Registration of birth and mandatory military service

[scroggins]

My son (Thai wife) was born in the US earlier this year. I was planning to register his birth at the Thai consulate to ensure that he obtained Thai citizenship, but the person there advised me to wait until he was older, because if I do so now he may be required to serve in the Thai military when he is 20. Is it true that merely registering the birth would mean he would be required to register for the conscription lottery?

 

Should we go ahead and register his birth now and deal with this issue later, or should we follow the advice of the consulate representative and wait until he is older?

 

Any thoughts on the matter would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

 

[ubonjoe]

The chances of your child being drafted at the age of 21 in over 20 years are very small.

Not registering your son's birth has far more negative aspects than the small chance of being drafted when older. That far in the future there might not be a draft.

 

Not visa or extensions related. Moved to the family and children forum.

[scroggins]

Thanks, ubonjoe. 

 

Since we already have the required documents (triple-stamped birth certificate being the most difficult to obtain), would we be able to register his birth in Thailand in the future? This is more or less what the consulate representative recommended.

[LukKrueng]

10 hours ago, scroggins said:

Thanks, ubonjoe. 

 

Since we already have the required documents (triple-stamped birth certificate being the most difficult to obtain), would we be able to register his birth in Thailand in the future? This is more or less what the consulate representative recommended.

What difference does it make if you register him now or in 20 years? Assuming military service is still mandatory then, he still might be drafted. However, from reading posts of Thais born overseas and applying for citizenship at adulthood it seems more complicated. If it was me, I'd register him now. 

[bbko]

My 14 y/o son has dual citizenship USA/Thailand and we live in Thailand, so this discussion has came up with my son & wife.  We are leaning towards him doing the high school military program, IMO it's better than him getting drafted (small chance anyways) and it will help keep him inline during his teen years.  Even enrolling in the student soldier program for a short while can deduct time off the potential 2 year draft.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territorial_Defense_Student

[Tbone999]

Here's some info that will make it clearer https://www.thaicitizenship.com/thai-military-service/. I believe if you register his birth with the Thai authorities, then he will be on a house book (Tabien Baan) somewhere (I think, but not 100%), therefore eligible to be drafted. So, it mainly depends on your future intentions, whether you plan to move to live in Thailand or not. If you never have plans to move there, then perhaps it's a choice your son can make when he gets older as it is he who has to do the time. As others have said, there might not be a draft at that time, so you could register if there's news at that time. However, if you plan on relocating to Thailand, then it's better to register him, as the easiest solution to avoid the draft is the Territorial army induction completed in his school years (note, you need to enroll him in a school that offers this option). My son is doing his now and it's only a short time each year. If on the other hand, you only plan to visit on occasion, then he would only have the citizenship he entered Thailand on and the visa implications along with it. There could be a scenerio that if the draft was still ongoing, but your son was in university elsewhere, he would have to run the hoops to defer military, and if he doesn't want to do it, then would have to remain outside Thailand until 30yrs old. It's a tough choice, so I would choose wisely depending on your future plans for you and your family. Bearing in mind, his connection to Thailand is an important one, so as others have said, for the hassle of doing it later may be more of an issue than not doing it now.

Edited December 30, 2021 by Tbone999

[ubonjoe]

12 hours ago, scroggins said:

Since we already have the required documents (triple-stamped birth certificate being the most difficult to obtain), would we be able to register his birth in Thailand in the future? This is more or less what the consulate representative recommended.

It cannot be done here. Only a embassy or official consulate can do the birth certificate.

The Department of Consular Affairs can assist with doing it at the embassy without leaving the country. They send the completed application and etc to the embassy and notify you when they receive it.

[ubonjoe]

2 hours ago, LukKrueng said:

What difference does it make if you register him now or in 20 years? Assuming military service is still mandatory then, he still might be drafted. However, from reading posts of Thais born overseas and applying for citizenship at adulthood it seems more complicated. If it was me, I'd register him now. 

I can recall cases of adults trying to get their Thai birth certificate sorted out and it was a real pain to get it done.

The big problem was getting their parents involved in the process and in some cases one or both were deceased.

That is why I suggest getting it done shortly after birth.

[chilly07]

When the time comes you can always buy his way out. It's not cheap but avoids the obvious risk of a luk krung being singled out especially if they are fluent in another language

[Chao Lao Beach]

You can strategically get obese (BMI > 35 kg/m^2). A few months of continuous buffet lines and American living can probably help you with this. Try Shabushi or Hot Pot.

 

Source:

https://www.quora.com/How-do-I-avoid-conscription-in-Thailand

[scroggins]

Thanks all - some very useful info here.

 

We've decided to go ahead and register his birth now, and figure out how to deal with the possibility of conscription later. We don't have any immediate plans to move to Thailand, but obviously a lot can happen in 20 years.

[Chiwi]

I was born in the US and my parents registered my birth at the Thai consulate, which got me a Thai passport, but I was never registered at any Tabian Baan. Moved to Thailand when I was 27, and had to partake in the draft (literally stuck a hand in a giant jar to yip bai dam bai daeng). I'm not sure what triggered it, Tabian Baan registration, national ID card, social security... so much paper work. Anyways, it took me 3 trips to get my registered on my family's Tabian Baan, they were just so difficult, no one at the office had ever seen a consular birth certificate and wouldn't sign off on it. Was very frustrating. I can only imagine how much harder it would be to get a consular birth certificate decades after the fact.

 

This was awhile ago. Maybe their systems are integrated and linked now, but probably not. What I would explore is if you could just get your consular birth certificate and Thai passport only. If you are not on any Tabian Baan then probably will avoid the draft. You are required to enter/exit Thailand on your Thai passport, but I'm sure your child won't be the first to use his US passport. If your kid ends up returning before they are 30, can deal w the draft then, it's not that hard to manage.

[scroggins]

Thanks for sharing your perspective and experience Chiwi - very useful.

 

The consulate asked for details of a tabian baan as part of the registration process, so it seems like it can't be avoided (though I didn't ask for an exception). I would be nervous about asking now, because after his warning it would seem like an obvious attempt to avoid the draft...