The UK government has not granted political asylum to fugitive former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra at this time, according to Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai.
Any visit she makes to the United Kingdom would be limited to the normal duration of a legal stay, Mr Don said on Tuesday.
The minister said Thai authorities have not been able to confirm Yingluck’s whereabouts since she failed to attend the Supreme Court Criminal Division for Holders of Political Position's scheduled reading of its guilty judgement in her rice-scheme trial on Aug 25.
The court sentenced her on Sept 27 to five years in jail for failing to stop false and corrupt government-to-government rice sales under the scheme. The ruling was made in absentia as the former prime minister fled the country before the judgement.
Mr Don confirmed the ministry's revocation of all four passports held by Yingluck after she failed to appeal against the Supreme Court’s ruling.
He said Yingluck’s exact whereabouts remained unknown. There were reports she had fled to Dubai before travelling to Europe. However, he had yet to learn which country she stayed in. There were rumours she had travelled to the UK, he added.
Asked if Yingluck is expected to seek political asylum after her passports were revoked, the minister said each country has its own laws and procedures for people applying for political asylum.
He declined to comment on speculation Yingluck might follow in the footsteps of her elder brother Thaksin and obtain citizenship of a foreign country. Reporters should ask Yingluck herself that question if they wanted an answer, he said.