Certified Copy of Birth Certificate has completely different first name than Original Birth Certificate and all other identity documents

[howdoyoupasathai]

So my Thai Citizen wife is obtaining documents to move to Costa Rica. 

 

A birth certificate is necessary for the visa process. All of her documents (ID card, driver's license, passport... Everything ) match the name written on her original* birth certificate.

 

The original birth certificate is laminated unfortunately, and Costa Rica won't accept that as a valid document. So she went to get a true copy of her birth certificate. 

 

Strangely, the true copy has a completely different first name. Everything else is correct, just the first name is different. Very odd. 

 

The name on her original* birth certificate is the only legal name she's had all her life, never did any name changes. Her parents did not change her name either.

 

When she returned to point it out, she was instructed to go to the government office (I apologize, I don't know the Thai name) where the hospital she was born in reported the birth to. She'll be going this week. 

 

I'm curious if this issue has occurred to anyone? Is this a hassle to fix? Will this take weeks or months to resolve? 

 

Thanks

[Maestro]

Where did So go to get a true copy of her birth certificate?

[howdoyoupasathai]

2 hours ago, Maestro said:

Where did So go to get a true copy of her birth certificate?

At the registration office in her current district

Edited March 28, 2022 by howdoyoupasathai
Clarity

[bbko]

I'm a US citizen and my wife is Thai, when our son was born in a Thai hospital we were provided a Thai birth certificate and shortly thereafter I translated it into English so the MFA could give their stamp of approval, but it turned out the hospital made a mistake spelling his name so it couldn't be properly translated.  Long story short we had to go back to the hospital and the government office (Amphur) and they corrected the problem, it only took a couple of days.  But we corrected the problem soon after he was born, I'm not sure how it will work since it's now years/decades for your wife's problem.

[Maestro]

On 3/28/2022 at 10:31 AM, howdoyoupasathai said:

...Strangely, the true copy has a completely different first name. Everything else is correct, just the first name is different. Very odd...

Something went seriously wrong somewhere. Your local district office does not want to say what and how and sends your wife on a wild goose chase instead of themselves getting it sorted out as they should. Be prepared for a long bureaucratic nightmare.

[Captain Jack]

Surely they don't expect her to submit the original document? That would be very unusual. You normally make a copy or a scan and send that. What's important is that it's translated. Make sure that names are spelled correctly in the translation and you shouldn't have a problem.

 

If there is a problem with the actual birth certificate then that will be a problem to resolve. She will have to go back to the office that originally issued it ('Amphur' office, that's the district level of governance, they handle the civil list) and take both certificates and her ID card. This kind of thing is not normal procedure so different officers will tell her different things on different days and, yes, there may be a fee (above the table or otherwise) to get it cleared. She'll need to be patient and may need to go several times. On the other hand she may get lucky and have it done in 5 minutes.

 

She should do it though as it could cause problems in the future.

 

I have known someone whose family name written in Thai on their birth certificate bares no resemblance to its official English translation. They simply make sure any translation of it bares the correct English spelling and that is accepted by governments around the world. Trying to get it changed would require new housing registration, ID card, passport, bank accounts, basically a whole new identity.

[Puccini]

On 3/28/2022 at 3:28 PM, howdoyoupasathai said:

At the registration office in her current district

Seeing that your friend got the "true copy" of her birth certificate from the  district office I suggest she go back to that office and ask for another "true copy", this time asking specifically that it must be a true copy of the birth certificate on the basis of which her ID card was issued and give them a copy of her ID card.

 

When the new true copy is handed to her, she must make sure that it has her correct name on it. If it deos not, she must refuse to take it.

 

Another course of action would be to report the district office's blunder to the government ombudsman.

 

 

 

Edited May 19, 2022 by Puccini

[Pateyo]

It is quite interesting to read that an original document is not accepted but a copy=fake of it.

[Puccini]

1 hour ago, Pateyo said:

It is quite interesting to read that an original document is not accepted but a copy=fake of it.

In the case of the OP's wife, I understand that her original birth certificate would have been accepted by the Costa Rican government department if it had been in its original state, but as the OP wrote it had unfortunately been laminated.

[Pateyo]

5 minutes ago, Puccini said:

In the case of the OP's wife, I understand that her original birth certificate would have been accepted by the Costa Rican government department if it had been in its original state, but as the OP wrote it had unfortunately been laminated.

One should not hand over the original anyway. That's why You al'ways need to make a certified copy of it and there was the problem with the translation of the name (transliteration)
The lamination is a good idea to protect this first document from decay and alteration. They could if they would want to accept it.

[Maestro]

Removed an off-topic post and the replies to it.

[Puccini]

5 hours ago, Pateyo said:

One should not hand over the original anyway. That's why You al'ways need to make a certified copy of it and there was the problem with the translation of the name (transliteration)
The lamination is a good idea to protect this first document from decay and alteration. They could if they would want to accept it.

If it is a question of getting the original copied right then and there and getting it back immediately I do not mind handing it over. There is, of course, the possibility that a prehistoric model of a photocopier might damage or outright destroy the document and to avoid that risk it is cdrtainly advisable to bring along and hand over one's own photocopy or scanned copy of the document and only show the original so that the person receiving it may personally compare the copy with the original and thus recognise that it is a true copy of the original. The problem in the case of the OP, though, would probably be that the official at the Puerto Rican government department cannot read Thai.

 

I am beginning to wonder if there was perhaps a misunderstanding and that the official was asking, in addition to a copy of the original, a certified translation of the Thai document.

 

Given the extreme importance of the birth certificate for a Thai national, I absolutely agree that one cannot emphasise enough how very careful one should be with this document.

[Puccini]

5 hours ago, Pateyo said:

...The lamination is a good idea to protect this first document from decay and alteration. They could if they would want to accept it.

Some photocopying machines may have a problem making a clear copy of a laminated document and some machines may even melt the laminate.

[Puccini]

On 3/28/2022 at 10:31 AM, howdoyoupasathai said:

...When she returned to point it out, she was instructed to go to the government office (I apologize, I don't know the Thai name) where the hospital she was born in reported the birth to. She'll be going this week...

@howdoyoupasathai

What was the outcome of your wife's visit to that government office seven weeks ago?

[howdoyoupasathai]

I apologize for replying very late. 

 

My wife went to that government office (where the hospital originally reported the birth to) and they were able to resolve the issue right then and there. She now has a true certified copy of her birth certificate with her actual name. She brought all her ID's plus the laminated original birth certificate with her.

 

Luckily it was an easy fix, hope this helps anyone else with a similar issue.     

 

 

[Pateyo]

On 5/23/2022 at 2:06 AM, Puccini said:

Some photocopying machines may have a problem making a clear copy of a laminated document and some machines may even melt the laminate.

YES BUTt They could USE it JUST 2put* IN the"daTA

[Pateyo]

On 5/23/2022 at 4:26 AM, howdoyoupasathai said:

I apologize for replying very late. 

 

My wife went to that government office (where the hospital originally reported the birth to) and they were able to resolve the issue right then and there. She now has a true certified copy of her birth certificate with her actual name. She brought all her ID's plus the laminated original birth certificate with her.

 

Luckily it was an easy fix, hope this helps anyone else with a similar issue.     

 

 

And what date is now in the passport? The actual born date or the registration date of the berth of the person = fictional character (name) ??

[Pateyo]

On 5/23/2022 at 2:02 AM, Puccini said:

If it is a question of getting the original copied right then and there and getting it back immediately I do not mind handing it over. There is, of course, the possibility that a prehistoric model of a photocopier might damage or outright destroy the document and to avoid that risk it is cdrtainly advisable to bring along and hand over one's own photocopy or scanned copy of the document and only show the original so that the person receiving it may personally compare the copy with the original and thus recognise that it is a true copy of the original. The problem in the case of the OP, though, would probably be that the official at the Puerto Rican government department cannot read Thai.

 

I am beginning to wonder if there was perhaps a misunderstanding and that the official was asking, in addition to a copy of the original, a certified translation of the Thai document.

 

Given the extreme importance of the birth certificate for a Thai national, I absolutely agree that one cannot emphasise enough how very careful one should be with this document.

It's not the original anyway. The administration at the world bank has it.
I also don't think that they will be willing to compare it as they are scared to make a mistake and don't want to be made responsible. It needs therefore to be certified as a copy=fake.

[GroveHillWanderer]

42 minutes ago, Pateyo said:

It's not the original anyway. The administration at the world bank has it.
I also don't think that they will be willing to compare it as they are scared to make a mistake and don't want to be made responsible. It needs therefore to be certified as a copy=fake.

Care to translate that into words that make sense?