Hi all,

i will be moving to Thailand at short notice with my wife (thai) and my two kids (3 & 2 years, half thai-half aussie) in August. We are in the process of getting thai birth certificates through thai consulate in Australia, but plan to then get kids passports in Thailand, as they will take too long through thai consulate in Aus. as far as i can see, if they have thai birth certs they can be registered on tabien baan and then apply for passport in Thailand without too much trouble. Is this correct?

Also, if they enter Thailand on Australian passport, they will only get the standard 30 days? I have read kids don't get fined for overstay, but isn't there a better way? once passports received there should i take kids over border and re-enter on thai passport?

Any help appreciated.

Children cannot be fined for overstay (it is recognized that it is not their fault). Regardless of this, Thai citizens cannot be fined for overstay (in their own country).

In addition (and I'm not 100% certain of this), but if either of your children are male, and you register them in the tabien baan, then they might be subject to the military lottery when they turn 18. I'm sure there are loop-holes around this policy.

Edited June 25, 201412 yr by Gumballl

Thanks for the reply.

so are they thai citizens when they receive a thai birth certificate? Or when they get a thai passport? or are they just considered thai citizens due to mother being thai? I have been told about the military issue, and i do have a 3 year old son, but i have no idea whether we will be there for 1 year or forever. i figure we have 15 years to deal with military conscription. Rules may change by then anyway.

Cheers.

They are Thai citizzens from the date of birth. With the Thai birth certificate the Thai government becomes aware of their existance.

It is better to get the passports in Australia as then they cna enter as Thai naitonals. With their Australian passports they have to follow immigration rules, but no big problems.Extension are easy to get for them.

I suggest you ask the consulate about getting emergency travel documents for your children so they can enter the country as Thai's.

If they enter on their Australian passport they will get 30 day exempt entries .Children under the age of 15 do not pay overstay fines. But as returning Thai nationals they can get one year extensions of stay at immigration.

You can get Thai passports for them here after they are registered in a house book.

it is not not normally advised to try and do a passport swap at a border crossing but since they are Thai it may be possible to do it. Flying out and back is the best way do it.

Children cannot be fined for overstay (it is recognized that it is not their fault). Regardless of this, Thai citizens cannot be fined for overstay (in their own country).

In addition (and I'm not 100% certain of this), but if either of your children are male, and you register them in the tabien baan, then they might be subject to the military lottery when they turn 18. I'm sure there are loop-holes around this policy.

If a Thai enters on a non Thai passport passport they fall under immigration rules and are liable for overstay fines unless they are under the age of 15.

Now is not time to worry about being called for the draft at the age of 21 when the children are only 2 and 3 years old. Their are several ways to get around it and who knows if there will even be a draft in 18 years.;

thanks for the answers. I'll ask the consulate if they can fast track passport applications for them. Not sure whether the current situation is slowing this sort of thing down, or if it is operationg as normal.

Normal for getting Thai passports overseas is up to 2 months. As far as I know there is no fast tracking.

Edit: You should ask abut getting them temporary passports. See this PDF file in Thai from embassy website: http://canberra.thaiembassy.org/doc/form/230614form.pdf

Did you apply for the passorts together with the birth certificates? I believe that is possible to do, so see if you can at this moment already apply.

I have so far left the dealings with the consulate to my wife, and as far as i know we have to get the certificates first. Also, the certificates can be done by post, whereas the passports require both parents to go to the embassy in canberra, which is about an 8 hour drive from melbourne... We probably only have 6-7 weeks before we leave, so i think we will have to leave the passports to Thailand.

thanks for all the input.

I did an edit to an earlier post with this info about getting temporary passports. http://canberra.thai.../230614form.pdf

It is possible to apply for the birth certificates and passports at the same time.

I have so far left the dealings with the consulate to my wife, and as far as i know we have to get the certificates first. Also, the certificates can be done by post, whereas the passports require both parents to go to the embassy in canberra, which is about an 8 hour drive from melbourne... We probably only have 6-7 weeks before we leave, so i think we will have to leave the passports to Thailand.

thanks for all the input.

The passport people come to the consulate a couple of times per year. Ask if they are coming any time soon.