I was born in the United States to a Thai mother. I currently still reside in the United States. My parents never registered me for a Thai birth certificate / citizenship. I reached out to the Thai consulate who confirmed that I am eligible to claim Thai citizenship based on heritage, so I'm going through the application process. I will keep my U.S. citizenship as dual nationality.
However, I'm now wondering how (re)gaining Thai citizenship implicates the fact that I never went through Thai conscription during draft eligible age. Is there anything I need to do to tie up loose ends? I plan on 1) getting a Thai passport; 2) registering myself in the house book where my relatives reside in Thailand; and 3) getting Thai ID; and 4) potentially buying property in Thailand. Will I need to resolve the fact that I didn't do mandatory military service, even though I wasn't "on the books" as a Thai citizen during that time period. If I need to get such an exemption, how should I go about that?
Reclaiming Thai Citizenship and military service (35 years old)
in Thai Visas, Residency, and Work Permits
Posted · Edited by chaynes3052
I was born in the United States to a Thai mother. I currently still reside in the United States. My parents never registered me for a Thai birth certificate / citizenship. I reached out to the Thai consulate who confirmed that I am eligible to claim Thai citizenship based on heritage, so I'm going through the application process. I will keep my U.S. citizenship as dual nationality.
However, I'm now wondering how (re)gaining Thai citizenship implicates the fact that I never went through Thai conscription during draft eligible age. Is there anything I need to do to tie up loose ends? I plan on 1) getting a Thai passport; 2) registering myself in the house book where my relatives reside in Thailand; and 3) getting Thai ID; and 4) potentially buying property in Thailand. Will I need to resolve the fact that I didn't do mandatory military service, even though I wasn't "on the books" as a Thai citizen during that time period. If I need to get such an exemption, how should I go about that?