Dual Passport for Children

[Frank La Rue]

My wife would like for our son to have Thai passport in addition to the one he has got. In the case of my native country he has to choose at the age of 18 to keep only one passport. Some questions naturally come up:

1. Does Thai authorities report to other countries if they issue what will appear to be a 2nd passport?
I.e. as the passport is not aquired at birth in this case it must be a 2nd passport. Now if the Norwegian authorities do not know there is no problem.

2.If we reside in Thailand when he turns 18 is he legible for military service? I have heard it's 2 years

IF anyone have experience with this issue I'd like to know

[HHTel]

Both my children have both Thai and UK passports. My ex-wife also has both. It's never been a problem. Unless you hold your hand up to either country, then no-one knows. After all, Abhiset has dual nationality and god knows how many passports Thaksin has!!

[Frank La Rue]

[quote="HHTel"]Both my children have both Thai and UK passports. My ex-wife also has both. It's never been a problem. Unless you hold your hand up to either country, then no-one knows. quote]

Thanks - that's what I hoped

[Gregjam]

All Thai males when they reach 18 are subject to the laws in regard to conscription however.... these laws seem to be applied in the same way all the other laws are applied (which makes this such a good and bad place to be depending upon the wealth of the person you talk to). There is a lot out there in the various forums on this.

[oakdale160]

US IS TRICKY, My children have triple nationality and 3 passports. One of them is US and they know to always use their US PPp if entering the US. My ex became american, surrendered her Canadian PP and immediately got a new one in Canada.

[Frank La Rue]

All Thai males when they reach 18 are subject to the laws in regard to conscription however.... these laws seem to be applied in the same way all the other laws are applied (which makes this such a good and bad place to be depending upon the wealth of the person you talk to). There is a lot out there in the various forums on this.

I think I hear that if you pay the right individual in the conscription admin, in this case my son, can be removed from the list.

[Gregjam]

You hearing appears to be pretty good. Probably sensible as I am sure the army do not want a westernised young man who probably speaks little Thai and cannot read or write the language. Having dual nationality can involve juggling passports when travelling as entering Thailand is done on the Thai passport but entering the other country and checking in for flights requires the other passport (they will not let you board if you cannot enter the destination country and it is unlikely a dual passport holder will have an entry visa in their Thai passport).

[Kingburn]

My daughter has both citizenship perfectly legal. Norwegian and Thai.

dobbelt statsborgerskap oppstår når foreldrene har forskjellig statsborgerskap som begge overføres til barnet ved fødsel. Den som på denne måten får dobbelt statsborgerskap, kan beholde det norske statsborgerskapet for bestandig, så fremt vedkommende har bodd minst 2 år i Norge før fylte 22 år.

http://www.regjeringen.no/nb/dep/bld/te ... ?id=438699

[Takiap]

All Thai male citizens are liable for two years national service although as some people have already pointed out, there are ways one can get out of it.

To begin with, not all males get called up. When the time comes up, it's a sort of black ball red ball lottery. You pull a red ball out of the box, and you will a two year all expenses paid military vacation. If you pull a black ball you are sent back home to continue sponging off Mom and Dad.


If you don't trust your luck, you can also try to enroll your son in the military cadets. Providing he completes his one or two years as a cadet, he will be exempt from National Service. Only a very limited number of kids are chosen, so this route might require a good handshake or an envelope that you accidentally forget on the desk when you apply.


Your third option is just good old fashioned......"How much must I pay". Pay the money, and your son won't get called up.


If you don't mind me asking, why are you not wanting your son do do national service? I can understand if he is or will be spending most of his childhood and teenage years outside of Thailand, but if he grows up year, then you might find some time in the army won't do him any harm at all. If it's anything like it was back in South Africa, he'll go in a boy and come out a man.


The first three months (basic training) of my two years national service were nothing short of a living hell, and the six months (2nd phase) that followed were only a little better, but when I look back, they were two of the best years of my life, and nearly everyone I know who did there national service feels the same way.

Anyway, it's your choice, and at least you know now that there are some options open to you.

[Frank La Rue]

If you don't mind me asking, why are you not wanting your son do do national service? I can understand if he is or will be spending most of his childhood and teenage years outside of Thailand, but if he grows up year, then you might find some time in the army won't do him any harm at all. If it's anything like it was back in South Africa, he'll go in a boy and come out a man.

No, I don't mind you asking - I did military service in my native country and enjoyed it much. 12 months is doable, if it gets like 30 months It eats a bit too much into the time you otherwise spend on education.
I think there is a valid point regarding language skills - if the platoon is told to go left and hold fire, there is a fair risk that a Lukung might do something else.

My son speaks Thai, but does not master the Thai alphabet as far is writing and reading is concerned.
That might change though