Single Entry Tourist Visa for Son OK?

[donx]

I recently asked about renewing Thai passports for my daughters and I received some very good information. Now I need information about my son. My wife doesn't want my son to renew his Thai passport because she doesn't want to register him on a house document and/or get him a Thai Citizen ID card. My wife doesn't want to have to worry about him being drafted by the Thai military or have to pay 50,000 baht or more under the table. My son is 13 years old. He has a recently expired Thai passport and a valid US passport. My wife was told that we should get a Tourist Visa for my son on his US passport. He will be travelling together with me and I only have a US passport. My wife and daughters are travelling separately from us.

I will remain in Thailand for less than 30 days so I'm not getting a Thai Visa. My son will remain in Thailand for 50 days. He will then fly to Hong Kong with his mother and sisters for a week. They all will return to Thailand before they fly back to the US about 10 days later. Our plan is to get my son a single entry tourist visa good for 60 days. Then when my son returns from Hong Kong, get the normal 30 day stamp like I get on my passport.

Does this all sound reasonable? Will my son be able to re-enter from Hong Kong after his week away from Thailand? I have round trip itineraries for US to Thailand and Thailand to Hong Kong. I have all the documents I need for getting the tourist visa. I just need my wife to go to the Thai Consulate and drop off the paperwork.

[ubonjoe]

Since he is under the age of 15 he does not really need the tourist visa. He could overstay and not a pay fine when leaving.

The remainder of the trip is not a problem.

I think your wife's concerns about him being a drafted are a bit overboard at the moment. He still has 8 years before he has to worry about it and if living outside the country at the time he would not be subject to it. Unless he decides to rive in country before the age of 30 he will never have a problem.

[donx]

5 years ago when he received his first Thai passport at the consulate in Washington DC, the consulate officer told us that when he turns 17 he needs to register with the embassy for the draft selection. It wasn't clear to me what exactly that meant.

I'm sure my son won't live in Thailand before he turns 30 but he is likely to visit there several times between now and then. If he renews his Thai passport along with his sisters, he will have to be added to a house document. Won't the Thai government expect him to be subjected to the draft? My wife has heard that people are paying 50,000 baht and up to keep their sons out of the military.

My wife did say that a Thai immigration officer told a friend of ours that children under 15 can overstay without paying a fee. I like that option the best. My son did this when he was 3 years old. The consulate here didn't tell us that but my wife thinks it is because they wanted us to pay for a tourist visa.

Thank you for the advice.

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

[Mario2008]

The consulate simply follows the rule, that say that for a stay over 30 days your son would need a tourist visa if he travels on his US passport. It is not scam to get money.