Wife's Thai passport expires during our trip to Thailand

[Elkski]

Wife's passport expires Jan 10 23.  We are taking a trip from USA to Thailand.  She has a reservation at the renewal office in BKK Dec 9th.  She says it will take only 5 days to get her passport mailed to her mom's isaan home? 

Will airlines let her travel with a passport that expires before our return flight to USA.  Any other problems with this? TIA

[Duke007]

I would be surprised if the airline allows her to fly with a passport that expires within 6 months of departure.

[richard_smith237]

As your Wife is Thai, flying to Thailand the date of her return travel and passport validity is irrelvant. 

She cannot be denied boarding a flight for this reason. 

 

Additionally, if I’m not mistaken, if she wanted to, I believe she could fast-track a passport application - i.e. Submit it and collect it the next day (or possibly the same afternoon). 

 

Anyway, the expiry your Wife’s Thai Passport is not going to be an issue as far as travel to Thailand.

 

Does the USA require transference of her US Visa into her new Passport or is carrying the Visa in her expired passport acceptable ?  (I assume you looked into this already). 

[richard_smith237]

1 minute ago, Duke007 said:

I would be surprised if the airline allows her to fly with a passport that expires within 6 months of departure.

The Wife is Thai, flying to Thailand - theoretically the Wife would not be prevented entry on an expired passport - the only thing the airline are interested in is their responsibility should the passenger be refused entry. 

 

Thus: No, the potential for 6 month issue is a non-issue (additionally, the 6 month issue you mentioned is not an issue for all countries - my (Thai) Wife flew to Japan for 2 weeks with 3 months left on her passport, yet if she wanted to go to Singapore, she’d be rejected under the 6 month rule).

 

 

 

 

 

[Elkski]

Yes her k1 visa is in current passport.  No o didn't think of all these things.   Will they take her old passport when she renews it?  She says on Facebook they say she can use her employment authorization card to enter USA.  It says on the front it serves as I -512 Advance parole.  It says it is a form I-766. Looks like a official driver's license with Halo graphics security features up the wazzo

[it is what it is]

 

six months validity is usually required for international travel. it's worth paying attention to when your passport expires, and apply for a replacement in good time.

[Elkski]

1 minute ago, it is what it is said:

 

six months validity is usually required for international travel. it's worth paying attention to when your passport expires, and apply for a replacement in good time.

Sounds like the consensus is she will allowed to fly to her home country.  I don't doubt she can get a new passport during our trip.  The question is .  Do they  really send out a new passport in 5 working days?  Monday the 12th is a holiday.   But won't need it until late December or be Jan for our Cambodian trip.  Or return to USA late Jan.   Her advance parole card should get her back in with a new passport.   

[richard_smith237]

44 minutes ago, Elkski said:

Yes her k1 visa is in current passport.  No o didn't think of all these things.   Will they take her old passport when she renews it?  She says on Facebook they say she can use her employment authorization card to enter USA.  It says on the front it serves as I -512 Advance parole.  It says it is a form I-766. Looks like a official driver's license with Halo graphics security features up the wazzo

My Wife (Thai) had her old passport returned to her. 

She travelled with both Passports to the UK and showed both Passports upon entry, the new Passport which was stamped, the old Passport which shows the Visa (that was about 7 or 8 years ago, she has since got a new visa in her latest passport so I don’t know if that rule has altered for British Visas).

 

You’ll need to check IF the US accept the Visa in her old Passport - maybe other forum members with Thai Wive’s and US visa’s can offer information on this. 

 

I don't know about the employment authorisation card (if thats ok or not - I guess the airline are looking for the US Visa to permit boarding when travelling back to the states).

[richard_smith237]

36 minutes ago, it is what it is said:

six months validity is usually required for international travel. it's worth paying attention to when your passport expires, and apply for a replacement in good time.

Not an issue for a national travelling to their home country (in the vast majority of cases). 

 

[Skeptic7]

Shouldn't be a problem as she is Thai. Could renew it at Thai Embassy in DC beforehand. 

[Andycoops]

If you send the passport by courier, Kerry express for example, it should arrive in 24-36 hours.

[steve187]

7 hours ago, Elkski said:

Sounds like the consensus is she will allowed to fly to her home country.  I don't doubt she can get a new passport during our trip.  The question is .  Do they  really send out a new passport in 5 working days?  Monday the 12th is a holiday.   But won't need it until late December or be Jan for our Cambodian trip.  Or return to USA late Jan.   Her advance parole card should get her back in with a new passport.   

i believe in bkk there is an expedited service, i think its a  2 day later return and collect service, not sure which offices offer this, costs for passport are 1,000thb 5 year, 1,500thb 10 year

[GinBoy2]

7 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

My Wife (Thai) had her old passport returned to her. 

She travelled with both Passports to the UK and showed both Passports upon entry, the new Passport which was stamped, the old Passport which shows the Visa (that was about 7 or 8 years ago, she has since got a new visa in her latest passport so I don’t know if that rule has altered for British Visas).

 

You’ll need to check IF the US accept the Visa in her old Passport - maybe other forum members with Thai Wive’s and US visa’s can offer information on this. 

 

I don't know about the employment authorisation card (if thats ok or not - I guess the airline are looking for the US Visa to permit boarding when travelling back to the states).

It's slightly different for us.

 

1. She can even travel to Thailand on an expired passport

2. Thai passports can be renewed and received within a couple of days, my wife has done in many times

3. The OP's wife entered the US on a K1 visa which is a single entry visa, so the existing passport is irrelevant

4. They will have applied for an adjustment of status to get her the permanent green card

5. Travel before receiving the green card always fills me with terror

6. They have applied for advance parole, which allows a person with an ongoing adjustment of status to travel prior to receiving the green card

7, She will travel with her new passport and that piece of paper saying she still has right of entry to the US. Thats the bit that would always terrify me, some check in person trying to decipher a piece of USCIS paperwork.

[sometimewoodworker]

10 hours ago, Elkski said:

Wife's passport expires Jan 10 23.  We are taking a trip from USA to Thailand.  She has a reservation at the renewal office in BKK Dec 9th.  She says it will take only 5 days to get her passport mailed to her mom's isaan home? 

Will airlines let her travel with a passport that expires before our return flight to USA.  Any other problems with this? TIA

No problem. (As long as USA immigration allows her to exit she can fly with an expired Thai passport as long as it is a direct flight to Thailand.)  So using a soon to expire passport poses no problem. The airline is concerned that she will be admitted to Thailand only, they don’t care about the return flight until she checks in for the flight.

 

The information about the requirements for validity are completely irrelevant for a Thai with a Thai passport travelling to Thailand 

[ubonjoe]

10 hours ago, Elkski said:

She says it will take only 5 days to get her passport mailed to her mom's isaan home? 

Why is she applying in Bangkok. The regional passport offices do not require a appointment.

She could do the application now it she did it now at one of them.

List is here in Thai. https://consular.mfa.go.th/th/publicservice/19745-สถานที่ให้บริการหนังสือเดินทาง

 

[khunjeff]

- As noted by others, there is no passport validity requirement for a Thai returning to Thailand.

 

- Passport issuance in Thailand has been very quick for years now. Five days should be no issue at all - people I know mostly seem to receive the new passport within three days or so. 

 

- The old passport will be returned to her, but that's irrelevant, since her K-1 was a single entry visa and is no longer valid for entry to the US.

 

- She can enter the US with an unexpired advance parole, which she has. That stands on its own, and isn't tied to her old passport number.

 

Tl;dr: Stop worrying and enjoy your holiday. 

[DrJack54]

10 hours ago, Elkski said:

Will airlines let her travel with a passport that expires before our return flight to USA.  Any other problems with this

How long do you plan to stay in Thailand.

Does your Thai wife also have a USA passport?

[sandyf]

10 hours ago, Elkski said:

Will they take her old passport when she renews it?

No, new passports are usually sent out by post.

Also it is often a requirement by other countries to show all expired passports.

My wife takes a bundle of passports when going for a UK visa.

[Elkski]

Yes it is true the k1 visa is not valid now. So old passport won't be needed.  She does have a advance parole card which is also a temporary work permit.  She has not got a green card yet. About 16 months in the works now.  Oh advance parole is a stupid name for the thing that allows her to travel and return.  For about 12 months before she got it if she had to leave say on a family emergency she would could the k1 and I think we would have had to apply for a CR1 to get her back to USA maybe 20 months later.   Ubonjoe, are you staying we can apply online for her passport.   She got an appointment for the day after we arrive.  Really no benefit using a rural office on our travels.   Can you get the new passport sent to a friend's address?  

[bunnydrops]

My wife did not know hers had expired. They refused her boarding on the way back to the US. We changed our flight and she went to the mfa that ubonjoe mentioned and for a fee got a renewed in 4 hours

[theoldgit]

10 hours ago, Elkski said:

The question is .  Do they  really send out a new passport in 5 working days? 

My wife renewed hers recently in the Passport Office in MBK in Bangkok, she pitched up without an appointment on a Thursday afternoon, as we were in Bangkok for the weekend.

We arrived back to our home in Hua Hin on Sunday afternoon and her passport had already been delivered via EMS.

[KhunBENQ]

2 hours ago, bunnydrops said:

They refused her boarding on the way back to the US.

That on the other hand is obviously clear.

[KhunBENQ]

14 hours ago, Elkski said:

Will airlines let her travel with a passport that expires before our return flight to USA.  Any other problems with this? TIA

I have entered an example to the TIMATIC system which airlines use to check the "clear to board".

https://skyteam.traveldoc.aero/

She is clear to board to Thailand even when passport expires between departure and return flight.

 

What I can't tell: would the airline check/comment the status for the return flight at boarding in the US?

Probably not, as letting her fly TO Thailand is OK and does not affect the airline.

[Sydebolle]

Let her call her embassy in Washington; they must be issuing thousands of passports every year (or transmit the data to Bangkok and get the passport couriered back to the embassy from where the UPS, Fedex, DHL or any other company will take over. 

The pilgrimage to Muang Thong Thani on 9 December might be cheaper but possibly she's glad to use that time for anything else but pleasing the Thai bureaucracy ???? 

[richard_smith237]

11 minutes ago, Sydebolle said:

Let her call her embassy in Washington; they must be issuing thousands of passports every year (or transmit the data to Bangkok and get the passport couriered back to the embassy from where the UPS, Fedex, DHL or any other company will take over. 

Why even bother with any of that when its so easy for her to renew her passport in a day or two in her home province (or Bangkok if she wishes) ????

 

 

11 minutes ago, Sydebolle said:

The pilgrimage to Muang Thong Thani on 9 December might be cheaper but possibly she's glad to use that time for anything else but pleasing the Thai bureaucracy ???? 

There is very little ‘pleasing’ of the Thai Bureaucracy to do...  A Thai Passport renewal is a quick and relatively painless process compared to time and hassle it takes for many of us from Western nations. 

 

 

The Op's wife is already doing the correct thing.

The Op has enquired about travel into Thailand - a non-issue. 

The return to US with a new passport is a non-issue given the Wife’s existing paperwork. 

 

The Op can simply enjoy his holiday with is wife... nothing to worry about at all. 

 

 

 

 

[Sydebolle]

4 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

Why even bother with any of that when its so easy for her to renew her passport in a day or two in her home province (or Bangkok if she wishes) ????

 

 

There is very little ‘pleasing’ of the Thai Bureaucracy to do...  A Thai Passport renewal is a quick and relatively painless process compared to time and hassle it takes for many of us from Western nations. 

 

 

The Op's wife is already doing the correct thing.

The Op has enquired about travel into Thailand - a non-issue. 

The return to US with a new passport is a non-issue given the Wife’s existing paperwork. 

 

The Op can simply enjoy his holiday with is wife... nothing to worry about at all. 

 

 

 

 

I am a dual national and know what I am talking about. If the passport office in a home province is 100kms away (i.e. in the triangle between Nong Khai, Buengkan and Sakon Nakorn), then it is a trip. The US embassy in Bangkok will have to move the visa from the invalidated expired document to the new document; if she's in luck, a consulate nearer to the home province might lend a hand.

But "not my monkey, not my circus"; I for sure would at least check the alternative in the US. Ultimately she will decide how she wants to spend her vacation in her homeland ......... 

[richard_smith237]

1 hour ago, Sydebolle said:

I am a dual national and know what I am talking about.

Really, now ??....   

 

1 hour ago, Sydebolle said:

The US embassy in Bangkok will have to move the visa from the invalidated expired document to the new document

Really, now ??.....   the K1 visa, right ? 

[Pib]

My Thai wife renewed her passport here in Bangkok a few months ago....took 2 days from applying to receiving the passport via EMS at our Bangkok home.   I think she applied on a Monday mid day and by Wednesday mid day the postman delivered it to our home.  This was not Special Express or anything....just Ordinary time frame.  Bt1,500 for a 10 year passport plus Bt40 EMS mailing fee.

 

Thai passports are renewed really, really fast.   Usually the passport is finished/mailed the next business day after applying and it then takes another 1 to 2 days via EMS to arrive your Thai address if living in Bangkok or surrounding provinces.....3-5 days for other provinces.  Be sure to get the 10 year passport vs the 5 year passport.    

See below weblink for more info

https://consular.mfa.go.th/th/publicservice/ค่าธรรมเนียม-ระยะเวลาการผลิตและจัดส่งหนังสือเดินทาง

 

 

[rickudon]

In Udon Thani, last week wife and daughter applied for new passports on Thursday, delivered to home address on Tuesday

[Elkski]

Good to know Thai passport office is running smoothly.  Does she need to take photos or anything?   I've heard here in the US passports are slow like most government offices.  Although I did get a new title for a trailer in quick fashion.  After going to the DMV and seeing the long line and learning appointments are almost needed.  Then I tried to do it online.  I thought I did it.  Crazy government websites.  They need some decent online retail web developers to fix all these things.   Finally went in with appointment and 2 min wait.   Old gal reaching a newbie told him most people think they did it online but forget this last step or something.  So most people can't understand the dam  confusing website?   

The visa (16 month wait thanks to trump, and a bit to COVID) in her old passport is a K1 visa, a one time use visa. 90 day fiance thing.   Fancy looking,  it is like the original homepage with picture and holographic things.   I applied feb 2020. Our visa  was in the batch that got stuck in Virginia for 4 months.  They say because the trump appointed head of the embassy held back on requesting more.   So what usually was a 1 week assignment of a case number before shipping the packet to BKK it was 4 + months.   Finally a group of people paid 1500$ each and joined a big lawsuit and the judge ruled they must not be delayed.  

Not the best link but. 

https://www.motionlaw.com/dos-faces-lawsuit-over-fiancee-visa-delays/