hi,i have a friend,she is married with an american guy,she has 2 kids,the kids are born in usa,they all stay here in thailand,but my friend has to go every 90 days to immigration with her kids.is there a chance they get thai nationality[double usa-thailand if yes how to do?the kids are 13 and 16yrs old,both kids go to school here since 10 yrs.thanks for any suggestions

Is the friend Thai?

Being children of a Thai mother, they already have Thai nationality as they acquired it automatically at birth. Their parents could have obtained a Thai passport for them before travelling to Thailand.

It appears they arrived in Thailand on a US passport and therefore have to comply with immigration laws and regulations like any other US national, except that they were able to get an annual extension of stay based on their Thai nationality.

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Maestro

Is the friend Thai?

yes thai

Being children of a Thai mother, they already have Thai nationality as they acquired it automatically at birth. Their parents could have obtained a Thai passport for them before travelling to Thailand.

It appears they arrived in Thailand on a US passport and therefore have to comply with immigration laws and regulations like any other US national, except that they were able to get an annual extension of stay based on their Thai nationality.

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Maestro

well can't they get a thaipassport since they hv automaticly thai nationality?

The Thai passport is not delivered to them automatically. They have to apply for it.

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Maestro

I believe she has to get american birth certificate translated or turned into a Thai birth certificate then apply for a thai passport, wife is doing it now, have Thai and Brit birth Certificates and will get Thai passport next time in BKK, I do not try to tell she who knows all, to do it here in UK as it will fall on deaf ears.

oldoldgit!!, that’s going to be interesting:

-- Travel from UK to Thailand on UK passport. Get entry stamp in UK passport. Registered in immigration database.

-- While in Thailand, get Thai passport.

-- Travel from Thailand to UK on Thai passport. Exit stamp in Thai passport.

-- Result: indefinitely long overstay in UK passport. Just make sure the child never ever again uses the UK passport to enter Thailand.

Better to leave Thailand again on the UK passport, then next time travel to Thailand on the Thai passport. Will have some explaining to do on entry why there was no exit stamp from Thailand, given the fact that the passport was issued in Thailand, but others have managed it. Show also the UK passport, if necessary, to explain (dual nationality not illegal in Thailand).

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Maestro

well sounds all very ok and logical,but what sounds totally crazy is,the kids are thais,but have to report every 90days at the imigration,how to avoid that?travel out and enter thailand with thai passport is the only solution?what if they dont show up at imigration?imigration will deport thai citizens?amazing thailand

well sounds all very ok and logical,but what sounds totally crazy is,the kids are thais,but have to report every 90days at the imigration,how to avoid that?travel out and enter thailand with thai passport is the only solution?what if they dont show up at imigration?imigration will deport thai citizens?amazing thailand

They are here as American citizens. They have to report the same as anyone else.

well sounds all very ok and logical,but what sounds totally crazy is,the kids are thais,but have to report every 90days at the imigration,how to avoid that?travel out and enter thailand with thai passport is the only solution?what if they dont show up at imigration?imigration will deport thai citizens?amazing thailand

They are here as American citizens. They have to report the same as anyone else.

yes i understand that,but after all they have thai nationality!!!

well sounds all very ok and logical,but what sounds totally crazy is,the kids are thais,but have to report every 90days at the imigration,how to avoid that?travel out and enter thailand with thai passport is the only solution?what if they dont show up at imigration?imigration will deport thai citizens?amazing thailand

They are here as American citizens. They have to report the same as anyone else.

yes i understand that,but after all they have thai nationality!!!

Not reporting doesn't mean you get deported, only that you pay a fine.

Regarding their Thai citizenship, to be honest, it sounds like while they are eligible for Thai citizenship, they haven't got any proof that they have. Simply trotting out their mother isn't sufficient I suspect. The fact that they are here on US passports means immigration will treat them as foreign nationals.

The first 'piece of paper' in a long line of papers they will need is a Thai birth certificate to establish that they are Thai (the BC will say as much).

Lets go back to basics

1) Born in the US to a Thai mother

- implication: as they were born overseas, they will need to obtain Thai birth certificates from the Thai embassy in Washington DC. Thai birth certificates for children born overseas can ONLY be issued by the Thai embassy responsible for that country. They CANNOT be issued locally in Thailand. They local Ampur only has the authority to issue BC's for those born within their boundries - and the US is definetly not within any Ampur's boundries!!

You can apply for the birth certificate by post.

2) Once you have obtained the BC, given they are in Thailand now, you need to go and get them put on your wifes Tabieen Baan. This will mean they are now registered in Thailand. If they are old enough, they can get the ID card while they are there. To do this, you'll need -da dum - their Thai birth certificate issued by the Embassy in Washington DC.

3) Once they are all registered, get them Thai passport from the local Thai passport office. Takes 3-5 days. Next time you fly out of Thailand, leave Thailand on the US passport, and then re-enter on the Thai passports.

Becoming Thai citizens will mean that they will be liable for conscription if they are boys.