French baby born in Thailand needs visa?

[Frenchbaby]

Hello,

My husband and I are French nationals and we had our first baby 3 months ago (born in Thailand). I have a non-immigrant B visa and my husband is currently on tourist visa. We just applied for our baby's passport and she will have it in a few weeks. Does anybody know if my baby requires a visa to stay in Thailand? We are going home for a holiday in April and I don't want to be stuck at immigration upon leaving Thailand or returning to Thailand.

Thanks for any info related to Thailand visas for farang babies

Julia

[ubonjoe]

Since your baby was born here it will not be a problem leaving. You will need to show their Thai birth certificate and passport on departure from the country.

On returning they would get a 30 day visa exempt entry,

Children under the age of 15 do not pay overstay fines but they do get a stamp for the overstay which means that legally they should still have a visa or extension of stay.

If you are working here and have an extension of stay your husband and child can both get dependent extensions. They would need a single entry non-o visa to apply for the extension. You could get them while you are in France.

[Frenchbaby]

Thank you so much for your quick reply! Very helpful. I also called a friend who knows about these matters and she said the same thing, that basically you enter with the baby on a visa exemption and then get an overstay but you don't have to pay the fine until the child is 10 years old (she said 10, not 15, so maybe this is new).

I'm just a bit concerned of what happens if the law changes suddenly and then we get a huge overstay and have to pay...So I guess I will have to keep myself informed! It's too much trouble for me at this stage to apply for a dependent O visa for her so I guess we will take this overstay option...

Thanks again and if anyone else has more details/info, please feel free!

[ubonjoe]

It is under the age of 15 based upon the civil code that exempts minors from paying fines.

[Mario2008]

Actually the Thai criminal code, not the civil code.

[emiinnz]

I'm in an exact same situation. It's just too much hassle to apply O-Visa for my baby (5-months). We are going to Canada and returning to Bangkok after a month. How did it go? Did the officer ask anything on your arrival here? I'd much appreciate if you could share what you have experienced assuming you are back already?

Emi

[Maestro]

Thank you so much for your quick reply! Very helpful. I also called a friend who knows about these matters and she said the same thing, that basically you enter with the baby on a visa exemption and then get an overstay but you don't have to pay the fine until the child is 10 years old (she said 10, not 15, so maybe this is new).

I'm just a bit concerned of what happens if the law changes suddenly and then we get a huge overstay and have to pay...So I guess I will have to keep myself informed! It's too much trouble for me at this stage to apply for a dependent O visa for her so I guess we will take this overstay option...

Thanks again and if anyone else has more details/info, please feel free!

How much trouble is too much? When you are in France in April, you can send off your child's visa application to the Thai consulate together in the same envelope with your and your husband's applications.