Thai & U.S. passports

[nkped]

As I hope we have established long ago, a person can have a Thai passport and a U.S. passport at the same time. Just a couple of things passed along from a Thai friend who has both passports.

 

She recently got back from almost two years in Thailand. She got some extra attention from the CBP inspectors. Best I can determine, they thought she might have been someone other than the real owner of the U.S. passport. They checked her bags and saw the Thai passport--no problem--not a surprise but possibly of interest to some. Finally, one of them who was able to compare a picture with the person standing in front of him said "That's her" and that was that. She wasn't upset about it, so they apparently conducted themselves in a reasonable manner.

 

On a lighter note, some of her Thai friends won't believe she could have both passports and keep asking her if she had to pay a fine for staying too long in Thailand as a U.S. citizen.

[Bangkoktraveler]

 

I have known a few Thais who have dual passports. I guess when you are tired/jet lagged there is a chance of pulling out the 'wrong' passport.

[exileexpat]

My family members have both passports.

 

Never a problem. We pull BOTH of them out when leaving Thailand as they want to see the Thai one since it has the last entry date information on and the airline needs to see the visa or US passport for entry into the US. No one has ever batted an eye

[CTO]

Rule of thumb is always enter the country of the passport. I.E. use Thai passport to enter Thailand Farang Passport to enter whatever Farang country your from.

 

Other countries use the one that suits - my family use Thai passport in Asia as it's quicker queues.

 

HOWEVER as I've said before a Thai mate of mine was fined for overstay as he entered Thailand late at night on his Aussie passport by mistake instead of his Thai passport - 2 months later leaving thailand 30 days overstay!

[elef]

ExTW entered Thailand last year on her thai passport, at her departure immigration found out that her thai passport had expired during her 30 days in Thailand, so refused her to leave. After 2 days of negotiations they moved her entry stamp to her swedish passport and asked her to pay for 2 days overstay.

[Flashermac]

Legally no one can have dual citizenship (Thai + whatever) after age 18. In practice, the rule is ignored. Even so, I wouldn't flash both passports at a Thai immigration officer. Never know when they might decide to make an issue of it.

 

 

[elef]

I read some years ago on the website of the attorney general that there was no thai law forbidding it.

 

Came after that HM the King declared that all thais are thais regardless of what passport they have. Before a thai lady in Sweden with thai passport needed to have visas for her 2 children if they stayed more than 30 days, I helped her with visa application but embassy in Stockholm sent back with "Don't need".

[USVirgin]

A friend of mine once tried to return from Europe to LA on his Irish passport. The immigration guy (it's different here, you go through immigration when you arrive) looked at his blank passport and said, "You haven't been anywhere". So my friend produced his USA passport. Got a stern lecture, but that's about all.

[CTO]

Flash - law repelled during the crisis to allow "Thai Success stories" to come home

[dean]

Flash, my lawyer advised me that, when my son turns 18, he can get out of thai military service by paying someone off. We will be leaving around his first birthday in 6 weeks but he will learn to speak (and hopefully write) thai and I hope to spend one or two years here in his teens, so he has a good understanding of LOS. If it means giving up his Thai citizenship so he doesn't have to serve in the Thai military, so be it.