On 01/05/2017 at 1:07 AM, Thongkorn said:

 I thought you could enter Thailand on her Thai passport and leave on her British passport with no problem, quite legally.

Dont know if this has been changed in the last year, The question i would like to ask, Thought you had to have a Visa in your Thai passport to board the plane and Enter Britain.

Nobody spotted that she did not have a visa in her Thai passport, So are we wrong or was the Thai Immigration wrong, or has the law changed about Thai passports.

Unbelievable is the only word I can think of!

Firstly, why on earth would you even try to do what you did, what possible reasoning is there?

The procedure HAS to be as follows.

1. Wife checks in for the flight to Thailand at the UK airport and produces her Thai passport to the check in staff (and the British one if asked), this then shows the check in staff that she has the right of passage to Thailand and that no visa is required.

2. Wife produces the THAI passport to the immigration official upon arrival into Thailand, she is Thai and does not need a visa!

3. Wife checks in for the return flight to UK at the Thai airport and produces her BRITISH passport to the check in staff, this then shows the check in staff that she has the right of passage to the UK.

4. Wife produces her Thai passport and newly filled out TM6 to the Thai Immigration official after checking in, she does NOT even show her British passport at this point, there is no need and this would only cause problems.

5. Wife produces her British passport to the immigration official upon arrival in to the UK airport.

Remember, the check in staff are only verifying that the passenger has the correct passport or visa to fly to the destination country, they are not in the slightest interested in how many passports a person may have.

No, with the first employment all was handled in house by an excellent HR department and second employment by agents here in BKK.

These agents do seem to know their stuff, TMF Group and are based at Capital Tower, All Seasons Place

3 minutes ago, game4shame said:

My colleagues implied this was the norm

Certainly isn't in my experience, though it may well depend on the type of job and criteria of the employer.

For example, when I applied for the first work permit of this current job, it was issued for 12 months despite of only having a 3 month employment contract at that time.

for my previous job the first permit was also 12 months duration and for the last 6 years the extensions were 2 yearly by virtue of being issued under IEAT.

If the extension is not forthcoming, then really, the only option would be to try and get one more SE Non B visa, this should then give you enough time to get the work permit extended and all the ducks in a row for the extension of stay.

15 minutes ago, game4shame said:

My work permit was issued at the end of December - valid for 6 months

May I ask why only 6 months? 

I might be wrong here, however, the first year extension of stay based on work would require the work permit to be valid for longer than 7 weeks.

I do remember last year, when I changed jobs, the work permit application had to be made and work permit issued prior to the extension of stay application, whereas this year for both of the renewals it was reversed, the explanation the agent gave me for that was that for extension one Immigration needed to see the work permit prior to issuing the extension and the reverse this year, i.e. the labour department needed to see the extension of stay prior to renewing the work permit.

If I was you I'd be definitely looking at going out and getting one more SE Non B visa, technically you should not be working on visa exempt entries, if, for whatever reason, this was discovered it could well cause you issues going forward.

UK Bed sizes below, note that the super king is also known as queen size in the UK, whereas the queen size in Thailand equates to UK king size, I've fallen foul of this myself and ended up with sheets that don't fit.

13 minutes ago, Geordie59 said:

Visa runs up to 5 June 2017. Last 90 day report was made on 10th April. The paper they put in my passport states visa expires 5 June 2017 in written hand and a stamp stating "This is not an extension of stay. Please notify your address again on 8 July 2017". 
From the answers above I can stay for the full 90 days and then leave before 8th July.
If I stay in Thailand the full 90 days up to 8th July I can still extend my existing Non Imm Visa for another year.

I assume if I do not extend my visa before 5th June and leave the country after that date it will expire and I will have to apply for a new Non Imm Visa. This is what I will be doing and in my experience applying for a new visa is a lot more hassle than extending an existing one.
I will also be leaving at the end of May which is not within the last 30 days of my latest of my latest 90 day extension. I hope to extend the Visa for another year before I leave. 
Will let you know how I get on.

90 Day extension, what do you mean by this??

To ascertain how much longer that you can stay in Thailand for, then you need to find the last entry stamp in to Thailand and see when that permits you to stay to, the date will be stamped on this.

What date did you enter Thailand last?

The 8th July 2017 date appears to be the 90 day report due date?

If you are on a ME non O visa, then in theory you must have been departing the country every 90 days and therefore have not been required to do the 90 day reporting, unless you did go to immigration and extend one of the entries?

So long as you depart and re-enter before the use by date of the visa (5th June 2017?) then you will get another 90 days upon entry.

Do not confuse 90 day reporting with extensions.

On what basis will you extend for another year, marriage or retirement?

I understood that 5th May is not a public holiday this year, as the Cabinet resolution was with immediate effect?

I think the OP is referring to him being Cambodian and therefore he can possibly get a special work pass for migrant workers from the neighbouring countries, I do not know a huge amount about this, however, in a past life and my ex. wife and I did employ a Burmese maid that we had the proper passes for and all was done at the Chonburi labour department, was quite easy apparently, certainly don't recall any minimum salary etc.

18 minutes ago, sanemax said:

They will not accept a tourist visa as evidence , which is what the question was

 

Granted and the OP has found other evidence, my initial reply was a bit hasty, as I did not see the tourist visa part!

2 hours ago, sanemax said:

I disagree, they specifically need something with a name & address on it .

 

No they do not, they need something to show that you are resident here, hence why they accept visas or residence permit, several folks have successfully shown an extension of stay.

26 minutes ago, NCNC said:

• visa or resident permit (or colour photocopy)

If you are on a long term visa or extension of stay, then they will accept this, no need to prove any address.

2 hours ago, jimster said:

Simple. The OP exits Thailand on her British passport by LAND from Thailand to say, Cambodia. Enters Cambodia by LAND. For example, from Aranyaprathet Sa Kaeo province to Poipet, Banteay Meanchey province. Then she travels to either Siem Reap or Phnom Penh international airport and books a one way ticket to Bangkok on any airline, for example, Thai Airways (THAI Smile if traveling from Siem Reap). At the airport, she shows her Thai passport, and at Cambodian immigration her British passport. Upon arriving back in Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi) she uses the auto gates and shows her Thai passport. Finally, she should never attempt to use her British passport again to enter Thailand.

 

Case closed.

Although I agree that this should resolve the issue, it does not get past the fact that she could get refused entry on her Thai passport again, due to no exit stamp / TM.6, we all agree that the immigration have no right to refuse her entry on her Thai passport, however this is exactly how she is in this current situation and doing as you suggest might not necessarily resolve this.

3 hours ago, sumrit said:

sible for a Thai to exit Thailand on a Thai passport after entering on a foreign one it is definitely not advisable.  

 

If she does that after entering and staying in Thailand on her foreign passport it will create major problems.

Why do you think this, she is Thai in Thailand, there is no getting away from that fact, just fly out on the Thai passport and do not use the British one for entering Thailand ever again, really, what can the authorities do in that situation?

I've just watched what was described as Public Service announcement on behalf of Chonburi Immigration by a local Pattaya Radio Station.

Interesting video.

Mods, I can post a link, but not sure if this infringes on any rules, as it is a radio station link, please advise and then I can act accordingly.

4 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

She can go to an immigration office and get a one year extension of stay with proof she is Thai

Ah OK, sort of reinforces the fact that she should have been allowed to enter on her Thai passport :)

The issue really is that the IO at Phuket Airport had no idea about the immigration laws that he is employed to enforce in his own country.

This is then compounded by the fact that the system isn't a proper system as it doesn't appear to be able to connect old Thai passports / people / exits together for whatever reason.

There could be many situations where a Thai has to replace a passport and then enter with a new one and no exit stamp, original passport expired, lost, stolen, damaged etc. etc. there HAS to be a system that allows entry back in to Thailand!

In this particular instance it was also compounded as she entered Thailand on her British passport around 2 years ago, renewed her Thai passport then and exited with the British passport, so the passport was issued within Thailand and not at an overseas embassy as I wrongly thought before, apologies for that!

Still shouldn't have made any difference, however, it would be interesting to know how many other Thai's have experienced issues like this when their passports were renewed overseas.

I still reckon she should test the system and depart on her Thai passport and forget the British one for travel to and from Thailand (except for showing to an airline at check in) worse case, they make her use the British one.

Ubonjoe, in your opinion, could the authorities arrest her, detain / fine her for overstay on the British passport seeing as she is Thai and therefore is entitled to be here?

This from Trinity's website, no expert, but looks like she would be OK?

B1 SELT – GESE Grade 5

You must pass a Secure English Language Test (SELT) in at least CEFR level B1 in Speaking and Listening for:

• Indefinite Leave to Remain (to settle) or British Citizenship 

Trinity’s GESE Grade 5 exam = CEFR B1.

6 minutes ago, dentonian said:

Even with a Thai e-passport, it won't let you enter if you left on a foreign passport.

You are missing my point, so let's take this as an example,

A Thai with dual nationality leaves Thailand on a Thai passport, via the e-gates, say a year ago, whilst away the original Thai passport expires, so a replacement Thai passport is issued by an overseas embassy, the same Thai now returns back to Thailand with this new Thai passport and tries to enter via the e-gate, would the system allow entry, would it have connected the two passports together?

1 minute ago, dentonian said:

In that situation, the Thai should carry both passports.

 

Yes, this, sadly, seems to be the case as it stands now, unfortunately she did not, so could not produce the old passport, doesn't deflect from the fact that she is Thai and they should not have refused her entry on her Thai passport, as per my above post, what is difficult to create the software that automatically links the old passport number with the new, so when a Thai in a similar situation enters Thailand then the IO will see this link and the previous exit from Thailand as soon as the new passport details are entered in to the system at arrivals? With the new e-gate systems being used, then it stands to reason that this process must happen, otherwise any Thai renewing their passport anywhere but Thailand would not be able to get in via an e-gate?

We are told that Immigration link old and new passports together by name and DOB for Foreigners, hence why getting a new passport is useless if somebody has a poor record immigration wise, hell, if they can do it it for us, surely they can do this for their own people!

1 minute ago, IMA_FARANG said:

A valid Thai passport can be issued to a Thai citizen in another country at the Thai embassy there.

That passport will have no exit stamp in it because it will be issued in the foreign country at the Thai embassy/consulate there.

A Thai can legally enter Thailand on an expired Thai passport. .

In the same way a U.S. citizen can get a new U.S. passport in the U.S. embassy in Bangkok, and a U.K. citizen can get  a new or replacement U.K passport at the U.K. embassy in  Thailand , a Thai legally  in the U.S or the U.K. can get a new or replacement Thai passport from a Thai consulate in those countries and enter Thailand on those passports.

It is done all the time.

 

 

 

 

100% agree, except in this case the IO refused (wrongly) her entry on her Thai passport specifically because of it being a new one issued by an Embassy.

There really should be a way, in the passport / immigration systems, of being able to track this, so that everything ties together, the only limitation I suppose is time, i.e. the length of time needed to keep the records, in the case of Thailand, this really should not be difficult considering the passports are only valid for 5 years.

26 minutes ago, dentonian said:

stevenl was referring to not being able to return to the UK.

The airline wouldn't allow check-in if she didn't have a UK passport, or UK Visa in her Thai passport.

If stevenl was indeed referring to departing Thailand back to the UK, then I agree, of course she would absolutely have to have the British passport with her, not only for checking in at BKK but also for clearing immigration back in to the UK, that is a given.

His reply however was to a suggestion of leaving Thailand on her Thai passport to another neighbouring country and as it quoted the whole topic, then it is not specific enough to nail it down.

13 hours ago, PAV123 said:

I live in Bang Saen, thank you for info my friend;-)

Aha, then a bit of a trek for sure!

8 minutes ago, stevenl said:

If she leaves her UK passport at home she will not be allowed to leave Thailand.

I'm not so sure that is correct, if she is still currently in Thailand, then she should be able to travel out on her Thai Passport, there should be no reason why not, as stated on several posts, she is Thai, so is quite entitled to travel on her Thai passport, it could well be that immigration will make the link between her entry in to Thailand on her British passport, however, this should not stop her from using her Thai passport to go for a short local trip, even better still if it was to a neighbouring country that Thai's do not require a visa for but Brits do.

I think what Eff1n2ret is implying is to make this trip out on the Thai passport and then if and when she finally departs back to the UK, then to go out on her Thai passport and just forget the entry on her British passport, at the end of the day she is Thai and by definition cannot overstay, so long as she never uses or produces her British passport in Thailand again, then what repercussions could there possibly be?

It is, as Joe suggests, a case of being strong with immigration and standing up to them, they had absolutely no right to refuse her entry in to Thailand on her Thai passport whatsoever, she is Thai by birth and has the right of abode and also the right to travel with a valid Thai passport.

A Thai arriving at a Thai border with an expired passport should have no issues in getting back in to Thailand, the lady had a valid Thai passport that had been renewed overseas, unfortunately she did not have the old original one with her to prove her departure before, if, as folks think, the Thai immigration system is 'smart' enough to link people to different passports, then surely it should have identified and linked her new passport to her old passport and therefore the original exit, in fact if the Thai passport renewal system was 'smart' enough, then when she renewed her passport, that link should have been made automatically, regardless of where it was renewed?

Not sure where in Chonburi you are located at, however, there is a new place that has opened up that 'supposedly' specialises in German vehicles, I've never used it myself, but it does look to be reasonably professional.

It is located on the slip road to highway 7 from highway 36 in the Pong district, so if you were coming from the Rayong direction, then take the exit for highway 7 Bangkok / Pattaya and the garage is on the left side, just before the road widens up and splits again, you can't really miss it.

As I said, no idea if good or bad, but worth taking a look if it is not too far from you.

8 minutes ago, Toshiba66 said:

You get the 90 day from your country

Correct, what UJ advised was for the OP to apply for a SE or ME Non O visa from his home country as opposed to a SE Tourist Visa, as this way the step of having to convert the TV to a non O entry at immigration in Thailand is bypassed, if the OP gets a SE non O visa, UJ then advised that the cost is the same as the TV and ultimately involves less hassle altogether.

Additional - Remembering that you cannot get a one year extension (based on any reason) whilst you are entered in to Thailand on a tourist visa, it HAS to be converted to a non immigrant entry, in this case an O and that would have to be done prior to any extension application.