Will my 2-year old need a Lao visa?

[brewsterbudgen]

My 2-year old has a UK passport and is included on my Extension of Stay in Thailand.  His mother (and my wife) is Laotian.  She's taking him back to Laos for Songkran, via the Chong Mek border.  He's made 2 trips before but he didn't have a passport then.  My wife just showed his Thai birth certificate and he was allowed to enter Laos and return to Thailand. However, she was told that "next time" he would need a passport.

 

 I'm assuming that my wife will need to complete a Visa on Arrival form for him at Chong Mek border and he'll be stamped in as a tourist.  Does anyone know if the fee is the same for young kids?  I won't be with him as I am joining them later.  Will there be any issue with a Lao mother returning to Laos, alone, with a British son?  We married in the UK and our marriage is not recognised in Laos.

 

Thanks.

[BEVUP]

So i presume your son got a UK passport through Descent  so he his a Thai citz  hence the Birth cert

Not to difficult to get Thai passport but then again i can't see why he couldn't just use UK PP since dual citz

Obviously more experienced members need to answer 

 

[brewsterbudgen]

38 minutes ago, BEVUP said:

So i presume your son got a UK passport through Descent  so he his a Thai citz  hence the Birth cert

Not to difficult to get Thai passport but then again i can't see why he couldn't just use UK PP since dual citz

Obviously more experienced members need to answer 

 

No he's not Thai.  Anyone born in Thailand gets a Thai birth certificate, but to be Thai you need to have a Thai parent.

 

Laos does not allow dual nationality, so he is only British.  

[ubonjoe]

He will need to use his UK passport to leave Thailand and enter Laos. Be sure you get him a re-entry permit.

He will get a visa exempt entry as a Lao citizen by birth. From: http://www.laos-guide-999.com/visa-exemption.html

 

Quote

 

Individuals (Lao borns)

Apart from the lists above, Laos also grants visa fee exemption to Lao born individuals holding passports of other countries regardless of their current nationality or citizenship status.

 

 

[brewsterbudgen]

5 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

He will need to use his UK passport to leave Thailand and enter Laos. Be sure you get him a re-entry permit.

He will get a visa exempt entry as a Lao citizen by birth. From: http://www.laos-guide-999.com/visa-exemption.html

 

 

Thanks.  He's already got the Re-entry permit.

 

That would be great if he gets visa exempt entry to Laos.  However, I didn't think Laotian's could have dual citizenship.  Presumably they will know he's a "Lao citizen by birth" by looking at his Thai birth certificate?  My Lao mother-in-law got him some Lao document after he was born, but this doesn't show my surname as I don't exist as his father in Lao law.  We've never used this document (it's only written in Lao language).

[ubonjoe]

28 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

Thanks.  He's already got the Re-entry permit.

 

That would be great if he gets visa exempt entry to Laos.  However, I didn't think Laotian's could have dual citizenship.  Presumably they will know he's a "Lao citizen by birth" by looking at his Thai birth certificate?  My Lao mother-in-law got him some Lao document after he was born, but this doesn't show my surname as I don't exist as his father in Lao law.  We've never used this document (it's only written in Lao language).

His birth certificate should prove he is a Lao by birth. It might be wise to have the other document in case something more was needed. It might worth the time spent to apply for the visa at the Lao embassy in Bangkok. According to that webpage the visa fee exemption would still apply when applying at the embassy.

It states this on that webpage.

Quote

Apart from the lists above, Laos also grants visa fee exemption to Lao born individuals holding passports of other countries regardless of their current nationality or citizenship status.

 

[brewsterbudgen]

Thanks Joe.

[brewsterbudgen]

Just as an update, my wife had to buy a Lao visa for my 2-year old. Had I been with them I would have pursued the visa fee exemption for being Lao by birth, but I had advised her to not argue!