surinexpat Posted May 24, 2010 Report Share Posted May 24, 2010 Need your opinion folks on this weird request from Thailand Immigration. My thai wife flew back to Thailand last week from Canada to stay for 6 months. My thai wife is also a dual citizen in Canada. Upon arrival at Suvarnabhum she gave her Thailand passport to the immigration officer. The officer told her that she needs a 1 year visa to stay in Thailand. The reason is because she used her Canadian passport when entering Canada and that her Thai passport had no stamps of proof of travel (which is a brand new thai passport renewed last year). He gave her a 30 day visa stamp on her Canadian passwort and told her to go to a visa office to apply for a 1 year visa. During the riots the Bang Na office was closed and she escaped back to Surin. Now she needs to travel to the Khorat visa office which is a hassle (time and money). Does this seem weird? How or why would you even use a Thai password to enter Canada when you're a Canadian citizen? Is this a pointless money grab by thai immigration? For the expats here, does any of your spouses have dual citizenship? If so which passports do they use when travelling? Thanks for any opinions is appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaimo Posted May 25, 2010 Report Share Posted May 25, 2010 That's a new one. I have never encountered something like that. It smacks of a guess by that particular immigration officer without him having anything beyond his own opinion to back that up. He should have called in a superior officer when confronted with an unusual circumstance. I think the best thing for you to do is to go to another immigration office and talk with someone at a higher level than the officer at the airport. If you are told the same thing the airport officer said, then I would insist on seeing something in writing that shows a procedure like that is backed by law. You might also want to consult a Thai attorney competent with Thai immigration law first. My opinion, and it is only my opinion, is the immigration officer was wrong. Whether she holds dual citizenship or not, I have never heard of a circumstance in which someone who holds Thai citizenship ends up having to obtain visas to stay in Thailand, especially since Thailand is her native country. Once you find out, I would appreciate it if you would let us know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surinexpat Posted May 25, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2010 Thanks for the response Thaimo. However I may have found the problem. I just read the following (below in bold) with regards to thailand dual citizenships. It seems that my wife could have lost her Thailand citizenship when she became a Canadian citizen 5 years ago? This could be a real problem as we have a house and multiple farm lands in Surin under her name. Also we want to retire in Thailand in about 15 years time. Any ideas anyone? I can't consult a Thailand immigration lawyer since I'm not with her in Thailand. DUAL CITIZENSHIP: NOT RECOGNIZED. Exceptions: Child born abroad to Thai parents, who obtains the citizenship of the foreign country of birth, may retain dual citizenship until reaching the age of majority (18). At this point, person must choose which citizenship to retain. A Thai woman who marries a foreign national and acquires her husband's citizenship has technically lost her Thai citizenship. Should the marriage end in death or divorce, the Thai national woman could regain her Thai citizenship. This is an unofficial dual citizenship designed to protect female Thai nationals. LOSS OF CITIZENSHIP: VOLUNTARY: Voluntary renunciation of citizenship is permitted by Thai law. Contact the Embassy for details and proper paperwork. If a person of Thai nationality who was born of an alien father and has acquired the nationality of their father desires to retain the other nationality, they must renounce Thai nationality within one year after attaining the age of twenty years. INVOLUNTARY: The following are grounds for involuntary loss of Thai citizenship: Person voluntarily acquires foreign citizenship. When there exist circumstances suitable for maintaining the security or interests of the State, the government is empowered to revoke Thai nationality of a person who had acquired Thai nationality through naturalization. http://www.multiplecitizenship.com/wscl/ws_THAILAND.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaimo Posted May 25, 2010 Report Share Posted May 25, 2010 What I'm reading is certainly questionable. I still think a Thai attorney ought to be consulted. Why would you need to be in Thailand to do that? What's wrong with having her go to see an attorney herself? It seems the worst that can happen would be she would have to get appropriate visas to remain in Thailand just like every other foreigner. If nothing else, an attorney could at least advise her as to which kind of visa would be best for her depending on what types she can qualify for. The best advice I can offer would be to encourage you to have her consult a Thai attorney well versed in Thai immigration law. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calic Posted July 11, 2010 Report Share Posted July 11, 2010 ...her Thai passport had no stamps of proof of travel (which is a brand new thai passport renewed last year)... The above quote from your post explains the cause of your wife's problem. If the departure stamp from Thailand is in her old Thai passport, she should have shown that old Thai passport together with her new Thai passport on her arrival in Thailand. Now that her immigration record has been flagged with a note that she entered Thailand with her Canadian passport, ie that she used her other, non-Thai nationality in Thailand, she is indeed at a potential risk of losing her Thai nationality. I don't know enough about this subject but I recently saw another website, forgot its name, where they seem to have experts for such questions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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