

Many hill tribe people have relatives on both side of the border. If your girl friend can find village in Thai side belongs to the same hill tribes as she is from, she can convince the village headman to add her to house registration in exchange for some money and apply pink ID for hill tribes. Person holding pink ID for hill tribe can apply for Thai citizenship after ten years. This is how many hill tribe folks at the border are holding dual citizen ship in both Myanmar and Thailand.

I really need to convince her to go home again.

2 minutes ago, NotYourBusiness said:

Concerns about crossing the border acknowledged. To establish her village location:

1: get her a cheap Android phone.

2: connect with her on LINE.

3: show her how to drop and share a pin on Google maps (means zoom in and drop a pin at your current location). This is one long press to drop a pin and two clicks to share, anyone can do it.

4. send her across the border she knows to her village.

5. she shares her location pin to you on Line.

 

 

She already has iPhone, has Line but last time she went to her village no phone signal. Had to go 20 km to a village that did to message me. But I guess that would still help and maybe there is signal in her village now. 

3 minutes ago, allane said:

That pink ID card that "says she is from Myanmar" might be worth something at her Embassy. Did she have to show a passport/ID card to get it ? If whatever she showed was good enough for the Thai govt., it should be good enough for the govt. that issued it.

She showed the consulate in Chiang Mai, not interested. All she had to get that was a photo copy of an old Thai work permit she had when things were easy to do. Not easy now.

She claims she had a passport before but I don't believe she did as she often uses the wrong terminology for things. Visas, work permits, IDs are all "passports" to her.

4 minutes ago, Enoon said:

 

You need to accompany her back to her "Burma home" and find her origins.

 

Start from there.

 

Maybe a little "creativity" required to get her over the border.

 

 

I did accompany her to the Thai/Burma army crossing but was told I can't cross. Honestly if we crossed at Techalek, which is probably the closest I don't know if she could find our way to the village.

Obviously my concern is getting myself into trouble as well as getting her ID. She once told me it would not be safe for me (farang) going to her village.

1 minute ago, Enoon said:

 

And the only documentation that would allow her to get a new one has to be obtained in Burma?

 

I don't know and that why I am asking on here for people with experience in this. We just keep going around in circles.

2 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

This is not meant to be negative. Her background seems very unclear. Is it possible that she is Rohingya. If that was case her situation would be even more difficult. Given that they have very limited rights with Myanmar. Im not sure, but I don't think they can even obtain pp. 

Certainly sounds like she is between rock and hard place. Perhaps might explain why so few replies to the OP. The "stateless" option I can't imagine would count for much in Thailand. 

She could be anything. Maybe I used the term stateless incorrectly but just meaning she has no true ID. Well she has the pink ID but because on it says she is from Myanmar and thats now invalid.

1 minute ago, Enoon said:

 

"Nearly 3 years ago I helped her get her Non Thai pink ID through an agent. They are no longer issued and are being replaced by a CI (certificate of identity). Her "work permit" part of pink ID (back) has expired and she was told by her consulate here in Chiang Mai to go back to Myanmar because if she was caught she could and  probably would be deported."

 

Deported for working illegally?

 

Deported for anything else?

 

 

 

 

She has not worked for 4 years as I have been looking after her but her consulate told her she could be deported for no valid ID.

A really sad state of affairs. Tell me again why I chose to come live here?

34 minutes ago, jackdd said:

So it seems to be uncertain if she can get Burmese citizenship.

In this case i would recommend that you ask her what her preferred outcome is and then try to go down this path, to me it sounds like you tried a mix of both:

1) Being recognized as Burmese

2) Being recognized as stateless in Thailand

If it were me i would go for 1), because 2) doesn't really help with anything

 

If she decides for 1) then you have to do research in Myanmar. First you have to figure out where she was born / lived in Myanmar

Was her birth registered anywhere? Many years ago on a mountain probably not, but who knows.

Did she ever do anything official in Myanmar which might have left official documents anywhere?

Are her parents still alive? Do they have any documents to prove that they are Burmese?

These are just the first things that came into my mind, probably many other things to check.

All this is of course very difficult if she can not legally cross the border and can't read / write the language. If she grew up on a mountain she might not even speak burmese properly, so when she talks with people in the city they might not really be willing to help this "foreigner"

She can speak and understand Thai better than she can Burmese. Her father is still alive and lives in a village not far from the army border crossing near Doi Angkan. Don't know her village name. On further "interrogation" apparently she wasn't even born in Burma and doesn't know where she came from. She did go back to her Burma home a few years back with my assistance but nothing happened. I thought it may have just been a money grab, and probably was, but now things are tightening and it is getting difficult and scary for her. I have been trying to get her to go home again and try to get what info/documents she can but she is scared to do so for a number of reasons, and I am sure some of which I don't know. I am really getting lost as to what to do.

58 minutes ago, jackdd said:

The first thing that you should do is to clarify if it's possible for her to get a Burmese passport:

- If she can get a passport, she isn't stateless, she just doesn't have a passport. In this case she should sneak back to Myanmar without getting arrested and sent to IDC, get a passport and then a visa for Thailand.

- If she can't get a passport in Myanmar, then she is stateless. Stateless people in Thailand have nearly no rights, and i think currently there is not much she can do about it, maybe in the future this will change: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thai_nationality_law#Statelessness

Thats what we have been trying to find out but keep going around in circles. We go somewhere and talk to her in Thai and I can not understand then she can't relay that information back to me as she forgets very fast or doesn't understand.

23 minutes ago, allane said:

From what the OP has said, I think my idea is not going to work, but I offer it here, in case I am wrong.

if she is ruled to be eligible for a Burmese passport, that likely can be issued at their consulate in Chiang Mai or Embassy in Bangkok. The problem is that she has nothing to prove she is Burmese.

Might the Embassy accept her pink Thai ID card as evidence that she is not Thai (and hence, Burmese), if she can corroborate that in some other way) ? Does she know any Burmese citizen, legally in Thailand, who knows her well enough to sign an affadavit as to who she is, and where in Burma she comes from ?

Possibly a Burmese language test, written and spoken ?

Unfortunately the consulate want documents to prove she is from Myanmar, which she doesn't have. She sowed them her pink ID and motor bike license but no good. She does not know anyone and I have emailed a few groups of people supposedly there to help Myanmar people but they don't reply and she can not read or write.

I did read a story on Stickman by a British guy in a similar situation and it took a fair bit for his girlfriend to do. Unfortunately my gf does not have the patience, understanding or ability to do alone. We have used agents before but she usually just gets ripped off. Recently she was given a name of some \one in Wiang Haeng that could get her ID at a cost of 47,000 baht. We went there and spent 4 days but just got stuffed around. Fortunately we did not pay then any money.

Hi all,

My girlfriend is having troubles getting her ID in Thailand. She is from Myanmar and has no ID or passport. All she had was a photo copy of some type of work permit when she first come here about 10 years ago. Nearly 3 years ago I helped her get her Non Thai pink ID through an agent. They are no longer issued and are being replaced by a CI (certificate of identity). Her "work permit" part of pink ID (back) has expired and she was told by her consulate here in Chiang Mai to go back to Myanmar because if she was caught she could and  probably would be deported. At this time she was told the CIs are not been issued and will start again at a later date. We have been to a number of places trying to get something to make her legal. We were at her consulate the other week and they wanted some document from Myanmar to say she was from there, but she has nothing. She really needs to go home and get something but is hesitant as she is from a hill tribe and not very wordy and usually stuffs things up when she goes to do things alone. I have seen where you can get a Thai ID if you have lived in Thailand 10 years or more but again she has no proof of that.

Anyone had any experience with this type of situation. Any type of valid information will be greatly appreciated.

For us, hospital filled in paperwork and we took to "office" (can't remember what office it was). Hospital must have done translations for us as we did not have to do anything in that regard.

Only issue was mother is from Myanmar with no passport and they were insisting on it. I asked did she want us to put baby back until mum could get passport. 

Baby issued with birth certificate but because he was born in Thailand, mum Myanmar and me Ozzy, birth certificate stated son had no nationality and included a remark that he was someone illegally or temporarily in Thailand. Since then I have had him made an Australian citizen with Australian passport.

Are these the "official" crossings? I took my gf who is from Myanmar to cross from Thailand to Myanmar at a crossing near Doi Angkhan. Just respective army post either side. When they saw me told me I could not cross, but I had no intention of doing so, only took gf there,

49 minutes ago, phkauf said:

least with Grab you can get a ride and know what the fare will be before you accept it.

If I ride in tuk tuk here in Chiang Mai I always ask first how much. I have never been charged more than quoted even though quoted price is higher than Uber/Grab. Used Uber a lot but found Grab not very good finding my house so don't use them a lot.

16 hours ago, asean said:

vpn works well

 

yes it does.

15 hours ago, skatewash said:

Sometimes you have to explain things to people in a way they will understand rather than the way you think they should understand something.  The fact that people are jumping to erroneous conclusions can be explained by two theories:  1) people are really stupid, they don't read, and even if they do read they don't understand, or 2) information is being provided in a really irresponsible way that does nothing to discourage people from jumping to erroneous interpretations.  I'm leaning toward 2 myself, although I don't completely discount 1.

i once did a supervisor school and one of the tasks given was i sat with my back to the class of about 20 and described a drawing of a series of boxes which they had to draw from my description. After i had to look at everyones drawing. Amazing there were probably nearly 20 different drawings from 1 description. Interpretations.

1 hour ago, Kan Win said:

Hi Dazinoz,

 

I have done many trips along that route you are taking and visited a few places along the way.

 

As I enjoy Reservoirs and Dams most of which are on the way down to Phuket and on your way back.

 

Link to my photos and maps is below. Please have a look, as there are too many places to mention in one thread.

 

http://www.pbase.com/win13/root&view=tree

 

Have fun and drive safely.

 

Win ????

Thanks very much for that.

1 hour ago, HaleySabai said:

Why go to MHS? he would have to go through Pai and the 1863 curves.....,that makes for a 600km+ side trip before he starts setting a proper trajectory southward.

 

Head out of town on Hwy 11 (from Maya) or connect to it via 121 south. Connect to the Hwy.1 at Lampang.

From Tak heading due south.

The trick is to bypass the BKK-snarl by picking a S/W secondary route(333) at UThai Thani that will take you through Kanchanaburi and further down to connect with Hwy.4 through Ratchaburi. From here it's clear sailing to Phuket.

 

Coming back: From Kamphaeng Phet take Hwy.101 to Sukothai then Hwy.12 through Tak to Mae Sot.

Interesting border town along with a very scenic drive up Hwy.105 to Mae Sariang. Turn right onto Hwy.108. From this junction its about 200km back to CM.

 

Its a long haul,at least 1600km one way. Make sure your vehicle is well serviced before setting out.

As far as interesting places along the way... once you determine a route you can easily do the foot work yourself based on your schedule and budget et...

 

Good Luck - Safe & Happy Trails!

 

Thanks for the info.

23 minutes ago, Burma Bill said:

From Chiang Mai head south on route 11. Elephant Conservation Centre at Lampang. Head south on route 1 to Tak. Turn left route 12 to the old capital of Sukhothai. Take route 101 from Sukhotai south to rejoin route 1 at Kamphaeng Phet.

South on route 1 to Ayutthaya (as previously described). Heading south take route 4 and at Nakhon Pathom right on route 323 to Kanchanaburi for the Bridge over the river Kwai and the Death railway. Retrace drive to route 4 and then the long drive south to Phuket. (photo of Sukhothai). Have an enjoyable drive.

 

      

Thanks for the info. Definitely like to see the bridge and railway.

1 hour ago, whimsicalmike said:

Have you seen Ayutthaya, that was quite interesting. There are some cave temples down near the coast but i dont remember all the names, very different to the CM temples. There is one near Cha am u take a boat around to the other side of a small mountain then climb up then down into a big cave. Bit of a climb but was fun.

My delightful tour guide has found some more cave temples for us to visit when i come back in Feb and i will finally go to the mountain that has all the bell looking things on the peaks but you've probably already seen that as its not far from CM

What about the 30 story buddha but i cant remember where that is either ????. I have been to so many places and restaurants, have thousands of photos, i get confused with it all ????

 

Not seen Ayutthaya. Thanks for the info.

1 hour ago, Trujillo said:

"My girlfriend says that anytime something goes wrong its my fault. So I guess I am wrong again and its my fault."

 

Solution: Remove the girlfriend. Keep man's best friend. Works for me. ...

I so much agree.

And looks like tonight is the night.

My girlfriend says that anytime something goes wrong its my fault. So I guess I am wrong again and its my fault.

Thanks for the replies.