Obtaining Passport for son. Thai or Aussie?

[Kenny202]

Trying to put a few plans in place for my son. I am separated from his mother and I have basically cared for him alone since 3 months. He is now nearly 4 yo. He is an Australian citizen and I am his legitimate father (did the court process). His mother is still around and in contact but only sees him once every 6 months or so briefly and I am in contact with her when needed. She lives quite a distance away and I have no desire to reconcile with her. 

 

Trying to put some contingency plans in place and one of the may be that my son in Australia would come and get him and take him back to Oz in the event of my death.

I would like to organise a passport for him now and have all that ready. I believe he has the choice of an Australian or Thai passport. On the one hand a Thai passport cheaper but an Aussie passport may be easier to obtain without the mothers presence. Not trying to do anything unlawful here. I understand for him to leave the country I will need her permission etc and will cross that bridge when I come to it.

 

I am sure many would say get him an Aussie passport but the Thai passport is much cheaper and easier to obtain. We have no plans to travel in the foreseeable future and this will be just something he will have if something happens to me and he needs to leave the country. He can obtain an Aussie passport in the future should he want one. He's an Aussie citizen.

 

Are there any advantages or disadvantages for him having Thai / Aussie passport? 

 

For a Thai passport does the mother need to be present to sign the application or can I do this alone? If she does need to sign can she do it without being present ie I post her the papers?

 

Ditto for an Aussie passport. Does she need to sign or be present?

 

Should he / we go back to Australia to live I assume he can enter Oz on a Thai passport then stay in the country as an Australian citizen or having a Thai passport would he need a visa to enter Australia even though he is an Aussie citizen?

 

Has anyone done any of this lately?

 

Any help appreciated.

[Preacher]

He can have both passports as he has both nationalities. In case of travel that can be handy, especially when traveling between yout home country and Thailand as no visa would be needed. Proces would be leave (and re-enter) Thailand on the Thai passport and regarding Australia the Australianm one. At airline you simply show both to confirm no visa is needed.

 

Can't comment on Australian passport procedure. For a Thai passport the consent of the mother is nedeed, unless you have sole custody. Mother has to sign the aplication form, which can be witnessed at the local amphur and then send to you. You then would apply for the passport with the form.

 

 

[Matzzon]

I assume you have not done the court process for single custody, and that is why the mother also must sign for the Thai passport? If you have sole custody of your son, then the mother is not needed for either passport or any kind of travel.

Your best choice is to give him 2 passport, due to his dual nationality.

[Kenny202]

No I don't have official custody though I probably could get it. I fear the custody process far longer than the Passport process.

What benefits are there to having 2 passports at his age? At this point I am thinking the Australian passport would be better as he is already an Aussie citizen no visas etc are required to go to OZ. As an Australian he can come back to Thailand as a tourist at least without a visa. And being a Thai citizen after entering the country should be able to stay here as long as he likes? Or am I missing something? Should he wish to come back to Thailand when he is an adult he can sort a Thai passport out then should he want one.

Edited October 4, 2019 by Kenny202

[kwonitoy]

I've gotten both Canadian and Thai passports for my son.

For me it choice, the Thai passport is good for here, but he can go anywhere on his Canadian one

You do need permission from the mother to sign for thai and Canadian passports or have sole custody.

I'll try and keep his Thai passport valid untill he's 18 and then it will be his choice.

Personaly I think the Thai passport is useless

[Kenny202]

I checked on the Australian passports website and looks like his mother needs to sign. No problem just another unwanted contact with her. I believe if you take your child out of the country even on a foreign passport they will not let you leave unless you have verified permission from the mother. I remember a friend who was married with a Thai lady and still living normally together telling me they insisted on calling his wife (she was staying behind in Thailand) before they would let him leave. How they would verify it was really the child's mother they were talking to simply by a phone call I don't know or do they need some letter from the mother with the usual useless 3 nobodies, poo jai baan, broomstick / candlestick maker etc etc to guarantee? Anybody had this experience leaving the country on your own with your child?

[kwonitoy]

I got checked in Thailand with my son 3 years ago.

They asked where's Mom?

I showed my court ordered custody papers giving me sole parental power and they looked at them for about 5 sec and away we went.

I also got pulled up in Canada in Vancouver by a roving officer and showed the same paperwork that had been translated to English.

Its part of my travel package

Sole custody in Thai and English, Birth Certs in Thai and English, Passports from Thailand and Canada, Certificate of Canadian Citizenship all in one folder in my backpack

[Kenny202]

13 minutes ago, kwonitoy said:

I got checked in Thailand with my son 3 years ago.

They asked where's Mom?

I showed my court ordered custody papers giving me sole parental power and they looked at them for about 5 sec and away we went.

I also got pulled up in Canada in Vancouver by a roving officer and showed the same paperwork that had been translated to English.

Its part of my travel package

Sole custody in Thai and English, Birth Certs in Thai and English, Passports from Thailand and Canada, Certificate of Canadian Citizenship all in one folder in my backpack

I dont have sole custody

[Goinghomesoon]

Yes mum needs to consent for the Aussie passport. Fill in the form online at www.passports.gov.au and print it out. When you see her she can fill in her part (you cannot witness it, needs to be a third party that will be contactable to confirm).  Only one parent needs to attend the interview at the embassy and your child doesn't need to go.

 

Yes when you travel with your child in/out of Thailand you will be asked to show docs - sometimes they ask for everything, sometimes not.  Sometimes they call the other parent, sometimes now. You need to prove why you are travelling without the second parent. I'm about to travel into Thailand tomorrow with my son but without my partner who already went last week to deal with some property stuff.  It's always a crapshoot to see what they ask for!

[bbi1]

Don't be cheap, get both passports. Better benefits for him to have as many as possible.

[Salerno]

On 10/4/2019 at 1:47 PM, Kenny202 said:

As an Australian he can come back to Thailand as a tourist at least without a visa. And being a Thai citizen after entering the country should be able to stay here as long as he likes? Or am I missing something?

Get both. Easy entry to Australia with the Oz passport, enter Thailand on the Thai passport. Sounds ludicrous but I have read reports of Thais being deemed as "overstayers" as they entered on a foreign passport. I believe in all cases it was eventually sorted (one by leaving and then using Thai passport to re-enter) but no doubt a pain in the <deleted>.

[BEVUP]

On 10/4/2019 at 7:05 AM, Kenny202 said:

Should he / we go back to Australia to live I assume he can enter Oz on a Thai passport then stay in the country as an Australian citizen or having a Thai passport would he need a visa to enter Australia even though he is an Aussie citizen?

 

Has anyone done any of this lately?

 

Any help appreciated.

Hello Kenny

I am starting this process as well - BUT I want to do this in Auss as it will take months with my son & wife here

I don't think your son would need a visa if you get & enter Auss on the Aussie passport 

I'm currently having 2 problems so if anyone can help it would be appreciated

 

1. This may have been just answered, is that my son (11) can't renew his passport - They said I would have to go to Auss Thai embassy, ( I see someone said to just get the form & sign it - I would have to emai back )

 

2. This is the main problem - In getting Auss Citizenship (on Descent) They (Auss Imm ) require a full copy of Mothers passport 1 yr prior & after the birth of child.

Thai Passport authority (Korat ) said can't do ( I know I can do my one in Auss - for a fee )

Anyone have any ideas on this one as it might of been to hard for the Thai rep at the time (before I have to seek the help of lawyer )

 

 

[BritManToo]

On 10/4/2019 at 7:05 AM, Kenny202 said:

Are there any advantages or disadvantages for him having Thai / Aussie passport?

I'd get him both.

You don't need to keep them going, but once you've got him the first one in each country, he's completely established.

[BritManToo]

5 minutes ago, BEVUP said:

2. This is the main problem - In getting Auss Citizenship (on Descent) They (Auss Imm ) require a full copy of Mothers passport 1 yr prior & after the birth of child.

What if mom doesn't have a passport, lots of people don't.

My misses didn't even have a birth certificate, but the Brit consulate accepted her ID card in it's place.

Can't imagine Oz would be any harder, lots of the time they will accept alternate documents, but you have to ask.

Edited November 16, 2019 by BritManToo

[BEVUP]

37 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

What if mom doesn't have a passport, lots of people don't.

My misses didn't even have a birth certificate, but the Brit consulate accepted her ID card in it's place.

Can't imagine Oz would be any harder, lots of the time they will accept alternate documents, but you have to ask.

Thanks

Yes will have to check, but this is on top of all the other ID required

[Kenny202]

1 hour ago, BEVUP said:

Hello Kenny

I am starting this process as well - BUT I want to do this in Auss as it will take months with my son & wife here

I don't think your son would need a visa if you get & enter Auss on the Aussie passport 

I'm currently having 2 problems so if anyone can help it would be appreciated

 

1. This may have been just answered, is that my son (11) can't renew his passport - They said I would have to go to Auss Thai embassy, ( I see someone said to just get the form & sign it - I would have to emai back )

 

2. This is the main problem - In getting Auss Citizenship (on Descent) They (Auss Imm ) require a full copy of Mothers passport 1 yr prior & after the birth of child.

Thai Passport authority (Korat ) said can't do ( I know I can do my one in Auss - for a fee )

Anyone have any ideas on this one as it might of been to hard for the Thai rep at the time (before I have to seek the help of lawyer )

 

 

I don't know about copy mothers passport? I did my citizen by decent thing about 3 years ago and I don't remember supplying anything about mothers passport? In fact there was very little required from the mother. I did supply lots of photos and documents as proof of the length of our relationship. Had joint bank acc in Australia 2 years before, many photos in Australia and Thailand together. I needed to give all of her details name etc and from memory she signed in front of witness etc but the passport thing is a newy. I basically downloaded the form off the internet, filled it out and supplied everything required including translations of birth certificates, witnesses etc and had the citizenship doc back in the post just over a week. You sure you not misreading something or maybe things have changed?

[Old Croc]

I'm not commenting on custody nor travel permissions from parents.

 

He cannot travel to Australia on a Thai passport as the airline will not uplift without a visa. As an Australian citizen he cannot get a visa. They are obviously for non citizens only. 

This is presumptive on full disclosure regarding citizenship before travel.

If an Australian citizen manages to get to Australia on a foreign passport he cannot be refused entry as long as the citizenship can be proven. Without a national passport this could take time.