How should I use my dual citizenship when entering and exiting Thailand and the US?

@Rob *****

Assuming travel gets back to normal my suggestion would be ONLY use the Thai passport for ASEAN based travel, in particular land based travel. You can not switch passports at a land border.

Unless intending on spending a long time in a country for which US citizens get more time than Thais (Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei I think) then using a Thai passport is better. Again, for overland travel to Malaysia and Singapore the Thai passport must be used.

The Thai passport (or rather, ID card) will be useful at local border crossings where third country foreigners aren't allowed to cross, or at some border crossings where foreigners need to pay for a stamp and pass through formal immigration. For instance, if going on a day trip or for up to 1-2 weeks to border areas of Myanmar, it is much easier, cheaper and faster to use a Thai border pass than a passport.

A foreigner going to Myawaddy across from Mae Sot on a day trip needs to spend US$10 or 500 Baht, go through immigration and stand in line with all the other foreigners, walk or drive across the bridge and then spend a long time lining up on the way back. The whole process can take 2-3 hours during peak periods, though an hour all in all is the average.

A Thai with a border pass can not only spend up to 7 days in Myawaddy, but it only costs 30 Baht on the Thai side, with another 20 I think it is, collected on the Burmese side. There are also separate windows for Thai border pass holders allowing much quicker access to the country.

Kanchanaburi allows Thais to travel to Dawei and it's beaches for 1-2 weeks for just 30 Baht plus another 30 on the Burmese side with just a border pass. Obviously they must head back the same way they came, but for a quick beach getaway where further travel is not desired this is much easier and cheaper than having to apply for a visa at the embassy in Bangkok or consulate-general in Chiang Mai (e-visas aren't accepted at this border).

Borders closed to foreigners such as the Three Pagodas Pass and the Singkorn pass allow Thais to cross into the country using a border pass. Singkorn allows travel up to Myeik on the coast.

Ditto for all the other local border crossings between Thailand and Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Malaysia that are not open to non-locals.

Thanks!

Like all Thai laws, it's written in Thai and it may not even be well or unambiguously written in Thai. And then it gets translated to English and confusion reigns. Thais ARE allowed to have dual citizenship. People who believe they are not are misreading/misunderstanding the Thai law as it presently is.

@Addy **********

lol my ex half thai husband has been traveling under both passports his whole life. same as my half thai brother and all my half thai friends lmao

No! No you don't. You are misunderstanding the situation. They do not HAVE to choose! They can choose if they WANT to. If they don't want to they don't have to. They can remain dual nationals, past 18, the age doesn't matter. Thailand accepts the existence of dual nationals. If you don't believe me, fine, seek the advice of someone you trust, but don't act on bad information. Talk to Thais who are dual nationals. They weren't made to choose, at 18 or any other age. Please investigate further. What a terrible waste to throw such a positive thing away unnecessarily.

@George ************

sometimes you have to show two passports especially if you have two different last name. My boarding pass is always on American last name so it’s a contradiction there, but most people can understand and easily accept it. I never register for marriage in Thailand (didn’t want to go through several more processes when purchasing property or doing other legal documents that requires my foreign spouse to sign too.

@George ************

thank you

@Puma *********

thank you

^^ this is the answer.

@Malcolm ************

If you mean show your US passport to airline check-in staff to show you don't need a US visa, then yes. Otherwise, no. You never show you have both passports to immigration officials. It's never necessary and needlessly complicates your life.

@Malcolm ************

simples😉👍

@Malcolm ************

Exactly. I have a friend whose Thai born daughter holds both Thai and Australian passports. That's exactly what she does when travelling between Thailand and Australia.

Paul De Graaf in my case I only show my passport to airline agents to obtain my boarding passes and enter security/TSA checkpoints with a commercial drivers license with Real ID. So it would be the airline that officially “reports” my departure to any US gov agency. Case in point if I decided to just walk out of LAX and rent a car to get home instead of boarding the flight to Narita, initially only the airline would know if I left the country.

@Adam *******

he could enter the US with the thai passport too, he’d just need a visa.

Highly recommend this fantastic website for anyone who wishes to become a Thai citizen:



I would point out that if you're married to a Thai you should really seek Thai citizenship rather than permanent residence as it's actually cheaper. The only reason not to go for Thai citizenship is if your current citizenship country does not allow dual citizenship.

I’m still learning the procedures and options. If you get a PR visa in Thailand do you forfeit your home citizenship?