Can i get a thai passport?

[pblue]

I have been offer a job in Thailand. My mother is thai and still holds her Thai passport. I currently hold a german passport. Am I entitled to a Thai passport through my mother? Is it possible to have dual citizenship?

[dr_Pat_Pong]

It can be done.   Was your birth registered with Thai Authorities ?

Talk with the Thai Embassy in Germany.   It will take

a little time because they need to ascertain that you

are who you claim to be.

[pblue]

I was not born in Thailand but in Germany. will this be a problem?

According to what I've read I am still entitled to a Thai passport because of my mother.

am I wrong to assume this?

[dr_Pat_Pong]

It is not totally automatic but if you can prove to the satisfaction of the Thai officer, there should not be a

problem.  First step, the Thai Embassy or a Consulate

in your area.

[lopburi3]

If you are male of draft age you might want to give it a pass for now as you will be subject to military service registration and believe that requires you to give up foreign citizenship.  If your job offer includes a work permit you might want to continue to use your German Passport.  As stated it is possible to have duel citizenship as far as Thailand goes but you would also have to check German law.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

That dear Lopburi, is why we ask 'em to tell us their age and where they come from. Somehow they don't listen.  Makes it so hard.                                    :ghostface:

[samran]

A couple of thought on military service.

I have read this from information I have gathered from the thai consuate web site in Los Angeles. There are forms in thai regarding all these issues at http://www.thai-la.net/

there are apparently various ways around the issue of military service for males. I suggest you consult the consulate/embassy and perhaps a good thai lawyer on this, but this is how I understand it.

I should also state that these "ways around" are probably not commonly used (as most thai males register when they are 18) so you should have the relevant laws in front of you when you approach the relevant authorities.

1) If you are over 30 years of age, you are exempt from military conscription. You still must report to the local tambon/district for military inspection/registration, however all males over 30 will be simply registered as non-active reserve forces (all thai males are anyway). You must have not been able to register yourself (or have someone register for you) during your time leading up to 30. I assume that living overseas is reasonable grounds.

2) There is apparently an exemption for those who have undertaken military service/training overseas, equivelent to that of thai military training. You should check this option out as I believe Germany has military service. So you may not have to do it twice.

On a getting a Thai passport, you still may be able to apply for one in Germany only as long as you have registered your birth with them and have gotten a Thai birth certificate issued through the embassy. This is how I got mine.

I have noticed that the document requirements for Thais living overseas are not the same as for those living in Thailand, ie. Thais overseas sometimes do not have valid ID cards, house registrations etc as they have been living away from Thailand for so long, so embassies sometimes do not require them if you don't have them.

Another good site is the Thai Embassy in Washington DC. That has a good page on who is eligable for thai nationality.

http://www.thaiembdc.org/index.htm

Hope this helps/