I hesitate to ask this question because the answer is probably very obvious, but here goes. I'll be taking my 10 year old son and his mother back to Thailand from the UK next month. They both have UK and Thai passports. Because we'll be staying for more than 28 days my son will use his Thai passport to enter Thailand as usual. My question arises because his Thai passport will expire 3 days after we arrive in Thailand. My thinking was that there would be no problem for a Thai citizen to enter Thailand on a Thai passport with less than 6 months validity, and we could renew the passport during our stay in the Kingdom. However, when I purchased a visa for myself at the Thai consulate in Cardiff today, I asked a young (and probably inexperienced) assistant if there was likely to be a problem with my son. He said that he wasn't sure and that I should check with the airline given that the passport will expire in less than 6 months, I've telephoned EVA and they say they think it is okay, but will not give me an e-mail to confirm that they will allow boarding for a direct flight to Thailand with a Thai passport with less than 6 months remaining validity. I have written to customer services to try to get something in writing, but thought I'd ask on the forum as well. Does anybody think my understanding is wrong when I suggest that a Thai can enter Thailand with a Thai passport, even if it is due to expire in a few days? Just for completeness my son's UK passport is new with lots of validity, but I hesitate to buy a visa for a Thai citizen.

Do not worry ------he will be allowed into Thailand even if the passport is out of date !

That's right, and it applies to every country. A citizen has the right to return to his country even on an expired passport. See attached information from IATA TimaticWeb, the site that airlines consult in case of doubt.

IATA TimaticWeb_2.pdf

You can consult that interactive website here:http://www.staralliance.com/en/services/visa-and-health/

Don't worry, I've been stamped in on my expired thai passport before. Three days left will be more than fine.

And yep, get a new pp while there, so long as he us registered on the tabien baan etc.

Do remember he will not be allowed to leave Thailand on his expired Thai passport or his UK passport (if he didn't enter on it), so a new Thai passport is needed whilst here.

Thanks everybody. The pdf is helpful.