Can my Thai girlfriend fly back to Thailand with a passport that expires in 5 months?

[organicman]

I just noticed my Thai girlfriend's passport expires in 5 months. Will she be able to fly back to her home country to renew it? We are flying Jetstar Australia.

 

I hear online they allow flying back to your home country if your passport is expired. In this case, it has 5 months left...

[Ralf001]

What did the airline say when you called them ?

[CharlieH]

If she is Thai she is fully entitled to return to her home country. Even with an expired passport.

[DrJack54]

OP, as others have stated she has no issue.

Be aware that with Jetstar sometimes you need to request a senior staff member if there is an issue at check in.

The 6 month rule even for non Thai does not apply for Thailand. 

It's an airline thing. 

In any event she is Thai.  No problem.

 

BTW my thai gf had to renew her pp recently. 

She went to the office that deals with that here in Bangkok.  

The new pp arrived NEXT day ems ...I kid you not. 

[organicman]

Jetstar phone support is a nightmare. I called twice and get 2 different answers.

 

I asked when can I change my flight if there is a problem at checkout cause of this. I'm told I can't change my flight to another day if it's within 3 hours of check-in....

[ukrules]

24 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

BTW my thai gf had to renew her pp recently. 

She went to the office that deals with that here in Bangkok.  

The new pp arrived NEXT day ems ...I kid you not.

 

Indeed, they are very efficient here.

[soi3eddie]

With 5 months remaining, yes, almost certainly will be fine. No country would likely deny a citizen entry even with an expired passport. The enemy, as often, is the airline and their interpretation of rules and their ability to deny boarding. Best to renew passport earlier if is is causing anxiety. 

 

[NightSky]

12 hours ago, organicman said:

I just noticed my Thai girlfriend's passport expires in 5 months. Will she be able to fly back to her home country to renew it? We are flying Jetstar Australia.

 

I hear online they allow flying back to your home country if your passport is expired. In this case, it has 5 months left...

It should be ok but check with the airline to be sure. 
 

it’s usually flying to some countries you’re not a citizen off that requires 6 months validity. 

[bluejets]

12 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

 

The 6 month rule even for non Thai does not apply for Thailand. 

It's an airline thing. 

In any event she is Thai.  No problem.

Try to get a visa at any thai consulate without 6 month remaining and see how you go....you'll be disappointed with reality.

[Olmate]

17 minutes ago, bluejets said:

Try to get a visa at any thai consulate without 6 month remaining and see how you go....you'll be disappointed with reality.

Thai gets thai visa.! Is that a new thing? Kidding 

[Old Croc]

A Thai citizen flying home with a valid passport. No need to check with the airline, there is absolutely no issue with uplift.

[newbee2022]

Is it the password for your billion Baht account? Be careful 🥴

[NicoBKK]

She is Thai, it is Thai passport, no problems, it can be used until the last expiry day - she can't just stop over through customs in another Country

[Sydebolle]

Yes, as a Thai she can return anytime with identity documentation on her nationality - even if those should have expired 😉 

[Old Croc]

16 minutes ago, Sydebolle said:

Yes, as a Thai she can return anytime with identity documentation on her nationality - even if those should have expired 😉 

Not quite so simple in that case. An expired passport is not a valid travel document. Nor is an ID card.

Before agreeing to uplift, the airline will have to be satisfied the document is acceptable by the destination country. This may involve contacting Immigration at the arrival port. 

Airlines can cop substantial fines for transporting people with unacceptable documentation.

[Gottfrid]

No problem. She would almost be able to fly home without any passport as long as she can prove her identity. However, she will need a passport to check-in or buy a ticket. 🙂 

[thaitom]

16 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

OP, as others have stated she has no issue.

Be aware that with Jetstar sometimes you need to request a senior staff member if there is an issue at check in.

The 6 month rule even for non Thai does not apply for Thailand. 

It's an airline thing. 

In any event she is Thai.  No problem.

 

BTW my thai gf had to renew her pp recently. 

She went to the office that deals with that here in Bangkok.  

The new pp arrived NEXT day ems ...I kid you not. 

The six month rule does not apply to Thailand ? 

[Colki]

It is my belief that Thai Immigration do not enforce incoming traveller to have six months remaining on there pp. Could anyone endorse this fact for me.

 

I recently received my new Non O renewal that coincided with the expiry date of my pp and I was aware of this fact and it was only a difference of ten days so did not concern me.

 

It is my intention to renew this pp in the near future but would be more convenient to do this at a later date because of current overseas travel plans. I am aware of issues with airline check-in staff overseas.

[DrJack54]

12 minutes ago, thaitom said:

The six month rule does not apply to Thailand ? 

https://aseannow.com/topic/1291703-entering-thailand-with-less-than-6-month-valid-passport/ 

 

Or read posts from ubonjoe in this thread 

 

In any event the OP,s gf is Thai and has correct answer.

She has no issue

[Lacessit]

AFAIK the citizen of any country can return to their home country with an expired passport.

 

The exception was Australia during COVID, when I could not get back in with a valid one.

 

Although tennis stars apparently could.

[gamb00ler]

17 hours ago, CharlieH said:

If she is Thai she is fully entitled to return to her home country. Even with an expired passport.

My Thai wife and I moved from USA to CM during COVID in Sep. 2020 but her Thai passport expired 4 months before we left.  She was required to submit her expired passport and Thai national ID to the LA Thai Consulate to get a document permitting her to travel one way to Thailand.  I think the document was called Certificate of Identification.

[Liquorice]

5 month validity left on Thai passport, returning to her home Country of Thailand of which she is a national citizen - no issues

 

Last year, I flew back to the UK, transiting through Dubai with a UK passport only valid for 2 more months.
No problem whatsoever.

[Zack61]

Yes

[Jonathan Swift]

I don't understand why you would come here with a question like that. It's 90% hearsay here. Why do you not contact the Thai embassy, or Thai immigration with a question like that? And why are YOU doing this? She's responsible, it's her passport, and she speaks Thai, duh. It's not your place. This is too important to engage in page after page of banter with non experts.  It sounds like you already do too much talking to the wrong people, else you wouldn't have to ask this in the first place. 

[hotandsticky]

6 minutes ago, Jonathan Swift said:

I don't understand why you would come here with a question like that. It's 90% hearsay here. Why do you not contact the Thai embassy, or Thai immigration with a question like that? And why are YOU doing this? She's responsible, it's her passport, and she speaks Thai, duh. It's not your place. This is too important to engage in page after page of banter with non experts.  It sounds like you already do too much talking to the wrong people, else you wouldn't have to ask this in the first place. 

 

 

 

 

Of course he can ask the question here  -  and receive a definitive "Yes".......Thais don't need 6 months on arrival....they can enter on an expired Thai passport.

[sirineou]

19 hours ago, organicman said:

I just noticed my Thai girlfriend's passport expires in 5 months. Will she be able to fly back to her home country to renew it? We are flying Jetstar Australia.

Yes my wife did it from the US with a totally expired Thai passport. 

Simply call your local Thai consulate , explain the situation and concern. and request an emergency travel document. 

I don't really think think she need it because if she is traveling to Thailand with a Tai passport. it is not required that she ever leaves, so why would she need a valid passport in six months? 

But to be on the safe side , get the letter from the consulate, 

It was easy to get. 

 

[sirineou]

4 minutes ago, hotandsticky said:

Of course he can ask the question here  -  and receive a definitive "Yes".......Thais don't need 6 months on arrival....they can enter on an expired Thai passport.

Absolutely correct, my wife did a couple of years ago.

But the problem is not entering Thailand, but departing where you are. 

So when we were leaving the US, I don't remember if it was the Airline  or TSA, but she was challenged that her passport was expired, so we whipped out the emergency travel document and we were good to go. If we did not have them . trying to resolve the issue with a supervisor or what we might have missed our flight.

Better to have the document in your pocket, It was easy to get, we got it on line . took a couple of days, We emailed a copy of my wife's passport and her Thai ID card. And  the emergency document was emailed to us next day. . 

 

[organicman]

Thank you guys so much for your feedback!

 

I called Jetstar a couple more times, they gave me the same answer that she needs to have a 6 month passport.

 

I thought we would arrive at the airport early and speak to a couple of Jetstar managers, who advised us that she could fly back to Thailand even tho she didn't have a Thai passport. :)

[sirineou]

1 minute ago, organicman said:

Thank you guys so much for your feedback!

 

I called Jetstar a couple more times, they gave me the same answer that she needs to have a 6 month passport.

 

I thought I would get to the airport early and speak to a couple Jetstar managers where they advised me that she can fly back to Thailand even tho she doesn't have a passport. 🙂

Better call the Thai embassy.

I went through the same issue. a letter issued by the Thai embassy would allowed her to travel without a passport. 

in the case of "without a passport" it is true, but The airline can not make that decision themselves, because they don't know why she does not have a passport, they need a letter from the embassy. 

don't take a chance , it was very easy to get, we never even went there, it was all done online and in a couple of days.  At the very least, because your issue is a bit different than my wife's give the embassy a call. 

 

[KhunBENQ]

22 minutes ago, organicman said:

and speak to a couple of Jetstar managers

And ask them whether they ever heard about "timaticweb" which is THE source for airlines doing document check.

Just did an example similar to what the OP wrote and of course the simple answer is:

 

Quote

Yes, The travel documents held by the traveler are sufficient!

At the occasion ask them to replace their lazy and incompetent hotline staff with AI.

Of course they say 6 months because they don't even bother to do an individual check.

 

(and even the 6 months for tourists is disputed, valid until the booked return flight)

Timaticweb is not directly available to non professionals.

But some airlines give you access indirectly like here:

https://www.copaair.com/en-cr/timatic/