Which passport to use?

[raymp]

My thai wife will soon have an Australian citizenship and passport as well as her thai passport.

When travelling out of Australia to Thailand which passport should be used to leave au.? au or thai? or either?

I presume she could use either, just not to sure.

If she used au passport to leave au. could she use the thai passport to enter the kingdom, ?

if so then a visa would not be needed to enter Thailand.

any help please?

[KhunBENQ]

Leaving Australia:

show Australian passport.

(if ticket is longer than 30 days, show Thai passport to airline checkin)

Arriving in Thailand:

show Thai passport.

Leaving Thailand:

show Australian passport at airline checkin (otherwise they will ask for visa to Australia).

At the immigration checkpoint show Thai passport.

Arriving Australia:

show Australian passport.

Don't show both passports to Thai immigration!

Edited May 31, 2015 by KhunBENQ

[ubonjoe]

She would show both passport on check in for her flight. The Thai is to prove she does not need a visa for entry. Then she would show her Australian passport to immigration.

She would then enter and depart Thailand using her Thai passport. On departure check in she would show both passports again to prove she does not need a visa for Australia.

[IMA_FARANG]

The rule for dual nationality nationals is generally to use the passport of the country when you are entering or leaving that country.

Which means she should use her Thai passport to enter and exit Thailand and use her Australian passport to enter or exit Australia

You are eight, if she enters Thailand on a Thai passport she should not need a visa which Is a big advantage at Thai immigration.

As a Thai with a Thai passport she can even use the automatic entry gates at Bangkok airport and avoid any waiting in queue.

Entering Australia use the Aussie documents.

Remember however, that if she does enter Thailand on her Australian passport she will need a visa and then must exit on that same passport.

So don't do that.

[raymp]

Thanks that what I thought.

When using Her thai passport to travel to au, many times, airlines have never asked for a visa, her permanent au visa must be electronically recorded in the thai passport as they don't paste in a paper visa anymore.

Australia don't even stamp my passport or hers when we leave or arrive.

[KhunBENQ]

Remember however, that if she does enter Thailand on her Australian passport she will need a visa and then must exit on that same passport.

Just an addition:

If she enters on an Australian passport without visa she would get a visa exempt stamp for 30 days.

So if it is 100% clear that she would leave within 30 days, everything would be fine.

But best do as described.

[TerryLH]

When she got her AUS citizenship, did immigration close out her entry on her Thai passport?

If not, shouldn't she leave this first time on the passport she entered the country on?

[dbrenn]

When she got her AUS citizenship, did immigration close out her entry on her Thai passport?

If not, shouldn't she leave this first time on the passport she entered the country on?

When your wife got her Australian citizenship, any Australian visa or Australian PR that she had on her foreign passport was immediately cancelled by DIBP (in practice this happens a few days after the naturalisation ceremony). This process is automatic, and there's nothing that the visa holder / new citizen needs to do.

From then on, the new Australian citizen needs to apply for and use an Australian passport to leave and enter Australia, switching mid flight to the foreign passport (if going back to the country of original citizenship) or using either the foreign or the Australian passport (if going elsewhere).

I just came back from a trip around the UK and Europe with my naturalised Aussie / originally Thai wife, and was so very glad that she didn't have to use her Thai passport any more. Australians can travel freely almost anywhere without visas.

Edited June 1, 2015 by dbrenn

[dbrenn]

Don't show both passports to Thai immigration!

Why not?

I don't show my foreign passport to Thai immigration voluntarily, but sometimes they ask for it, to double check that I have the right to go to the country on my boarding pass. It's not a big problem as there are many Thais with dual nationality.

That said, I always use the automatic gates at Suvanabhumi - avoids contact with Thai immigration altogether

[Donutz]

Don't show both passports to Thai immigration!

Why not?

I don't show my foreign passport to Thai immigration voluntarily, but sometimes they ask for it, to double check that I have the right to go to the country on my boarding pass. It's not a big problem as there are many Thais with dual nationality.

That said, I always use the automatic gates at Suvanabhumi - avoids contact with Thai immigration altogether

Probably because some people, including some immigration staff (falsely!!) beleive that Thai's cannot have dual nationality. But dual nationality is not a problem under the (inactive) Thai nationality law so there indeed shouldn't be any problem showing a Thai and Ozzie passport to Thai or Ozzie officials.

[krisb]

I'm wondering the same for my daughter on her next trip to Thailand from Aus.

So just to clarify, and you guys are certain 100% from your own experience, they can show both passports at each end Thai and Aus immigration, both their passports? And have no issues?

Way I see it is there is nothing dodgy going on here, they are legal dual citizens of both countries so it should make zero difference if they hand 2 passports over at any immigration. In fact they probably really should hand both passports over when asked and let immigration decide what they want to stamp.

Is the entry/exit stamps going to cause any confusion?

[bigyin]

There is surely no good reason to show both passports to Thai Immigration if someone is a Thai citizen. It is just risking a problem for nothing. I think the earlier advice of Thai passport in and out of Thailand and the other passport in and out of the other country is the way to go but probably both passports required at airline check in.

[dbrenn]

I'm wondering the same for my daughter on her next trip to Thailand from Aus.

So just to clarify, and you guys are certain 100% from your own experience, they can show both passports at each end Thai and Aus immigration, both their passports? And have no issues?

Way I see it is there is nothing dodgy going on here, they are legal dual citizens of both countries so it should make zero difference if they hand 2 passports over at any immigration. In fact they probably really should hand both passports over when asked and let immigration decide what they want to stamp.

Is the entry/exit stamps going to cause any confusion?

As other posters have said, all you can do is show both passports at check in (each end), and show the one at immigration that belongs to the country you are leaving or arriving in.

If immigration of one country asks to see the passport of the other one, show them it unapologetically. Chances are all they want to see is evidence of a right to fly to the other country with no visa.

Thai citizens should use the automatic gates at Suwannabhumi to avoid the hassle of facing an immigration officer at all. That's what I do to avoid the stupid questions that they sometimes ask.