Thai Mother Or Uk Father Travelling With Baby Alone

[torrenova]

Just wondering if there is anythig to consider with either the mother or myself travelling alone with the baby (less than 1 year old) ?

I mean if I am in Singapore and they want to come down, would it be an issue leaving Thailand at airport immigration ? Would there be a difference if I was travelling with the baby alone ? Would the same considerations apply to the UK ? and what about leaving the UK to go back to Thailand ?

As we are both the registered parents of the baby I would not have thought so but I wondered if we should make some provision to avoid any unnecessary complications ?

[PattayaParent]

When my wife has travelled alone with our kid she has not had any problems either leaving our resident country or entering her home country (or vice versa) as both of them are travelling with the same nationality passport.

I on the other hand have twice been questioned by immigration in her home country when entering with our child as we both have different national passports. It was not a problem though as the wife was in a different queue.

When we have gone to UK child and I go through immigration together no problem while wife queues with the hundreds of others on a visa, there's no special dispensation for foreigner travelling with a national.

[CharlieB]

When my wife has travelled alone with our kid she has not had any problems either leaving our resident country or entering her home country (or vice versa) as both of them are travelling with the same nationality passport.

I on the other hand have twice been questioned by immigration in her home country when entering with our child as we both have different national passports. It was not a problem though as the wife was in a different queue.

When we have gone to UK child and I go through immigration together no problem while wife queues with the hundreds of others on a visa, there's no special dispensation for foreigner travelling with a national.

Actually, I think you'll find that you can go through passport control together as a family. If you don't want to try going through the UK and EU lane, you could go through the other passports lane with her.

[JohnC]

Simple solution, put baby on both passports, I did this with my two youngest and it was legal until they reached sixteen when they were given a discount on their own passport and the reason we put them on both parents passports was in case one of us had an accident or one of them had an accident then the other parent could still take the other child home.

[CharlieB]

Simple solution, put baby on both passports, I did this with my two youngest and it was legal until they reached sixteen when they were given a discount on their own passport and the reason we put them on both parents passports was in case one of us had an accident or one of them had an accident then the other parent could still take the other child home.

Children have to have their own passport in the UK.

[JimmyGreaves]

When my wife has travelled alone with our kid she has not had any problems either leaving our resident country or entering her home country (or vice versa) as both of them are travelling with the same nationality passport.

I on the other hand have twice been questioned by immigration in her home country when entering with our child as we both have different national passports. It was not a problem though as the wife was in a different queue.

When we have gone to UK child and I go through immigration together no problem while wife queues with the hundreds of others on a visa, there's no special dispensation for foreigner travelling with a national.

Actually, I think you'll find that you can go through passport control together as a family. If you don't want to try going through the UK and EU lane, you could go through the other passports lane with her.

Anyone confirm this; that you can all go through the UK channel and they will deal with your thai g/f-wife who is on a visa without sending her back into the 10 mile long queue?

[CharlieB]

When my wife has travelled alone with our kid she has not had any problems either leaving our resident country or entering her home country (or vice versa) as both of them are travelling with the same nationality passport.

I on the other hand have twice been questioned by immigration in her home country when entering with our child as we both have different national passports. It was not a problem though as the wife was in a different queue.

When we have gone to UK child and I go through immigration together no problem while wife queues with the hundreds of others on a visa, there's no special dispensation for foreigner travelling with a national.

Actually, I think you'll find that you can go through passport control together as a family. If you don't want to try going through the UK and EU lane, you could go through the other passports lane with her.

Anyone confirm this; that you can all go through the UK channel and they will deal with your thai g/f-wife who is on a visa without sending her back into the 10 mile long queue?

I doubt you could do it with your girlfriend who is on a short term visit visa, you'd have to go through the other passport lane with her, but if you are a family unit, they should let you through the UK/EU passport queue.

[the scouser]

Yes, the IOs are under instruction not to break up family units. However, in this day and age, it's the Brit/EEA queue that's liable to take more time as the IOs are also under instruction to scan every single passport rather than being allowed to use their own judgment.

Scouse.

[CharlieB]

Yes, the IOs are under instruction not to break up family units. However, in this day and age, it's the Brit/EEA queue that's liable to take more time as the IOs are also under instruction to scan every single passport rather than being allowed to use their own judgment.

Scouse.

You're not wrong there. Every time I fly into the UK these days it seems to be a longer and longer queue for UK passports, whereas the other passport areas have more people dealing with them and go quicker. If you contrast this to the US situation where US citizens breeze through passport control and they make the 'aliens' wait.

[PattayaParent]

Actually, I think you'll find that you can go through passport control together as a family. If you don't want to try going through the UK and EU lane, you could go through the other passports lane with her.

Nah, better just to go through and wait for her in the bar

We did actually try to get the missus through the UK lane but they weren't having any of it and sent her to the back of the foreigners queue.

[JimmyGreaves]

When my wife has travelled alone with our kid she has not had any problems either leaving our resident country or entering her home country (or vice versa) as both of them are travelling with the same nationality passport.

I on the other hand have twice been questioned by immigration in her home country when entering with our child as we both have different national passports. It was not a problem though as the wife was in a different queue.

When we have gone to UK child and I go through immigration together no problem while wife queues with the hundreds of others on a visa, there's no special dispensation for foreigner travelling with a national.

Actually, I think you'll find that you can go through passport control together as a family. If you don't want to try going through the UK and EU lane, you could go through the other passports lane with her.

Anyone confirm this; that you can all go through the UK channel and they will deal with your thai g/f-wife who is on a visa without sending her back into the 10 mile long queue?

I doubt you could do it with your girlfriend who is on a short term visit visa, you'd have to go through the other passport lane with her, but if you are a family unit, they should let you through the UK/EU passport queue.

Are we defining the family unit as being married? I would have thought if you have a child with your g/f then you are still a family unit.

Long queues in the UK chanel I have experienced but they clear quickly. The non uk/eu channel seems to be massive everytime I land and I doubt clearance is that quick. Saying that BKK entry queues have bee ridiculous the past 2 times I've landed!

Edited March 21, 2008 by jflundy

[lor]

My family had a big problem when trying to leave the UK. There was me, my wife, daughter and son she had from a previous relationship.

No problem for Either me, wife or daughter as we all had the same 2nd name in our passports BUT our son had his father's 2nd name in his passport and they refused to allow him to leave the country! We had to unpack all the bags and find documents which we produced to the embassy when he first got a visa to enter the UK. They were all the Thai stuff about his father cannot be found and mother had sole care. Luckily they all had been translated into English. We then had to show the marriage certificate to show the mother's change of name to mine.

If we did not have all this paperwork on us then no way could our son leave England.

Chris

[JohnC]

Children have to have their own passport in the UK.

My two youngest never had a passport and went everywhere with us, they were on both my passport and my wifes. They still do not have a passport as they no longer travel. We were informed by teh passport office thye could tarvel on our passport until they reached 16 and thats what we did. Of course with all the terrorism problems things might have changed in recent years , my boys are now 17 & 18 so we have not been abroad as a family for some five or six years.

[PattayaParent]

My family had a big problem when trying to leave the UK. There was me, my wife, daughter and son she had from a previous relationship.

No problem for Either me, wife or daughter as we all had the same 2nd name in our passports BUT our son had his father's 2nd name in his passport and they refused to allow him to leave the country! We had to unpack all the bags and find documents which we produced to the embassy when he first got a visa to enter the UK. They were all the Thai stuff about his father cannot be found and mother had sole care. Luckily they all had been translated into English. We then had to show the marriage certificate to show the mother's change of name to mine.

If we did not have all this paperwork on us then no way could our son leave England.

Chris

Where did you leave from Chris?

Both times we've left UK through Manchester and not ever SEEN any departures Immigration. Also my wife has her own name on her passport and so has a differnt surname to our child.

[torrenova]

Can I just clarify what I'm thinking about to get some specifics.

I am already in Singapore and the missus and baby want to fly down. Now she will be flying on a Thai passport whilst the baby will have both British and Thai passports. Exit from Thailand on the baby's Thai passport and enter Singapore on the UK one with vice versa would seem logical.

How different if I am in Thailand and want to take the baby down alone ? The passport issue would be the same as above but what about immigration because I would be leaving Thailand without the mother ?

For the UK. The baby would not need a visa though the mother would. Again, not worried about that scenario rellay but if I want to go first would immigration have an issue as the mother would not be travelling with us ? her travelling later would not be a complication because she would have the relevant visa etc.

Now if the baby only had a UK passport then I could see no issues for either with me travelling without the mother but as the baby would be leaving on a Thai passport would that be a concern ? I would not have thought so because of the UK passport to arrive in the Uk or in Singapore but I just want to cover all bases so to speak.