Thread: Altering A Thai Passport ??

This may not be the place to ask but I'm sure someone will redirect me if need be .

Thai lady ..... married to a UK citizen and living in the UK .

She has kept her Thai passport and ID in her Thai name and with Thai writing et cetera.
Now she has become eligible for a UK Passport and a " friend" helpfully tells her that her official name in England is her English married name which she has been using in England for a while . So she is obliged to change her Thai passport to her English name before she can get a UK passport .

And her Thai ID , her Blue Book ..... she must translate her UK Marriage Certificate .
All a massive pain.

So is this true ? It's no good me going to any Passport Office websites because they will not actually answer anything at all .

Does anybody here know ?

My own little piece of heaven has never changed anything - but she has also never applied for a UK Passport .

It would be interesting to know if such a messed-up rigmarole has to be gone through .

Can she keep her Thai identity in all her documentation for Thailand and have a different name for the UK Passport ?



Wasp

The answer to your last question is yes. Thai name for thai passport. No reason to change her Thai name on her Thai passport.

The question you initially put forth was changing her Thai name to an Eng-lush "married name" for a UK passport. Obviously that is where the problem lies....changing her name (identity) to obtain a passport in the UK. Obviously she can apply for one with her Thai name intact with very little hassle...(or has that water already passed under the bridge ?)

Is she planning on being a Hi So Pom ?

OK, from what I'm reading on the UK Government website, it appears that only the Certificate of Registration (as a UK Citizen) is required, without any changes to her Thai passport.

Guidance notes:

https://www.gov.uk/government/upload..._44_03.17_.pdf

Thank you very much for your thoughts on this .

Apparently the thinking here is that here's a Thai coming for a UK Passport and the most obvious ID that they want is her Thai Passport . And this has a name that is different from any supporting UK documentation .

She didn't ever change her name to her husband's but documents arrived which by default gave her the husband's surname. Now she has all this stuff saying her surname is ..... Blake ..... but her Thai Passport says Nongiddleboomboom or something of that order .

I can see a clear potential issue - the Thai Passport carrying more weight as an ID than anything else ( such as a Water Bill ) - but getting a definitive statement on this is an impossibility . And the fear is handing over £960 for an application and being turned down on that basis .



Wasp

Make sure she pays the £960 and then watch her face drop.

Originally Posted by Mike Watson

Make sure she pays the £960 and then watch her face drop.

The type of staff they have ........... derive great enjoyment from doing exactly that.

It's part and parcel of living in the east.

Originally Posted by PAG

OK, from what I'm reading on the UK Government website, it appears that only the Certificate of Registration (as a UK Citizen) is required, without any changes to her Thai passport.

Guidance notes:

https://www.gov.uk/government/upload..._44_03.17_.pdf

PAG ..... Thank you for this link .
And you're right of course . This document talks only about needing a Certificate of Registration .
And then you get there and they say they reserve the Right to demand any additional documents they so desire once you have made the long trek to their miserable presence !

Originally Posted by Mike Watson

It's part and parcel of living in the east.

No No . I was talking about the miserable staff at the office in Croydon who sit behind a plate glass screen chewing gum , looking at Facebook on their mobile phones and mumbling incoherently into a microphone that is not switched on .

Originally Posted by Wasp

Now she has become eligible for a UK Passport

What is her immigration status? Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR)?
The name used on her established immigration status is her "official" name. Would be the name she would use in a UK passport. May well be the name in her Thai passport.

Originally Posted by Wasp

So she is obliged to change her Thai passport to her English name before she can get a UK passport .And her Thai ID , her Blue Book ..... she must translate her UK Marriage Certificate .

Bollocks. There is no such requirement. She can change or not as she chooses.

Originally Posted by Wasp

Originally Posted by PAG

OK, from what I'm reading on the UK Government website, it appears that only the Certificate of Registration (as a UK Citizen) is required, without any changes to her Thai passport.

Guidance notes:

https://www.gov.uk/government/upload..._44_03.17_.pdf

PAG ..... Thank you for this link .
And you're right of course . This document talks only about needing a Certificate of Registration .
And then you get there and they say they reserve the Right to demand any additional documents they so desire once you have made the long trek to their miserable presence !

OK, one step at a time. From your reply above, it appears that the lady (your wife?) though now eligible, hasn't yet obtained the Certificate of Registration, this in order to apply for a UK passport. In order to do this, she needs formal identification, i.e. Passport, which is Thai and in her maiden name, though you're married and she has your surname.

Firstly, were you married in the UK or Thailand? If in Thailand, the Thai marriage certificate would need to be translated into English (most, including myself, have this done once the certificate is issued by the Amphur). A Thai passport has Latin alphabet spelling of the holder's name, as well as Thai. This should be the same name as on the UK marriage certificate or the translated Thai one. She would have had to provide documentation when obtaining her UK visa, so same should suffice.

I've also read that Permanent Residence has to be applied for if wishing to apply for British citizenship (and subsequent passport).

Would be so much easier if you were a Mick.

Originally Posted by Wasp

Can she keep her Thai identity in all her documentation for Thailand and have a different name for the UK Passport ?

Yes, easily done in the UK.

Just change her name by deed poll to her English name and apply for the British passport.Enclose the deed poll certificate which you can print off on line and get signed by a civil servant.

https://www.gov.uk/change-name-deed-...dult-deed-poll

Keep all the Thai stuff separate, if they are happy doing that.

No worries.

She is not english chitty.

A Thai can still change their name by deed poll

PAG , Norton , Mike , chitty ...............

Thanks .

She is not my wife . Following your words I have asked her to bring her Passport here this evening . I'll be better informed if I can see what her Residence status says. What name she used et cetera .

No good me asking her . She will say " Yes " meaning " I don't have a clue " .

Or " no " ... meaning "perhaps but not sure " .......... which means " Can I borrow some money ?".


Wasp

Well . ............. she has a visa from some time ago giving her 2 years Residence . In her old name ( original name ) .

Then later an ILR visa in her new married name . A stamp from Thailand saying her surname has been changed . And then much later .... in 2015 ..... a brand new Thai Passport back in her old name .

She has sodded about so much that she deserves to have problems . She asks for advice --- and no matter what you say .... it doesn't matter AT ALL what you say .... she says " No " -- because someone else has said something different .

My final advice was " SHUT UP ! Don't you say another word . Not one . Now apply using whatever name you want and have lots of documents and copies ready showing that you have 2 names but the current name in your current Thai passport is the name that you want in your UK passport . And I hope you don't get one ."

She clearly wanted to say " No " --- but she didn't .

Thank you for your thoughts.



Wasp

Let her get on with it.
They are right when they are wrong and you are the messenger that gets shot.

It's automatic , chitty .

It's simply automatic to start everything with " No " . And I don't mean just Thais .
I mean women.

Originally Posted by Wasp

It's automatic , chitty .

It's simply automatic to start everything with " No " . And I don't mean just Thais .
I mean women.

Now just what part of No do you not get......

Intelligence is always admirable.