Burmese GF with temp passport & Working Permit getting an international passport

[Cheesekraft]

Girlfriend has been staying in the country for a very long time, still has to do visa reporting and I think she has to do a border run once a year, but she has been on temporary passports (good for travel between myanmar/thailand) with a working permit. She is getting an international passport and we wish to travel together. She is concerned she will not be able to keep both, and she will lose her working permit if she enters Thailand with her new international passport, or something along those lines. I don't understand how this works, I was expecting them to be able to transfer the stamps to her new permanent passport, but apparently they don't do this, will she enter with both passports? Enter on only the temporary, and leave to international destinations on her real passport? Thank you for any help clarifying this confusing situation.

[Mario2008]

Better contact a NGO that deals a lot with refugees, such as the Burmese Border Consortium. They will now the difference and rules regarding the different passports better.

[Chillout101]

Better contact a NGO that deals a lot with refugees, such as the Burmese Border Consortium. They will now the difference and rules regarding the different passports better.

I am sure she is not a refugee so why involve them?

My wife had the same last year, she entered and exited thailand on work passport that is not a real passport, only for Burma/Thailand. You can fly on it but only between the mentioned countries.

She needs to stamp out of Thailand on work passport and have a re-entry permit for it, if asked at airport she needs to show the big passport that shows she is allowed to fly to whatever country you are travelling to. She should always re-enret Thailand on work passport.

[Tomtomtom69]

Funny rules that allow a country (Myanmar) to issue two types of passports with two different intentions, but my understanding is that the "work" passport is issued to temporary migrants working in menial jobs, giving them a 2-year non-L visa or whatever it's called. Restrictions include can't leave the amphoe/khed where they are registered and must receive permission before travelling to another part of Thailand. Also can only be used for land or air entry/exit via prescribed Thai/Myanmar border checkpoints or by air between Bangkok/Chiang Mai/Phuket and Myanmar (Naypyidaw/Yangon/Mandalay).

A normal Myanmar passport only allows the same types of Thai visas issued to all foreigners, including tourist, non-B, etc. and the same rules as all other foreigners, meaning freedom to travel to all parts of Thailand and freedom to enter/exit Thailand via any international checkpoint or by air/sea to/from any international destination, provided visa and other entry requirements have first been met.

However, by the sounds of it she is right. She can't maintain two separate identities on two different types of passports issued by the same country. If she were a dual national, it would be easy, exit Thailand on her Myanmar work passport and enter new country on her second nationality, but in this case I'd say she might have to cancel her first passport and obtain a proper one - can't maintain both at the same time.

But to be sure, why not have her make an enquiry at the Myanmar embassy, located at the corner of Sathorn and Pan roads in Bangkok? They'll surely know more than any of us do.

[Cheesekraft]

thank you for the replies, I may have her call the bangkok embassy or visit it next time in the city. This definitely sounds like her temporary passport. She has been talking with immigration officers and at the Thai and Myanmar embassies and isn't really getting any clear answers.