Thai/British minor denied boarding today

[johndudorn]

It's a known fact that Thai nationals with dual citizenship / passports should always enter Thailand and depart Thailand on a Thai passport to avoid the hassle you have stated above.

It takes about 3 to 5 days to obtain a Thai passport in Thailand so I fail to see why he doesn't currently have one.

What advice are you actually seeking ?

As he is my step-son and his parents who are still both required to appear before the Thai passport issuing authorities but not live close to each other it is not as easy as you would like to believe.

I just did this for my step son and his ex-wife, he is in the US and she is here... I am sure they would have a form that can handle this with out both parents being there. I also wrote a letter for him to sign saying she could take the children to Sweden to visit with their new step-dad. The Swedish Embassy required it for the grand-kids to get a visa.

[thaiowl]

Anyone know the procedure to get a Thai passport for a Thai/UK child with Thai ID card and lives in Thailand? Father is British and lives in the UK. Mother is in a Thai jail for the foreseeable future.

Do you have of can you get a copy of the mothers ID and house registration? If so fill out passport in her name, get her to sign in prison along with a power of attorney to make the application on her behalf as well as a letter from her authorizing the child to leave the kingdom with you accompanying the child. Of course it may not be enough for officialdom here. The safest way is to get the mother to agree to you becoming the guardian of the child which is the more sure way to go. It shoukd not be too difficult but you will need the help of a lawyer if you can find an honest one.

I'm not the father! Am enquiring for a friend who lives in the UK and who will come to Thailand in May to get his kids a Thai passport in preparation for a trip to the UK in December.

[johndudorn]

It's a known fact that Thai nationals with dual citizenship / passports should always enter Thailand and depart Thailand on a Thai passport to avoid the hassle you have stated above.

It takes about 3 to 5 days to obtain a Thai passport in Thailand so I fail to see why he doesn't currently have one.

What advice are you actually seeking ?

As he is my step-son and his parents who are still both required to appear before the Thai passport issuing authorities but not live close to each other it is not as easy as you would like to believe.

Really my girlfriend obtained a passport for her son my step son only last year,his father was no where to be seen so I fail to see how that's the case.

My ex-step daughter could not get a Thai passport with out the fathers approval. This the form I obtained from the Thai Consulate in the US. I have attached the form required by Udorn passport office.

letter_of_consent.pdf

[mango66]

It's a known fact that Thai nationals with dual citizenship / passports should always enter Thailand and depart Thailand on a Thai passport to avoid the hassle you have stated above.

It takes about 3 to 5 days to obtain a Thai passport in Thailand so I fail to see why he doesn't currently have one.

What advice are you actually seeking ?

Thats not only in Thailand,

also in EU they say , if dual citicenship,

you have always to present the passport of the country you travell in !!

[mango66]

It's a known fact that Thai nationals with dual citizenship / passports should always enter Thailand and depart Thailand on a Thai passport to avoid the hassle you have stated above.

It takes about 3 to 5 days to obtain a Thai passport in Thailand so I fail to see why he doesn't currently have one.

What advice are you actually seeking ?

As he is my step-son and his parents who are still both required to appear before the Thai passport issuing authorities but not live close to each other it is not as easy as you would like to believe.

Really my girlfriend obtained a passport for her son my step son only last year,his father was no where to be seen so I fail to see how that's the case.

My ex-step daughter could not get a Thai passport with out the fathers approval. This the form I obtained from the Thai Consulate in the US. I have attached the form required by Udorn passport office.

My wife had the same experiance,

even we not married,

that time even not legaliused fatherhood,

Passport department asked the permit from me,

( I had to give the permit than in a thai embassy )

to issue passports for my kids !!

Some country still takes care for kids it seems !!

[Jonmarleesco]

I assume you should have renewed his Thai passport before leaving.

[mango66]

It's a known fact that Thai nationals with dual citizenship / passports should always enter Thailand and depart Thailand on a Thai passport to avoid the hassle you have stated above.

It takes about 3 to 5 days to obtain a Thai passport in Thailand so I fail to see why he doesn't currently have one.

What advice are you actually seeking ?

As he is my step-son and his parents who are still both required to appear before the Thai passport issuing authorities but not live close to each other it is not as easy as you would like to believe.

Really my girlfriend obtained a passport for her son my step son only last year,his father was no where to be seen so I fail to see how that's the case.

Good for you! I do know different cases and are living proof for it does not work everywhere so I fail to see what help you could be to this case.

Thats Thailand,

not every officer work according of the law !!

( Maybee his province not yet aware of laws ??

[Jonmarleesco]

Your step son requires an entry permit to the UK issued by the British embassy .Having a British passport does not give an automatic right of entry into the UK .

iE Many people from Hongkong and elsewhere have British passports but no automatic entry of passage into the UK

Of course it does. He's a British citizen.

[timewilltell]

Anyone know the procedure to get a Thai passport for a Thai/UK child with Thai ID card and lives in Thailand? Father is British and lives in the UK. Mother is in a Thai jail for the foreseeable future.

Do you have of can you get a copy of the mothers ID and house registration? If so fill out passport in her name, get her to sign in prison along with a power of attorney to make the application on her behalf as well as a letter from her authorizing the child to leave the kingdom with you accompanying the child. Of course it may not be enough for officialdom here. The safest way is to get the mother to agree to you becoming the guardian of the child which is the more sure way to go. It shoukd not be too difficult but you will need the help of a lawyer if you can find an honest one.

I'm not the father! Am enquiring for a friend who lives in the UK and who will come to Thailand in May to get his kids a Thai passport in preparation for a trip to the UK in December.

Hmm well your friend will likely face some difficulty as I had that very problem. In the first place I solved it by getting the mother to sign the forms together with a POA for me the father to apply and collect the passport. For the long run I applied and got sole custody of the children which still raised questions last time I applied. I think if there is a renewal it is a little easier but unlikely to get much joy without paperwork from the mother. As things change it might be worth asking at the passport office and getting whatever is needed in advance if your friend is not here for long

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[bkk_mike]

It's a grey area for kids...

The airline should be confirming whether you have permission to get into the country you're travelling to.

But in Thailand, for Thai nationals, the passport is often seen as permission from both parents for the child to travel (because it needs both parents to sign the application, barring some proof of sole responsibility for the child). And I've once had to renew one of the kids Thai passports when I was in Bangkok and my wife was in London - which needed her to go and sign forms at the embassy, etc.

For a child that's never left the country, Immigration would have let you through with a embassy-issued UK passport and proof the child was born in Thailand (i.e. Birth certificate), on the basis that it's perfectly possible for a UK national to be born in Thailand, and issued with a UK passport, never getting an entry stamp.

I also believe immigration would have let you through even if the son's had previous trips because my daughter once exited the country with valid UK passport, but 2 day expired Thai passport (we'd originally booked the prior week, but my wife changed the flights at the last minute - I was in Hong Kong at the time for work so we didn't have time to get the passport sorted that week. Admittedly we had no issues with the airline, but my wife and daughter did have to spend 20 minutes with immigration arguing their case before they were let through for their flight. If you were fairly late checking in - the airline probably made the right decision (for the airline) - as they'd know about the delay that immigration would cause.

Edited March 4, 2016 by bkk_mike

[alex_4000]

...Perhaps, it might be possible for your step-son's father to sign a notarized letter requesting the issuance of the passport in lieu of actually attending...

I saw a post quite recently mentioning that the Thai passport office accepted the written consent for the issuance of a minor's passport from a parent who was unable to present himself at the office. Therefore, the physical absence of a parent need indeed be no hindrance to the issue of the passport.

Thanks for that, it made us try (again) today at the office in Chaeng Watthana and we were able to get a Thai passport for him the same day.

It was a close call, though. They would not accept the official paper from his Dad's amphoe in Thai. Only when we produced the Letter of Consent we prepared in English language (originally intended for customs in Europe) we could file the application. They did however make a note on the application form and told us this will not go through again the next time.

Were his mother and father actually legally married? If not the mother alone can arrange for the passport.

No, they were not. It did not seem to matter to the head of office today, though

For a child that's never left the country, Immigration would have let you through with a embassy-issued UK passport and proof the child was born in Thailand (i.e. Birth certificate), on the basis that it's perfectly possible for a UK national to be born in Thailand, and issued with a UK passport, never getting an entry stamp.

I also believe immigration would have let you through even if the son's had previous trips because my daughter once exited the country with valid UK passport, but 2 day expired Thai passport (we'd originally booked the prior week, but my wife changed the flights at the last minute - I was in Hong Kong at the time for work so we didn't have time to get the passport sorted that week. Admittedly we had no issues with the airline, but my wife and daughter did have to spend 20 minutes with immigration arguing their case before they were let through for their flight. If you were fairly late checking in - the airline probably made the right decision (for the airline) - as they'd know about the delay that immigration would cause.

Cheers, I was arguing with them about exactly that and we later (after counters were closed and the airline staff nowhere to be seen) had immigration confirm that the birth certificate was sufficient and would have let us pass. When we got back the next morning and explained that to airline staff to demand a replacement ticket, we could not find anyone at immigration who would repeat this statement and we decided to give up at this point and try to get a Thai passport - see start of this post

Edited March 4, 2016 by alex_4000

[alex_4000]

I'm not an expert , but it might have been sufficient to have carried and shown the Expired Thai Passport with the arrival stamp in it .

Now this is interesting. After airline staff refused boarding because of the empty UK passport ("where is the entry stamp?") we said the entry stamp is on the old Thai passport, which is expired, and we had to show the old passport. That did not help anything though.

Interesting also that immigration stamped his - at that point already expired (!) Thai passport when he came back to Thailand last time.

I reckon this stamp should have gone into the valid UK passport then? We had one immigration officer telling us to go have that mistake fixed with immigration at arrival. When trying that, we had to learn from immigration that it would be illegal to transfer it to another passport and holding two passports would be illegal anyway (which we know is not true for a fact) - only to tell us two minutes later we should go and get a Thai passport to travel ...

[gk10002000]

Not true airline should of taken you to immigration and you would of sorted it there same happened to me taking my kids on an uk passport made in uk, with no stamps in i explained the situation to immigration and they rang my thai wife to confirm i was just taking for a holiday and i had a return ticket and it got sorted, as your wife was there it shouldnt of been a problem

How would they really know it is your Thai wife?

[bkk_mike]

Interesting also that immigration stamped his - at that point already expired (!) Thai passport when he came back to Thailand last time.

You can enter your home country on an expired passport as it's still proof of nationality.

You generally can't travel to other countries with an expired passport - even for transit - so if it's your only passport, you might be forced to book a direct flight, or if that's not possible, get a temporary travel document from your embassy.

[p_brownstone]

Your step son requires an entry permit to the UK issued by the British embassy .Having a British passport does not give an automatic right of entry into the UK .

iE Many people from Hongkong and elsewhere have British passports but no automatic entry of passage into the UK

Nonsense.

If the child has a full British Passport he is fully entitled to entry into the UK - no other documents or endorsements are required.

The Hong Kong Passport is a separate and rather unique situation.

Patrick

I'd agree with Patrick. I took my Thai/ English son to England last June with both his Thai and UK passport. Immigration looked at both passports, and told me he was going to use the UK passport for exit which he stamped. His UK passport was used for entry in to England with no problems, and then also for his return into Thailand. It says in his UK passport he is a British Citizen.

If your son has both Thai and UK Passports why would you use the UK Passport to exit and later re-enter Thailand?

What's the point of having a Thai Passport in this case?

The proper procedure would be to show only the Thai Passport at Thai Immigration on exit, enter the UK using the UK Passport and upon return to Thailand show only the Thai Passport at Immigration.

Your son is now in Thailand as a UK tourist and is subject to Visa restrictions / limit of stay; although there are no fines or other penalties imposed on Minors he will still get an "Overstay" stamp in his UK Passport next time he leaves.

To regularise the situation, next time he leaves Thailand exit on the UK Passport then re-enter Thailand on the Thai Passport; thereafter use only the Thai Passport when exiting / entering Thailand.

Patrick

[thaihome]

Your step son requires an entry permit to the UK issued by the British embassy .Having a British passport does not give an automatic right of entry into the UK .

iE Many people from Hongkong and elsewhere have British passports but no automatic entry of passage into the UK

Nonsense.

If the child has a full British Passport he is fully entitled to entry into the UK - no other documents or endorsements are required.

The Hong Kong Passport is a separate and rather unique situation.

Patrick

I'd agree with Patrick. I took my Thai/ English son to England last June with both his Thai and UK passport. Immigration looked at both passports, and told me he was going to use the UK passport for exit which he stamped. His UK passport was used for entry in to England with no problems, and then also for his return into Thailand. It says in his UK passport he is a British Citizen.

If your son has both Thai and UK Passports why would you use the UK Passport to exit and later re-enter Thailand?

What's the point of having a Thai Passport in this case?

The proper procedure would be to show only the Thai Passport at Thai Immigration on exit, enter the UK using the UK Passport and upon return to Thailand show only the Thai Passport at Immigration.

Your son is now in Thailand as a UK tourist and is subject to Visa restrictions / limit of stay; although there are no fines or other penalties imposed on Minors he will still get an "Overstay" stamp in his UK Passport next time he leaves.

To regularise the situation, next time he leaves Thailand exit on the UK Passport then re-enter Thailand on the Thai Passport; thereafter use only the Thai Passport when exiting / entering Thailand.

Patrick

Read the thread. The issue was with airline check in. He had to show the UK passport at that point to prove entry to the UK. The problem was the airline staff felt Thai immigration would not let him leave on the expired Thai passport or the blank UK one. I think there would have been an issue at Immigration, it is likely better the issue was raised before that.

TH

[nakhonandy]

Not sure if this is relevant but my wife and I were leaving with our son to go to Europe.

We were in different immigration queues.

They asked my wife if she had the fathers permission to leave the country, as without it she could not! Thai law and quite strictly enforced, a good thing I believe.

Obviously I was there so there was no issue.

Maybe because he is a stepson there is an issue, parental consent maybe.

[p_brownstone]

I'd agree with Patrick. I took my Thai/ English son to England last June with both his Thai and UK passport. Immigration looked at both passports, and told me he was going to use the UK passport for exit which he stamped. His UK passport was used for entry in to England with no problems, and then also for his return into Thailand. It says in his UK passport he is a British Citizen.

If your son has both Thai and UK Passports why would you use the UK Passport to exit and later re-enter Thailand?

What's the point of having a Thai Passport in this case?

The proper procedure would be to show only the Thai Passport at Thai Immigration on exit, enter the UK using the UK Passport and upon return to Thailand show only the Thai Passport at Immigration.

Your son is now in Thailand as a UK tourist and is subject to Visa restrictions / limit of stay; although there are no fines or other penalties imposed on Minors he will still get an "Overstay" stamp in his UK Passport next time he leaves.

To regularise the situation, next time he leaves Thailand exit on the UK Passport then re-enter Thailand on the Thai Passport; thereafter use only the Thai Passport when exiting / entering Thailand.

Patrick

Read the thread. The issue was with airline check in. He had to show the UK passport at that point to prove entry to the UK. The problem was the airline staff felt Thai immigration would not let him leave on the expired Thai passport or the blank UK one. I think there would have been an issue at Immigration, it is likely better the issue was raised before that.

TH

Read the Thread yourself old chap.

I was clearly replying to " bamboozle40 ", not the OP.

Patrick

[bamboozle40]

Your step son requires an entry permit to the UK issued by the British embassy .Having a British passport does not give an automatic right of entry into the UK .

iE Many people from Hongkong and elsewhere have British passports but no automatic entry of passage into the UK

Nonsense.

If the child has a full British Passport he is fully entitled to entry into the UK - no other documents or endorsements are required.

The Hong Kong Passport is a separate and rather unique situation.

Patrick

I'd agree with Patrick. I took my Thai/ English son to England last June with both his Thai and UK passport. Immigration looked at both passports, and told me he was going to use the UK passport for exit which he stamped. His UK passport was used for entry in to England with no problems, and then also for his return into Thailand. It says in his UK passport he is a British Citizen.

If your son has both Thai and UK Passports why would you use the UK Passport to exit and later re-enter Thailand?

What's the point of having a Thai Passport in this case?

The proper procedure would be to show only the Thai Passport at Thai Immigration on exit, enter the UK using the UK Passport and upon return to Thailand show only the Thai Passport at Immigration.

Your son is now in Thailand as a UK tourist and is subject to Visa restrictions / limit of stay; although there are no fines or other penalties imposed on Minors he will still get an "Overstay" stamp in his UK Passport next time he leaves.

To regularise the situation, next time he leaves Thailand exit on the UK Passport then re-enter Thailand on the Thai Passport; thereafter use only the Thai Passport when exiting / entering Thailand.

Patrick

That may be the case Patrick but who am I to argue with the Thai immigration officer at the time. He looked at both passports on leaving Thailand, and told me he was going to use the British passport. And yes you are right on return they used his UK passport and stamped it until 16 September 2015, but he was born in Thailand and has his Thai passport, therefore when he comes over this year if there are any discrepancies his Thai passport will be shown also!!! And when all comes to all is there any proper procedure for Thailand??? lol

[rws85]

It's a known fact that Thai nationals with dual citizenship / passports should always enter Thailand and depart Thailand on a Thai passport to avoid the hassle you have stated above.

It takes about 3 to 5 days to obtain a Thai passport in Thailand so I fail to see why he doesn't currently have one.

What advice are you actually seeking ?

I believe, from recent experience it's currently 5-7 days for a Thai passport.

Took my kid this week to apply for one, with her being so young she was fast tracked through the cue and the whole process took less than hour.. I was pleasantly surprised!

[Richard W]

I'm not an expert , but it might have been sufficient to have carried and shown the Expired Thai Passport with the arrival stamp in it .

Now this is interesting. After airline staff refused boarding because of the empty UK passport ("where is the entry stamp?") we said the entry stamp is on the old Thai passport, which is expired, and we had to show the old passport. That did not help anything though.

The general rule for most countries is that one enters and leaves on a passport for the same nationality, unless you acquire the local nationality while there. I don't know what the rules are for when one loses that nationality while in Thailand, or has one's passport facility withdrawn. (The latter could happen to British citizens if their current passports aren't all in the same name.)

[sunnyjim5]

I'm not an expert , but it might have been sufficient to have carried and shown the Expired Thai Passport with the arrival stamp in it .

Now this is interesting. After airline staff refused boarding because of the empty UK passport ("where is the entry stamp?") we said the entry stamp is on the old Thai passport, which is expired, and we had to show the old passport. That did not help anything though.

The general rule for most countries is that one enters and leaves on a passport for the same nationality, unless you acquire the local nationality while there. I don't know what the rules are for when one loses that nationality while in Thailand, or has one's passport facility withdrawn. (The latter could happen to British citizens if their current passports aren't all in the same name.)

How, exactly, would a British citizen "lose"(sic) their Nationality and have their "passport facility" withdrawn ?

More detail is needed to support your claim !

[Richard W]

How, exactly, would a British citizen "lose"(sic) their Nationality and have their "passport facility" withdrawn ?

More detail is needed to support your claim !

Dual nationals can, and do, lose British nationality if they are involved (balance of probabilities appears to be the standard of proof) in various heinous acts, such as terrorism or serious, organised crime. Those who have obtained British citizenship by fraud can be stripped of it even though it makes them stateless - this has happened to several Albanians who pretended to be refugees from Kosovo.

A Thai lady with a non-British passport in her maiden name and a British passport in her married name will now be routinely refused a renewal of her British passport - this has happened to a friend of ours, though she is (almost) trapped in Britain. This new policy has most prominently been striking newly naturalised ladies in Britain trying to get their first passports. Unfortunately, the evidence is on other forums, so I can't link to it. I haven't heard of anyone overseas falling foul of it.

I believe Americans who are in arrears of child maintenance are liable to have passport renewals refused. I don't know the details of what happens if they are overseas at the time.

[liverpool fc]

Not true airline should of taken you to immigration and you would of sorted it there same happened to me taking my kids on an uk passport made in uk, with no stamps in i explained the situation to immigration and they rang my thai wife to confirm i was just taking for a holiday and i had a return ticket and it got sorted, as your wife was there it shouldnt of been a problem

How would they really know it is your Thai wife?

[liverpool fc]

They ask kids where you go school where they lived what there mums name and then immigration rang my wife and after 3 phone calls it was sorted they stamped English passport and wrote on there in Thai where they went to school and where we lived in Thailand don't no why didn't ask when I got back made Thai passport and next time I take kids will leave on UK passport with a overstay stamp but no problem for kids immigration officer say

[sometimewoodworker]

Not sure if this is relevant but my wife and I were leaving with our son to go to Europe.

We were in different immigration queues.

They asked my wife if she had the fathers permission to leave the country, as without it she could not! Thai law and quite strictly enforced, a good thing I believe.

Obviously I was there so there was no issue.

Maybe because he is a stepson there is an issue, parental consent maybe.

Just a FWIW. You and your wife can both be in the same "Thai passports only" queue even though you do not have a Thai passport we always use that queue if it's short, unless SWBMO is using the automatic gates

[p_brownstone]

I'd agree with Patrick. I took my Thai/ English son to England last June with both his Thai and UK passport. Immigration looked at both passports, and told me he was going to use the UK passport for exit which he stamped. His UK passport was used for entry in to England with no problems, and then also for his return into Thailand. It says in his UK passport he is a British Citizen.

If your son has both Thai and UK Passports why would you use the UK Passport to exit and later re-enter Thailand?

What's the point of having a Thai Passport in this case?

The proper procedure would be to show only the Thai Passport at Thai Immigration on exit, enter the UK using the UK Passport and upon return to Thailand show only the Thai Passport at Immigration.

Your son is now in Thailand as a UK tourist and is subject to Visa restrictions / limit of stay; although there are no fines or other penalties imposed on Minors he will still get an "Overstay" stamp in his UK Passport next time he leaves.

To regularise the situation, next time he leaves Thailand exit on the UK Passport then re-enter Thailand on the Thai Passport; thereafter use only the Thai Passport when exiting / entering Thailand.

Patrick

That may be the case Patrick but who am I to argue with the Thai immigration officer at the time. He looked at both passports on leaving Thailand, and told me he was going to use the British passport. And yes you are right on return they used his UK passport and stamped it until 16 September 2015, but he was born in Thailand and has his Thai passport, therefore when he comes over this year if there are any discrepancies his Thai passport will be shown also!!! And when all comes to all is there any proper procedure for Thailand??? lol

There's no "may be" about it.

Although Thailand has no problem with its citizens holding other nationalities in addition to Thai every one of the thousands of Thais holding dual nationality here knows it's best not to reveal that to a Junior Immigration Officer who may not understand the regulations - and you certainly do not plonk both Passports down on the chaps desk and allow him to choose which one he will use!

It's obviously your right to keep using the British Passport if you wish but as I say it makes no sense at all and negates any value in having a Thai Passport.

Patrick

[NanLaew]

...

A Thai lady with a non-British passport in her maiden name and a British passport in her married name will now be routinely refused a renewal of her British passport - this has happened to a friend of ours, though she is (almost) trapped in Britain. This new policy has most prominently been striking newly naturalised ladies in Britain trying to get their first passports. Unfortunately, the evidence is on other forums, so I can't link to it. I haven't heard of anyone overseas falling foul of it.

I believe Americans who are in arrears of child maintenance are liable to have passport renewals refused. I don't know the details of what happens if they are overseas at the time.

Good to know. Better to make sure that the Thai passport is in the married name as well. I guess there's still a throwback to the bad old days when once a Thai woman took her spouses family name, she lost certain rights. Made it harder if the Thai lady had already taken her foreign husbands name and thus had pretty much no right left at all. I think Thaksin rescinded that wee bit of nationalistic fervor.

Americans owing child support get their passport confiscated by the US Embassy and are issued with an emergency travel document that can be used to return to the US only.

Back on topic, the OP did show the expired Thai passport that had the last entry stamp but the airline still refused to issue the boarding pass and prevented travel. They have the ultimate right to deny anyone boarding but if their argument is that the child would have been refused re-entry to Thailand because of an expired Thai passport, it is totally wrong. As stated by others, one can enter the country of your nationality on an expired passport of that nationality.

[alex_4000]

Back on topic, the OP did show the expired Thai passport that had the last entry stamp but the airline still refused to issue the boarding pass and prevented travel. They have the ultimate right to deny anyone boarding but if their argument is that the child would have been refused re-entry to Thailand because of an expired Thai passport, it is totally wrong. As stated by others, one can enter the country of your nationality on an expired passport of that nationality.

They said they will not allow boarding as immigration will not let us pass. They refused having us talk to immigration. They did not want to look at other documentation. We also had documentation as follows:

- original birth certificate (plus translations in English and German)

- Letter of Consent from his Dad in English

- Letter of Consent from the local amphoe in Thai, signed by his Dad

- photocopy of his Dad's passport

- marriage certificate

and basically all other documents, house registrations and whatnot, as we are used to having to show a lot of papers when traveling as a multinational patchwork family.

Now it may be the case, as someone posted above, that on the day of travel the airline was afraid of delays should immigration not let us pass. When we returned the next day (the airline has no office at the airport) they still would not try to get us on another plane unless we bought new tickets. They could easily have put our luggage on hold to watch us pass immigration but they did not want to move. My Thailand born step son was holding a regular and valid British Citizen passport after all. British embassy in Bangkok was helpful as they could I reckon, ready to send us any paper that immigration should request - only since we could never talk to anyone at immigration personally, we never knew what exactly they were asking for. The airline said they would not look at it anyway, as it was "not a matter of the embassy".

We had to book with another airline and there was no questions asked whatsoever and this is how we finally were able to leave Thailand to Europe - the same way we did before. Now just left wondering if we will be able to ask money back from the airline but that's another story.

[BritTim]

In your position, I would send a copy of your request for a refund right to the head of the airline, stressing that immigration had no problems with your leaving, and it was only erroneous and unreasonable actions by airline staff that prevented your travel. State that you are willing to settle for a refund of your tickets with nothing else said. However, if they refuse payment, you will both sue for the costs and mental distress caused by the airline's gross incompetence, and report on your experiences through the media with names. (You do not need to follow through with such a threat should the airline continue to be unreasonable, though you would have a good case.) This is not guaranteed to get their attention, but will certainly improve your chances.