Uk Resident Obtaining Forms For Thai Wife To Get Kids Thai Passports

[Foggy Bottom]

I'm in the UK waiting to get everything sorted for my wife to get a settlement visa for the UK. She's Thai and our kids are dual nationality - they all live in Thailand.

One of the steps I wanted to complete before my wife applies for her visa, was for the kids to have both British and Thai passports. They have their UK passports already, and their Thai and UK Consular birth certificates.

The Nakhon Ratchasima passport office told my wife she needed consent forms and letters of attorney from me via a Thai consulate in the UK before they could accept applications for the kids Thai passports. All her documents now reflect my surname as we registered our marriage in 2009.

Based on recommendations, and the fact it's the closest, I contacted the Hull consulate in the UK to obtain the neccesary forms etc and make an appointment to have them legalised there.

A week ago, this was no problem they assured me - £50.00 legalisation fee per form and letter (x2 kids) and make an appointment when I was ready.

Yesterday I phoned to make an appointment and all was still ok to do it. Today Khun Lek at the consulate called me back to say they had been instructed they were not to do them anymore.

The instruction now apparently is that the UK-resident parent has to go to the UK Foreign Office in London to get legalised and translated copies of their passport, then take those to the Thai consulate within the London embassy for the rest of the processing ... at which point the phrase "second mortgage" ran through my mind being as how I live within spitting distance of the Scottish border.

Two questions arise from this -

1. Has anyone else had to do this as the process?

2. If my kids leave Thailand with their Mum on their British passports, which have no visa as they were born in Thailand, is there going to be any problems with Immigration at the airport? (The kids are 3 & 5 years old and have my surname on all their documents).

Oh and a 3rd question - how easy would it be to get them Thai passports once in the UK? Might never do it, but just curious.

Cheers

Foggy

[theoldgit]

I know little or nothing about the procedure for obtaining a Thai passport for your kids, but I doubt very much if the Foreign Office in London would legalise translated copies of their passport, it would probably be the Identity and Passport Service if anybody, but I cannot see even them doing it without sight of their passports, which will be in Thailand.

As your Children have UK Passports there would (should) be no problem exiting Thailand and certainly not entering the UK.

Thinking it through, do you intend returning to Thailand as a family at any stage? It might be easier getting a Thai Passport if you are all here together.

Hopefully somebody with first hand experience will offer advice, in the meantime a bit of light reading for you.

http://www.thaiembassyuk.org.uk/?q=node/78

http://www.mfa.go.th/main/en/services