Dual Citizenship - Thai/aussie

[peanutz]

Hi there,

Can you please help me clarify something. Well, it's more about telling me the fact or what to do. I'm a Thai citizen and have just been granted a Aussie citizenship. I've been told by friends that Thai do not allow dual citizenship. I'm going to Thailand at the end of the year and my Aussie citizenship ceremony is on 17 Nov. I guess I'll have to get an Aussie passport before I go to Thailand at the end of the year. What should I do to enter Thailand without losing my Thai citizenship?

Please help. Thanks in advance!

[penelope]

Hi there,

Can you please help me clarify something. Well, it's more about telling me the fact or what to do. I'm a Thai citizen and have just been granted a Aussie citizenship. I've been told by friends that Thai do not allow dual citizenship. I'm going to Thailand at the end of the year and my Aussie citizenship ceremony is on 17 Nov. I guess I'll have to get an Aussie passport before I go to Thailand at the end of the year. What should I do to enter Thailand without losing my Thai citizenship?

Please help. Thanks in advance!

My Thai wife has Aussie and Thai citizenship.

Yes, it is allowed.

Just use your Thai Passport whe entering Thailand and use your Aussie passport every else in the world

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Hi there,

Can you please help me clarify something. Well, it's more about telling me the fact or what to do. I'm a Thai citizen and have just been granted a Aussie citizenship. I've been told by friends that Thai do not allow dual citizenship. I'm going to Thailand at the end of the year and my Aussie citizenship ceremony is on 17 Nov. I guess I'll have to get an Aussie passport before I go to Thailand at the end of the year. What should I do to enter Thailand without losing my Thai citizenship?

Please help. Thanks in advance!

My Thai wife has Aussie and Thai citizenship.

Yes, it is allowed.

Just use your Thai Passport whe entering Thailand and use your Aussie passport every else in the world

Thailand and Australia raise no objections whatsoever to duality of nationality.

[peanutz]

Do I have to get a Thai visa stamp on an Aussie passport? I heard that by leaving Australia with Aussie passport, there would be no exit stamp on my Thai passport. Then, the immigration officer in Thailand will question me about this which could then lead to the dual citizenship issue. Even worse, they might cease my Thai passport!! Is this true??

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Do I have to get a Thai visa stamp on an Aussie passport? I heard that by leaving Australia with Aussie passport, there would be no exit stamp on my Thai passport. Then, the immigration officer in Thailand will question me about this which could then lead to the dual citizenship issue. Even worse, they might cease my Thai passport!! Is this true??

Not at all. If you are going for a short stay use the Oz passport. If you got into trouble anytime and you are travelling on the Thai passport, it'll be down to the Thai government to negotiate you out of it, not the Oz government. The Australian government is better on follow up than the Thai's.

[peanutz]

I also have another issue. My Thai passport is valid till early April next year. Thus, I'll have to get a new passport when I go back. Should I still use Aussie passport which does not need to apply for a visa to enter Thailand?

[dr_Pat_Pong]

I also have another issue. My Thai passport is valid till early April next year. Thus, I'll have to get a new passport when I go back. Should I still use Aussie passport which does not need to apply for a visa to enter Thailand?

You can stay in Thailand up to 30 days without a visa on an Australian passport.

[peanutz]

What I mean is by entering Thailand with an Australian passport, there will be no arrival stamp on my Thai passport. Would this be a problem when I apply for a new Thai passport attached to the existing one which will be expired in April.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

What I mean is by entering Thailand with an Australian passport, there will be no arrival stamp on my Thai passport. Would this be a problem when I apply for a new Thai passport attached to the existing one which will be expired in April.

No problems at all. The Thai Embassy wouldn't have a clue that you went to Muang Thai on an Australian passport.

[SK1972]

Actually the Thai Govt does not allow dual citizenship.

Why do you think they need to use the Thai Passport when entering Thailand??? If they used their other passport the records will show that they already have a valid Thai passport and they will get into trouble for having the other passport.

A lot of Thais get away with it as the Thai Govt is not "efficient" enough to track or monitor......or they just cant be bothered........

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Actually the Thai Govt does not allow dual citizenship.

Why do you think they need to use the Thai Passport when entering Thailand??? If they used their other passport the records will show that they already have a valid Thai passport and they will get into trouble for having the other passport.

A lot of Thais get away with it as the Thai Govt is not "efficient" enough to track or monitor......or they just cant be bothered........

Actually the Australian Government DOES permit dual citizenship. Take wander through the Australian Government websites and learn something.

[SK1972]

Dr Pat Pong..........READ carefully, I said the THAI govt doesnt allow it. Never said anything about the Aussie Govt. Chill out!

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Dr Pat Pong..........READ carefully, I said the THAI govt doesnt allow it. Never said anything about the Aussie Govt. Chill out!

OK I misread it. Sorry. Take a wander through the Thai MFA site then. Thailand does permit duality.

[SK1972]

Dr Pat Pong.....no worries. I have never seen that site. All the information I get it through my Thai friends who have dual citizenships. I will check that site out though.

Maybe you can enlighten this for me.......why was my Thai friend asked to surrender her Thai passport when she told immigration she had 2 passports? She was asked to choose either one.

Cheers

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Dr Pat Pong.....no worries. I have never seen that site. All the information I get it through my Thai friends who have dual citizenships. I will check that site out though.

Maybe you can enlighten this for me.......why was my Thai friend asked to surrender her Thai passport when she told immigration she had 2 passports? She was asked to choose either one.

Cheers

Immigration officers hate the duality situation, and one of them bluffed her into handing hers over. Simply reapply for another Thai passport.

[SK1972]

Ok, thanks. I dont understand why they would do that if the Govt allows it!!!

I will relay your advice to her.

[penelope]

Actually the Thai Govt does not allow dual citizenship.

Why do you think they need to use the Thai Passport when entering Thailand??? If they used their other passport the records will show that they already have a valid Thai passport and they will get into trouble for having the other passport.

A lot of Thais get away with it as the Thai Govt is not "efficient" enough to track or monitor......or they just cant be bothered........

utter nonsense.

[samran]

Ok, thanks. I dont understand why they would do that if the Govt allows it!!!

I will relay your advice to her.

The situation is:

The thai govt used to forbid dual nationality. The law changed in 1992 with ammendments to the Thai Nationality Act 2535, which does not explicitly prohibit dual nationality. The problem is two fold. Many Thai officials still don't know that dual nationality is now perfectly legal, so they (in their position of power) will often insist otherwise.

The other problem is that the law is not written as clearly as it should be. The Act gives the option of renouncing Thai citizenship at age 20. Many officials mis-interpret this as meaning that a Thai citizen must choose a nationality at age 20, which is simply not the case.

As for the OP question, you will have no trouble travelling on a Thai and Australian PP. I have done so on both for many years, and never have had any trouble. Simply enter and leave Australia on the Aussie PP and enter and leave Thailand on the Thai PP. In Australia, it is illegal for an Australian citizen to enter on a foriegn Passport.

You can do a search on this topic as I have posted many times on this.

[SK1972]

Many Thai officials still don't know that dual nationality is now perfectly legal, so they (in their position of power) will often insist otherwise.

They should be educated on the new law properly then instead of trying to create unnecessary problems.

Penelope, watch your words.........what I said is not "utter nonsense" as you put it........it may not be precisely correct..........read Samran's post!Simply enter and leave Australia on the Aussie PP and enter and leave Thailand on the Thai PP.

[peanutz]

Ok, I'll follow the recommendation by leaving Australia with an Australian passport and entering Thailand with my Thai passport. Then, leaving Thailand with Thai passport and come back to Melbourne with the Australian passport. If I don't forget, I'll post it here how I go about doing about that.

[Axel]

Don't forget, when checking in in Bangkok the airline staff wants to see your

OZ-passport as your Thai-one has no visa.

Albeit, no problem there, just show it.

[samran]

Many Thai officials still don't know that dual nationality is now perfectly legal, so they (in their position of power) will often insist otherwise.

They should be educated on the new law properly then instead of trying to create unnecessary problems.

Penelope, watch your words.........what I said is not "utter nonsense" as you put it........it may not be precisely correct..........read Samran's post!

Simply enter and leave Australia on the Aussie PP and enter and leave Thailand on the Thai PP.

To be fair, the immigration officers at Don Muang are pretty up to date on issues of dual nationality. In addition, many countries don't stamp people out now (US, UK), so they aren't bothered with looking for stamp trails. In fact, my Thai PP is full of Thai entry and exit stamps (about 30 at last count), and only a couple of stamps from Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, HK Singapore and Malaysia.

Its the immigration officers at land borders, who I have sometimes had trouble with. In those cases, I always use the same PP when crossing land borders in Asia, so they can safely see the stamp trail. Saves alot of hassle.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Many Thai officials still don't know that dual nationality is now perfectly legal, so they (in their position of power) will often insist otherwise.

They should be educated on the new law properly then instead of trying to create unnecessary problems.

Penelope, watch your words.........what I said is not "utter nonsense" as you put it........it may not be precisely correct..........read Samran's post!

Simply enter and leave Australia on the Aussie PP and enter and leave Thailand on the Thai PP.

To be fair, the immigration officers at Don Muang are pretty up to date on issues of dual nationality. In addition, many countries don't stamp people out now (US, UK), so they aren't bothered with looking for stamp trails. In fact, my Thai PP is full of Thai entry and exit stamps (about 30 at last count), and only a couple of stamps from Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, HK Singapore and Malaysia.

Its the immigration officers at land borders, who I have sometimes had trouble with. In those cases, I always use the same PP when crossing land borders in Asia, so they can safely see the stamp trail. Saves alot of hassle.

It is almost impossible to get a stamp in and out of most of Europe Chris, and bloody nigh on impossible not to get one in Asia.

[Martin_F]

Dr Pat Pong..........READ carefully, I said the THAI govt doesnt allow it. Never said anything about the Aussie Govt. Chill out!

OK I misread it. Sorry. Take a wander through the Thai MFA site then. Thailand does permit duality.

There is some details about dual nationality on the Thailand-UK website http://www.thailand-uk.com/ and look on the forum.

Basically it says that a Thai can have dual nationality and after ones 22nd birthday you are able to renounce your Thai or other citizenship should you so desire.

Also take a look at http://www.pantip.com/cafe/klaibann/topic/...8/H3057988.html

This appears to be quite clear. I don't have copies of the law so I can't recite from the law.

Hope this helps.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Dr Pat Pong..........READ carefully, I said the THAI govt doesnt allow it. Never said anything about the Aussie Govt. Chill out!

OK I misread it. Sorry. Take a wander through the Thai MFA site then. Thailand does permit duality.

There is some details about dual nationality on the Thailand-UK website http://www.thailand-uk.com/ and look on the forum.

Basically it says that a Thai can have dual nationality and after ones 22nd birthday you are able to renounce your Thai or other citizenship should you so desire.

That is what I've read and been told.

or you can hold both for the rest of your life. Up to you.

[Martin_F]

Dr Pat Pong..........READ carefully, I said the THAI govt doesnt allow it. Never said anything about the Aussie Govt. Chill out!

OK I misread it. Sorry. Take a wander through the Thai MFA site then. Thailand does permit duality.

There is some details about dual nationality on the Thailand-UK website http://www.thailand-uk.com/ and look on the forum.

Basically it says that a Thai can have dual nationality and after ones 22nd birthday you are able to renounce your Thai or other citizenship should you so desire.

That is what I've read and been told.

or you can hold both for the rest of your life. Up to you.

Correct, I didn't spell it out as I thaught it was quite clear.