Is dual citizenship in Thailand allowed ?

[Geoff Snell]

4 minutes ago, Geoff Snell said:

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. 

I really do respect everyones comments but the real crux here is the last stamp in my daughter's expired Thai passport is an ENTRY stamp. Thanks to all for the comments though.

[Maestro]

For what reason did the immigration officer at Don Mueang airport not want to let your daughter leave?

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[abrahamzvi]

On 1/3/2016 at 8:49 AM, ubonjoe said:

Having dual nationalities are allowed. There is no requirement to give up your other nationality when getting Thai citizenship.

There is no requirement to give up the present nationality when getting naturalized in Thailand. However, the Thai authorities do notify the Embassy/Consulate of the person involved . Some people whose countries of citizenship do not allow dual citizenship, without previous application and approval ( for example Germany, Singapore and others) may cause serious difficulties then, if they were not aware of the fact and did not approve it.

[Maestro]

8 hours ago, abrahamzvi said:

There is no requirement to give up the present nationality when getting naturalized in Thailand.

 

I wasn't aware of this. Is it really done?

[Sir Bogdiver]

On 1/3/2016 at 6:19 PM, stevenl said:

Dual nationality Netherlands-Thailand is no problem at all.

Please do not confuse the issue here.

For a child born to a Dutch and a Thai national dual nationality is not an issue. Both my children have Dutch and Thai nationality.

However, it is a different matter for an adult who was born Dutch and acquires Thai nationality.

If this Dutch citizen is married to a Thai national at the time of acquiring Thai nationality it is permitted to keep the Dutch nationality.  If however the Dutch citizen acquires Thai nationality without being married to a local this person will lose their Dutch nationality. This is what the Dutch embassy told me is Dutch law at present.

[Preacher]

52 minutes ago, Sir Bogdiver said:

For a child born to a Dutch and a Thai national dual nationality is not an issue. Both my children have Dutch and Thai nationality.

However, it is a different matter for an adult who was born Dutch and acquires Thai nationality.

If this Dutch citizen is married to a Thai national at the time of acquiring Thai nationality it is permitted to keep the Dutch nationality.  If however the Dutch citizen acquires Thai nationality without being married to a local this person will lose their Dutch nationality. This is what the Dutch embassy told me is Dutch law at present.

 

The embassy is correct. In addition it is important to know that if you live abroad with dual nationality you will lose your Dutch nationality if you let your Dutch passport expire for more than 10 year.

[aidenai]

 

Quote

 

Automatic loss of Dutch nationality

If you are an adult, you will automatically (by operation of law) lose your Dutch nationality if any of the following situations apply:

• You voluntarily acquire another nationality. Except if:
  • You were born in the country of your other nationality and lived there at the time you acquired that nationality.
  • As a minor, you lived in the other country whose nationality you acquired for an uninterrupted period of at least 5 years.
  • You acquire the nationality that your spouse or registered partner already has.

 

 

https://www.government.nl/topics/dutch-nationality/contents/loss-of-dutch-nationality

• •  

[Abmong]

Correct me if I'm wrong... As I understand it people are confusing dual nationalities with dual citizenships. Thai law is very strict on nationality. You basically have to be born in Thailand to a Thai mother or father. Or born abroad to a Thai mother or father to be eligible to become a Thai national. To become a Thai national you must also renounce your other nationality. i.e. a Thai baby born in the US must renounce it's American nationality to become a Thai national. A foreigner marrying a Thai national cannot obtain Thai nationality. "Blood and Soil" only...

 

Citizenships on the other hand... Though not offically recognized there are no laws preventing it. You can become a Thai citizen and be issued with a Thai passport and still keep your country of origin's citizenship and nationality as long as your country of origin allows dual citizenships.  If an English guy marries a Thai woman, he can apply for a Spousal Visa then eventually permanent residence permit then eventually attain Thai citizenship. His nationality will still be English in his Thai Passport. You can also attain Thai citizenship without marrying a Thai. Usually this is done through Work Visas and other such "Non-Immigrant Visas" as the first step.

 

It's not particularly hard to become a Thai citizen. It's easier than becoming a British citizen anyway... I had to be on non-tourist visas for over 10 yrs (student visas in my case) before I could apply for my UK permanent residence permit... still haven't got the citizenship though and I don't think I will since I'm now back in Thailand and no reason to go back to the UK...

 

 

[ubonjoe]

6 minutes ago, Abmong said:

Correct me if I'm wrong..

You are wrong. Thai law does not differentiate between nationality and citizenship. That are both the same.

Have a look at the Nationality Act B.E. 2508 (1965) with amendments until B.E. 2555 (2012) - English translation

[heretostay]

Singapore and Norway are the only two countries I've heard of that don't allow their nationals to hold a second citizenship. There may be others, but not the USA nor Thailand.

[YetAnother]

On 1/3/2016 at 9:13 AM, lopburi3 said:

Yes that is about it - and some countries do have laws preventing dual citizenship.

Having dual nationality is not allowed by any Thai law AFAIK - but there is no law preventing it so many people do have. The same as in USA - dual nationality is not allowed by any laws but there is nothing to prevent so in effect it is allowed.

my thai wife got usa citizenship and there was never any discussion about another concurrent citizenship; fact is, she is permanent in 3 countries

[blackcab]

8 hours ago, Abmong said:

As I understand it people are confusing dual nationalities with dual citizenships

 

Your understanding is wrong. As has been pointed out, it is you that is confused.

 

8 hours ago, Abmong said:

To become a Thai national you must also renounce your other nationality

 

Partly wrong. Some countries allow dual nationality (such as the UK), some do not (such as Singapore).

 

Thailand does not forbid dual nationality, and many Thai people are also citizens of other countries.

 

If, however, you were (for example) Singaporean then Singapore would force you to renounce your Singaporean citizenship. Thailand would not force you to renounce anything.

 

8 hours ago, Abmong said:

"Blood and Soil" only...

 

Wrong. It's blood (jus sanguinis) only, not soil (jus soli) aswell.

 

8 hours ago, Abmong said:

If an English guy marries a Thai woman, he can apply for a Spousal Visa then eventually permanent residence permit then eventually attain Thai citizenship.

 

Your understanding of the process of how to obtain Thai citizenship is lacking. A foreign male cannot gain permanent residence or citizenship just by marrying a Thai woman. He must have a work permit and pay tax on a certain level of salary for 3 complete years to qualify.

 

8 hours ago, Abmong said:

His nationality will still be English in his Thai Passport.

 

You are so wrong that I thought you might be a troll.

 

Have you ever seen any passport from any country that states the holder is a citizen of another country?

 

8 hours ago, Abmong said:

It's not particularly hard to become a Thai citizen. It's easier than becoming a British citizen anyway...

 

Just a few hundred people become Thai citizens each year. Lately the UK has granted between 100,000 and 200,000 citizenships each year.

 

While I recognise that the UK might be the more preferred country to gain citizenship in I can assure you that there are many members of this forum who would sincerely want Thai citizenship but who are ineligeable under the current rules.

 

Getting Thai citizenship is not easy at all.

[TerryLH]

"Having dual nationality is not allowed by any Thai law AFAIK - but there is no law preventing it so many people do have. The same as in USA - dual nationality is not allowed by any laws but there is nothing to prevent so in effect it is allowed."

 

Most places don't make laws saying what is legal.  

They say what you can't do, not what you can.

It's not a loophole.

[p_brownstone]

8 hours ago, TerryLH said:

"Having dual nationality is not allowed by any Thai law AFAIK - but there is no law preventing it so many people do have. The same as in USA - dual nationality is not allowed by any laws but there is nothing to prevent so in effect it is allowed."

 

Most places don't make laws saying what is legal.  

They say what you can't do, not what you can.

It's not a loophole.

 

Exactly.

 

"Nulla poena sine lege" Latin for "no penalty with out a law" is a legal principle, requiring that one cannot be punished for doing something that is not prohibited by a law. This principle is accepted and codified in modern democratic states as a basic requirement of the rule of law.

 

(I have no doubt that someone or other will snigger at the thought of describing Thailand as "a modern democratic state" of course but go ahead!).

 

Patrick

[LolaS]

On 8/27/2017 at 2:31 PM, ubonjoe said:

You are wrong. Thai law does not differentiate between nationality and citizenship. That are both the same.

Have a look at the Nationality Act B.E. 2508 (1965) with amendments until B.E. 2555 (2012) - English translation

yes, I agree.

What are these flooding of misinformation around internet and other media about? why ppl spread these half informations?

[blackcab]

12 minutes ago, LolaS said:

What are these flooding of misinformation around internet and other media about? why ppl spread these half informations?

 

Some people choose to blindly believe what they are told, even if the information is wrong.

[Smokegreynblues]

Dual Citizenship is not Allowed under Thai laws, you can however hold two citizenships if you are under 18 , ie a child of a foreigner and a thai parent, however on reaching the age of 18 years, you have the option to either hold on to your thai citizenship or renounce it for the other citizenship. Now if you are older than 18 , there is only one citizenship possible. If you havent renounced your other citizenship or the Thai citizenship, you should note, it is illegal to do so. But i doubt anyone would check unless you use the passport for travelling purposes. 

[eisfeld]

32 minutes ago, Christopherabhadra said:

Dual Citizenship is not Allowed under Thai laws, you can however hold two citizenships if you are under 18 , ie a child of a foreigner and a thai parent, however on reaching the age of 18 years, you have the option to either hold on to your thai citizenship or renounce it for the other citizenship. Now if you are older than 18 , there is only one citizenship possible. If you havent renounced your other citizenship or the Thai citizenship, you should note, it is illegal to do so. But i doubt anyone would check unless you use the passport for travelling purposes. 

 

And now please show us which law states this. Spoiler: you won't be able to. Have you read the previous posts in this thread?

[p_brownstone]

5 minutes ago, Christopherabhadra said:

Dual Citizenship is not Allowed under Thai laws, you can however hold two citizenships if you are under 18 , ie a child of a foreigner and a thai parent, however on reaching the age of 18 years, you have the option to either hold on to your thai citizenship or renounce it for the other citizenship. Now if you are older than 18 , there is only one citizenship possible. If you havent renounced your other citizenship or the Thai citizenship, you should note, it is illegal to do so. But i doubt anyone would check unless you use the passport for travelling purposes. 

 

You are TOTALLY incorrect on every point!

 

NOWHERE in the Thai Nationality Act does it state that at the age of 18 a Dual Citizen must choose between their Thai and their Foreign Citizenship and relinquish one or the other. In fact the Thai Nationality Act NEVER even mentions the age of  "18 " .

 

The Act simply states that a Dual National MAY, in the year after becoming 20 years old (the legal age of maturity in Thailand) decide to relinquish his / her Thai Nationality upon application to the relevant Thai Ministry of the Interior. (As an aside comment - good luck with that!!).

 

There is no penalty for not doing so and therefore the vast majority of Thais holding Dual (or even multiple) Nationalities do nothing and continue to use their Foreign and Thai Passports as necessary for convenience.

 

Thousands of Thais hold Dual or even multiples Nationalities.

 

Please don't Post on subjects you know nothing about!

 

(Please tread my earlier Post too).

 

Patrick

 

 

[Smokegreynblues]

1 hour ago, p_brownstone said:

 

You are TOTALLY incorrect on every point!

 

NOWHERE in the Thai Nationality Act does it state that at the age of 18 a Dual Citizen must choose between their Thai and their Foreign Citizenship and relinquish one or the other. In fact the Thai Nationality Act NEVER even mentions the age of  "18 " .

 

The Act simply states that a Dual National MAY, in the year after becoming 20 years old (the legal age of maturity in Thailand) decide to relinquish his / her Thai Nationality upon application to the relevant Thai Ministry of the Interior. (As an aside comment - good luck with that!!).

 

There is no penalty for not doing so and therefore the vast majority of Thais holding Dual (or even multiple) Nationalities do nothing and continue to use their Foreign and Thai Passports as necessary for convenience.

 

Thousands of Thais hold Dual or even multiples Nationalities.

 

Please don't Post on subjects you know nothing about!

 

(Please tread my earlier Post too).

 

Patrick

 

 

ok i stand corrected. i was just following this article http://www.multiplecitizenship.com/wscl/ws_THAILAND.html , also http://emailhost.ait.ac.th/asia/info.html this is source for the article, which i believed to be a thai website, aside from that, I guess i am wrong on every point as stated above.  Plus i never mentioned penalties you yourself did. Also i read something similar here - 

but anyway i will not post my misinformed knowledge. thank you. 

Edited September 1, 2017 by Christopherabhadra

[Maestro]

There is indeed a lot of incorrect information about dual nationality on the web.

 

The Nationality Act B.E. 2508 (1965), with amendments, has several sections with information what Thai nationals with dual nationality must do if they want to rid themselves of the Thai nationality, ie they must make a formal declaration of their intention to renounce the Thai nationality to the Minister of the Interior, who has the option of approving or denying the renunciation. This is clear confirmation that dual nationality is allowed.

[LolaS]

OMG not only about Thai nationality,

 

have anyone saw quote post?

Quote

 not US as they do not allow dual citizenship

this is not true!! many of my friends hold both

[blackcab]

9 hours ago, Christopherabhadra said:

Dual Citizenship is not Allowed under Thai laws, you can however hold two citizenships if you are under 18 , ie a child of a foreigner and a thai parent, however on reaching the age of 18 years, you have the option to either hold on to your thai citizenship or renounce it for the other citizenship. Now if you are older than 18 , there is only one citizenship possible. If you havent renounced your other citizenship or the Thai citizenship, you should note, it is illegal to do so. But i doubt anyone would check unless you use the passport for travelling purposes. 

 

That's really, really wrong. Please think about what you post before spreading rumours.

 

Just because someone told you or you read it on a website does not make it a true fact.

[tpop]

just read through this thread

 

Obonjoe - sorry but you have been very naughty misleading people on this thread

 

Thailand does not recognise dual nationality except under certain circumstances - see the act here http://www.refworld.org/pdfid/506c08862.pdf

 

page 5 loss of Thai nationality - specifically section 22 which is unequivocal - you lose your Thai nationality when you are naturalised as an alien.

 

That the law, like many other Thai laws, is never policed (because it would be almost impossible to do so) does not mean it does not exist

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[tpop]

and more

 

http://www.multiplecitizenship.com/wscl/ws_THAILAND.html

 

 

[ubonjoe]

1 hour ago, tpop said:

Obonjoe - sorry but you have been very naughty misleading people on this thread

Thailand does not recognise dual nationality except under certain circumstances - see the act here http://www.refworld.org/pdfid/506c08862.pdf

page 5 loss of Thai nationality - specifically section 22 which is unequivocal - you lose your Thai nationality when you are naturalised as an alien.

That is under chapter 2 which is for a Thai that chooses or that lost Thai nationality under a earlier act that revoked it.

There nothing in the nationality that specifically states dual nationality is not allowed.

[LolaS]

4 hours ago, tpop said:

just read through this thread

 

Obonjoe - sorry but you have been very naughty misleading people on this thread

 

Thailand does not recognise dual nationality except under certain circumstances - see the act here http://www.refworld.org/pdfid/506c08862.pdf

 

page 5 loss of Thai nationality - specifically section 22 which is unequivocal - you lose your Thai nationality when you are naturalised as an alien.

 

That the law, like many other Thai laws, is never policed (because it would be almost impossible to do so) does not mean it does not exist

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

it is regulation for thai obtaining foreign citizenship

[samran]

4 hours ago, tpop said:

and more

 

http://www.multiplecitizenship.com/wscl/ws_THAILAND.html

 

 

The above website has been shown time and again to simply be incorrect. It gets basic facts about the nationality act wrong and no attention should be paid. 

4 hours ago, tpop said:

just read through this thread

 

Obonjoe - sorry but you have been very naughty misleading people on this thread

 

Thailand does not recognise dual nationality except under certain circumstances - see the act here http://www.refworld.org/pdfid/506c08862.pdf

 

page 5 loss of Thai nationality - specifically section 22 which is unequivocal - you lose your Thai nationality when you are naturalised as an alien.

 

That the law, like many other Thai laws, is never policed (because it would be almost impossible to do so) does not mean it does not exist

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

S22 is a lot more ambiguous, but the fact remains since 1965 there has not been one involuntary stripping of Thai nationality announced on the royal gazette. 

 

While I agree it would overall be hard to police, one area it wouldnt would be overseas at embassies. Plenty of Thai people continue to apply for Thai passports overseas when it is clear that they have another citizenship, as the interpretation by officials has always been that a renunciation must be formally made and signed off by the minster and then printed in the royal gazette.

 

in any case, it is moot discussion at this point. If 50 years of experience wasn’t enough, Section 39 of the 2017 constitution says, “Revocation of Thai nationality acquired by birth of a person shall not be permitted.”  

 

As such, I guess I’m good to run for Australian parliament as a dual national. 

[LolaS]

On 4/10/2018 at 10:30 AM, samran said:

 

 

in any case, it is moot discussion at this point. If 50 years of experience wasn’t enough, Section 39 of the 2017 constitution says, “Revocation of Thai nationality acquired by birth of a person shall not be permitted.”  

 

As such, I guess I’m good to run for Australian parliament as a dual national. 

1

can you run for thai?

[brewsterbudgen]

Singapore and Norway are the only two countries I've heard of that don't allow their nationals to hold a second citizenship. There may be others, but not the USA nor Thailand.

I believe Laos does not permit it.

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