Issue regarding my UK/Thai son's passport/visa status

[CuppaTea]

Hi, I'm a British national married with a Thai wife and recently went on a holiday with our son (5 years old) back to the UK. He has a Thai birth certificate and both a Thai and UK passport. This was his first time leaving Thailand; the plan being to present his Thai passport to Thai immigration upon leaving Thailand then his British one to UK immigration upon entering the UK, then vice versa for the return trip back to Thailand a few weeks later. The idea was that this would avoid him getting any stamps in either passport to avoid any visa issues with either country. 

 

However, I somehow managed to lose his Thai passport on the way to the airport so in order for him to leave the country on arrival  at the airport I had to present his UK passport instead. At the time this seemed to cause some problems with immigration as his UK passport had been obtained via the mail from the UK government so didn't have any history of entrance stamps into Thailand in it. After explaining the situation though, showing them his Thai birth certificate, and a phone call to my wife they let us through, putting a standard exit stamp along with another stamp with some writing on it in his passport.

 

On our return back to Thailand several weeks later I again had to present his British passport at immigration and they gave a standard 30 day visa exemption stamp in his passport. Now the problem is I assume he is obligated to have to leave Thailand by the time this 30 day visa exemption expires as far as being a British citizen is concerned. Given that he is a Thai citizen also though, with a Thai birth certificate and (hiding from me somewhere) a Thai passport, I thought this would be an issue that could be resolved without too many problems. However, my wife contacted our local immigration office (Phuket Town) today, asking them about what to do about the situation and she seems to think we have 'big trouble'. I'm unsure if something has been lost in translation as she did all the talking with them and there may have been some misunderstandings, but it seems they are asking us to go to the immigration office with (I think) both passports, his birth certificate, and a copy of our lease agreement for our house(?) to obtain some sort of yearly visa for him which he will be required to continue to renew every year at a cost of 1900 baht each time (apparently up until the age of 16, at which point something else is supposed to happen, though it was unclear as to what).

 

This sounds very odd to me given that he is a Thai citizen with a Thai birth certificate, so why does he need any sort of visa to stay here? I realise this applies to his British passport rather than his Thai one, but still, if I'd never taken him abroad, or just never got around to applying for a UK passport for him to begin with, surely he wouldn't be required to do any of this so I don't really get what's going on. It's also possible there's been some misinterpretation in the conversation my wife had with immigration that's led to them telling us we have to do this. I mean couldn't I just throw my son's UK passport away and apply for a new one saying I'd lost it then everything would be reset back to how it was before this happened? Or will there be records in some immigration database now about his previous exit/re-entrance into Thailand which could cause problems if he tried to leave/re-enter Thailand in the future? Seems unlikely since I would make sure to present his Thai passport rather than his UK one to Thai immigration in the future so I don't see how they'd know anyway, although maybe there are other situations where both passports would need to be supplied for something which I haven't considered. Either way, I'm still struggling to see how this is such a big problem given he is a Thai citizen, so why should he need to do anything with regard to obtaining/paying for a visa for him to stay in Thailand? If anybody could offer any advice or has any experience with similar situations it would be appreciated, thanks.

[Thanyaburi Mac]

Think of it this way.  When using his UK passport, he's treated as a UK citizen for purposes of Thai Immigration.  He's a farang, and has to meet the foreigner rules for Thailand.

 

If with a Thai passport, he'd of been Thai, but that's not the case here.

 

One solution, report the Thai passport lost and get a new Thai passport.  Then both of you take a cheapie round trip to KL, Penang, or  Singapore, returning the same day.  Do the passport switch then. Exit on UK, and re-enter Thailand on the Thai passport.

 

Mac

[Mattd]

Immigration are correct in that your son now needs an extension of stay based on being Thai, due to the entry on his UK passport.

You could apply for a new Thai passport (after reporting the old lost to the police) and then exit on his UK passport and return on the Thai one, job done.

[brewsterbudgen]

As he's under 15 he won't be fined or banned for overstaying but he will get an overstay stamp in his passport when he next leaves Thailand. I doubt this will be an issue as he has a Thai passport which presumably you will use when he next travels back to Thailand.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[offset]

I have often read about this with 2 passports but I am confused how they can give him a visa with a departure date, I have always thought that a country cannot tell one of its nationals that they have to leave the country so how can they give him a visa with a date that he have to leave the country. Is Thailand different from most country that they can make one of there nationals leave the country, does the fact he has 2 nationalities make a difference

 

 

 

[steve187]

49 minutes ago, offset said:

I have often read about this with 2 passports but I am confused how they can give him a visa with a departure date, I have always thought that a country cannot tell one of its nationals that they have to leave the country so how can they give him a visa with a date that he have to leave the country. Is Thailand different from most country that they can make one of there nationals leave the country, does the fact he has 2 nationalities make a difference

 

 

 

in this instance he is not a Thai national, but  a UK national

[offset]

5 minutes ago, steve187 said:

in this instance he is not a Thai national, but  a UK national

His son was born in Thailand to a Thai wife and had a Thai passport what makes you think he not Thai I would guess at this time he has a dual nationality 

[Briggsy]

1 minute ago, offset said:

His son was born in Thailand to a Thai wife and had a Thai passport what makes you think he not Thai I would guess at this time he has a dual nationality 

The Thai passport was lost. He entered Thailand on a UK passport and was given 30 days' permission to stay as a UK citizen. The Immigration Officer had no choice. He is now in Thailand as a UK citizen.

 

If I can extrapolate and articulate your frustration, I believe you are suggesting there should be a process for him (or his parents) to change the basis on which he has permission to remain in the country without leaving the country. If this is what you are thinking you are probably right. However dual citizenship is a thorny topic and there are many connected issues which are affected by the use of foreign travel documents by Thai nationals.

 

So, the issue at hand is what the OP must do to allow his son to stay.

[brewsterbudgen]

The Thai passport was lost. He entered Thailand on a UK passport and was given 30 days' permission to stay as a UK citizen. The Immigration Officer had no choice. He is now in Thailand as a UK citizen.
 
If I can extrapolate and articulate your frustration, I believe you are suggesting there should be a process for him (or his parents) to change the basis on which he has permission to remain in the country without leaving the country. If this is what you are thinking you are probably right. However dual citizenship is a thorny topic and there are many connected issues which are affected by the use of foreign travel documents by Thai nationals.
 
So, the issue at hand is what the OP must do to allow his son to stay.

He can get his son added as his dependent, assuming he has an Extension of stay himself. Or he can just let his son overstay, as there are no fines or bans for under-15s.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[Jaggg88]

If you don't want to actually leave the country you could report both passports lost. This is what a friend of mine did when he brought his daughter to Thailand without her Thai passport but he didn't flag it up to the local immigration office!

 

[steve187]

12 hours ago, offset said:

His son was born in Thailand to a Thai wife and had a Thai passport what makes you think he not Thai I would guess at this time he has a dual nationality 

wake up and read and take in the details of the thread, i said '' in this instance'' yes he is a duel national, but to immigration he entered as a foreign national, there is a way to stay, -  a one year extension, a flight in/out changing passports would also do the job, can not be done at land borders.

[Eff1n2ret]

The suggestion made by the Phuket office is the only one they can make - the "visa" they are offering is a one-year extension granted to "former Thai nationals". This is what was once granted to a Thai lady of my acquaintance, long-time resident in the UK and dual national, who obtained a Thai passport in London and rashly showed both her passports on arrival in Bangkok. The idiot IO insisted on giving a 30-day stamp in her UK passport. The local office gave her the one-year extension, which suited her at the time as she stayed a few months, left on the UK passport and returned the next time on her Thai passport without a problem.

In this lad's case I would do as other posters suggest - replace the Thai passport and do a short trip, exiting the country with the UK passport and return with the Thai one.

[Rawairat]

Might have changed in the last 14 years, but then you just got a new Thai passport and in the future travel on that . They may chase up the entry with a UK passport but I doubt it. You will only use it to enter other countries