siam99

23 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

If you are from the US you do not qualify for a visa on arrival. You will get a 45 day visa exempt entry.

For the visa exempt entry or the visa on arrival you will need a ticket out of the country within 30 or 45 days to show the airline.

You could get a temporary onward ticket that you can get online for around $14

Thanks a lot for the clarification.

I will be traveling into Bangkok from the US for a planned 2-month stay. I only bought a one-way ticket as I am using mileage points from two different airlines. So, I currently have my inbound journey ticket. I am planning to buy the return one-way soon. Since the VOA is valid for only 30 days, do I need to buy a one-way that shows outbound within the 30 days (which I would cancel after entry into an outbound closer to the 60-day mark)? Also, is it that no one is really checking anyway that one has the onward journey?

The title of the article is indeed completely misleading. This person is an Indian citizen - NOT THAI (and therefore, NOT "THAI-INDIAN")! If he really had a clue, he'd have carefully noted the repeated warnings from the government that all foreigners taking part in protests would face consequences. Hopefully he can return soon enough given that he's done much to help advance opportunities for both countries in the area of trade, etc. But otherwise I don't have much sympathy since he was so ignorant of the blatant warnings.

Have a look at the thai visa section to answer the question of giving up original citizenship. The posters who have managed to gain thai citizenship still retain their original passports & there is currently no requirement to give up original citizenship only to notify your embassy of your intent to apply for thai citizenship.

Hmm...okay I'll have to take your word for it but that's *very* encouraging to know this - thanks!

The policy is presently only to notify your original country of your intent to become a thai citizen so if your country allows duel citizenship then it is not an issue & you do not have to give up your original citizenship. The thaivisa section has covered this quite extensively. And yes, many thai people, my husband & son for example, maintain both thai & British citizenship.

Yes that makes sense if you are Thai by birth to be able to keep Thai and another country's citizenship - particularly Thai and 1st world countries like American and EU, etc. But what about those who are not Thai by birth but have chosen to become naturalized Thai citizens? For those, I thought the policy is that they must renounce their previous citizenship...?

would you give up your First world citizenship to get it? I don't think so.

would you swear allegiance to Thai king and country? I don't think so.

1) Alot of countries allow duel citizenship so no need to give up original nationality.

2) Why not?

If I have read the policies correctly though, to become a naturalized Thai citizen you would have you forswear your previous nationality. So there would not be any chance for dual citizenship unlike for those who can much more easily get the citizenship by virtue of having Thai parent(s) even if born outside of Thailand AND simply keep the other passport as well. PR does seem to be much more "logical" than trying to obtain citizenship. Correct me if I am wrong however on the inability of naturalized citizens to maintain another passport as well. Perhaps some are already doing this -- although it sounds illegal as per the policies. BTW has anyone speculated on changes to this whole process if there really is a big change in government and Thai society as a result of the big brouhaha going on currently there?

I also need to get my Thai passport. So far I've been getting told by the consulate here in the US that I first need my Thai ID card! I told them I have copy of my Thai BC but that was mostly ignored. It seems I may have to go to Thailand on my US passport and get paperwork done there to first obtain my Thai ID card and then get the Thai passport situation sorted out. But that's good to know that if I am asked about what passport I already have on me, that I should not mention about having US nationality already.

Although 4 years ago, my neighour got PR and he had not worked here or paid any tax. He was married to a Thai with 2 kids and 53 years old, had stayed here 7 years.

Listen to the Mods they know what the are talking about. There has not been a PR issued since September 19 2006. Look back at history and that date should tell you something.

I can't believe no actions have been taken with respect to PR since late 2006. Pretty discouraging for people I know who are looking to gain Thai PR! Hopefully after the 2011 elections things will stabilize again in the government?!

I don't know if this topic has been addressed already but regarding tambien baan, I was curious as to whether a non-Thai person can be placed on a house registration? I am Thai so am already on a house registration. I was curious though, if I buy my own house in Thailand, can I place a non-Thai person's name on the house registration or would they have to be related to me in some way before I could do so?

The fact that you have a copy means that your birth is registered with the Thai government, that is the most important thing. You should always be able to get a official copy of that. I doubt a photocopy will be enough in the cases where you need to show one. Getting the original is the best, you will need it sometimes.

Yes that does make sense that in some cases the original will be required. Guess I may have to take a trip to get that back in my own hands!

Just dredging up this topic concerning renewing my Thai passport. I have been able to locate a copy of my Thai BC after all; although it is a photocopy only that I have on me. Is that all right or would it be more advisable to somehow obtain the original which I believe is somewhere in one of my relative's houses in Thailand?

"...Thai military (compulsory for Thais)..."

As young men, Thai's are eligible for the draft lottery.

Their chances of drawing a 'red ball' depends on how many people the army needs that year, plus where they draw. It is by no means compulsory to actually serve in the military.

Can someone explain how the military draft works for Dual Citizens (Thai/American)? If they are out of the country, in college in the US, are they still required to participate in the draft lottery?

If they are actually called up to attend the draft lottery, you can fill in some forms via the Thai embassy in Washington which will defer attendance at the draft until the year following graduation.

Just wanted to clarify based on earlier posts on this thread - all this draft business will only apply to men 30 and under right?

Weell Hello all,

Just thought I would return to update this thread for those interested.

Yes my case is and was an extraordinary one.

Simply put I went through all kinds of steps to achieve this quest,... and I did.

I contacted several law firms in THailand to try to get them to represent me.

Between asking for ridiculous amounts of money, of suspicious requests of sending original documents and of wiring money directly via Western Union to their personal accounts (lol), to being told point blank I couldn't be helped, I finally got lucky.

I contacted a translator in Los Angeles to help me translate my documents to Thai so I could "possibly" send the copies to one of the afore-mentioned law firms.

He was busy and referred me to another translator. I met wigth him and he casually mentioned he was going to Thailand shortly.

I proposed that he represent me in obtaining an official copy of my birth certificate.

We agreed on a price (yes it was "kind of" expensive, but fair), and off he went.

Back and forth I had to go to the hopeless peeps in the thai consulate in LA to get the right 'power of attorney' document.

Which I had to Fed _Ex to him because there is a deadline once the process is begun.

I had to pay for his flight to Bangkok Bangrak district so they could open the archives, and lo and behold, there was my birth certificate.

He got the copy officially stamped and sent it to me.

I had it translated to english.

And... I was granted Thai citizenship at birth. It says I'm Thai on the birth certificate (as it does on my housing/registration document).

So I have now sent this copy to US immigration since this was their last request.

~WHEW!~

If anyone is ever in the same boat, get the power of attorney form, id documents, sing the form for the person who'll represent you, give them copies of everything and hope for the best.

Interesting thread! Congrats on getting your Thai BC in the end! I posted earlier this week and was told that I too will have to somehow obtain my Thai BC. I am one of those cases with both parents Thai but I was born outside of Thailand. If I ever did have a Thai BC I don't know where it went. Somehow I had a Thai PP back in the late 90s but my mother was taking care of all those legal stuffs then. (Maybe back then it was not entirely requisite?) Now I have to do this all on my own more or less and it sounds like I MAY have to resort to some legal help myself, including giving POA and so forth, to get all the papers in order. Anyway good to know more about ALL these details!

Thanks to everyone so far with your informative and encouraging replies!

I am heartened to know that I am considered a Thai citizen regardless of where I was born. BOTH my parents are Thai for that matter so it's not even a question of one parent being non-Thai, etc. I do not have a Thai birth certificate on me but at least I know that I am by birth a Thai citizen in the eyes of the law (notwithstanding the fact that my lineage ought to prove that 110% to begin with!).

I am glad to know that I do not have to worry about house registration matters either, right off the bat. That definitely eases the process for me, it sounds like. Regarding my mother's house however, I am aware that it is very difficult for a farang to own her house. However in my research I came across Thai inheritance laws stating that the person who was legally married to her would be considered a "descendant". So other than me, he would be it and be first in line to the house as well. Unfortunately I was not living there at the time she passed away, she did not leave me a copy of her will, and my relations with her farang husband were atrocious to say the least so that is why I have always been concerned that he may have SOMEHOW obtained control of her property, and perhaps sold it off or maybe even remarried another Thai woman and passed it on to her! Who knows?! I have not had much contact with mother's side of the family and don't know if they were able to get anything and keep it for me. Whenever I might be able to go back I might finally be able to figure out what happened to it, I suppose.

Anyway at least it's good to know that renewing my Thai passport should not be a problem at all. I would like to keep that and my US passport current and be able to have free travel between the two countries.

I actually realized I could clarify regarding the house registration. Although I believe that my mother's house may have been lost (ie., it may have been sold off without my knowledge) I have been made aware that my name most likely is on my grandmother's house. It is also possible that my name can be added on to a house on my father's side of the family. However it is very difficult to achieve cooperation within my family and so I also don't know how long registrations take or what procedures I need to go through myself to figure out where my name is. Unfortunately the two sides mostly stopped talking with each other when my parents divorced. Any suggestions or advice welcome...

OK I have been searching on the net for weeks now and always come across extremely conflicting information.

Here is my situation: I was born in the US to Thai parents who immigrated here in the 70s. I went back to study in Thailand after 1995 but returned by 2000. During the time I was in Thailand I had a valid Thai passport. During the early 2000s my Thai passport expired. This year my US passport will be expiring moreover.

My question has a couple of different parts to it. First of all, since I may be looking to return to Thailand, how easy would it be for me to renew my Thai passport? What sorts of documentation will I need? I do not have house registration document (my mother had her own house but she remarried and after I left, she passed away and with the house very likely having gone to the farang, I am not sure what the status of it is at all) and do not have a valid Thai ID card.

Second if I get to renew my Thai passport, does that automatically mean I have Thai citizenship. I intend to renew my US passport a bit later this year. I am thinking that by having both Thai and US passports I am, for all intents and purposes, holding dual citizenship.

ANY clarifications, questions, comments are welcome. I really want to sort through this and make this whole process as simple as possible for myself. However I am aware that dealing with Thai authorities may result in drawn out waiting periods. Thanks in advance to anyone who answers!