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[CrankyCarrot]

I'm a dual Australian/British citizen and have two passports. I've been travelling around SE Asia using only my Australian passport and about 75% of it is filled up with various stamps and stickers. My British passport meanwhile, is empty, so it seems like it might be a good idea to use it for a while so I don't max out my Aussie passport while abroad.

Does anyone know what the deal is with doing this?

I need to do a visa run to Penang in a few days, so I'm wondering what the response from immigration would be if I requested a new Thai tourist visa in the empty British passport.

I'm thinking I would leave Thailand (via land at the Sadao border) presenting my Aus passport and exit leaflet, then present my Brit passport when entering Malaysia to get the 90 day entry stamp, and use it again at the Thai embassy.

Anyone here have any experience juggling passports in this manner? Is it possible or do you have to keep using the same passport when travelling that you did when leaving your country of origin?

[Mario2008]

You can only change passports when you travel by air. At land borders with neighbouring counties they often check the entry-exit stamp of the country you are coming from. if you don't have it, you might have a problem.

Best is to travel by air to Penang/Kula Lumphur, enter on the UK passport, apply for the visa and travel to Thailand on the UK passport.

[tom21]

should make no difference. if they want to see your exit stamp show them the australian passport. the key is to use the same passport to exit a country that you entered with.

[cyrilmadrid]

Actually I was about to post the same question : I have 2 passports, 2 nationalities, and the name is slightly different (one has 2 family names, father and mother's, the other one only one). I was wondering if you think Thai Border would figure this is the same person just based on date of birth ?
Do you think they have a way of computing total time spent of the country if you split it on 2 passports ?

[Eff1n2ret]

The OP is not doing anything illegal. Unfortunately some Immigration Officers anywhere in the world seem to struggle with the concept of dual nationality - a friend who is a dual Thai/Brit national had a problem when she arrived at BKK for the first time for many years and presented both her Brit passport and the new Thai passport which had been issued in London. The IO refused to admit her as a Thai citizen and insisted on stamping her Brit passport as a visitor.

If he presents a pristine Brit passport at the Malaysian border the question uppermost in the IO's mind should be whether it is genuine and whether he is the rightful holder thereof, so he can expect to be held up for a bit and will probably also have to produce his Aussie passport by way of explanation. Thereafter it would be up to the MYS IO which document he chooses to endorse.

He might as well have a go. The cost of a new Oz passport is probably less than the airfare to Penang/KL.

[Mario2008]

There is no reason for Thai immigration to calculate your total time in Thailand, there is no official limit.

Might they pick it up? Yes, and I would not be surprised if they have photo recognition software.