Travel To/from Thailand For Dual Citizens

[khunjamespittman]

I am a US citizen. My spouse is a dual (US and Thai ) citizen. What is the correct protocol for my spouse to use when traveling to/from Thailand.

I thought the proper way would be to use her Thai Passport to enter and exit immigration in Thailand and use her US Passport to enter and exit US Immigration but I have heard several people say that this is not possible.

What is the proper way?

Regards,

[Mahout Angrit]

Exactly as you say, and the method recommended by Thai Immigration.

Enter and leave Thailand on the Thai passport, enter and leave all others countries on the US passport.

She may be required to show both passports to the airline check in on departure as she will have no Visa to enter the destination and the airline will need assurance that she has permission to enter

She is legally entitled to both passports so no worries.

[HomeSeekAsia]

Just wanted to add that US dual citizens older than 7 years old (exact age to double-check) cannot enter the US on their other passport: that`s a no no!

However, it may be practical to know that your wife can exit the US on any valid passport: once had to fly and had not realized my US passport had expired, so I left on the French one... big scare ...

Also the rules vary depending on the country, so it's also worth knowing that some countries will let you in as long as you can prove citizenship e.g. a national ID or an expired passport (ex: France, but not the US): always reassuring to know you can go home ...

And unlike the US, France lets you get in if you're French on your ``non French passport", although they're then likely to ask why,: also worth knowing what the Thai policies are in the event your wife loses one passport ...

There are also minor differences in dual-citizen rights and duties depending on gender & military service (ex: if you have kids), as well as whether your wife was born a dual-citizen, or was naturalized e.g. by marrying you. In particular one clause mentions that US citizenship can be revoked if failing to be in the country once every n years. Moreover some countries do not allow dual-citizenship at all: if you acquire a new one you're supposed to give up your original one, although this is hardly ever enforced except for Olympic gold medallists. The US allows dual-citizenship. Thailand, I don't know !

In practice I encounter more problems when travelling to a 3rd country, esp when I must chose which passport to use for a visa application.

Also, since the US don't stamp your passport when you leave the country, they delegate it to airline employees who may be more or less knowledgeable ... then you may have to insist for a supervisor.

Example: your wife is going to country X which does not require a visa for Thai citizens, but does for US citizens, your wife is doing absolutely nothing wrong, yet airlines are so scared to be fined some 20.000$ for each `illegal' visitor that they'd cause LOTS of problems before letting her board the plane...

Most airline employees don't have a clue about existing free-travel agreements outside the US, not even within the European Union: My Swedish spouse and myself get harrassed 50% of the time if we visit Greece for a long vacation: we're asked to produce a work-permit or other immigrantion documents which is not applicable whithin Shengen ... So the best thing is to be prepared to show evidence.

Last thing: if you have children, you'll avoid them many problems by registering them at the nearest US ambassy if they're born in Thailand or in a 3rd country... I wasn't and it creates major problems every time I need to produce some US birth certificate e.g. pertaining to student loans, or to renew a stolen passport (fortunately, it doesn't happen very often... )

I am a US citizen. My spouse is a dual (US and Thai ) citizen. What is the correct protocol for my spouse to use when traveling to/from Thailand.

I thought the proper way would be to use her Thai Passport to enter and exit immigration in Thailand and use her US Passport to enter and exit US Immigration but I have heard several people say that this is not possible.

What is the proper way?

Regards,

[kiakaha]

Exactly as you say, and the method recommended by Thai Immigration.

Enter and leave Thailand on the Thai passport, enter and leave all others countries on the US passport.

She may be required to show both passports to the airline check in on departure as she will have no Visa to enter the destination and the airline will need assurance that she has permission to enter

She is legally entitled to both passports so no worries.

I concur.Wife has been doing it exactly that way her whole life.Never any problems.