Is dual citizenship in Thailand allowed ?

[GOLDBUGGY]

6 hours ago, Maestro said:

 

What gave you the impression that Thailand does not recognise dual citizenship?

Well, first you need to understand the difference between holding two passports from 2 different countries, and if that is acceptable in the country you are living in. If it is then that country accepts dual citizenship. If it is not then they don't.

 

Then Google the question if Thailand accepts Dual Citizenship or not. In there lies your answer.  

[stament]

On 4 January 2016 at 4:20 PM, dominique355 said:

When my kids were born, we lived outside Thailand and they immediately got this foreign (my) citizenship and passport.

Later when we moved to Thailand, we applied for a Thai passport for them, which was quite complicated but in the end worked out fine.

No questions asked, ever.

Interesting, our son was born in the UK and got a UK passport. We then applied for a thai passport at the Thai Embassy in London and it was the easiest thing ever. I couldn't believe how easy it was. This time next month will be the opposite, our baby will be born in TH and we will apply for a UK passport as well as the automatic Thai one you are entitled due to country of birth.. My wife and two boys all have Thai and English passports. Officially you are supposed to renounce your TH citizenship if taking another citizenship if you are over 21, as indicated above but nobody ever does and there doesnt seem to be any tracking by the Thai authorities. UK allowas for both.

 

Having both passports is very useful as Thai passports are quite restrictive outside Asia and you have to apply for visas to go almost anywhere which is especially troublesome if you need to go somewhere quickly unexpectedly.

[stament]

Note the issue around foreign embassy assistance is one to note, you cant claim this if you are in a place you are a citizen of

Edited January 10, 2017 by stament

[ubonjoe]

6 minutes ago, stament said:

Officially you are supposed to renounce your TH citizenship if taking another citizenship if you are over 21, as indicated above but nobody ever does

That is not correct.

It only gives a person the option to choose their nationality when they turn 21 since that is the age of maturity. Before then it was their parents choice.

[stament]

42 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

That is not correct.

It only gives a person the option to choose their nationality when they turn 21 since that is the age of maturity. Before then it was their parents choice.

so dual nationality is allowed in TH you are saying and no issues?

[ubonjoe]

4 minutes ago, stament said:

so dual nationality is allowed in TH you are saying and no issues?

Thailand does not specifically allow or disallow dual nationalities. It is not called out in the nationality act either way.

[Maestro]

6 hours ago, GOLDBUGGY said:

Then Google the question if Thailand accepts Dual Citizenship or not. In there lies your answer.

 

I did the web search you suggesgted and found a lot of wrong information.

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=does+Thailand+accept+Dual+Citizenship+or+not

 

The correct information can be found in the Thai Nationality Act B.E. 2508 and the subseqent four Nationality Acts that amended parts of the Nationality Act B.E. 2508. The fact is that none of these Nationality Acts state that dual nationality is not allowed or not accepted or not recognised in Thailand.

 

If you find any text in the aforementioned Nationality Acts indicating that dual nationality is not allowed in Thailand, please post it here with indication of what Act you found it in and the relevant section of that Act. Otherwise, it will be appreciated if you will henceforth kindly refrain from posting or linking to wrong information.

[Maestro]

6 hours ago, stament said:

...This time next month will be the opposite, our baby will be born in TH and we will apply for a UK passport as well as the automatic Thai one you are entitled due to country of birth...

 

One small correction: your child will not acquire Thai nationality and therefore be given a Thai passport because of its country of birth but presumably because one of its parents has Thai nationality, ie your child acquires Thai Nationality under Section 7(1) of the Nationality Act, not under Section 7(2)

[stament]

ok thanks for the clarification Maestro, same outcome nevertheless and action on me to get British citizenship remains.

 

 

[Maestro]

Right, and your experience confirms that that dual nationality is not forbidden or otherwise disallowed in Thailand.

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[Geoff Snell]

  Took me 3-4 years to get my (12 year old) Thai daughter who has a Thai ID card and expired Thai passport her Australian citizenship/passport.

  We will be going to the KoLat passport office in April to renew the old Thai Passport. You never are sure with Thai laws but I would be surprised if she is either rejected for the new Thai passport or told to surrender the Australian passport. If that happens I wonder how all those Thais living permanently in Australia go when they are back and forth to Thailand.

  At this time my daughter uses her Australian passport and gets a 30 day visa like I do. Ironic she was born in Thailand, has a Thai mother and a Thai ID card but if for some reason overstayed her visa I am sure she would be fined. See how we go in April.

  I would be happy to hear of anyone that is, or has been, in the same situation.  

[Maestro]

A Thai national can travel to Thailand with her expired Thai passport, and it takes only a few days to get a new passport issued by a passport office in Thailand. There is no need for her to enter Thailand with her Australian passport.

Leave Australia with her Australian passport, enter Thailand with her expired Thai passport.

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[Dipterocarp]

On 1/12/2017 at 3:54 AM, Geoff Snell said:

  Took me 3-4 years to get my (12 year old) Thai daughter who has a Thai ID card and expired Thai passport her Australian citizenship/passport.

  We will be going to the KoLat passport office in April to renew the old Thai Passport. You never are sure with Thai laws but I would be surprised if she is either rejected for the new Thai passport or told to surrender the Australian passport. If that happens I wonder how all those Thais living permanently in Australia go when they are back and forth to Thailand.

  At this time my daughter uses her Australian passport and gets a 30 day visa like I do. Ironic she was born in Thailand, has a Thai mother and a Thai ID card but if for some reason overstayed her visa I am sure she would be fined. See how we go in April.

  I would be happy to hear of anyone that is, or has been, in the same situation.  

Your daughters Australian Nationality is permanent and can't be stripped by any Foreign entity. Passport itself is government property issued in the name of governor-general/Queen Elizabeth totally inappropriate to confiscate it under international law. My Thai American friend always enters Thailand on her Thai passport.

Edited January 15, 2017 by Dipterocarp

[Maestro]

On 1/11/2017 at 9:54 PM, Geoff Snell said:

Took me 3-4 years to get my (12 year old) Thai daughter who has a Thai ID card and expired Thai passport her Australian citizenship/passport.

  We will be going to the KoLat passport office in April to renew the old Thai Passport. You never are sure with Thai laws but I would be surprised if she is either rejected for the new Thai passport or told to surrender the Australian passport...

 

The Thai passport office does not know that your daughter also has an Australian passport unless you force that information on them and even if they know they do not care.

 

Incidentally, not that it matters but just to satisfy my curiosity, where is the KoLat passport office? 

[Maestro]

6 hours ago, Dipterocarp said:

At this time my daughter uses her Australian passport and gets a 30 day visa like I do.

 

Is your daughter currently in Thailand?

[jpinx]

13 minutes ago, Maestro said:

 

Is you daughter currently in Thailand?

It would not matter. If she presents an out of date passport for renewal, the passport office has no need to know what travelling she has been doing.  Giving offices too much information can create issues when the official is unsure what to do with it   

[Maestro]

It would be relevant to the formulation of my next piece of advice to him. As I have some difficulty making sense of the prattle in his first post on this subject I decided to take it slow and ask one question at the time, rather than reply with "if...then...otherwise...", which only might confuse him more.

[Maestro]

4 hours ago, Maestro said:

Incidentally, not that it matters but just to satisfy my curiosity, where is the KoLat passport office?

 

Forget it. I have found KoLat, on Google Maps written as Ko Lat, in Surat Thani province: https://goo.gl/rVCELJ

 

 

[LolaS]

can someone explain to me why I know a lot of thais, that hold, thai french, thai spanish, thai british, even russian thai!!!! these are children from mixed marriage, and thai authorities knows that they have dual

[thedemon]

7 hours ago, Maestro said:

 

Forget it. I have found KoLat, on Google Maps written as Ko Lat, in Surat Thani province: https://goo.gl/rVCELJ

 

 

 

I had presumed the poster meant Korat, the nickname for Nakhon Ratchasima because the pronunciation can sound like ko-laat.

[Geoff Snell]

18 hours ago, Maestro said:

 

The Thai passport office does not know that your daughter also has an Australian passport unless you force that information on them and even if they know they do not care.

 

Incidentally, not that it matters but just to satisfy my curiosity, where is the KoLat passport office? 

Thanks for the reply. I do not know where the Passport office is in Ko Lat. I will go with family and friends and try to find it as my daughter's aunt needs passport as well. Did passports before in Bang Na about 12 years ago. Only took one day. Hope the Ko Lat office is the same but you never know from day to day in good old Thailand

[ubonjoe]

7 minutes ago, Geoff Snell said:

Thanks for the reply. I do not know where the Passport office is in Ko Lat. I will go with family and friends and try to find it as my daughter's aunt needs passport as well. Did passports before in Bang Na about 12 years ago. Only took one day. Hope the Ko Lat office is the same but you never know from day to day in good old Thailand

Location of passport offices in Thai is here: http://www.consular.go.th/main/th/organize/21037-หน่วยบริการหนังสือเดินทาง.html

[Geoff Snell]

On 1/12/2017 at 7:39 AM, Maestro said:

A Thai national can travel to Thailand with her expired Thai passport, and it takes only a few days to get a new passport issued by a passport office in Thailand. There is no need for her to enter Thailand with her Australian passport.

Leave Australia with her Australian passport, enter Thailand with her expired Thai passport.

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I respect your feedback but do you actually know of a Thai person entering the country (we will enter at Don Muang) on an expired Thai passport without any problems. If you do know of a Thai doing this with no problem then I will give it a go. Look forward to hear from you.

[Geoff Snell]

6 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

Location of passport offices in Thai is here: http://www.consular.go.th/main/th/organize/21037-หน่วยบริการหนังสือเดินทาง.html

Ta for that. Much appreciated

[Geoff Snell]

19 hours ago, Maestro said:

 

Is your daughter currently in Thailand?

No we are in Australia and going over to Thailand for a month at the end of March. Just get her normal 30 day visa on her Australian passport then get her new Thai passport while there. Then return to Australia on the Australian passport. Then next time leave Australia on the Australian passport and enter and leave Thailand on the new Thai passport. Should be plain sailing but we all know how every immigration officer differs from one to the other

[Maestro]

33 minutes ago, Geoff Snell said:

No we are in Australia and going over to Thailand for a month at the end of March. Just get her normal 30 day visa on her Australian passport then get her new Thai passport while there. Then return to Australia on the Australian passport. Then next time leave Australia on the Australian passport and enter and leave Thailand on the new Thai passport. Should be plain sailing but we all know how every immigration officer differs from one to the other

 

Thank you for this information.

 

Presumably, the last Thai stamp in your daughter's expired passport is the departure stamp from Thailand. I strongly recommend that she should use this expired passport for her entry into Thailand in March. This is what Thai immigration expects her to do and it is the correct procedure.

[WhizBang]

My son has dual citizenship.  Thai and Canadian.  
 

[Maestro]

1 hour ago, Geoff Snell said:

I respect your feedback but do you actually know of a Thai person entering the country (we will enter at Don Muang) on an expired Thai passport without any problems. If you do know of a Thai doing this with no problem then I will give it a go. Look forward to hear from you.

 

My wife did it last time after her Thai passport had expired and she needed a new one. There are also a number of posts in this forum by members confirming that their wives or children entered Thailand with an expired Thai passport without any problem.

[phuketrichard]

My daughter entered on her expired Thai passport in Nov an d than got a new one. took a week here in phuket as they mail it to you.

show also has a US passport

[Geoff Snell]

Thank you for your reply but unfortunately the last stamp in my daughter's expired Thai passport is an arrival stamp back in 2005. She got her Australian passport in Thailand (with a departure stamp) which was used to go to Australia. When we went to Australia the head immigration officer at Don Muang was not going to let my daughter leave but felt sympathetic when she told the officer that her mother had disappeared 3 -4 years earlier. The officer was really good and advised me never to show the Thai passport on our return as it would only make complications. But thanks for your comments. Much appreciated. 

Edited January 19, 2017 by Geoff Snell