Children and Visas

[gerryBScot]

My two kids, British citizens and passport holders, aged 6 and 3, don't have visas, both being born here. When we exit Thailand they get processed as an overstay which is waived in the usual way because of their age. When we re-enter they come in on the normal 30 day waiver. There is a story doing the rounds in the Filipino community, and my kids have a Filipino mum, that as of 20th March or whenever the new regulations come into effect that all kids must have visas and that thereafter overstays will be enforced with fines imposed etc. Can anyone advise about this as I wouldn't want to fall foul of any changes in the way in which the regulations are going to be enforced. Many thanks

Edited March 2, 2016 by gerryBScot

[lopburi3]

Although they may still be exempt from fine payment (but there could be more issues as they enforce new rules) children should really have Thai passports and use them for next entry to avoid overstays in the future.

[ubonjoe]

They will not be fined nor banned.

Children under the age of 15 are not charged fines for any infraction to the law under the civil code.

Children under the age of 18 are exempt from the banning under the new rules. See: New overstay rules.pdf

[gerryBScot]

Although they may still be exempt from fine payment (but there could be more issues as they enforce new rules) children should really have Thai passports and use them for next entry to avoid overstays in the future.

Lopburi my kids are British/Filipino so they aren't eligible for Thai citizenship. I just wanted clarification about the rules as they stand as I would hate to encounter major problems next time we exit Thailand. I suspect that we will actually get them visas.

[gerryBScot]

They will not be fined nor banned.

Children under the age of 15 are not charged fines for any infraction to the law under the civil code.

Children under the age of 18 are exempt from the banning under the new rules. See:

Thanks Joe just what the doctor ordered.

[lopburi3]

Sorry about the limited attention span - noted that wife was not UK and in replay believed was Thai without a double check. So sounds as if all will be well unless schools start to require valid entry for enrollment and not accept overstay. You can extend for 1,900 baht per year to match your extension but often immigration prefer to just not bother with the paperwork under current rules.

[brewsterbudgen]

I'm in a similar position although I'm not, yet, married to my son's mother. We hope to be visting the UK soon and I plan to try to get him an O Visa while we're in London. As he's only 1 I know he could re-enter Thailand on a 30 day visa exempt stamp and then just overstay, but who knows how the regulations might change in the future.

[gerryBScot]

I'm in a similar position although I'm not, yet, married to my son's mother. We hope to be visting the UK soon and I plan to try to get him an O Visa while we're in London. As he's only 1 I know he could re-enter Thailand on a 30 day visa exempt stamp and then just overstay, but who knows how the regulations might change in the future.

We're on Non-Bs so we would simply add the children on as dependents. If you and your missus are working I believe you can do the same.

[Agkarajit]

We have lived in a few other ASEAN countries, a few European countries and USA prior to Thailand, it was normal that we always obtained proper visa (dependent) visa for our child from the relevant embassies. And, we are sure that there are Thai laws requiring alien (foreigner) to have proper valid document (Passport & Visa) which are similar with many developed countries. However, Thai immigration may not have enforced overstay fines on minors. Since the country is under reformation and tightening its security and if one do not wish to be caught by surprised, it is best to obtain proper visa/stay permit for your child/children. Mind you alien baby from neighboring countries born in Thailand do require some kind of registration with the immigration and Thai child reaching the age of 5 are required to have Thai National Identity. Can anyone find any exemption official announcement on overstay fines for minors as you can see on the announcement of the new overstay rules???

[ubonjoe]

Getting Thai ID cards is not mandatory until the age of 15 and then can be fined for not doing it. A few years ago they started issuing the ID cards at the age of 7.

As I wrote before children under the age of 15 are not liable for fines for any infraction of the law under the civil code. There is no separate rule for overstaying.

[Agkarajit]

The laws still require all alien to have valid document. Of course, minors cannot be fined under leniency. However, it should be clarified that alien minors should also have valid visa since it is the responsibility of parents.