Name Change

[FrugalTurtle]

I am a US citizen and my wife is Thai. She has a Thai passport showing her maiden name, but her US green card and state ID indicates her new last name (she took my last name at marriage). She is wanting to return to Thailand in July. Will she have a problem? Can she get a US passport? Does she need to update her Thai passport? Can anyone advise me as to what our options are and what may be the best (legal) option to take?

Thank you!

[lopburi3]

In the past names could be changed on Thai passport but in general it is better to obtain new passport when you can as it will cause less confusion (ticket one name and passport another until they find the amendment). She can not obtain a US passport if not a citizen. I would check with Thai Consulate but if no action can be taken before travel make sure she has marriage certificate with her to prove names. Am not sure how the green card makes the situation but suspect there is travel restrictions that will have to be resolved using married name for that. Otherwise she could just ticket/leave on maiden name.

[FrugalTurtle]

Thank you lopburi3

I will try an contact the Thai Consulate.

[old wanderer]

I went through this exact scenario with my wife.

Arrived in USA and got married....Got all the stuff translated and certified, then took her passport to the Consulate in Los Angeles and the added and endorsement showing she was now MRS XXXXXX. (That was all 10 years ago before the E-Passport)

Well as we were getting ready to return to Thailand, had the tickets (Using her married name). I asked her "When does your passport expire....Suprise....it would expire during our visit. So we still had 6 weeks, a dash down to Los Angeles BUT Now the E-passport can only be issued in EXACTLY the name shown on her Thai ID card....We got her new passport, and what a pain going through security with the ticket in her married name.

She took off from our place to Se Sai Ket to get a new ID card (6 hour drive). We had all the papers including one stamped my the Thai Consulate office certifying the marriage 12 years ago. The local office would not accept it with a "GREEN" stamp from the Minister of Consular Affairs in Bangkok. This was also holiday time and the offices were going to be closed and we were scheduled to return to the USA> I gave our paper work to our attorney at Sun Belt and they obtained the "GREEN" stamp. She got her ID card in about 1 hour the next trip. Then we returned to Los Angeles (again) and got to pay for another E-passport that took 5 weeks again to receive.

This next trip, we are transferring a bunch of Chanotes to her married name. (This is where you go to the local land office, take a box of donuts, and little white envelopes with some tea money inside so you are not there for all day or a month of delays.....It is the custom of how business is done, and it works. )

Believe me this is bureaucracy at its best. Logic plays no part in this.

Be Prepared....Get the "GREEN stamp on the documents certifying you marriage, then change the ID card, then get a new E-passport.....

[FrugalTurtle]

Over this pas weekend we spoke with two sets of friends (Thai) both indicated that a new passport wasn't needed or a name change wasn't needed. The only thing that they used was the Green Card & Marriage Certifiicate and had no problem with passing through customs, entering Thailand or returning to the USA.

Now I'm really confused, Monday I will again try again to contact the consulate. My wife believes our friends and doesn't want to change the name on her passport in fear that she will loose her Thai identity. This is becoming a major headache.

Thanks for the reply "old wanderer"

[thaihome]

It is an urban legend, that cannot seem to die out, among Thai women married to foreigners (and their spouses) that they lose some rights as Thai citizens by marrying a foreigner. They loose nothing and though they don’t have to change their last names on ID card and passport. If doing overseas travel, it makes things so much simpler it has to outweigh any personal reason for not doing so.

TH