Travelling Abroad With Akha Girlfriend

[iloveny]

Has anyone with an Akha girlfriend or other Hill tribe girlfriend without thai id done this. My girlfriend needs a copy of a friends id and adress just to leave the province for a couple of weeks so I imagine organising a trip abroad might be a no go which would suck.

Any help is appreciated.

[ThaiVisaExpress]

I think she will have trouble getting a passport as she doesn't have any nationality ( at least I think she doesn't have nationality ?).

[bifftastic]

I have no direct experience of Hill Tribe people getting the necessary documents, but some of my family in Chiang Rai (right up near the Laos border) are originally Lao and did not have any Thai ID or paperwork at all. My brother-in-law had to travel out of the province and needed paperwork from the Amphur to do so. The second time he wanted to travel, he managed to get a Thai ID card (which would allow him to get a passport, which is what you need for your girlfriend).

There was quite a lot of messing about to do, the Pu Yai Baan was involved, various different people countersigning all manner of paperwork, and several visits to the Amphur, but it was done eventually.

I think this is what your girlfriend needs to try. If she can get the ID card, then she can get a passport, and apply for any visas she might need as anyone else would do.

Without an ID card, no passport, no international travel.

Good luck.

[iloveny]

Thanks for the replies.

The way my girlfriend described the process of getting Thai ID was somewhat similar bifftastic. She would have to get a lot of documents co-signed, people vouching that she grew up in Thailand etc. and then a handsome sum of money for the official taking care of the process.

[bifftastic]

That would seem to be the way forward then.

Sounds similar to the process my brother-in-law went through, minus the handsome sum of money for the official!

Another slightly similar thing we went through was for a neighbour of ours.

He was 15 and both his parents were from Laos. They had no Thai paperwork at all, and my wife has registered him as her son (it was surprisingly easy to do!), she is Thai and as her 'son' he now has a Thai ID card.

If I were you, I would get her to ask around and find out exactly how 'handsome' that sum of money would need to be.

It might be helpful to get the Pu Yai Baan on her side, get all the paperwork ready and then just present it all at the Amphur. This sort of thing does happen quite regularly, so it might be possible to just keep turning up, smile, jump through all the hoops and get away with handing over a bottle of whisky or two rather than a sum of money, handsome or otherwise.

It will be cheaper if your involvement is kept to a minimum.

Perhaps she needs an ID card in order to move provinces for work ;)

The official cost of the process is about ฿50 (for the actual card itself). Anything more is a bribe and is, therefore, negotiable.

[ubonjoe]

For a stateless person the other option is getting a travel document.

Info: http://www.mfa.go.th/main/en/services/124/15376-ISSUANCE-OF-TRAVEL-DOCUMENT-FOR-ALIENS-(TD).html

[iloveny]

Bifftastic, I'm told the handsome sum of money can be 40k plus! If the official fee is 50 baht, that's quite a deal they have going. The girlfriend has already been to the Pu Yai Baan with some whiskey, I will persuade her to keep on the case and hopefully can get this done without having to fork out a large sum of money.

She is also in the process of getting her two youngest sisters thai id, which is easier for some reason, maybe records of a hospital birth here or something. Trying to get a good explanation of the process from my girlfriend is difficult, some lost in translation and some down to the Pu Yai Baan not explaining exactly whats needed to her.

Thanks again.

Edited March 25, 2013 by iloveny

[bifftastic]

40K? Thieving gits!

Ok, so once her sisters have got ID cards it might be easier.

But since a sum has already been mentioned, they might stick to their guns. Pu Yai Baan is probably after a cut as well otherwise they would be more forthcoming about what is required.

They, presumably, know about you? That would account for the ridiculously high price tag.

I would suggest that she waits, get her sisters sorted out, and then repeatedly knock back the idea that 40k is even remotely possible.

My brother-in-law had to have recommendations, and character references from his school teachers and 'fine upstanding citizens' explaining that he had been here all his life, educated in Thailand etc. (at the time, the local school was run by the temple so didn't have the usual record keeping/association with the MOE).

His father is well respected in the village though, so none of that was an issue. Pu Yai Baan fell in line without putting his hand out for money!

I'm not sure what documents your g/f is missing. Has she made a formal application already, or just posed the question?

[iloveny]

Money was mentioned before he learned of me(we parked out of view of his house, but he happened to be coming back from somewhere and spotted me), maybe he has done similar in the past, my girlfriend tells me this is common, not only in her village!

She hasn't made an application yet but has been to visit the Pu Yai Baan to get her sister's moving along and been asking him what she herself needs. She has no birth cert or record of school attendance. The Pu Yai Baan mentioned getting references to vouch that she grew up here but also put it to her that it is complicated, takes time, and hinted that money could move things along. Her sister's might have theirs within the next few weeks, so hopefully that might make things easier.

Edited March 26, 2013 by iloveny

[bifftastic]

Yes, I'm sure money could move things along, but ฿40,000 is just taking the P!

I reckon, once her sisters ID has been sorted, she should start the process. It might move slowly, but it will be wort it in the end.

Also, it's best to avoid setting a dangerous precedent of paying for things that don't need paying for. Sends the wrong signals, not just to those in a position of authority, but to everyone who knows it's been paid for.

Of all the useful phrases I've learned in Thai "ไม่มี" (mai mee) is, undoubtedly, the one that has had the best long term results

[iloveny]

Yeah I can hold out on this one as I've got time. Not in a rush to go anywhere just yet, so "mai mee" will be the consistent answer to any suggestion of money.

Edited March 28, 2013 by iloveny