sylvafern

Thanks for all the replies .... just a quick update and for anyone else who finds themselves in this situation. The visa staff at my school said that they would take me to immigration last Tuesday to put my mind at rest that the babies did not need visas for Thailand. I decided not to go as, from all the information here, I was clear on my understanding of the situation so would have been a pointless trip. I'd decided I'd just have to try and find the time to get their Thai citizenship (perhaps not that difficult as someone said, but difficult to find the time to do when you have twin babies!). However, the visa staff still asked when they went to immigration on Tuesday and - lo and behold - I was right and they were wrong. My school should have provided me with the paper work to apply for their non-immigrant O visas while in New Zealand!

I got a phone call from the head of HR on Wednesday telling me that I had to take the babies to immigration on Thursday afternoon (and it could only be then, no flexibility with the time) so that they could get their visas. I didn't ask too many questions so all I know is that one of our visa ladies had to go and get some paper work at the New Zealand embassy and that it had to be translated into Thai (possibly also their birth certificates as I had to provide originals) then I had to go to immigration on Chaeng Wattana, show the babies to one of the immigration staff without having to wait in queue (thank goodness as there were 100s of people there) and then I left with the babies and my school's visa ladies waited with their passports and the paper work to get the visa. So now they are here legally and not as over stayers. No idea how they managed to wangle it as would have thought we'd have to leave the country to get the correct visa.

Thanks Jim  - I hadn't thought about having a record in the computer as overstays.

Funny how most people assumed I am a he (and have a Thai wife!). Richard W is right - I'm the mother and I'm New Zealand and the father is Thai (either a good guess of you know me in real life!). I haven't got as far as investigating getting the babies Thai citizenship as I imagine it could be a bit of a hassle and, with 3 month twins, I don't have time in my life right now for extra hassles! Tommo - mother and father don't need to be married for a child to be acknowledged as Thai - I'm not married and my 7 year old who was born in Thailand got his Thai citizenship and passport with no problems at all (he also has NZ citizenship and an NZ passport).

Thanks Lopburi and Maestro for your responses - I think you've cleared up the issue for me. I perhaps need to look at getting the babies Thai citizenship if this is the easiest way to solve the problem, otherwise I will get dependent visas next time I leave the country.



Thank

I hardly ever visit Thaivisa these days so it's funny that I logged in today and saw this topic as I started a thread the same as this exactly 5 years ago back in the days when family related questions were posted in the Ladies forum. Here's the link:

http://www.thaivisa....-have-children/

It started a hot debate where people even accused me of lying about things like my son being taken out of his pram, etc but there were also a lot of other people that, like me, found this type of behaviour difficult to deal with. What I can add to the conversation now is that it does get easier as your child gets older. My son is 6 1/2 now and the instances of him being touched by strangers are rare (maybe once every month or two). He still doesn't like it and I always know when it happens as he comes very close to me and tries to 'hide' himself with my body but at least he now understands the reasons why and I can brush it off with a 'never mind, just ignore it'.

Mario2008, on 2010-08-14 10:28:03, said:

That's weird - his Thai dad took him to the Chaeng Wattana office and did everything; I never had to sign anything. When I went to pick up my son's passport, all I had to do was show mine. Must just have been an anomaly though.

CNF55, on 2010-08-20 10:48:45, said:

I haven't been myself, but lots of friends with kids also say this is a brilliant hotel.

Another place to go, much cheaper than others, is Dolphin Bay Resort in Pranburi. It's simple but it caters pretty much only to families, mostly western families. They have a big grassed playing area, great pool with a slide and the beach has loads of crabs and fish in the sand pools when the tide goes out - hours of entertainment for kids that like nature. The bungalows are about 1200 a night so don't expect 5 star but they are clean with air-con and TV, etc.

One more place is Fisherman's Village in Petchaburi (Hat Jao Sam Ran). This is a nice, boutique resort with spa and so on but they also have a huge playground with Western style slides, swings and seesaws as well as a big adventure playground. We have been taking the Year 3s at my school there for their 2 night 'expedition' for the past four years.