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How can I obtain a dependent visa for my daughter in Thailand when she has overstayed?

Thai marriage visaDependent visaMinor child visaVisa rulesImmigrationOverstayThai nationality lawChild custodyUS passportCOVID-19 impact on visas
Jun 25, 2021
3 years ago
Frank ********
ORIGINAL POSTER
I have a Thai marriage visa. Need to get a dependent visa for my Swiss minor daughter, 14. I have Thai court custody.Birth mom, Filipina abandoned her. I was single dad

Daughter born in Thailand but never got a visa

Samui imm doesnt know anything about it. I am told that only Chang Wattana office can process. Satellite imm offices cant. True ?

I need to print the application and instruction forms before going there

I cant find on Google the forms to print

Chang Wattana phone lines are always busy or on hold for too long

Can you help ?
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TLDR : Answer Summary
The user is seeking assistance on how to secure a dependent visa for their 14-year-old daughter, who does not currently have a visa. They have sole custody of her, as her birth mother abandoned her. The daughter was born in Thailand but has never had a visa. User is informed that only the Chang Wattana Immigration office can process this request, and they are struggling to find necessary forms and contact the office due to busy phone lines. Community members discuss varying viewpoints on the situation, particularly around the necessity of obtaining a valid US passport for the daughter, and outline actions that may be needed to resolve her visa status.
Frank ********
ORIGINAL POSTER
yes I am a Murphy's law victim LOL
3 years ago
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Chris ****
I don’t have the answer but genuinely hope everything works out for you.
3 years ago
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Frank ********
ORIGINAL POSTER
Todd, I went to Samui immigration with daughters three passports , the expired Filipino and US with entry stamps and the new Swiss and showed them Thai birth certificate . The first question was "how did she get to Thailand in the first place " I said look at the birth certificate, she came in mommy's tommy ! Now they said if I renew her expired US passport they could transfer the stamp on new one, but what kind of stay would she get ? For how long as a minor ?They cant transfer stamp on new Swiss. We have til March 2022 to solve this before daughter reaches 15. My marriage visa expires in December and my US passport is still valid. Could I get the new marriage visa on it without going out of country ? It has an expired retirement visa on it. That would be one solution. The other solution is hoping before March 2022 and during school vacation, we can go to Vientiane ( wife is from Isaan ), if borders open and no quarantine. That was our pre pandemic plan. Immigration said you can fly out to another country get visa at embassy and do quarantine upon return. Cost now would be beyond my means. overstay fine is less. Last year I got stranded in Philippines where I own a rental villa resort for 7 months and with all costs to come back and quarantine it cost me $5000 .Just Covid insurance to return at my age , 78, was 900 euros plus plus.What do you think ?
3 years ago
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Tod *********
@Frank *******
, SO in other words it was pretty much like I said, she's the nationality of the passport she last entered the country on (the US one) and she'd need to have a valid US passport to get the original entry stamp transferred over to it, THEN they'd probably either do nothing (seeing as she's not 15 yet and can't get fined) or sell her a 60 day covid extension.

You need to get after getting her US passport renewed. It's all done by mail now, they don't have walk in service at ACS in Bangkok for it
3 years ago
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Frank ********
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Tod ********
 yes and the solution is to renew her US passport and get an ED visa on it here before she reaches 15 . No way to get her as dependent now. Maybe after pandemic when we travel again out. Thanks
3 years ago
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Frank ********
ORIGINAL POSTER
Imm says to get ED must go out. True ?
3 years ago
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Tod *********
@Fr***
 totally correct, you can't get any VISA issued inside the country on overstay.
3 years ago
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Frank ********
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Tod ********
 so if they move stamp on her renewed US passport what status would she be in ? still overstay ? so it wont help, once over 15, until pandemic is over and we can go out and in without the present scenario and that could be years away. Virus is not going going away or disappearing like the Spanish flu but increasing in contagion.Maybe better just wait and pay the eventual fines . It would cost me $4000 to $ 5000 to go out and back in now with flights,embassy fees Covid insurance, ( I am 78, cost me euro 900 for insurance last year to return ) ), and ASQ for the 3 of us.
3 years ago
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Tod *********
@Frank *******
 passports are good for 10 years AND you still need to get the passport from the country she entered thailand on renewed so she can eventually leave. SO at least get the passport renewed
3 years ago
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Frank ********
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Tod ********
 I will. But since she was born here, came in the mommy tommy, she can leave Thailand on the Swiss too, if we ever can. thanks. by the way , children passports are only valid 5 years not 10. over and out
3 years ago
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Tod *********
@Fr***
 I believe you were told bad information and she can't.

In order to leave on ANY passport she holds she'd have to have not LEFT the country since she was born. :O

She has (several times you say) :)

AND

seeing as the last time she did re-enter the country she entered on a US passport (or so you say) that's the passport you have to renew, to get any extension OR to get her stamped out of the country. She's here as an american in the eyes of the thaiz :O no matter how many passports she holds
3 years ago
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Frank ********
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Tod ********
 US embassy requires personal visit to renew minor passports. No way we are going to Bangkok anytime soon.Why is life so complicated ? Final blow to my problem. Just for your info. Thanks for advice
3 years ago
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Frank ********
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Alessandro **********
May be worth a reading.

"Thai nationality law - Wikipedia"
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3 years ago
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Tod *********
@Alessandro *********
 pay attention to the story they O/P is telling. HE is swiss, he has a child with a Filippino woman <- neither him nor his child's mother have permanent residence status in thailand SO the child cannot "be thai", it's just another foreigner born here.

That child needs a visa like everyone else does.

What confused the O/P was the fact that without a visa there are no penalties for a child under 15 overstaying, <- which is NOT the same as saying they didn't need a visa, it's just there are no penalties for not having one until the child turns 15 when they will get fined the 20K baht and they'd have to GO get a visa ( but even if they didn't they still couldn't be banned from the country until they turned 18)
3 years ago
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Alessandro **********
@Tod ********
 yep I know. Thailand is based on jus sanguinis, afaik jus soli comes with a lot of restrictions
3 years ago
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Frank ********
ORIGINAL POSTER
But Todd I have marriage visa, so that makes me permanent no ? Been here 14 years, first on retirement visa now marriage. Switched passport use from US to Swiss 2 years ago. I have US because I was born in US from Swiss parents, law of the land. entered Thailand with US because Swiss had expired. Now I only renew one no need for two passports. never going back to US
3 years ago
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Tod *********
@Frank *******
 nope a marriage visa that you renew every year doesn't make you anything resembling a person with permanent resident status.
3 years ago
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Frank ********
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Tod ********
 Q: should I go to Imm locally and ask them with all 3 passports ?
3 years ago
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Tod *********
@Frank *******
, what ever passport she used on the last entry is the nationality she is, SO that's the one you're going to have to renew if it's expired AND have her exit the country on <- because you have to stamp OUT of the country on the same country's passport you stamped IN to it on.

I keep saying they aren't going to do anything in country, not give a visa, not cut you slack because of the covid shit show, zero.

I'm sure they are going to notice that you've been here 14 years but in that whole span of time saw fit to get her a real visa, either a Non-O because she's your daughter OR an ED visa (she has to go to school somewhere right).

I think you're options are exactly what I outlined, RENEW the country's passport she last entered thailand on, have her exit/re-enter to get a new visa exempt entry THEN go to the immigration office and apply for what ever visa you're thinking to get here.
3 years ago
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Frank ********
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Tod ********
 correct. They told me many times when asked, to just wait til she gets 14, no fine for kids overstay. Now would they grant her a dependent visa on US passport if my current marriage is on Swiss ?
3 years ago
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Tod *********
@Frank *******
 nope, they didn't tell you that you didn't NEED a visa for her, (that's a lost in translation between you and them) what they told you was she wouldn't be FINED for overstay until she was 15. That's NOT the same as saying she didn't need a visa.

One last time, they aren't going to grant ANY visa to her until you get her passport she entered the country on renewed got her OUT of the country on and then back IN the country on a new entry stamp . :/ You seem to be under some false impression that there is something they can do inside the country. there is not.

To make it easier, the best thing to do would be to renew the US passport (if that's the one she last entered the country on) AND renew her swiss passport too. Then fly her out on the US passport, have her enter the country on the Swiss one (getting a new visa exempt entry) AND then it'd be the same passport nationality you're on which will make it easier for them to issue an in country 90 day Non-O visa based on her being your child.
3 years ago
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Frank ********
ORIGINAL POSTER
Todd, thanks for your input, again. Just to explain why I didn't do it sooner : It took me years to get the Thai court custody award, The bio mom disappeared, no way to be served. Also it took years to get a Thai divorce from my ex Filipina ( not daughters mom ), she also could not be served. To get dependent visa for sure imm wants to talk to step mom for last 10 years too, Could only get married a few years ago after divorce.Now you know the rest of the story. Good dayNothing is simple in llife
3 years ago
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Frank ********
ORIGINAL POSTER
last year, we had plans to either go to Europe or Vientiane during school vacation ( wife has farm in Isaan ). she was 13. Bad luck now since COVID
3 years ago
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Frank ********
ORIGINAL POSTER
maybe in 2022 they will have border runs
3 years ago
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Frank ********
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Tod ********
 correct but now with Covid restrictions, no way to do that. I will go and ask them Yes maybe they meant you have time to get visa since no fine yet
3 years ago
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Alessandro **********
@Frank *******
 it's not the same. Marriage visa is one thing, permanent residence is another

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3 years ago
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Frank ********
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Alessandro *********
 you are so right, marriages are never permanent lol
3 years ago
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Frank ********
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Frank ********
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Tod ********
 correct but maybe due to COVID border closures, they will have a heart to make exceptions. Maybe this fall we try to get it, she is 14 until next March.We had plans to go to Europe in 2019. Then Covid came.......What about her entry stamps on old passports, would that not qualify her ?
3 years ago
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Frank ********
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Tod *********
You are mistaken on what you can do inside the country for a foreign child who is on overstay without a visa :/ You can't get an in country visa of any type issued :/
3 years ago
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Frank ********
ORIGINAL POSTER
even if she has old entry stamps on two of her three passports ?
3 years ago
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Sammy *******
@Tod ********
 I agree--many times some posters/commenters make the old assumption/stereotype that if one has enough cash they can get any government agency to do whatever they want. If true at one time years ago, definitely not the norm now. Again, I've lived Thailand more than 20 years and know how things were and how they are now. If one wants to take a handful of cash and start suggesting illegal activities, ur likely to end up in jail.
3 years ago
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Kool *******
@Sammy ******
 not involving bribes, or payoffs of any kind, but immigration directors can make exceptions, and with the correct ligitimate help this would be this person's only alternative, especially with a Thai court granting him sole custody, but, the big question comes up of why, after all these years, and knowing the regulations, he just let it slide. Something doesn't seem right with his story.
3 years ago
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Kool *******
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Alexia *****
If your both in Thailand with enough cash on hand, anything is possible!
3 years ago
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Tod *********
@Alexia ****
 FAIL :(
3 years ago
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Tod *********
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Chan *************
This seems like a complicated case.
3 years ago
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Benjamin ******
You asked the same question on another visa group, and it turned into a big mess.

1. Does the child have a Thai father? You said she did in the other group. If so, contact the Thai government and get the child a Thai passport.

2. Does the child NOT have a Thai father? In that case, try and get a Non-O visa for her inside Thailand. I do not know if any immigration office will sell a Non-O visa to someone who did not enter Thailand (because she was born in Thailand).
3 years ago
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Frank ********
ORIGINAL POSTER
do you think if I find a way to renew her US passport, not easy by mail for minors, will they issue the family dependent visa on her US, since there is an old stamp on expired one, although my marriage visa is on Swiss ? We could not have predicted the pandemic. Maybe wait few more years and pay late fine ? Also is it true that dependent visas can only be issued at the Chang wattana office, not at satellite imm offices ?
3 years ago
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Kool *******
@Frank *******
 you can not renew her US passport by mail, as it has expired. You must make an appointment with citizen services, and do it in person.
3 years ago
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Tod *********
@Frank *******
 if the last passport she stamped into the country on was the US passport THEN she's US in the eyes of the thaiz (no matter how many passports she's got) You are the nationality of the country whose passport you use to ENTER thailand.

SO if you're ever gonna sort this out you need to find out what country's passport she used when she last entered the country, RENEW that countries passport and then get her out and back in BEFORE she hits 15 when she'll get 20K baht fine for overstaying all these years and 500 baht a day for every day after her 15th birthday she overstays
3 years ago
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Frank ********
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Tod ********
 thanks for your input. Appreciate your advice. Maybe the solution is to get her dependent/ family visa here on the US passport since it has entry stamps and the following year, renew it on her Swiss. But I was told that only ChangWattana main office issues such visas, not the satellite ones : true ? Right now we don't want to travel to BKK.will wait to go when safer.Life is more important than paying an eventual fine. I found Imm to be very humane, when daughter' mom s was very pregnant and after cesarean birth, they allowed her not to do a border run, due to her condition with a medical certificate. Thanks folks
3 years ago
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Frank ********
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Kool *******
@Frank *******
 in your situation, where lots of backtracking has to be done, yes, CW is the only immigration office that can get it all straightened out at this point. At this point I would say you need a ligitimate visa agent to help you. Not someone selling visas, but a ligitimate visa agent that can do all the legwork, document accumulation, and interpretation of what immigration officer's instructions of what to do, and how. My wife works with one for the corporation she works for, but I have no contact details. My question is how has she been able to go to school all these years without a legal visa/extension.
3 years ago
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Tod *********
@Kool ******
 Chaengwattana isn't gonna do SHIT for his child. She's on overstay and no immigration office will issue an in country Non-Imm of any type for someone on overstay
3 years ago
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Kool *******
@Tod ********
 true
3 years ago
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Kool *******
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Frank ********
ORIGINAL POSTER
cant use the US since marriage visa is in Swiss passport. before pandemic we had planned to go to Vientiane for her visa but cant now with pandemic restrictions and quarantine
3 years ago
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Frank ********
ORIGINAL POSTER
she has 3 passports, only one , the Swiss valid
3 years ago
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Frank ********
ORIGINAL POSTER
when she was 3 month old her bio mom took her to Manila with her baby Filipino passport, there is an entry stamp although passport never renewed. Also we went to HK years ago with our US passports and also a stamp in it, but I only renew now and use our Swiss passports, no stamps in hers,no longer the US one. what do you think ? A lawyer in BKK says we can get only at Chang wattana main imm office a dependent family visa since I am on marriage visa here. A while a go I had asked about an ED visa which must be applied only outside Thailand , but dependent is easier
3 years ago
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Frank ********
ORIGINAL POSTER
not a mess, another member compared my situation to another person. Anyway, yes, I asked the question to many. Success in life is to ask ask 1000 questions to 1000 people, said a billionaire being interviewed , 1000 being just as a matter of speech. I just want to be able to find, download and print the application and instructions forms before going to imm in BKK Its that simple. Thanks folks
3 years ago
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Tod *********
@Frank *******
 there are NO forms for you to print, you have a foreign child who is clearly on overstay (even though there is no fine for it) who you say NEVER had a visa in 14 years meaning they NEVER left thailand since they were born here. AND that means they can't get ANY visa issued inside the country.

Years ago before this covid shit show started you should have got her a passport bounced her out and back in to get a valid entry stamp THEN applied for a visa.

I honestly think until she exits/re-enters the country on a new entry stamp you're dead in the water as far as what can be done for her

I messaged you about the situation too
3 years ago
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Benjamin ******
@Frank *******
 I wish you the best of luck in this attempt. Good bye
3 years ago
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Benjamin ******
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