Korean Teenager With Parent In Thailand?

[pianoman]

My wife's son has fallen for a cute 17 year old Korean girl who was living and going to school near his village... Seems that the girls Korean Father (Mother died) is now married to a Thai lady, lives in Bangkok, works as a Tour Guide for Korean Travel Agency.. The girl was sent to the Step-Grandmother in the village to raise and school, and for the past 9 years has never even left the village area...

Now they are talking of marriage, and I am wondering what the Visa Situation is for this girl... Can / does a child qualify to stay based upon the Father's Visa, or should she have been getting extentions / new visa's for the past 9 years???

Also, as she is about to turn 18 years old, I figure this is the best time to try and straighten out this mess, before she is considered a Legal Adult...

Any and all comments, suggestions or advise is Greatly appreciated...

Pianoman

[Thanyaburi Mac]

My wife's son has fallen for a cute 17 year old Korean girl who was living and going to school near his village... Seems that the girls Korean Father (Mother died) is now married to a Thai lady, lives in Bangkok, works as a Tour Guide for Korean Travel Agency.. The girl was sent to the Step-Grandmother in the village to raise and school, and for the past 9 years has never even left the village area...

Now they are talking of marriage, and I am wondering what the Visa Situation is for this girl... Can / does a child qualify to stay based upon the Father's Visa, or should she have been getting extentions / new visa's for the past 9 years???

Also, as she is about to turn 18 years old, I figure this is the best time to try and straighten out this mess, before she is considered a Legal Adult...

Any and all comments, suggestions or advise is Greatly appreciated...

Pianoman

I'd think the first item to check is if she has Thai citizenship.  That'd be easy as at age 15 Thai are required to get a Thai ID card.  The Korean father might have done the "right thing," along with the Thai mother, and had the girl registered as a Thai when she was born.

If she's a Thai, no problems, if not, the the visa situation kicks in.

Mac

[pianoman]

I'd think the first item to check is if she has Thai citizenship.  That'd be easy as at age 15 Thai are required to get a Thai ID card.  The Korean father might have done the "right thing," along with the Thai mother, and had the girl registered as a Thai when she was born.

If she's a Thai, no problems, if not, the the visa situation kicks in.

Mac

She has no Thai ID Card, has a Korean Passport in which the last entry is when she arrived in Thailand 9 years ago... Technically she is not Thai as both parents are Korean, born in Korea and at age of 7 her mother died and father remarried a Thai Lady....

Pianoman

[El Taco Loco]

Most Korean kids I know and teach locally have the ED visa. In saying that, she is in a village with grandmother. Sounds like she might have overstayed? 9 years? Never left the village? Father needs to be shot.

Good luck with this.

[pianoman]

Most Korean kids I know and teach locally have the ED visa. In saying that, she is in a village with grandmother. Sounds like she might have overstayed? 9 years? Never left the village? Father needs to be shot.

Good luck with this.

And I would be willing to do the shooting... She will be 18 next April, so I figure that something will need to be done Immagration wise prior to then... I would think that Immagration would consider her Father at fault, and hold him responsible until that time... But I am sure that they would want to deport both of them once this comes to light...

My wife will be meeting with both her Father & Thai Stepmother next month to discuss what needs to be done and how to handle the situation... If you can beleive it, when she met with the Stepmother a few months ago, they are asking for 200,000 baht Sim Sot prior to the marriage... I suggested to my wife that they should be paying a Sim Sot to her so that the girl can stay in Thailand and for not reporting the Father.... Just kidding,,, kind of....

Pianoman

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Don't spend too much time, energy or money Pianoman. There is nothing that can be done. A new Korean passport and a Thai visa might be a good start, and sorting out the overstay with Immigration

[PeaceBlondie]

My neighbor learned the hard way that once a dependent child turns 14, they can begin accumulating overstay penalties, which max out at 20,000 baht. And that's only where her troubles begin in the case of the nearly 18 year old Korean girl. The girl's passport may be expired; surely the visa is!

[pianoman]

My neighbor learned the hard way that once a dependent child turns 14, they can begin accumulating overstay penalties, which max out at 20,000 baht. And that's only where her troubles begin in the case of the nearly 18 year old Korean girl. The girl's passport may be expired; surely the visa is!

The girl has only an old photo copy of some pages from the passport, obviously with the photo of a much younger girl... She says that her father keeps the passport in Bangkok... She also says that her father is "Legal" as he has been working in Thailand for all these years, and been back and forth Korea multiple times over the past nine years...

I still think that He is the criminal here, and should be delt with by Thai Immg.. but don't really want to Rock the Boat on the behalf of the girl...

Pianoman

[moonhunt]

The girl has only an old photo copy of some pages from the passport, obviously with the photo of a much younger girl... She says that her father keeps the passport in Bangkok... She also says that her father is "Legal" as he has been working in Thailand for all these years, and been back and forth Korea multiple times over the past nine years...

I still think that He is the criminal here, and should be delt with by Thai Immg.. but don't really want to Rock the Boat on the behalf of the girl...

Pianoman

It depends. Probably you need to talk to her father.

Korean people can get 90 days without visa coming into Thailand. Even with new 90 days visa-run rule, new rule will not apply to 90days visa-exempt countries such as Rep. of Korea.

A lot of Korean people came to Thailand, and use visa-run to do local business illegally.

But you never know until you see the proof.

He may be legal, and his daughter immigration status may be legal.

But if they asks for Sim Sot or something like that, tell them it doesn't make sense to follow Thai tradition between foreigners since she is half-korean. :-)

In Korea, there is no such thing as Sim Sot or whatever...

[Thanyaburi Mac]

My wife's son has fallen for a cute 17 year old Korean girl who was living and going to school near his village... Seems that the girls Korean Father (Mother died) is now married to a Thai lady, lives in Bangkok, works as a Tour Guide for Korean Travel Agency.. The girl was sent to the Step-Grandmother in the village to raise and school, and for the past 9 years has never even left the village area...

Now they are talking of marriage, and I am wondering what the Visa Situation is for this girl... Can / does a child qualify to stay based upon the Father's Visa, or should she have been getting extentions / new visa's for the past 9 years???

Also, as she is about to turn 18 years old, I figure this is the best time to try and straighten out this mess, before she is considered a Legal Adult...

Any and all comments, suggestions or advise is Greatly appreciated...

Pianoman

Well, here's a possible scenario:

-- Have her go with her Korean father to the Korean Embassy here and get a new passport. Should be doable as both her parents are/were Koreans (Korean mother deceased).

-- Buy a round trip ticket to Korea, two of them, her AND her father.

-- With baht 20,000 in hand, go WITH her father to Swampyboom Airport, settle the overstay fine and depart, WITH her father. I'm assuming she doesn't speak Korean.

-- In Korea, get a Thai visa, perhaps Tourist, perhaps a Non-O to "live with her father in Thailand." However, a visa might not be necessary, don't know, per another posting: "Korean people can get 90 days without visa coming into Thailand."

-- Return to Thailand, marry Thai your son (is that in the cards) and apply for a "marriage extension" to live with her Thai husband.

-- The above sort of presupposes that the Korean father is here legally.

That's about all I can come up with as a possible program to straighten out this nationality/status mess.

Mac

[DurianChips]

Maybe you should consult a lawyer; there are good immigration lawyers in Bangkok. Seems like a good investment in this case.

[pianoman]

Maybe you should consult a lawyer; there are good immigration lawyers in Bangkok. Seems like a good investment in this case.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, my wife will be meeting with both the Father and Stepmother next month in Bangkok... She will have a couple of weeks there while I am back in the States taking care of buisness interests of my own... She does not want me involved at all with this situation, which pleases me... She says that it is her son, her problem not mine... Just another reason I love this women...

I will suggest that they visit the Korean Embassy if the Father will agree to that one... That sounds like the proper place to begin...

Thanks for all of the ideas / input...

Pianoman

[El Taco Loco]

Keep us updated please. Interesting scenario.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Keep us updated please. Interesting scenario.

I agree. A very interesting topic. Old dad doesn't come across as the sharpest tool in the shed.

[LPCustom69]

Keep us updated please. Interesting scenario.

I agree. A very interesting topic. Old dad doesn't come across as the sharpest tool in the shed.

But he still wants the 200K, lol.

[Crossy]

It may be a little late for our Korean lady, but I noticed at Suwarnahellicantspellit on sunday, that children up to 17 years when travelling with parents will not be charged for overstay

[lopburi3]

Believe the sin sot factor is not clear as the boy is Thai and the step mother of the girl is Thai so a sin sot is often an indication of the seriousness of the boys real intent rather than a payment - in most cases it seems to be returned to couple in one form or another these days.

[DurianChips]

Maybe you should consult a lawyer; there are good immigration lawyers in Bangkok. Seems like a good investment in this case.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, my wife will be meeting with both the Father and Stepmother next month in Bangkok... She will have a couple of weeks there while I am back in the States taking care of buisness interests of my own... She does not want me involved at all with this situation, which pleases me... She says that it is her son, her problem not mine... Just another reason I love this women...

I will suggest that they visit the Korean Embassy if the Father will agree to that one... That sounds like the proper place to begin...

Thanks for all of the ideas / input...

Pianoman

Well, the reason I suggested a lawyer is that, as you said, she is attending school in Thailand. This suggests that maybe she has some sort of legal presence, even if it's a very half-assed one. I thought school registrations were based upon house registrations. Is she on her grandmother's house registration? If so, this is something of a legal presence, although not a complete one. A lawyer would be able to tell you exactly what her status is, and if it can be built upon. It's also not something the Korean embassy will really know about. Anyway, let us know what happens; we're all curious!

[pianoman]

Maybe you should consult a lawyer; there are good immigration lawyers in Bangkok. Seems like a good investment in this case.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, my wife will be meeting with both the Father and Stepmother next month in Bangkok... She will have a couple of weeks there while I am back in the States taking care of buisness interests of my own... She does not want me involved at all with this situation, which pleases me... She says that it is her son, her problem not mine... Just another reason I love this women...

I will suggest that they visit the Korean Embassy if the Father will agree to that one... That sounds like the proper place to begin...

Thanks for all of the ideas / input...

Pianoman

Well, the reason I suggested a lawyer is that, as you said, she is attending school in Thailand. This suggests that maybe she has some sort of legal presence, even if it's a very half-assed one. I thought school registrations were based upon house registrations. Is she on her grandmother's house registration? If so, this is something of a legal presence, although not a complete one. A lawyer would be able to tell you exactly what her status is, and if it can be built upon. It's also not something the Korean embassy will really know about. Anyway, let us know what happens; we're all curious!

My wife will be meeting with the Father and Stepmother in Sept. while I am back in the States on personal buinsess, but I will try to post an Update when I return and find out what has transpired... As to the girls schooling, she has gone thru only the village / High School level.. She has told us that one of her teachers wanted to adopt her, but her father refused saying that he wanted to take her back to Korea someday... Obviously that hasn't happened...

Thank you to all for your suggestions and interests...

Pianoman

[El Taco Loco]

Well.... she is 17. That is positive. As all others have posted, there is time for this to be fixed with the boys in brown.

Negative. Marriage. At 17? The Amphur will ask for house registration and possibly permission to marry from papa, ok, he gets 200k. But Embassy and Foreign Affairs documents need to be in order. They aren't.

Let's get her ducks in a row. Take her down to Bangkok NOW. Talk to an immigration attorney and have him or her go to Suan Plu and get a real answer from upstairs.

Should she leave now, not pay any fine, and re enter? Are we discussing moot points because maybe her father did do the legal thing and all papers are in order? I seriously doubt it. But questions need to be answered before she is 18.

Palli palli! (quick quick in Korean).

[Crossy]

Palli palli! (quick quick in Korean).

5555 Been a while since I've seen that, we all had numeric pagers in Seoul (it was a few years ago now), always ended the number with 8282 (pal-ee, pal-ee) to encourage a rapid call back

[thaiclan]

Although a minor does require a visa to enter Thailand for longer than 30 days, a minor CANNOT be charged ANY overstay fines. I used this when I stayed here for 4 years. My 6 month old child stayed in Thailand without renewing a visa (my first reason was that I didnt want to expose her to the Cambodia border nightmare and long trip and would rather have paid the fine) for 4 years. Upon leaving we had to go to the overstay counter but they simply stamped her passport and pointed to a huge sign above the exit which states very clearly that a person under the age of 17years cannot be charged overstay fines. This was last year so if anything has changed since them I'm not sure, but I hope this info helps.

[Badbanker]

Although a minor does require a visa to enter Thailand for longer than 30 days, a minor CANNOT be charged ANY overstay fines. I used this when I stayed here for 4 years. My 6 month old child stayed in Thailand without renewing a visa (my first reason was that I didnt want to expose her to the Cambodia border nightmare and long trip and would rather have paid the fine) for 4 years. Upon leaving we had to go to the overstay counter but they simply stamped her passport and pointed to a huge sign above the exit which states very clearly that a person under the age of 17years cannot be charged overstay fines. This was last year so if anything has changed since them I'm not sure, but I hope this info helps.

I can assure you that for a long overstay such as this, a lawyer is essential to ensure she doesn't get put in the IDC. I suggest a lawyer goes to immigration first and sound out the situation with a senior officer of the immigration police!

Just having the 20,000 and a passport and a ticket will not suffice! Due to the length of overstay she will also almost surely have to have an immigration clearance to find out when she came into Thailand. I imagine she will also need a police clearance or they may lock her up and get one for her if she doesn't have one.

I think I agree that the father should be whipped!

BB

[pianoman]

Most recent development is that now my wife says that they are going to look into her son going to Korea to work so that they can be together... She tells me that many Thai's go to Korea for sometimes years to work and send money home... This way they can be together, save some money and work out how she can legally return to live in Thailand in the future...

I have stressed to her that they still need to settle the current problem with Thai Immig. and that way she may be able to return to Thailand in the future... But it is good news that minors are not charged overstay fines, although the 20,000 baht is probably the least of our worries at this point... I am still hoping that in some way the Father is going to catch the Shit somehow...

Pianoman

[pianoman]

O.K., this is for those who have followed this situation and requested an Update...

My wife met with the girls Korean Father & Thai Stepmother and after some uncomfortable negotiations he agreed to handle the problem by taking the girl to both the Korean Embassy and then at their suggestion to Thai Immigration...

The girl was found to be in "Extreme Overstay" and the Father was fined 20,000 baht, and they gave the girl 14 Days to exit Thailand.... Her father arranged a flight to Korea, had an Uncle meet her at the airport in Korea and she spent two weeks there before returning to Thailand on the 90 Day VOA (Visa On Arrival) that Koreans are entitled to...

She is now back up here in Issan with us and waiting on her new Passport from the Korean Embassy, which we were told would be available in two weeks... It looks like she will be stuck doing Tourist Visa's for the rest of her Life in Thailand.. Although the Tourist Visa's are only good for 90 Days, the same as the VOA for Koreans, the new rule limiting VOA's applies to Koreans the same as the rest of us...

It is a shame that the only thing that this mess cost the Father was 20,000 baht fine, a round trip ticket to Korea, and a serious tongue lashing from Thai Immigration and the Korean Embassy... At least now she is here legally for now, and can start planning the future together with my wife's son...

Pianoman

[Thanyaburi Mac]

O.K., this is for those who have followed this situation and requested an Update...

My wife met with the girls Korean Father & Thai Stepmother and after some uncomfortable negotiations he agreed to handle the problem by taking the girl to both the Korean Embassy and then at their suggestion to Thai Immigration...

The girl was found to be in "Extreme Overstay" and the Father was fined 20,000 baht, and they gave the girl 14 Days to exit Thailand.... Her father arranged a flight to Korea, had an Uncle meet her at the airport in Korea and she spent two weeks there before returning to Thailand on the 90 Day VOA (Visa On Arrival) that Koreans are entitled to...

She is now back up here in Issan with us and waiting on her new Passport from the Korean Embassy, which we were told would be available in two weeks... It looks like she will be stuck doing Tourist Visa's for the rest of her Life in Thailand.. Although the Tourist Visa's are only good for 90 Days, the same as the VOA for Koreans, the new rule limiting VOA's applies to Koreans the same as the rest of us...

It is a shame that the only thing that this mess cost the Father was 20,000 baht fine, a round trip ticket to Korea, and a serious tongue lashing from Thai Immigration and the Korean Embassy... At least now she is here legally for now, and can start planning the future together with my wife's son...

Pianoman

Pianoman

Well, great!!!  Glad to hear that she'd legal after all these years and worries.  Good show!!

Mac