Entered Thailand on UK passport. Will there be a problem leaving on Thai passport?

[paz]

Might have to fly out and in just avoid real trouble or just pay the overstay of two weeks...

Don't push them or they can make it nasty for her...

They can't make it nasty. The Immigration act applies to "aliens", but she is not. One does not renounce nationality when entering with a foreign passport. Legally they don't have a leg to stand on.

[roath]

Roath, this may be difficult for you to understand, but by presenting her UK passport to the Thai immigration officer on her arrival in Thailand your friend made a formal request to be granted permission to stay in Thailand in her capacity as a UK national, with all the rights and duties that this may entail. It was your friend who made this choice, not the immigration officer.

It was your friend's right as a UK national to enter Thailand on her UK passport and exercising this right she entered into the obligation to leave Thailand on her UK passport. As I said, this may be difficult for you, and impossible for your friend, to understand.

Having said that, there have been cases reported by Thai dual nationals who entered Thailand with the foreign passport and left with a newly issued Thai passport, but that was before the introduction of biometric passports, and they planned never again to travel to Thailand on either passport.

Before coming to Thailand, I was a lawyer in the UK for 25 years and was dealing with immigration law for 5 years so you may wish to think again before posting comments as to what may or may not be difficult for someone else to understand particularly where your own understanding may be flawed and/or wrong.

I fully appreciate that regardless of what common sense may dictate, and indeed regardless of what the laws in Thailand may actually state in reality, the practice of immigration officers when dealing with dual nationals can and does vary (just look at numerous previous posts), and there may be lacuna such as the requirement to enter and exit on the same passport (in respect of which I assure you is not a requirement of many countries which permit dual nationality.

Your post seems to suggest that one is an "either/or" citizen, and that you choose your citizenship at the point of entry, which is simply not correct. There may be an issue regarding the choice of nationality at entry but that cannot (or should not as a matter of citizenship law) impact on your rights as a citizen of that country. According to your logic, my friend should be arrested for overstaying if she does not extend her visa, which of course is a nonsense as she has an absolute right to be in Thailand once she is here.

In the UK, it would be unlawful for any government agency to seek to charge a citizen for entering and remaining in its own territory. Clearly, that is, for whatever reason, and however reasonable and unreasonable, is not the case in Thailand. I have sought some practical advice for dealing with this, and pontification is neither helpful, appropriate, nor correct in this instance.

[ATF]

Roath you've been told what to do. Now do it. I thought only your GF had ADHD.

[roath]

Good friend of mine has a Thai partner, she did exactly the same thing and entered Thailand on her European Passport, as her Thai passport was expired and she also was unaware that she could still have used her expired Thai Passport.

She went to her local immigration and was given a one year extension of stay, no questions asked, based purely on showing her Thai ID card and copy of her name entry in a Tabien Baan.

Suggest your friend either:

1) goes back to her local Thai Immigration and asks for a one year extension which she is definitely entitled to, which I guess would fall under National Police Order 327/2557 Case 2.23.

2) Flies out of Thailand before overstay and re-enters on her new Thai passport (showing the old one for the exit stamp if necessary).

If your friend remains and goes into overstay on her UK passport, then she will definitely be charged at 500 THB per day up to the maximum of 20,000 THB - that's the law.

I appreciate the advice. However, she was told that she would have to go back to Buriram to make any application as that is where she is registered on her tambien baan. The immigration officer was very unhelpful as I mentioned in previous posts. If she goes back to Chaeng Wattana tomorrow, she might have better luck I accept (although it really shouldn't be about the luck of the draw - yes, yes, TIT, I know).

Ultimately, between the cost of the application/s and the travel involved (and definitely if she does have to return to Buriram to get an extension), it is just cheaper to bite the bullet and pay the overstay at the airport and learn from one's mistakes (and hopefully others will too from this post). Cheers everyone anyway.

[bobthomas]

She already is in possession of her renewed Thai Passport - obtained in Thailand? (Turn around time usually 2 days).

Will she want to re-enter Thailand at some future date on her Thai Passport? (If for nothing else other than to not worry about extensions).

So, on leaving Thailand, present the British Passport which has the entry stamp in it, together with the valid Thai Passport. Explain to the Immigration Officer that she wishes to re-enter Thailand in the future on her Thai Passport, and would they please place an exit stamp in that Thai Passport, as well as the British Passport.

That is, have BOTH passports stamped with a departure stamp.

A member of my family, and a close friend both had an identical situation. The Immigration Officers at the airport on both occasions were obliging and courteous, after asking a few questions.

Can't offer any advise about overstay vs. extension.

Thanks. I will advise her to try this. As I said, the worst case scenario is that she just pays overstay on leaving. The cost of an extension plus cost of trips to Chaeng Wattana becomes marginal in terms of overstay for a short time.

I can only repeat that my GF said that the officer she spoke to at Immigration at Chaeng Wattana was very unhelpful. My GF is normally polite and courteous so I have no reason to believe that she said anything wrong. She was surprised that they were so brusque considering that she is Thai. Maybe she will have better luck at the airport.

I'm a Thai dual national. That previous post is awful advice.

As others have said, it is possible to enter Thailand on an expired Thai passport. I've done it twice, in once case 2 years after the passport expired.

Your GF is here now as a Brit. I've read your 'it shouldn' be that way' statements, but you are just going to have to suck it up and accept it.

You have two options.

1) Ask for an explicit one year extension of stay in the British passport based on being a Thai national. 1900 baht. Bobs your uncle.

2) Passport swap. This can be done by air only.

She departs on her British passport before her 30 day entry is up. Stamp out only on Brit passport. She entered as a Brit. She leaves as a Brit. Don't confuse matters.

Flies to a neighbouring country (KL, Singapore). Turns around, comes back.

Given she has a new Thai passport now she can simply go through the electronic gates at Suvanabhumi.

If she re-enters on a LCC at Don Muang, she simply hands over both old and new Thai passports to the IO, and they can choose which one to stamp her in on. And she is back in Thailand as a Thai.

Trust me, this is the way to do it.

Another breath of fresh air! Finally!

[digitalchromakey]

Might have to fly out and in just avoid real trouble or just pay the overstay of two weeks...

Don't push them or they can make it nasty for her...

They can't make it nasty. The Immigration act applies to "aliens", but she is not. One does not renounce nationality when entering with a foreign passport. Legally they don't have a leg to stand on.

Best not push this one too far; as I understand it, Thailand doesn't recognize dual nationality, although it may tolerate it.

.

Thai Nationality Act B.E. 2508 Chapter 2, Section 22 as amended by Acts 2, 3 B.E.2535 and Act 4 B.E. 2551.

A person of Thai nationality who has been natuarlised as an alien, or who has renounced Thai Nationality, or whose Thai Nationality has been revoked, shall loose Thai Nationality.

Edited August 18, 2014 by digitalchromakey

[roath]

Might have to fly out and in just avoid real trouble or just pay the overstay of two weeks...

Don't push them or they can make it nasty for her...

They can't make it nasty. The Immigration act applies to "aliens", but she is not. One does not renounce nationality when entering with a foreign passport. Legally they don't have a leg to stand on.

Best not push this one too far; as I understand it, Thailand doesn't recognize dual nationality, although it may tolerate it.

.

Thai Nationality Act B.E. 2508 Chapter 2, Section 22 as amended by Acts 2, 3 B.E.2535 and Act 4 B.E. 2551.

A person of Thai nationality who has been natuarlised as an alien, or who has renounced Thai Nationality, or whose Thai Nationality has been revoked, shall loose Thai Nationality.

This assertion comes up regularly, but is not a valid assertion as the law was changed quite a number of years ago. Dual nationality is permitted and perfectly legitimate. Previous threads give the legal authority for this if you need to check. You can revoke Thai nationality if you want to once you obtain another nationality, but it is not a requirement and would be rare in practice (perhaps to avoid military service or extradition or some such extreme circumstance).

[Maestro]

Before coming to Thailand, I was a lawyer in the UK for 25 years and was dealing with immigration law for 5 years so you may wish to think again before posting comments as to what may or may not be difficult for someone else to understand particularly where your own understanding may be flawed and/or wrong...

Come to think of it, you are absolutely right. Any person of sound mind reading your comments quoted below would immediately realise that you had not the slightest difficulty understanding and acknowledging the fact that Thai immigration expects a Thai/UK dual national who elected to enter Thailand on her UK passport to use the same passport upon departure from Thailand.

...really this is bonkers to charge a Thai for "overstaying" in her own country...

...You are not correct about her being here as a British national...

...I still think that it is legally wrong regardless of which passport was used. I doubt that the powers that be care too much and probably take the view that if she lives abroad, she can afford to pay so what's the problem? As always TIT...

[Old Man River]

She already is in possession of her renewed Thai Passport - obtained in Thailand? (Turn around time usually 2 days).

Will she want to re-enter Thailand at some future date on her Thai Passport? (If for nothing else other than to not worry about extensions).

So, on leaving Thailand, present the British Passport which has the entry stamp in it, together with the valid Thai Passport. Explain to the Immigration Officer that she wishes to re-enter Thailand in the future on her Thai Passport, and would they please place an exit stamp in that Thai Passport, as well as the British Passport.

That is, have BOTH passports stamped with a departure stamp.

A member of my family, and a close friend both had an identical situation. The Immigration Officers at the airport on both occasions were obliging and courteous, after asking a few questions.

Can't offer any advise about overstay vs. extension.

Thanks. I will advise her to try this. As I said, the worst case scenario is that she just pays overstay on leaving. The cost of an extension plus cost of trips to Chaeng Wattana becomes marginal in terms of overstay for a short time.

I can only repeat that my GF said that the officer she spoke to at Immigration at Chaeng Wattana was very unhelpful. My GF is normally polite and courteous so I have no reason to believe that she said anything wrong. She was surprised that they were so brusque considering that she is Thai. Maybe she will have better luck at the airport.

I'm a Thai dual national. That previous post is awful advice.

As others have said, it is possible to enter Thailand on an expired Thai passport. I've done it twice, in once case 2 years after the passport expired.

Your GF is here now as a Brit. I've read your 'it shouldn' be that way' statements, but you are just going to have to suck it up and accept it.

You have two options.

1) Ask for an explicit one year extension of stay in the British passport based on being a Thai national. 1900 baht. Bobs your uncle.

2) Passport swap. This can be done by air only.

She departs on her British passport before her 30 day entry is up. Stamp out only on Brit passport. She entered as a Brit. She leaves as a Brit. Don't confuse matters.

Flies to a neighbouring country (KL, Singapore). Turns around, comes back.

Given she has a new Thai passport now she can simply go through the electronic gates at Suvanabhumi.

If she re-enters on a LCC at Don Muang, she simply hands over both old and new Thai passports to the IO, and they can choose which one to stamp her in on. And she is back in Thailand as a Thai.

Trust me, this is the way to do it.

Option #2 is the way duals I know prefer. If they are traveling solely in Asia, they often will use only their Thai passports so it doesn't look like the entire passport is filled with trips of flying in circles.

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

[digitalchromakey]

They can't make it nasty. The Immigration act applies to "aliens", but she is not. One does not renounce nationality when entering with a foreign passport. Legally they don't have a leg to stand on.

Best not push this one too far; as I understand it, Thailand doesn't recognize dual nationality, although it may tolerate it.

.

Thai Nationality Act B.E. 2508 Chapter 2, Section 22 as amended by Acts 2, 3 B.E.2535 and Act 4 B.E. 2551.

A person of Thai nationality who has been natuarlised as an alien, or who has renounced Thai Nationality, or whose Thai Nationality has been revoked, shall loose Thai Nationality.

This assertion comes up regularly, but is not a valid assertion as the law was changed quite a number of years ago. Dual nationality is permitted and perfectly legitimate. Previous threads give the legal authority for this if you need to check. You can revoke Thai nationality if you want to once you obtain another nationality, but it is not a requirement and would be rare in practice (perhaps to avoid military service or extradition or some such extreme circumstance).

I would certainly be most interested to read the amendments, could you perhaps cite these changes to Thai Nationality Law that you refer to?

[roath]

Before coming to Thailand, I was a lawyer in the UK for 25 years and was dealing with immigration law for 5 years so you may wish to think again before posting comments as to what may or may not be difficult for someone else to understand particularly where your own understanding may be flawed and/or wrong...

Come to think of it, you are absolutely right. Any person of sound mind reading your comments quoted below would immediately realise that you had not the slightest difficulty understanding and acknowledging the fact that Thai immigration expects a Thai/UK dual national who elected to enter Thailand on her UK passport to use the same passport upon departure from Thailand.

...really this is bonkers to charge a Thai for "overstaying" in her own country...

...You are not correct about her being here as a British national...

...I still think that it is legally wrong regardless of which passport was used. I doubt that the powers that be care too much and probably take the view that if she lives abroad, she can afford to pay so what's the problem? As always TIT...

I do understand and acknowledge the fact that what you state regarding entering and exiting on the same passport would appear to be a/the requirement in Thailand. At the very least, this would appear to be the practical requirement, although no-one has quoted the law which means that what may be insisted at by immigration may not actually be what the law demands. My friend's experience today at immigration where she was refused any sort of extension when according to the posts, she should have been offered a year extension, would bear that up. It does, however remain the case that many countries do not have the same requirements as Thailand, and indeed could not do so. Furthermore, many countries would find the idea of fining their own nationals for "overstaying" because they entered on the "wrong" passport rather unconscionable (and indeed, it would illegal in many countries, and certainly the UK). I do not think that stating such a view means that I am "struggling" with reality or whatever is being implied or expressed. There have been some very helpful comments, for which I am obliged, and which deal directly with the situation without having the need to pass judgment or pontificate on the mistakes or misunderstandings of others (something which we are all guilty of at some time or another). Anyway, I hope that that clears the air. Cheers.

[AYJAYDEE]

Before coming to Thailand, I was a lawyer in the UK for 25 years and was dealing with immigration law for 5 years so you may wish to think again before posting comments as to what may or may not be difficult for someone else to understand particularly where your own understanding may be flawed and/or wrong...

Come to think of it, you are absolutely right. Any person of sound mind reading your comments quoted below would immediately realise that you had not the slightest difficulty understanding and acknowledging the fact that Thai immigration expects a Thai/UK dual national who elected to enter Thailand on her UK passport to use the same passport upon departure from Thailand.

...really this is bonkers to charge a Thai for "overstaying" in her own country...

...You are not correct about her being here as a British national...

...I still think that it is legally wrong regardless of which passport was used. I doubt that the powers that be care too much and probably take the view that if she lives abroad, she can afford to pay so what's the problem? As always TIT...

I do understand and acknowledge the fact that what you state regarding entering and exiting on the same passport would appear to be a/the requirement in Thailand. At the very least, this would appear to be the practical requirement, although no-one has quoted the law which means that what may be insisted at by immigration may not actually be what the law demands. My friend's experience today at immigration where she was refused any sort of extension when according to the posts, she should have been offered a year extension, would bear that up. It does, however remain the case that many countries do not have the same requirements as Thailand, and indeed could not do so. Furthermore, many countries would find the idea of fining their own nationals for "overstaying" because they entered on the "wrong" passport rather unconscionable (and indeed, it would illegal in many countries, and certainly the UK). I do not think that stating such a view means that I am "struggling" with reality or whatever is being implied or expressed. There have been some very helpful comments, for which I am obliged, and which deal directly with the situation without having the need to pass judgment or pontificate on the mistakes or misunderstandings of others (something which we are all guilty of at some time or another). Anyway, I hope that that clears the air. Cheers.

what do the actions and laws of other countries and what they would find unconscionable have to do with it?

[roath]

what do the actions and laws of other countries and what they would find unconscionable have to do with it?

Everything and nothing. That's pretty much the point...:-)

[SiggiCM]

"I did say that she could try to enter on her Thai ID but she didn't believe me as her passport was expired and didn't think that it would be valid for entry which is understandable as in many countries an expired passport (or ID) isn't valid as proof."

AFAIK in all countries a citizen of that country will always be allowed entry.

"but really this is bonkers to charge a Thai for "overstaying" in her own country. In the UK, this would be unlawful, regardless of what passport the person entered on."

Are you sure about that? She is here as a UK citizen, not Thai, and I would presume it would be the same in other countries.

On what basis did she ask for extension today? Sounds like maybe she pissed of the officer (he being jealous of her living in the UK could have been enough for that). But as Joe said, if she applies for an extension based on being Thai that should be ok. Even her old passport and valid ID card should be enough proof of that.

very funny and crazy answers here,

a thai national dont need to pay overstay, and can not overstay,

she can leave on thai passport, if she has a new passport it is a valid document and

nobody can stop her on the border only if there is an arrest warrent on her name,

[roath]

"I did say that she could try to enter on her Thai ID but she didn't believe me as her passport was expired and didn't think that it would be valid for entry which is understandable as in many countries an expired passport (or ID) isn't valid as proof."

AFAIK in all countries a citizen of that country will always be allowed entry.

"but really this is bonkers to charge a Thai for "overstaying" in her own country. In the UK, this would be unlawful, regardless of what passport the person entered on."

Are you sure about that? She is here as a UK citizen, not Thai, and I would presume it would be the same in other countries.

On what basis did she ask for extension today? Sounds like maybe she pissed of the officer (he being jealous of her living in the UK could have been enough for that). But as Joe said, if she applies for an extension based on being Thai that should be ok. Even her old passport and valid ID card should be enough proof of that.

very funny and crazy answers here,

a thai national dont need to pay overstay, and can not overstay,

she can leave on thai passport, if she has a new passport it is a valid document and

nobody can stop her on the border only if there is an arrest warrent on her name,

Previous posters are quite clear in stating that that that is not (apparently) the case. My friend was told by immigration this morning that if she doesn't extend, she will need to pay overstay on leaving Thailand even though she was at immigration to collect her brand new passport, has a Thai ID and a tambien baan. So Thai Immigration seem to concur that a Thai national needs to pay overstay regardless of being a Thai national if they entered as an "alien".

[AYJAYDEE]

what do the actions and laws of other countries and what they would find unconscionable have to do with it?

Everything and nothing. That's pretty much the point...:-)

the point was : will there be a problem as per your top post. any comparisons have no purpose other than to criticize thailand yet again.

[Maestro]

very funny and crazy answers here,

a thai national dont need to pay overstay, and can not overstay,

she can leave on thai passport, if she has a new passport it is a valid document and

nobody can stop her on the border only if there is an arrest warrent on her name,

I agree that this is how it should be, but Thai immigration does not see it the same way and any comparison with procedures in another country would be irrelevant, futile, and off topic. For Thai immigration, entry and exit stamps are much like entries in an accounting ledger. With foreign passports, every entry must be balanced by an exit. With Thai passports, every exit must be balanced by an entry on the return to Thailand. This last point used to flummox their computers when a Thai born abroad arrived with his first passport and the database showed no previous exit from Thailand, but immigration eventually found a way to update their programs to account for this.

In the case of the OP's friend, my highly uneducated guess is as follows:

1. If she leaves with her new Thai passport, without showing immigration her UK passport and without mentioning her entry with that passport, the chance of getting taken aside and being asked to pay the overstay fine is less than 30% (considerably higher if immigration already flagged her passport in the database follow her meeting with them about an extension of stay in her UK passport)
2. If she is asked to pay the overstay fine and refuses to pay it, the chance of getting arrested and sent to court is less than 10%.
3. If she is taken to court for overstaying, the chance that the court of first instance finds her guilty is less than 1%.
4. If she is found guilty, the chance that the court of appeals will uphold the verdict is less than 0.1%.
5. If the verdict is upheld, the chance that the supreme court will uphold the verdict is less than 0.001%

I have seen no precedents of a matter like this ever having gone to court and frankly, it is illusory even to attempt any estimate of risk.

[Maestro]

Best not push this one too far; as I understand it, Thailand doesn't recognize dual nationality, although it may tolerate it.

.

Thai Nationality Act B.E. 2508 Chapter 2, Section 22 as amended by Acts 2, 3 B.E.2535 and Act 4 B.E. 2551.

A person of Thai nationality who has been natuarlised as an alien, or who has renounced Thai Nationality, or whose Thai Nationality has been revoked, shall loose Thai Nationality.

An English translation of the Thai nationality Act, with amendments up to 2012, can be perused here for clarification. Start reading at Section 13. Whether Section 22 applies to the OP's friend depends on how she acquired her UK nationality. If it was based on her marriage to a UK national, Section 13 applies.

[bkk_mike]

"I did say that she could try to enter on her Thai ID but she didn't believe me as her passport was expired and didn't think that it would be valid for entry which is understandable as in many countries an expired passport (or ID) isn't valid as proof."

AFAIK in all countries a citizen of that country will always be allowed entry.

"but really this is bonkers to charge a Thai for "overstaying" in her own country. In the UK, this would be unlawful, regardless of what passport the person entered on."

Are you sure about that? She is here as a UK citizen, not Thai, and I would presume it would be the same in other countries.

On what basis did she ask for extension today? Sounds like maybe she pissed of the officer (he being jealous of her living in the UK could have been enough for that). But as Joe said, if she applies for an extension based on being Thai that should be ok. Even her old passport and valid ID card should be enough proof of that.

Technically, an expired passport is no longer valid ID and therefore, I imagine that you have difficulty in entering most countries. That would certainly be the case with a biometric passport which would be rejected per se. Furthermore, an expired passport would not necessarily constitute proof of nationality. In the UK there is no national ID card so an expired passport would not be sufficient proof of current nationality.

In such circumstances, you would need some other form of proof of nationality (which in this instance, a Thai National ID card would have been so Ubonjoe was probably correct on this count). If entering the UK without a current passport, you would be required to prove your current nationality which might be difficult (not least as trying to enter on an expired passport means that you must have a second citizenship, which means that it is possible that your current/previous citizenship might have been revoked etc).

You are not correct about her being here as a British national. She has a Thai ID card which means that she is here lawfully regardless of her entry on a British passport. Logically that must be the case, otherwise, citizenship would have no meaning. She is a Thai citizen and must have an unfettered right to reside in Thailand. That is certainly the case in other countries (by which of course I mean Western countries). There would (should) only be an issue if dual nationality is unlawful, which it is not in Thailand (or the UK).

She is normally very polite and doesn't argue. In fact, I told her off for not insisting on speaking with someone more senior. She is Thai after all, and they can hardly revoke her visa as they could if I went along with her. The immigration officer was not helpful at all apparently. I also wondered whether jealousy might have been an issue as it just didn't make sense that they were so aggressive with her, telling her about paying overstay even though she is a Thai national and refusing to give anything more than 7 days. They even demanded proof of residence (which isn't usually required for foreigners on an extension). Just shows that not only us farang get a hard time from immigration though.

Sorry, but an expired passport is regularly allowed for travel to your home country (ONLY). It simply can't be used as a passport to travel to any other country.

In the OP's case, she could have travelled on the UK passport (avoiding the need for direct flights, etc.) and still entered Thailand on the expired passport. If she'd known she was staying long enough to apply for a new passport, that would have been the better option. Entering on the UK passport was only the good option if she wasn't planning on visiting for long enough to get a new passport...

And as for overstay - my daughter (dual national) once entered on her UK passport as her Thai passport had expired, and had to go to the overstay counter when she left again, but as she was still young enough (12), she didn't have to pay the fine.

Your simplest option is to go somewhere for a few days (or just for the day) so that she re-enters the country on her Thai passport. Is there somewhere you've been meaning to go to like Siem Reap, or Vientiane, where you could make a trip out of it.

[Richard W]

She has an ILR stamp in her British passport. The ILR remains technically valid even after citizenship.

I don't believe that is true. What is more to the point is that immigration officers don't notice that it has been superseded.

[roath]

what do the actions and laws of other countries and what they would find unconscionable have to do with it?

Everything and nothing. That's pretty much the point...:-)

the point was : will there be a problem as per your top post. any comparisons have no purpose other than to criticize thailand yet again.

This isn't a playground. Comparisons have relevance for explaining the context in how the mistake was made (by making assumptions based on how other countries operate, and indeed how international law operates). What I posted would appear to be a common problem/experience for dual nationals, and apart from obtaining useful advice for my friend's situation, posts such as this can serve a useful purpose in educating others so that they learn from other's mistakes. No country is perfect, but highlighting discrepancies, inconsistencies and things which frankly make no sense logically or legally hardly constitutes "Thailand bashing" or necessitates trolling comments which themselves have no purpose other than to criticise the poster.

[roath]

She has an ILR stamp in her British passport. The ILR remains technically valid even after citizenship.

I don't believe that is true. What is more to the point is that immigration officers don't notice that it has been superseded.

The ILR is superseded by citizenship as you correctly state. However, that does not "cancel" the ILR stamp. The UK authorities make no issue of the fact that both are actively used (i.e. using ILR for entry) even if they are aware that the individual in question has citizenship. As I mentioned earlier, many countries do not permit dual citizenship (China and India spring to mind, although from the above posts, Thailand may also qualify for some) in which case, if the ILR stamp were cancelled, it would cause serious difficulties for a number of nationals. The UK is very liberal in this regard. I personally know of someone who travels to China regularly and on at least one occasion was actively assisted by UK Border Agency officials to conceal the fact that she had left the UK on a UK passport rather than her Chinese passport by error (i.e. pretty much the same situation that my friend is in) based on the ILR stamp in her Chinese passport. I trust that this clarifies.

[dachippe]

dont know if this will help but i entered Thailand 2007 on a Swedish passport without any visa. I stayed 5 years and during that time my Swedish passport expired but i applied for a temporally passport at the Swedish embassy. I asked thai immigration if i had to pay any fines they said yes 20000thb for overstay when I was at the airport. i went to airport 2013 and showed my Thai passport, there they asked if i had a valid visa for Sweden and i showed my Swedish temp passport. Thats all no fine and i was able to fly no more questions asked. Maybe that worked because they couldn't see if i arrived on my Thai or Swedish passport.

[StefanBBK]

Uhm.........you said that you were about to send her on a visa-run trip........well do so.

Leave Th on her UK-passport and return on her Thai passport.

This seems to be easiest solution. Do not bother with 7 day extension etc.

Just my opinion.

[shaurene]

Your best buying a cheap Air Asia flight to anywhere and go out on the British one and renter on her Thai passport. Book an early flight and book the earliest flight back.

[samran]

Your best buying a cheap Air Asia flight to anywhere and go out on the British one and renter on her Thai passport. Book an early flight and book the earliest flight back.

Agree if the girlfriend was going to be staying a long time.

Given we are looking at a 2 week overstay, then it is going to be 7k in fines or thereabouts. Might get a cheapy ticket to somewhere for 4 or 5k, not sure if it is with the 6 or 7 hour effort for the sake of saving 2k. Unless of course a short trip to Singapore for some shopping appealed.

[roath]

Your best buying a cheap Air Asia flight to anywhere and go out on the British one and renter on her Thai passport. Book an early flight and book the earliest flight back.

Agree if the girlfriend was going to be staying a long time.

Given we are looking at a 2 week overstay, then it is going to be 7k in fines or thereabouts. Might get a cheapy ticket to somewhere for 4 or 5k, not sure if it is with the 6 or 7 hour effort for the sake of saving 2k. Unless of course a short trip to Singapore for some shopping appealed.

For the two of us plus travel and accomodation it ends up being nearly double the overstay amount so you are bang on.

[Jonmarleesco]

Actually, the address in Bangkok can be a requirement for a 'Farang', dependent on the office. Lad Phrao, during the CW closure, required just that.

But she might have an issue when re-entering the UK, if she did manage to leave Thailand on her Thai passport.

Edited August 19, 2014 by Maestro
Deleted part of post that gave wrong information.

[AYJAYDEE]

Actually, the address in Bangkok can be a requirement for a 'Farang', dependent on the office. Lad Phrao, during the CW closure, required just that.

But she might have an issue when re-entering the UK, if she did manage to leave Thailand on her Thai passport.

I should also point out that, technically, Thailand doesn't recognise dual nationality.

my wife leaves thailand on her thai passport and enters canada on her canadian passport every year.

[Richard W]

The ILR is superseded by citizenship as you correctly state. However, that does not "cancel" the ILR stamp.

I believe it does. At least, I have not heard of exclusion orders being made when Britons by naturalisation are deprived of citizenship.