Thai Wifes Thai Passport Almosted Expired

[tuffy]

We are planning a trip to the States shortly and I noticed my wifes passport will expire in 6 months and a week from the day we are planning on leaving. So we will enter the US with 6 months and a week on her passport before it expires but when we come back there will only be about 3 months validity left.

Will we have trouble with US or Thai immigration on either end?

Also I ran into one site (FMA) that said there must be less than 6 months validity on the Thai passport before they will renew it.

How long does it take to typically renew a Thai passport?

Anybody have any ideas on this one?

[Old Croc]

If the rules for entry to the USA is at least six months validity on a passport then there shouldn't be a problem as it's over this.

She would not be refused entry to her own country even if the passport was expired. (getting on the plane would be difficult however)

[samran]

Advice is typically that you shouldn't travel on a PP with less than 6 months validity.

Getting a Thai passport is a painless process. If you are in BKK, you can easily get one issued in 3 days at the Laksi Passport office on Chang Wattana Road. Application process is simple, as data is simply pulled off the central house registry and ID database.

Your wife will need her ID, house registration and proabably marriage certificate if she has changed her name. Plus old passport for them to cancel. Photo's are taken on site with special camera's, as all passports now are E-passports, containing bio-data. Cost is just over 1000 baht.

[Gary A]

My wife just got one from Khon Kaen. She applied there and then they mailed it to her. It took about a week that way.

[peterjackson]

Hey

The US Customs & Border Protection ( www.cbp.gov ) state that you must have a Passport that is valid for 6 months beyond your visit to the USA.

This used to be enforced as 6 months after the Valid Leaving Date stamped in the Passport or on the I-94. But in those days, you where allowed entry for 6 months.

It is more common now to give a 90 day stamp/I-94 on entry, so I don't know when the six month passport validity is applied from.

Kind regards

Peter

[Padkapow Guy]

Last march my Thai wife (who lives in the states) was told by Thai immigration that they were not going to allow her to leave Thailand because her Thai passport was going to expire in July. They told us that you have to have atleast 6 months left on your passport to leave Thailand. After talking to seveal immigration officials and getting no where i ask to speak to the big boss there at the Thai immigration. We went to see him and explained the situation to him. He said no problem and had my wifes passport stamped. He just suggested for my wife to get a new Thai passport before our next vacation to Thailand.

If your wife does not have 6 months left on your Thai passport , I suggest getting a new one just to avoid the hassle.

PKG

[tuffy]

thanks for the info guys, I am just worried that we are in the zone where were "should" have enough time to get everything squared away before we leave but that is before we add in the thai time factor. weare going to be leaving in about 10 days and not living in bkk means 1 or 2 trips to get the passport sorted. I like the mail idea but I am sure I would wear a hole in the floor waiting for her passport to arrive. I am not sure who to expect more trouble from the Thai immigration or US.

[old wanderer]

I recently had a similar problem with my TW. I took a look at her passport and found it was expiring on May 11 this year. We are leaving for a short visit to Thailand in April, and will be back before the passport expired.....

Well I had to go to the Thai Consulate in Los Angeles for a O visa, and she was with me and inquired about getting a new one when we returned....They got a bit upset about it, and told us to get a new one NOW>....It was supposed to take 4 weeks, and that would have put us just a few day prior to departure. As it turns out, they called for her to pick up her new passport in 2.5 weeks.

However, she being Thai........has screwed around for 10 years about changing her ID card. We had an addendum to her old passport, showing her new married name. The new passport will show only her single name, as the passport must match the ID card...now the tickets, and her green card do not match the name in the passport.

Since it will be inspected in the USA, Thailand, and Canada before we are back in the USA, I told her this is of your own making, so if I have to leave you somewhere, you straiten it out.

I think I have her attention now, so when (if) we both get to Thailand, she is going home and get her ID changed, then go to get her passport sorted out, BUT she only has a few days to do this in as it is Song Khran, and we are leaving the following weekend.

I will talk with the Consulate (I'm being way too easy I know) and see if they can do the addendum in the e-passport.

[Padkapow Guy]

old wanderer

However, she being Thai........has screwed around for 10 years about changing her ID card. We had an addendum to her old passport, showing her new married name. The new passport will show only her single name, as the passport must match the ID card...now the tickets, and her green card do not match the name in the passport.

I went thru this with my TW. To make a long story short it took us over 3 years(trips) to get everything striaghtened out. I highly recommend that you take a copy of your marriage certificate with you and if it is in english you should get it translated into thai. If she was married before I would also take a copy of the divorce papers.

* I would take copies of anything you can think of dealing with her I.D / Passport / marriages / divorces*

Just to cover your bases. Every single time we went to get this done, somebody changed the rules on us and wanted some other type of document that we did not have with us at the time.

I think that if Thai immagration people were tired or just did not feel like helping or maybe it was to much work because the names did not match that they would pass us off saying we did not have a certain peice of paper.

What was really frustrating is everytime the turned my wife down because we did not have the correct paper work

I asked them to write down exactly what we need to have for our next trip to get her passport. Never failed evry time we went back they wanted something different.

I highly recommend that you let your wife do this on her own. With you the (farang ) there only makes the situation worse for your wife.

My wife went on her own the last time and offered "tea money" for somebody to help her get his down. Finallyan Thai gentleman help her out and beleive it or not did not take the tea money.

beleive it or not this is the short version.

PKG

[old wanderer]

PKG:

We are spending the $15 at the Consulate Tuesday when she picks up her passport for them to certify the marriage certificate. This is another form they have available. They tell us it is what will be necessary at the Ampur to get the ID card changed. Once that is changed we can work on the passport. I think also they have a computer link to the Thai ID sight, and maybe make a notation in there. (She was not married before by the way).

Seems like the long route is to go to the Ampur and do the marriage thing there get the Thai documents (And we did have a hel_l of a Thai wedding 3 years ago). But we will try with the old USA marriage certificate.

The reason I am a little grumpy about it is when I have told her to do it, she has listened to her Thai friends that say not to worry, and yet not one of them has ever traveled further than Issan to BKK> , while I do at least 6 international trips each year. All I have heard were excuses about too long of a line, or computer was down, or it will take too long.

I plan of having her take her expired passport that showed her married name, and the Nevada marriage license with the certified Thai translation. (I had to use one copy to get my O visa.).

She now see how serious it is.