Help! Living in Australia and my Thai wife's passport has expired.

[bat69]

Hi,

My wife's passport expired in December. We live in Perth WA and went to the consulate this week to renew it. Unfortunately the Perth consulate only does renewals once a year when the mobile processing team travel to Perth which was last week.

We have investigated our possible options however most take time and will not allow us to travel to Thailand in August. The options are:

1. Travel to Sydney or Canberra to put in application however this can take up to 3 months which is too long

2. Apply for citizen ship however this can take more than 3 months also

3. Apply for an emergency passport

4. Travel to Thailand with Thai Airways on an expired passport.

I think option 1 & 2 are definitely out due to the time restrictions.

Does anyone have any experience with applying for an Emergency Passport while in Australia. The lady at the consulate said they are only issued for real emergencies but what warrants this. She told us of people being refused because they lied about a family member having cancer or being sick. The only excuse we have is that it is a complete oversight. We don't travel that much so the passport has been stored and we didn't realise it had expired. Is this a good enough excuse? We have a 2.5 year old who has only been to Thailand once when 6 months old so thought this may be a good reason as he has not had much of an opportunity to spend with his grand parents and Thai heritage.

Does anyone have any experience with option 4. I have read that Thai airways will allow a Thai National to travel with an expired passport. What happens at Australian Customs when leaving the country and is this standard procedure across the country (ie some airports may let you leave with an expired passport but others may not).

My wife is a Permanent Resident (spouse) and has been for about 6 years.

We are very restricted due to work commitments when we can take leave so August is the only time we can travel back to Thailand.

Any advice or previous experience would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

Bat69

[chickenslegs]

Phone call to Thai Airways could clear this up.

I'm pretty sure that I have read of Thais being able to return home on an expired passport. Not just Thais but any nationality returning to their own country.

[CharlieH]

Option 4, telephone Thai airways to confirm.

[bat69]

So if Option 4 - Exit Australia on an expired passport is there any issues with Aust Customs on exit?

Also how long does it take to renew a Thai passport in Thailand?

[Old Croc]

So if Option 4 - Exit Australia on an expired passport is there any issues with Aust Customs on exit?

Also how long does it take to renew a Thai passport in Thailand?

If the airline is happy to uplift the lady on her expired passport or Thai ID card, Immigration will not prevent outwards travel. This happens fairly frequently, problems only arise if travelling via a third country.

Of course she will need to have a valid document and visa to return.

OC (ex immi)

Alternatively, as you are not travelling until August, why not apply for a new passport from the Embassy in Canberra using courier services? Does it really take 3 months for them to issue a new passport?

Citizenship can be granted fairly quickly if you put up a good case. It can be granted in the departments office which saves time waiting for a shire to have a ceremony. Try asking. Australian Passports can be done quickly also.

Edited May 24, 2014 by Old Croc

[AYJAYDEE]

So if Option 4 - Exit Australia on an expired passport is there any issues with Aust Customs on exit?

Also how long does it take to renew a Thai passport in Thailand?

about a week

[somchaismith]

So if Option 4 - Exit Australia on an expired passport is there any issues with Aust Customs on exit?

Also how long does it take to renew a Thai passport in Thailand?

about a week

With the current Thailand chaos, I wouldn't bet on that time frame.

[samran]

So if Option 4 - Exit Australia on an expired passport is there any issues with Aust Customs on exit?

Also how long does it take to renew a Thai passport in Thailand?

about a week

With the current Thailand chaos, I wouldn't bet on that time frame.

Bet on it. I did my daughters middle of the government shut down by the pdrc and it was a 3 day turnaround.

[somchaismith]

So if Option 4 - Exit Australia on an expired passport is there any issues with Aust Customs on exit?

Also how long does it take to renew a Thai passport in Thailand?

about a week

With the current Thailand chaos, I wouldn't bet on that time frame.

Bet on it. I did my daughters middle of the government shut down by the pdrc and it was a 3 day turnaround.

Okay, there's even some better news, if you google, passport-office-set-to-reopen.

[DepDavid]

I know I am comparing apples to oranges, but this is what we did. Airline was unsure if she would be allowed to board with soon to expire passport. We decided to go to the Thai Embassy and get a new one, in her married name. She had to send power of attorney and other notarized documents to her mother to take to the Amphur to have the marriage registered. Once that was done we went back to the Thai Embassy and for 1 USD got a new ID card in her married name, and ordered a new passport also in married name. Process takes about a month with mailing back and forth included. Passport cost was 35 USD.

Hope this is helpful.

[Rooo]

Post containing a flame & reasoned replies removed.

[krisb]

I would start by ringing a Thai Embassy in Australia.

It wouldn't be unheard of that's for sure.