Expired Thai Passport

[turkalini]

Hello

My wife is scheduled on a flight to Thailand from hawaii in less than 2 weeks. We just realized that her passport has expired in Jan 2007. Can we travel with her passport the way it is and renew in thailand or do we have to renew in usa before travel. Does anyone know if it is possible in less than 2 weeks?

Please help.

I will call our local consulate in the morning, and ask them for help.

Aloha, Turk

[The Dan Sai Kid]

Does she have a US passport? I think the implications of being in a foreign country without a passport are serious.

If she has a US passport you can travel on that

[the scouser]

Just because her passport expires, she doesn't cease to be Thai, but in order to avoid any disruption to your plans, I'd check with the consulate.

Scouse.

[turkalini]

No US passport, as my wife has not become a us resident yet.

She does have a valid green card, which is good for 10 years.

[Mahout Angrit]

As far as I'm aware, all Thai passports are actually issued in Bangkok and the waiting time is quoted as 6 weeks if you apply through an embassy overseas.

[sbk]

But can she enter Thailand with an expired Thai passport? Will the US allow her to leave with an expired passport?

[samran]

she should apply for a temporary travel document, so long as the Thai embassy/consulate can issue one in time.

I've re-entered Thailand on an expired passport before, but only because I was stamped out on it. Immigration told me to keep my new overseas issued Thai passport (which I tried to present) for when I left the country.

[turkalini]

Passport Update

I called the consulate in LA and we have to fill out the forms, send in 2 photos with old passport and they will rush to ge the new passport back to us in Hawaii. I will include a prepaid overnight post return. I hope all goes well and we receive in time. I have only 12 days to get this done.

The consulate in LA was very helpful and was able to answer all our questiones.

Thank all of you for your help.

Aloha, Turk

[thaihome]

But can she enter Thailand with an expired Thai passport? Will the US allow her to leave with an expired passport?

There is no exit immigration leaving the US.

TH

[Naam]

But can she enter Thailand with an expired Thai passport? Will the US allow her to leave with an expired passport?

There is no exit immigration leaving the US.

true! the only country i know which does not check.

[samran]

But can she enter Thailand with an expired Thai passport? Will the US allow her to leave with an expired passport?

There is no exit immigration leaving the US.

true! the only country i know which does not check.

they do, although in true capitalist style, it has been outsourced to the airline. For foreigners the airlines take out the departure card (which issued on arrival) just as you board your plane. It has your entry date on it. The airline passes it on to immigration. If INS doesn't get it back, you get stuck down as an overstayer.

My wife, somehow, forgot to return hers on departure once. To 'clear' her name in advance prior to a subsequent trip to the US we basically had to prove she lived outside the US during the time that the US immigration database though she was living there. It meant 3 years worth of notarised documents, bank details addresses, passport copies sent to an address in Virginia.

As for exiting the US on expired passport (by air). The airline probably wouldn't let you board anyway with an expired travel document.

[sbk]

But can she enter Thailand with an expired Thai passport? Will the US allow her to leave with an expired passport?

There is no exit immigration leaving the US.

true! the only country i know which does not check.

Thats odd, both in the SFO and SEA intl terminals I saw some kind of computerized booth for aliens to use to "exit immigration". I didn't go have a close look but there were lines of people using it.

[thaihome]

In my experience, the only immigration exit is indeed the airline collecting the departure card for non-residents on check-in. Have never seen the "computerized booth for aliens to use to "exit immigration" in SFO you refer to. Maybe that is in case you did not give your departure card to airline.

There is certainly no exit stamp in passport.

TH

[old wanderer]

The airlines are required to check for travel documents....If you have an expired passport, you cannot travel...

I just went through this with my Thai wife, and even though we could have done the travel and arrived back in the USA with 7 days remaining on her passport, it was not acceptable.

The Thai consulate in Los Angeles said 4 weeks to process. We went in on 6 March and they called her to pick up her new passport on 22 March.

she had already done a 5 year extension in the passport. That only takes 1 day.

If your wife has not extended her passport then it should be quick. They are now only processing e passports.

Also we had an amended passport 8 years ago, so the last name would show her married name and match the green card and airline ticket....guess what....we are back to her single name as the passport has to agree with her Thai ID card....So next month we will try and get that changed.