Visa For 6 Month Old Baby ?

[scooty]

Hello,

I am seeking some advice.

I am in UK and am British citizen, i have a Thai wife , she has a British passport as well as her Thai passport. We are planning to go to visit her family in Thailand , we have a baby who is now almost 6 months old, we will get him a British passport, I am wondering with this passport will he still only be able to stay in Thailand for 30 days with the 30 day arrival allowance ? for example if the wife wanted to stay longer in Thailand with the baby , would he have to get a 30 day extension ? or is it a case of , oh hes only a baby he doesnt need a visa ?

Also we are contemplating getting him a Thai passport . If we do will this mean that he will always have dual nationality ( he was born in UK),.

Also if he has a Thai passport will it mean that he can be called up for national service in Thailand when he is older even for example if he lives in UK ?

Thanks for any advice

Scooty , wife and baby

[7by7]

If he enters Thailand with a British passport then he will have to leave Thailand on the same passport and will be subject to the same rules as any other British citizen. Although I understand that children under 14 aren't subject to overstay fines etc.

So I would recommend obtaining his Thai passport from the Thai embassy before leaving the UK; see here.

He then follows the same procedure as your wife; leave and enter the UK with his British passport; leave and enter Thailand with his Thai one.

I don't know the answer to the national service question, I'm afraid, but would guess it depends on where he is at the relevant age. If in Thailand then yes; if outside Thailand then no.

[scooty]

Thanks for the advice 7by7 its appreciated.

This thought has just come to me, when passengers are going through airport security , these days they take any liquids off you before going to the boarding areas. I am wondering how does that work then if you have bottles of baby milk with you... Surely they wont take baby milk from you ????

[ripstanley]

Thanks for the advice 7by7 its appreciated.

This thought has just come to me, when passengers are going through airport security , these days they take any liquids off you before going to the boarding areas. I am wondering how does that work then if you have bottles of baby milk with you... Surely they wont take baby milk from you ????

This is a link which may help http://babyabroad.co.uk/Baby-&-Child-Travel-Information/flying-with-baby-&-children.html

"The UK Department of Transport currently stipulate a restriction on liquids to be taken onto an aeroplane. Each separate liquid can be no more than 100 ml and all must fit into a single plastic re-sealable bag which is about 20cm by 20cm in size.

Note that baby milk and baby food is not restricted by this rule. When flying with a baby, you can take baby milk and food in higher quantities than 100ml".

[scooty]

Thanks for the link ripstanley

[Mario2008]

The child already has dual nationality, only the Thai government is not aware of it as the baby is not registered with them.

When living overseas he will not be called upon, offcially he must register at his amphur but not registrering is fined with 500 baht. After turning 30 he will not be called for the draft. During a study he will also be exempt. But this will be a long time from now, no guarantees about what the rules will be in the future.

[scooty]

Thanks for the advice,

I am a little bit confused as to what to do. as said above maybe immigration wont be too bothered about a babies overstay.

For example if my Thai wife takes our baby to Thailand for 60 days to see her family, the baby will enter on a British passport(he doesnt have a Thai one yet ). Should i get him a 60 day Tourist visa , or just let him enter and get the 30 day visa on arrival and then either just hope immigration arnt bothered about his overstay or should we get the 30 day visa extended whilst he is in Thailand ? i cant remember how long you can extend a 30 day visa by ? its all so much hassle.

Not to mention the costs of the flights these days, and i thought that your supposed to pay 10-15 % extra for a baby to fly and sit on your knee. What rubbish that is as i have found out. Eva air for one make you pay for an extra seat.

[lopburi3]

Immigration is not concerned and there is no overstay fine collected (although they are overstay and may get a stamp in passport). But it will not effect anything and is the expected path to follow in such a case. But the issue will be airline travel as all pax require documents for entry and without a visa airline may refuse boarding if no exit ticket within the allowed 30 day stay. I would get the tourist visa just to cover that (however unlikely) event. But even better is getting the Thai passport.

You can not extend a 30 day visa exempt entry - you can apply for extension for 1,900 baht and be allowed an extra 7 days to depart but it is actually a disapproved extension.

[ubonjoe]

You should get him a Thai passport. That will eliminate all the visa issues now and in the future.

The draft is not a big problem if he is living in the UK at the time he would file for an exemption at the Thai embassy. As said the rules can change over the course of time. Thailand might not even have a draft 20 years from now.

[scooty]

The advice is well appreciated ,, thank you lads.

yea it is the best advice to get a Thai passport for the baby but i suppose it means having to go to London to the Thai embassy.More hassle.

[steve187]

was the child's birth registered with the embassy

[Mario2008]

The advice is well appreciated ,, thank you lads.

yea it is the best advice to get a Thai passport for the baby but i suppose it means having to go to London to the Thai embassy.More hassle.

Yes, you will have to visit the embassy for registering the child and applying for the passport.

You can find the forms on the embassy website.

[scooty]

Hey Steve,

No the child has not been registered at the Thai embassy , it seems the thing to do is register the child and apply for the e passport at the same time.

however looking at the list of documents needed to be shown , one document being a photocopy of the wifes Thai id card, the problem being that the ID card is in Thailand because last time we went to Thailand and updated the ID card we had to come back to the UK before the card was issued ( there was hold ups because of the riots and government buildings being burned ), so i need to find out if the wifes sister can email a scan of the ID card to us and i wonder if that would be acceptable ????

[Mario2008]

Maybe a copy of her Thai passport would be accpetable, it should have the required details on there as well. Ask the embassy.

Otherwise a scan of the ID card together with her Thai passport if they want to see a original ID should be enough.

[lopburi3]

EMS should take less than 3 days to deliver actual ID card. I would make the scan but also send it unless you can get confirmation copy will be accepted.

[Honkie]

Thanks for the advice 7by7 its appreciated.

This thought has just come to me, when passengers are going through airport security , these days they take any liquids off you before going to the boarding areas. I am wondering how does that work then if you have bottles of baby milk with you... Surely they wont take baby milk from you ????

Thanks for the advice 7by7 its appreciated.

This thought has just come to me, when passengers are going through airport security , these days they take any liquids off you before going to the boarding areas. I am wondering how does that work then if you have bottles of baby milk with you... Surely they wont take baby milk from you ????

They won't , but just as a precaution, let them know in advance and show them.