how best to travel with Thai-Canadian baby, visa-free-wise if possible

My wife and I are tentatively planning a return visit to Canada for Xmas this year with our daughter who will be 11 months at the time. The daughter has already received her Canadian certificate of birth, proving her Canadian citizenship, so I am wondering the best way to travel with her.

1) because daughter was born in Thai and has never yet left the country, she must therefore leave Thai with a Thai passport that gets exit stamp
2) in order to enter Canada daughter could use Canadian passport, except, if she exits on Thai passport and wants to re-enter Thai on Thai passport, she must get the entry/exit stamp from another country, and so must then have a Canadian visa and enter/exit Canada with Thai passport instead.

And because I do not have much knowledge of immigration procedures, I was wondering if it is possible to enter Canada showing a Canadian passport and get an entry stamp in Thai passport also, which I think seems highly unlikely since it would require understanding and co-operation from an immigration official that is not my experience when returning to Canada from Thai.

I cannot see how things can be tried the other way around, that is, leaving Thai on Canadian passport, since daughter was born in Thai and thus would have no entry stamp showing entry into Thai in her Canadian passport, applied for from Canadian embassy in BKK

So it seems to me then that I will have to apply for a Canadian visa for my daughter in her Thai visa in order to return home with me for a visit, returning again afterward with me to Thai. Does that sound about right, or I hope I just do not see or understand some very obvious solution.

I guess my ultimate goal would be to save the $60 or so bucks for a Canadian visa, and spend that money on a Canadian passport instead. Otherwise the wife and I will apply for her Thai passport getting just the Canadian visa with no need for a Canadian passport at this time.

Leave on thai passport, enter canada on candian passport. Leave canada on canadian passport, enter thai on thai passport.

Sorted.

you are wrong at No 2 .
no entry exit stamp required in the Thai passport from another country .
I believe you would only need the departure and arrival card in Thai.

^ re...'no entry exit stamp required in the Thai passport from another country .'
An underage child should be on your Canadian passport I believe. Why not give the Canadian consulate in Bangkok a ring and/or visit, to clarify?

Also, I believe you will find that Canadian border officials do not stamp passports in or out of Canada. Thus, incidentally, all the tax non-compliance related to 'Canadians of convenience' who drop their families off in Canada while they work elsewhere.

2) in order to enter Canada daughter could use Canadian passport, except, if she exits on Thai passport and wants to re-enter Thai on Thai passport, she must get the entry/exit stamp from another country, and so must then have a Canadian visa and enter/exit Canada with Thai passport instead.

Not true - we did similar taking our British child to the UK. Leave and re-enter on the Thai passport and use the UK passport for entry and exit from the UK

All nice and simple :)

my daughter holding Us and Thai passports,
Always leaves Thailand on her Thai passport and when she enters another country ( except Cambodia or Laos where she can enter without paying for a visa) she uses her US passport.

Been this way for the last 18 years

Thai passport is only 1,000 baht or so plus ems postage an they will mail it to you with in 7 days!!

Also OP states that his child has already beeni issued with a canadian certificate of birth which bestows Canadian citizenship so why would a Canadian citizen need a visa to enter their own country ??

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Originally Posted by steve down under

canadian certificate of birth which bestows Canadian citizenship

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A birth certificate is not proof of nationality, whereas a passport is. He probably has a registration of birth but definitely not a Canadian birth certificate. You're only allowed one and that should be Thai in this case.

I just called the Canadian Embassy here in Bangkok and the person I got was super helpful (especially seein' as I'm an American NOT a Canuck);

Canadian Embassy - Bangkok, Thailand
15th Floor, Abdulrahim Place
990 Rama IV Road
Bangrak, Bangkok 10500
Thailand
Tel: 02-636-0540

She told me, even though you have the Canadian certificate of birth that you need to apply for the baby's Canadian Citizenship card and then a Canadian passport.

She actually is emailing me the information you need, but as of the writing of this it hasn't dropped into my in-box.

Here's the Canadian Embassy's website (the real one, not the b/s ones Google gives you as suggestions!);
Government of Canada | Gouvernement du Canada

The information you need is on there after you click English language and it's under the heading "For Canadians", then the sub heading "Living/Traveling Abroad". On the next screen, look under the heading "General Services During Your Stay" and click "Passport Services". On that page are both the Proof of Canadian Citizenship application AND the Child Passport application form.

The person I spoke to said you MUST first apply for the "Proof of Canadian Citizenship" card (2250baht application fee), and as soon as that application is accepted you can apply for the Child Canadian Passport (2100baht application fee) using your receipt of having applied for the Canadian Citizenship Card, your travel plans, etc as proof you're takin' the child to Canada.

What she said you SHOULDN'T do is use the child's Thai passport to apply for a visa for Canada as a Thai. She said once you follow the correct procedure the child's as Canadian as you are as far as Canada is concerned and as Thai as your wife is as far as Thailand is concerned meaning it'll be both a Thai and a Canadian citizen and hold both Thai and a Canadian passports

Once you get BOTH the Canadian Citizenship card AND the Canadian Passport for the child, you would follow this procedure leaving;
Use the child's Thai passport to stamp out of Thailand, and enter Canada on the child's Canadian passport.

It's done like this ALL the time. There's NO laws broken either by leaving Thailand as a "Thai" or by entering Canada as a "Canadian".

Comin' back here you'd do the reverse;
leave Canada on the child's Canadian Passport and enter Thailand on the child's Thai passport.

Passport Control at the airport isn't gonna bat an eye at this as it is done all the time by half-Thais who hold two passports and face it, you ain't the first Canuck in history to have a half Thai-half Canadian baby.

Good Luck,
P/S: The info from the lady at the Canadian Embassy just hit my in box before this post.

If you want the info send me a personal message and I'll forward it to you or email me at toddaniels at gmail dot com. <-If that email won't display. Just Google; Tod Daniels, Thai language, Bangkok, and you'll find me in there somewhere. My email is at the bottom of all the stuff I write about Thai language schools. .

Sorry this was long, hope it was helpful to you. ..

We never ended up going back home (Canada for me) for xmas. The time frame was just too tight to make it practical.

Anyways, the wife and I are planning a month long trip for April now, and although all the replies are clear and helpful, I just have to ask this somewhat dimwitted question: why does neither Thai or Canadian authorities care about where it is you are coming from, since there will be nothing in either passport you present to show them? What I mean is, so we leave Thai using the baby's Thai passport and she gets a departure card stapled to a Thai passport page. But on return there are no stamps to show where she went outside of Thai. Does this not concern immigration officials as an indication that she travels on two passports, which as far as I understood, in my humbly limited, narrow understanding was not allowed for Thai citizens.

As for Canadians I know it is perfectly acceptable to carry multiple citizenship, as I do as both Canadian and British, so I can see there should be little problem on that end.

So my biggest concern is on the Thai side, when we return. But I guess like it has been said, it is done regularly enough that I need not worry, except that any process involving Thai "officials" (a term used in the loosest sense possible) concerns me.

Appreciate the lengthy reply! Reassuring info.

Its been said before. Its been done before.

It's not an issue, don't make it one.

Leave on thai, enter on candadian. (If they really ask about visa for destination or where you came from, show them other passport and they'll understand)

Follow reverse process on return.

Period.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by superman

He probably has a registration of birth but definitely not a Canadian birth certificate. You're only allowed one and that should be Thai in this case.

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Only allowed one birth certificate...... untrue, my kids have two....UK and Thai.

Cannot get a Thai Passport without a Thai birth certificate issued by the Embassy in London.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by thaitang

Does this not concern immigration officials as an indication that she travels on two passports

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Nope, not in the slightest.

My kids Thai Passport must have 20 stamps in and out of Thailand and yet they have never entered anywhere on their Thai passports.