Thai Passport - Uk Or Thailand

[aniMAL]

Hi all,

i'm organising Passports for our twins. They were born in the UK 8 weeks ago. Mother is Thai. I'm British.

I've just applied for their UK Passports. For Thai Passports, go to Embassy in London, or apply in Bangkok later this year? The whole family will relocate back to Thailand in October. So, if the twins arrive in BKK with UK Passport, they will be given 30 days entry?

The Embassy in London is not going to be easy with young twins and travel ect. But better to get it done before we arrive in Thailand?

Any thoughts/experiences?

[glegolo]

To my knowledge, small babys do not need to have VISAS in order to be able to enter Thailand.

glegolo

[Maestro]

A child of any age needs a passport to travel to Thailand. For a child born outside, it is easiest to get the Thai birth certificate and Thai passport in the country of birth but I have seen other reports of a Thai embassy refusing a Thai passport to a child below the age of four when it was known to the embassy that the child already had another country's passport. I don't know the attitude of the embassy in London and in fact doubt that an embassy has the right to make such refusal.

A UK national of any age does not need a visa for a flight to Thailand if he has a ticket for a confirmed flight out of Thailand within 30 days from the day of arrival. Not all airlines enforce this rule all the time.

Children below the age of 14 year arriving with a foreign passport are not find for overstay, just get a corresponding note in the passport.

[aniMAL]

That's another thing..,,we would be travelling on one way tickets, so might cause a problem.

Wife and eldest son have Thai passport, and I would have a Non O visa, but twins just UK passport.

Seems Thai Embassy in London it is.

[Maestro]

Yes, this might cause a problem at check-in at the airport in the UK. Get a single-entry non-O visa for the purpose of visiting your Thai wife for yourself and after arrival in Thailand promptly open a savings account in your name alone with a bank in Thailand, then within 30 days of your extension of stay apply at your local immigration office for a one-year extension of stay. Your wife presumably travels on her Thai passport and thus needs no visa. If you choose to have your children travel on a UK passport, get a single-entry tourist visa for each child.

[Maestro]

If you have the time to wait for a Thai passport via the Thai embassy in London for your children you will find that the passport costs little more than a single-entry tourist visa. Getting their passports in Thailand will give you the cost and hassle of getting the UK birth certificate translated into Thai and certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the birth registered at the district office, the children registered on the house registration book, before applying for their passports in Thailand.

[Mario2008]

The childrn can easily get a 1 year extension of stay from immirgation with their birth certificate showing them as Thai. But your problem will be with the airline, taking them without a visa.

You could email the airline and see if they will have a problem with it. (Email because you will have it in writing and can show at the airport if they allow it).

The passport and birth certificate procedure in Thailand will take a couple of months, suspect at least 3 and they will need to be registered on a household book to get their Thai passport.

[lopburi3]

Your first step should be getting them Thai birth certificate from the Thai Embassy/Consulate - you use the UK certificate and mothers proof of being Thai. This is the building block for everything and vital. Do that now. Once that is done passport can be obtained and should be used for entry into Thailand if this is to be there home (or will likely have to be a special trip later). But the important thing is the Thai birth certificate from Embassy as that will be required in the future and (much) easier to do when you are there.

As said everyone who is not entering as Thai would need a visa or meet visa exempt requirements.

[TerryLH]

"Your first step should be getting them Thai birth certificate from the Thai Embassy/Consulate - you use the UK certificate and mothers proof of being Thai. This is the building block for everything and vital. Do that now. Once that is done passport can be obtained..."

It used to be you could get the Thai birth certificate and apply for the passport in one visit.

Very easy to get done there. Not as easy here.

Good luck.

Terry

[ubonjoe]

It is still that way at most embassies. Just one trip for birth certificate and passport.

Info: http://www.thaiembassyuk.org.uk/?q=node/191

[aniMAL]

Thanks for the info everyone...noted and taken on board!