Son told he lost his Thai citizenship for using Aussie passport

[ssinlos]

On a trip back to Thailand a few months ago I hadn't noticed my 6 year old son's Thai passport had expired. He was still allowed to enter Thailand on it but we were never told that he couldn't exit on it. On the way out (of  Thailand) we were then told he couldn't use it and the only way was to use his Aussie passport -   though this would mean that he would lose his Thai citizenship. When we asked them if we could renew his Thai passport back in Australia they said that we could but he couldn't use it! ...which didn't really make sense to me.

 

Has anyone had any similar experience? Will my son really lose his Thai citizenship?

 

Thanks very much for any advice

 

[Crossy]

 

Did you try to exit on an expired passport?

 

Bad idea! Should have renewed it whilst in Thailand.

 

I'm surprised they let him exit on a passport of a different nationality to which he entered.

 

But your son won't lose his citizenship, you should be able to renew his passport in Oz and use it next time to enter Thailand. Any issues, ask to speak to a supervisor.

 

 

[puchooay]

Absolute rubbish. Sure, he cannot travel on an expired Thai passport. But losing citizenship?????Funny.

[A1Str8]

The person who said that is obviously mentally challenged. There's no such thing as losing your citizenship because you travel on an other pass. 

[richard_smith237]

It all makes perfect sense...

 

If a Thai wishes to exit using their Thai passport it has to be valid.

 

Your son was lucky - perhaps because he was under 16 years old immigration permitted his travel on his Australian Passport - but really, when doing so there should also be an entry stamp.

 

A Thai can enter Thailand on an expired passport (they are still Thai).

 

If your son renews his Thai passport in Australia, he wont be able to use it in Australia as he is an Australian Citizen.

 

He will be able to return to Thailand an use his renewed Thai passport upon entry into Thailand.

[elviajero]

1 hour ago, ssinlos said:

Will my son really lose his Thai citizenship?

Definitely not.

 

Your son is Thai and Australian by birth, and will remain Thai unless he formally gives up his Thai nationality.

[overherebc]

Threads like this one help me to understand that slight feeling of discomfort I get every time I hand my passport over at any Imm' booth, land or airport. 

All is totally legal on my side, visa, finances and, well you name it, but I just wonder what completely off the wall questions I'm going to be asked.

[KhunBENQ]

Recently I looked up the existing and proposed Thai constitution regarding nationality, section 39.

 

Quote

No person of Thai nationality shall be deported or prohibited  from entering the Kingdom.
Revocation of Thai nationality acquired by birth of a person shall not be permitted.

I assume your son is Thai from birth of a Thai mother.

 

In this case thar was rubbish, abuse or lost in translation.

 

[LivinLOS]

18 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

Your son was lucky - perhaps because he was under 16 years old immigration permitted his travel on his Australian Passport - but really, when doing so there should also be an entry stamp.

 

 

Children of non Thais get issues passports from embassies in bangkok all the time. Theres no 'should' here.. 

 

[dbrenn]

Unless the below link is translated incorrectly, Section 17 of the Thai Nationality Act does seem to provide for revocation of Thai nationality where a child born of a foreign father continues to use the nationality of the father . 

 

http://www.ibiblio.org/obl/docs3/THAILAND's_Nationality_Act.htm

 

Although as KhunBENQ points out, the wording of the constitution does seem to contradict. Anyway, the immigration official is likely thinking of the Thai Nationality Act in making these threats.

[Maestro]

10 hours ago, dbrenn said:

Unless the below link is translated incorrectly, Section 17 of the Thai Nationality Act does seem to provide for revocation of Thai nationality where a child born of a foreign father continues to use the nationality of the father . 

 

http://www.ibiblio.org/obl/docs3/THAILAND's_Nationality_Act.htm

 

Although as KhunBENQ points out, the wording of the constitution does seem to contradict. Anyway, the immigration official is likely thinking of the Thai Nationality Act in making these threats.

 

The OP did not say how his son acquired Thai nationality but if he did because his mother was Thai at the time of his birth, Section 17, neither the outdated version to which you linked nor the current version (see here: https://goo.gl/nResS6), applies to him.

[taiping]

I had always thought that Thailand does not permit dual Nationality???

That's why I always told my Thai-Brit daughter to be careful about this and not show both passports at Immigration.

[Crossy]

6 minutes ago, taiping said:

I had always thought that Thailand does not permit dual Nationality???

That's why I always told my Thai-Brit daughter to be careful about this and not show both passports at Immigration.

 

Thailand does not expressly forbid dual-nationality, but it does not expressly permit it either.

 

But you are right, it is always wise for dual passport holders to only ever show the relevant one to an immigration officer no matter where.

 

A mate who holds three nationalities and two UK passports (so a total of 4 valid travel documents) tried to exit Thailand on the wrong PP. He said the look on the immigration officer's face was a picture when he shuffled through the stack to find the correct one. Stamped out without issue mind.

 

[muzmurray]

And don't forget that he will be eligible for military service later in life  :-)

[steve187]

50 minutes ago, muzmurray said:

And don't forget that he will be eligible for military service later in life  :-)

only if on house book and ID card

[ubonjoe]

4 minutes ago, steve187 said:

only if on house book and ID card

But unless registered here he will get to the point where he will not be able to get a passport without it. Most embassies and consulates are only able it issue the first passport after a birth registration  without a registration here at an Amphoe to get a Thai ID number.

[chainarong]

On ‎1‎/‎8‎/‎2017 at 6:47 PM, Crossy said:

 

Did you try to exit on an expired passport?

 

Bad idea! Should have renewed it whilst in Thailand.

 

I'm surprised they let him exit on a passport of a different nationality to which he entered.

 

But your son won't lose his citizenship, you should be able to renew his passport in Oz and use it next time to enter Thailand. Any issues, ask to speak to a supervisor.

 

 

That's ok the same info is in the chip on both PP, should have renewed in Thai but they can have duel PP, renew it in OZ then you're ok for another Ten years , don't forget, Back flip Mal has upped the PP charges.

[tigermoth]

17 hours ago, dbrenn said:

Unless the below link is translated incorrectly, Section 17 of the Thai Nationality Act does seem to provide for revocation of Thai nationality where a child born of a foreign father continues to use the nationality of the father . 

 

http://www.ibiblio.org/obl/docs3/THAILAND's_Nationality_Act.htm

 

Although as KhunBENQ points out, the wording of the constitution does seem to contradict. Anyway, the immigration official is likely thinking of the Thai Nationality Act in making these threats.

If any Thai immigration officer knows the act I would be very surprised. What the hell is all the fuss about?? He is a Thai citizen so can enter Thailand. The father totally ballsed up by not renewing it on time so everyone became confused.

[4MyEgo]

1 hour ago, taiping said:

I had always thought that Thailand does not permit dual Nationality???

That's why I always told my Thai-Brit daughter to be careful about this and not show both passports at Immigration.

 

Both our daughter born in Australia, both have dual passports, i.e. Australian and Thai, when leaving Australia, they exit on Aussie passports, when entering Thailand they enter with Thai passports, when exiting Thailand they exit with Thai passports, when entering Australia, they enter with Aussie passports. 

 

Never had an issue on dual passports and always renew them on time.

[GOLDBUGGY]

No! Not possible! The one time Thailand does accept Dual Citizenship is in cases like your son. He can hold 2 until her reaches the age of majority (18 years I think) then must decide which citizenship he wants to keep. I think that is a bit of a farce to as I don't think that would ever be enforced anyway.

 

Just get him a new Thai Passport.  

[ubonjoe]

19 minutes ago, GOLDBUGGY said:

No! Not possible! The one time Thailand does accept Dual Citizenship is in cases like your son. He can hold 2 until her reaches the age of majority (18 years I think) then must decide which citizenship he wants to keep. I think that is a bit of a farce to as I don't think that would ever be enforced anyway.

 

Just get him a new Thai Passport.  

There is no requirement for them give up one their nationalities. They are given the option of choosing their nationality when the reach the age of 21 which is the age of maturity. Before that it is their parents choice.

[AlQaholic]

18 hours ago, dbrenn said:

Unless the below link is translated incorrectly, Section 17 of the Thai Nationality Act does seem to provide for revocation of Thai nationality where a child born of a foreign father continues to use the nationality of the father . 

 

http://www.ibiblio.org/obl/docs3/THAILAND's_Nationality_Act.htm

 

Although as KhunBENQ points out, the wording of the constitution does seem to contradict. Anyway, the immigration official is likely thinking of the Thai Nationality Act in making these threats.

I think Section 17 (2) can only be applied if the son is "sui juris" i.e. of legal age. Also I think this is never actually applied and is up to the discretion of the minister in charge only, has never been applied...

[AlQaholic]

56 minutes ago, tigermoth said:

If any Thai immigration officer knows the act I would be very surprised. What the hell is all the fuss about?? He is a Thai citizen so can enter Thailand. The father totally ballsed up by not renewing it on time so everyone became confused.

Well you need to have a Thai ID card to get a passport, and to get a Thai ID card you need to be registered at a home somewhere in Thailand, maybe that is the problem?

[speckio]

i am also dual citizenship, your situation is unfortunate bu it gave me something to look out for..

 

NO, you can not lose citizenship over the passport situation. (are you confusing your passport with your citizenship?)

 

I am assuming you left Thailand using the Thai passport and used the Australian passport to enter Australia... if the passport is expired then you would definitely have to renew it to leave the country again. You can't leave Australia on the thai passport because there is no record of entering the country on it and you would also require a visa to enter and leave.

 

In any case note to self, check US passport for expiration before visiting the states or get a visa for thai passort.

[snowgard]

When I remember right it was the Military Regime who publicit this rule to the media 2 years ago. They told that Thais who have 2 nationalities and come into Thailand with a foreign passport lose their Thai nationality if they left Thailand on their Thai Passport.

 

[elgordo38]

On 1/8/2017 at 6:31 PM, A1Str8 said:

The person who said that is obviously mentally challenged. There's no such thing as losing your citizenship because you travel on an other pass. 

The person obviously had a brain fart in the midst of a wind storm. 

[12DrinkMore]

4 hours ago, Crossy said:

A mate who holds three nationalities and two UK passports (so a total of 4 valid travel documents) tried to exit Thailand on the wrong PP. He said the look on the immigration officer's face was a picture when he shuffled through the stack to find the correct one. Stamped out without issue mind.

 

Yeah, there is always some annoying eejit causing delays in the queue.

 

I don't even want to speculate why he was trying to exit using the wrong passport. Maybe a simple mistake or making some statement "look I have all these passports", but the only guys I have known with multiple passports were always extremely careful about which passport was the one they were currently travelling on and kept the other well out of sight.

 

Ruffling feathers at immigration is just asking for issues.

[Crossy]

@12DrinkMore yup a simple mistake (wrong UK passport) easy enough to make, probably no real delay to others.

 

He's sufficiently well travelled to know the simple rules (use only the PP you are travelling on) but we all make mistakes.

 

[jaiyen]

3 hours ago, 4MyEgo said:

 

Both our daughter born in Australia, both have dual passports, i.e. Australian and Thai, when leaving Australia, they exit on Aussie passports, when entering Thailand they enter with Thai passports, when exiting Thailand they exit with Thai passports, when entering Australia, they enter with Aussie passports. 

 

Never had an issue on dual passports and always renew them on time.

My Thai wife does exactly the same and never had a problem

[louse1953]

On 08/01/2017 at 6:42 PM, richard_smith237 said:

It all makes perfect sense...

 

If a Thai wishes to exit using their Thai passport it has to be valid.

 

Your son was lucky - perhaps because he was under 16 years old immigration permitted his travel on his Australian Passport - but really, when doing so there should also be an entry stamp.

 

A Thai can enter Thailand on an expired passport (they are still Thai).

 

If your son renews his Thai passport in Australia, he wont be able to use it in Australia as he is an Australian Citizen.

 

He will be able to return to Thailand an use his renewed Thai passport upon entry into Thailand.

Age does not come into it.Any Thai,of any age and dual citizenship can travel to Oz on what passport they choose.They would need a visa if travelling on Thai pp.Whilst they can lose their Australian citizenship if born in Thailand,for serious crimes,they can never lose their Thai citizenship.