Names On Air Tickets

[PETERTHEEATER]

My wife has dual nationality [Thai passport and UK passport (right of abode)].

For the first time we plan to travel directly from Thailand to the UK. She is currently in Thailand on her Thai PP. Checking in at the airport, she would show the airline staff her UK PP to show that she has right of abode and should not be refused UK so no liability on the carrier. She would exit through immigration on her Thai PP and then enter UK on her UK PP. On return flight she would exit UK on UK PP and re-enter Thailand on her Thai PP.

With air travel security being tighter, the travellers name must match the name on the ID (PP).

I see a potential problem because my wife's given name (first name) is different on each PP because she changed her given name under Thai law about a year ago (Feng Shui thing).

So, my dilemma is what name to put on the air ticket. Logic says that the given name on her UK PP should be used and she presents her UK PP to the pre-check at entrance to immigration (the staff check the ID against boarding pass).

Logic also says that she should have her UK PP replaced with one in her new given name.

Anyone in the same position who can offer some tips on what to do?

[Mid]

don't know that logic has any place here ,

but

wouldn't you use the name she needs to exit the country on ??

ticket has no value once you arrive so who cares then ........................

[Rinrada]

Yes...Exactly the same ...... ...but NO PROBLEMS...

First thing that I would recco if you dont already have it is the BIG RED stamp in her Thai PP from the Home Office giving her R.O.A.

Since she already has her UK/EU PP its easy to get and good value ..think .. £20 quid....the more stamps the better.

Thai check in at Suwanna.will prob.not recognise it and ask for the UK one ...but MPrai...

.SO............How do I apply for a certificate of entitlement? ..............ROA

You can apply in a number of ways, for example by post, by courier, in person and online. The visa section will tell you about the ways in which you can apply.

Some visa sections will only accept applications made online. To find out if you can apply for your visa online plesse visit www.visa4uk.fco.gov.uk

If you cannot apply online you will need to fill in a visa application form (VAF 4 - Right of abode).

You can download the form from this website, or get one free of charge from your nearest British mission overseas where there is a visa section.

K.W has as said a Thai PP in her own name and travels with ticket name on it and only really shows her UK PP on arrival back in UK.

On last visit coming back into Heathrow however she went through the "Nasty Foreigner we dont want you here in our country cause you take all our jobs etc " arrival Q ...because there was NO.. Q and the EU /UK one was a mile long...

When we go on joilis to Europe/US/Auz etc.needless to say we just take/use the Brit "Chit"

[lopburi3]

I believe a Thai passport can have a name change in the amendment area and I would have her visit MFA and do so. Exiting Thailand immigration is likely to match her Thai passport to her airline ticket. This information is likely to be forwarded to UK if they are set up like US now and on arrival there the UK passport name had best match the flight manifest.

I don't see any way around having ticket in the UK passport name - other than as suggesting getting the special stamp put into her Thai passport and only using that. But then she would lose visa free entry at a lot of borders.

[briley]

Where's the problem?

Show everyone both passport.

Probably you need to show the check in person the one with the ticket names on.

Show immigration any passport they want.

[lopburi3]

Immigration officers seem to get rather upset when presented more than one passport and are only interested in the passport that was or is being used to enter the country. They will check that passport against the ticket/boarding pass name in my experience and will probably become rather upset if they are not the same. In the era of shoe-less travel you do not need more aggravations then there already are. Nor do the immigration officers.

[Mahout Angrit]

It would make sense to have the same identity on both passports. Passports have an endorsements page and such notes as change of name can be entered on there by the appropriate authorities. I thought only the initial of the christian name is put on the ticket but then I guess even that is not the same

[dee123]

yeah! ..i have just bought air tickets with my wifes married surname on ... but...she has just been issued a new passport at the thai embassy in london with her maiden name in it,you see she had ammended her old passport to have my surname on it,but her new E passport had to be in the original name of the holder,.....if that makes sense to you ?.....so i thought as long i went along with both new passport and old ammended passport this should surfice or am i deluding myself?

[Makyai]

Hi,

I don't reside in the UK, but am in a similar situation to the OP's wife. My surname is different in my Australian PP to my Thai PP and I have not had any problems at either ends of my trip. I haven't had any issues with Thai Immigration Officers to date. They just ask to see my Australian PP to verify that it is me and then stamp me out of the country, I hope nothing changes. If anything I would probably have more hassles with Australian Immigration.

[Mahout Angrit]

her new E passport had to be in the original name of the holder,.....if that makes sense to you ?....

Dont know why that was, I recently went to the Thai Embassy in London with two Thai ladies to renew their passports and they both got the new epassport in their changed (married) name. Has your wife changed her name on her Thai ID card to her married name? if not that may be why as the ID card must be shown when renewing a passport. If not it doesn' make sense to me either

[briley]

Whilst it is easier if one has just one name on everything the world is full of people with more than one set of names. I use a different set of names on a daily basis to the one on my passport and that differs from my birth certificate. I've never had any problems.

Immigration officers meet people with two names/two or more passports on a daily basis and know the score.

Now check-in staff at the airport are a different thing and I would make sure the ticket and one passport agree and only show the one passport. Except when you have to show you can enter a country and you then need to show your second passport - then you might have to see the supervisor.

Has anyone ever been refused travel because of having 2 passports in different names?

As an aside, in many African countries you can get an official certificate to say 'xyz' is the same person as 'abc' as 'def' and so on as everyone has numerous identities.

[PETERTHEEATER]

Yes...Exactly the same ...... ...but NO PROBLEMS...

First thing that I would recco if you dont already have it is the BIG RED stamp in her Thai PP from the Home Office giving her R.O.A.

Since she already has her UK/EU PP its easy to get and good value ..think .. £20 quid....the more stamps the better.

Thai check in at Suwanna.will prob.not recognise it and ask for the UK one ...but MPrai...

.SO............How do I apply for a certificate of entitlement? ..............ROA

You can apply in a number of ways, for example by post, by courier, in person and online. The visa section will tell you about the ways in which you can apply.

Some visa sections will only accept applications made online. To find out if you can apply for your visa online plesse visit www.visa4uk.fco.gov.uk

If you cannot apply online you will need to fill in a visa application form (VAF 4 - Right of abode).

You can download the form from this website, or get one free of charge from your nearest British mission overseas where there is a visa section.

K.W has as said a Thai PP in her own name and travels with ticket name on it and only really shows her UK PP on arrival back in UK.

On last visit coming back into Heathrow however she went through the "Nasty Foreigner we dont want you here in our country cause you take all our jobs etc " arrival Q ...because there was NO.. Q and the EU /UK one was a mile long...

When we go on joilis to Europe/US/Auz etc.needless to say we just take/use the Brit "Chit"

Thanks Rinrada, I will follow-up on your first suggestion. But, I don't understand your second comment. KW? Presumably the lady in question showed her Thai PP to UK Immigration and entered in that identity with 'right of abode'?

[PETERTHEEATER]

I believe a Thai passport can have a name change in the amendment area and I would have her visit MFA and do so. Exiting Thailand immigration is likely to match her Thai passport to her airline ticket. This information is likely to be forwarded to UK if they are set up like US now and on arrival there the UK passport name had best match the flight manifest.

I don't see any way around having ticket in the UK passport name - other than as suggesting getting the special stamp put into her Thai passport and only using that. But then she would lose visa free entry at a lot of borders.

Thanks Loburi, always the voice of calm reason in a sea of confusion.

My wifes preferred given (FIRST) name is n her Thai PP. It is also on her Thai ID. She has formal Thai documents approving the name change.

So, the best thing is for me to have her UK PP amended (or re-issued). I don't think that would be possible through the BKK Consulate without UK documentation (in English) showing the name change.

If a British subject wants to change their SURNAME, they must do so by a legal process known as 'deed poll'. However, I do not think that is required for a FIRST name change. I will need to reserch more unless a forum reader can advise me. Any action in this respect will require us to be in the UK so I think that the air ticket and boarding pass would need to be in her UK PP name and both PPs shown at check-in and Immigration on the way out.

[PETERTHEEATER]

her new E passport had to be in the original name of the holder,.....if that makes sense to you ?....

Dont know why that was, I recently went to the Thai Embassy in London with two Thai ladies to renew their passports and they both got the new epassport in their changed (married) name. Has your wife changed her name on her Thai ID card to her married name? if not that may be why as the ID card must be shown when renewing a passport. If not it doesn' make sense to me either

My wife has had my SURNAME on her Thai PP and UK PP for over 30 years. It is her FIRST (given) name that she has changed on her Thai PP and Thai ID card. My query concerns travel with two PPs showing the same SURNAME but different FIRST names.

[distortedlink]

Surely it is illegal for any individual to hold both a UK passport and a Thai passport over the age of 18 years old? As there is no agreements between the two countries that permits dual nationality between Britain & Thailand.

My advice is as a lawyer, be extremely cautious when travelling to and from the UK & Thailand on dodgy passports, as one/wife/gf may have serious problems with Immigration officals, either in Thailand or the UK.

Edited January 15, 2007 by distortedlink

[Axel]

Nationality laws are quite complex, in a gist, however, Thailand does allow dual nationality. Take a female who is granted foreign nationality after marriage. “Section 13 of the Citizenship Act 1965 stipulates that a female Thai national who marries a foreigner and is later granted citizenship by her foreign husband’s home country shall maintain her Thai nationality.

There is no Thai law that stipulates that she must lose her Thai citizenship. However, she may choose to revoke her Thai citizenship, a decision the Thai government will announce the Government Gazette.

For Thai children with dual nationality, the Citizenship Act (3rd issue) 1992 states that a Thai national with a foreign father may declare his or her intention to revoke Thai nationality within the year following the child’s 20th birthday.

The law does not mention that the child will automatically have his or her Thai citizenship revoked. If the child does not declare his or her intention to revoke Thai citizenship, that child will still hold Thai nationality.”

Just two examples and it does not need agreements between two countries.

[bmanly]

Surely it is illegal for any individual to hold both a UK passport and a Thai passport over the age of 18 years old? As there is no agreements between the two countries that permits dual nationality between Britain & Thailand.

My advice is as a lawyer, be extremely cautious when travelling to and from the UK & Thailand on dodgy passports, as one/wife/gf may have serious problems with Immigration officals, either in Thailand or the UK.

I don't know about UK but Australia and Thailand do permit dual Nationality. There is a thread in the visa section right now at this link, it also leads to another link where there is a comment by a Thai Immigration Officer talking about this subject, hope that helps.

[Rinrada]

Dual nationality and dual citizenship

In general there is no restriction, in United Kingdom law, on a British national being a citizen of another country as well.

So, if a British national acquires another nationality, they will not automatically lose British nationality.

Similarly, a person does not need to give up any other nationality when they become British.

[Rinrada]

On last visit coming back into Heathrow however she went through the "Nasty Foreigner we dont want you here in our country cause you take all our jobs etc " arrival Q ...because there was NO.. Q and the EU /UK one was a mile long...

When we go on joilis to Europe/US/Auz etc.needless to say we just take/use the Brit "Chit"

Thanks Rinrada, I will follow-up on your first suggestion. But, I don't understand your second comment. KW? Presumably the lady in question showed her Thai PP to UK Immigration and entered in that identity with 'right of abode'?

On last trip KW (wife) travelled out and back on her Thai PP/ticket and on arrival back at Heathrow she would normally go through UK/EU immigration and show/walk past with her UK Passport....easier....

This time however she told me that she reconned the UK/EU line/Q was a mile long and instead of waiting she on that occasion just walked over and entered via the empty "Other PPs line"by showing her Thai. PP with her ROA and no prob.......probably saved about 10 minutes...

[topfield]

Yes...Exactly the same ...... ...but NO PROBLEMS...

First thing that I would recco if you dont already have it is the BIG RED stamp in her Thai PP from the Home Office giving her R.O.A.

Since she already has her UK/EU PP its easy to get and good value ..think .. £20 quid....the more stamps the better.

Thai check in at Suwanna.will prob.not recognise it and ask for the UK one ...but MPrai...

.SO............How do I apply for a certificate of entitlement? ..............ROA

You can apply in a number of ways, for example by post, by courier, in person and online. The visa section will tell you about the ways in which you can apply.

Some visa sections will only accept applications made online. To find out if you can apply for your visa online plesse visit www.visa4uk.fco.gov.uk

If you cannot apply online you will need to fill in a visa application form (VAF 4 - Right of abode).

You can download the form from this website, or get one free of charge from your nearest British mission overseas where there is a visa section.

K.W has as said a Thai PP in her own name and travels with ticket name on it and only really shows her UK PP on arrival back in UK.

On last visit coming back into Heathrow however she went through the "Nasty Foreigner we dont want you here in our country cause you take all our jobs etc " arrival Q ...because there was NO.. Q and the EU /UK one was a mile long...

When we go on joilis to Europe/US/Auz etc.needless to say we just take/use the Brit "Chit"

As an aside......great guns...you called the new airport by its real name suwanna (poom) . Its about time that ridiculous book of spelling rules from the late 1800' s was discarded and true phonetics used in transliterations...as you do !!

[jbowman1993]

Interesting..

[PETERTHEEATER]

Surely it is illegal for any individual to hold both a UK passport and a Thai passport over the age of 18 years old? As there is no agreements between the two countries that permits dual nationality between Britain & Thailand.

My advice is as a lawyer, be extremely cautious when travelling to and from the UK & Thailand on dodgy passports, as one/wife/gf may have serious problems with Immigration officals, either in Thailand or the UK.

I agree about being cautious if travelling on 'dodgey' passports. But, since my wife's PPs are genuine I have no qualms.

[roamer]

Surely it is illegal for any individual to hold both a UK passport and a Thai passport over the age of 18 years old? As there is no agreements between the two countries that permits dual nationality between Britain & Thailand.

My advice is as a lawyer, be extremely cautious when travelling to and from the UK & Thailand on dodgy passports, as one/wife/gf may have serious problems with Immigration officals, either in Thailand or the UK.

I agree about being cautious if travelling on 'dodgey' passports. But, since my wife's PPs are genuine I have no qualms.

Glad your not my lawyer, and I suspect that your not anyone else's lawyer either unless its in your dreams.

"As there is no agreements between the two countries that permits dual nationality between Britain & Thailand."

A reciprocal agreement is neither required or applicable to dual nationality.

Fantasy merchant.

[Johpa]

For what it is worth, for 20 years we have been purchasing airline tickets between the US and Thailand for my wife in her married name, although she has been traveling on her Thai passport (she is not a US citizen) that is in her maiden name. We have never encountered any difficulties. She has numerous US government issued documents in our family name for identification purposes and has a valid Thai passport in her maiden name. I don't think it is a rare situation and I think the airlines are quite use to it.