Help/ Info On Passport For My Gf?

[dseawarrior]

Help/ Info on passport for my GF?

Hi,

Below is a short summary on what I have been investigating on having my Thai girlfriend apply for her Thai passport. Maybe some of you have experience with getting through this essential paperwork for a GF who is Thai but also hails from the Hilltribes???

Any information and suggestions is _greatly appreciated!_

Thanks & continue reading ~~~

dseawarrior

If no birth certificate not having living parents might be a problem as someone would have to be found to verify her birth.  There are many hill tribe people without Thai citizenship so that may also be a factor.

I would post in the Chiang Mai and/or Chiang Rai branch as you may find people with better information on these kinds of problems.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks Lopburi3 for all your great information...

You seem to be on target...

As I have been investigating this, it seems to be a bit of a tangle...

My GF was born in Mae Hong Song province in a small ampur called Yuam or Kongyuam? She applied for her passport at her home ampur about 2 months ago...

She says that the police in her ampur are very slow and seem to be dragging out the process to possibly get more money (bribes). Although she was born in Thailand, she is a hilltribe person and that seems to be a big part of the complication...

The fact that both of her parents are dead also creates a documentation gap for her. As far as I can tell (over the phone), she has ID in Mae Hong Song, but not a national Thai ID card.

So, that is part of the passport snafu...

She says that she is going to wait and see for a few months more... (to me, that is VERY long wait for a passport!) and she thinks she may get her passport "next year" sometime...

She also is very cautious about making extra inquiries because she thinks this will create extra delays for her with the local authorities... (one of her friends even got on the phone and said that it was "dangerous" (andalai) to ask too many questions about this... Also, they believe that any extra inquiries will put them at a disadvantage in dealing with the local police and/ or authorities...

She has also said that if the local authorities do not cooperate, then she can make a (Thai) passport in Burma... I don't think that would be a good idea... My advice to her is to avoid that route because I want her to have a 100% legitimate passport...

But the clock is ticking and I am anxious to start a fiancee visa application for her but there is not much I can do until she has her passport... a Catch 22, eh?

So, I am rather frustrated and wondering what to do next... This has not (so far) been a pleasant view into the Thai bureaucracy -- especially in how they deal with hilltribe Thai citizens...

Any further advice and suggestions is greatly appreciated! Yes, I know already, this is Thailand...

Thanks!

dseawarrior

(SF & Chiang Mai)

[Ajarn]

Sorry about the double posting.

Edited November 5, 2005 by Ajarn

[Ajarn]

she has ID in Mae Hong Song, but not a national Thai ID card.

No Thai Id = no Passport.

The PuuYai Baan can sign off on the birth certificate. That sounds like the first step to me...

She doesn't need a passport to enter the US with you (according to US Embassy), but she does need to be completely legal in Thailand first in order to leave from Thailand.

Not sure if having an "ID in Mae Hong Song" is enough.