My wife has dual U.S-Thai citizenship,  She was ticketed to fly to the U.S. yesterday and realized the day before before that her Thai passport had expired.  I told her that she should be able to leave to travel to the U.S. since she is a citizen and she could apply for a new passport once she got to the U.S..  Wrong.....  She checked-in with the airline with no problem, but Thai Immigration would not let her leave.

Can someone tell me how long it normally takes to get a Thai passport.  Do the have an Express Service (for a fee)?  Would the process be much faster if she flies to Bangkok to apply instead of going to the Passport Office in Phuket? 

Thanks!

Do not know about express service. Last time my wife renewed it took about a week. I have heard that applying in Bangkok will shorten that to between 4-6 days. However, seems quite useless as you have to travel for only a day or two.

Recently got my daughter her first one in Pattaya, took about a week maybe longer to be mailed.

In Bangkok at MFA Chaengwattana they offer a same-day service (I think 3,000 for a 5-year passport). Apply in morning and pick up in afternoon. Best to book slot online.