Travelling to Thailand with Kids Expired Thai Passports - Is It Possible?

[mattk1]

Hello,

 

My wife and I are in a bit of a situation here and I wondered if I could get some quite specific advice, as nothing is straight forward these days because of Covid ????

 

My wife is Thai and we live in England with our two kids who have dual nationality.

 

My wife's grandfather is not in good health so we plan to get to Thailand at the end of July and stay for around two months, but the issue is that both of our children's Thai passports have expired.

 

My wife seems to think that they can enter Thailand with expired passports. I'm really doubting that's true and I've emailed the embassy to check, bit in the meantime I thought someone here might know or have experience of this.

 

To make matter more stressful, the Thai embassy in London are not accepting new bookings for passports renewals at the moment due to the backlog of cancellations from 2020.

 

Thanks if anyone can shed some light, much appreciated

 

 

[ubonjoe]

Thais can enter with a expired passport.

The only problem at this time is the requirements to get a certificate of entry.

Thai's can get a emergency travel document or temporary 1 year passport.

Info is here in Thai. https://london.thaiembassy.org/th/page/cate-7483-หนังสือเดินทาง?menu=5d6636ce15e39c3bd0007309

[mattk1]

Ubonjoe thank you very much.

 

We plan on staying for around two months, do you think it would be easier to just use their British passports in this case? 

[Heng]

Yeah, technically yes, but like all things, there's that 'up to the discretion  of the immigration officer' possibility when you come in.   They likely won't send your kids back, but it's 50-50 as to whether they will waste your time.   Even in the US (pre-Covid), it's not a blanket yes, they still reserve the right to deny entry.

 

If they happen to have valid Thai ID cards they can present, it might smooth things a bit.  

 

Or just have them enter as foreigners.   The only inconvenience is the 90 day report if they aren't going to be here for an extended period.

 

Don't forget to have their Thai passports renewed once you're here, super easy.

[kokesaat]

My wife and I were stuck in the US during covid.....13 months.  My wife was traveling on her US passport.  She was not allowed to return on her US passport, she needed a Thai passport.  Her's had expired.  The DC embassy issued her a certificate of identity which was good for 30 days.  Unfortunately, our return was thwarted because of the snowstorm in Texas.  The Thai embassy decided to issue her a 1 year temporary passport.  They were very helpful.

 

[NanLaew]

2 hours ago, mattk1 said:

Ubonjoe thank you very much.

 

We plan on staying for around two months, do you think it would be easier to just use their British passports in this case? 

 

They would still have the hassle of getting CoE which is more 'convoluted' than they are for a Thai national. If the RTE will issue a CoE on their expired passports, that would be best.

 

As for Thai passport renewal, a friend of mine's wife renewed her's and her daughter's passports at the office in Central Mall in Udon Thani last week, about 45 minutes of time. Their new passports arrived via EMS about 3 days later.

[mattk1]

Thank you very much to everyone who has replied here, really appreciate it.

 

Is it also still the case that for Thai nationals to get state quarantine they must fly from London with Thai airways

[couchpotato]

2 minutes ago, mattk1 said:

Thank you very much to everyone who has replied here, really appreciate it.

 

Is it also still the case that for Thai nationals to get state quarantine they must fly from London with Thai airways

Be aware that from July 1st EVERYONE (incl Thai's) will need to pay their own full Quarantine costs.

No government freebies after July 1st.

[ifmu]

my thai wife can come INTO thailand with only a thai id .. BUT does need current ppt to go INTO other countries ..    so i would assume you would have to use THAI ppt for the kiddies all along your travels AND i assume your kids have thai id ???   .. that would keep everything coordinated with thai

and listen to everyone else for all the other bs to do ..  no not really it is for our good to keep everyone safe .. 

[mattk1]

Thank you couchpotato and ifmu, for your messages, much appreciated 

[Lancashirelad]

I'd suggest also checking with the airline if they will allow the kids to board on their expired passports.

[mattk1]

Thanks Lancashirelad,

 

Good call, I'll add it to the long checklist I've had to create. I certainly don't recommend travelling to Thailand at the moment unless urgent ???? 

 

Cheers, Matt

[Joinaman]

On 6/14/2021 at 12:37 PM, couchpotato said:

Be aware that from July 1st EVERYONE (incl Thai's) will need to pay their own full Quarantine costs.

No government freebies after July 1st.

I read that it would be free if you flew into Thailand using Thai Airways ? 

 

[mattk1]

Hello Joinaman, I believe that is ending from the 1st of July even if flying with Thai Airways unfortunately

[mattk1]

On 6/13/2021 at 1:10 PM, NanLaew said:

 

They would still have the hassle of getting CoE which is more 'convoluted' than they are for a Thai national. If the RTE will issue a CoE on their expired passports, that would be best.

 

 

Hi NanLaew,

 

I emailed the embassy last night to see if they would possibly issue a CoE for my kids based on their expired Thai passports. Let's wait and see what they say, although I highly doubt they will it's still worth a try asking.

 

Is it much easier for Thai nationals to get the CoE in terms of they don't need the PCR test 72 hours before flying?