To fellow Belgian members:

I need to get a fresh copy of my Belgian birth certificate translated and legalized, in order to get a Yellow Tabien Ban, Pink ID and for Social Security matters (long story...).

The copy I already have dates from 2013, and I was born only once, but that’s not good enough, apparently. 

Getting a fresh copy form my Belgian commune is not hard, it can be done and paid for electronically, and the translation by a translator approved by the Royal Thai Embassy can be arranged remotely. But the legalization at the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and at the Royal Thai Embassy in Brussels need to be done in person in Belgium.

I do not particularly fancy traveling to Europe to stand in queues, and I have no family or friends I could reliably task with that. I have been looking for an agent service, like the one I will then appoint to do the legalization with the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs ( boy, are we having fun with the red tape…), but I could find none on Google. 

Any thoughts or suggestions would be very welcome.
 

Contact your local court and ask for a sworn translator, they have a list, you can choose, the royal Thai  Embassy in Brussels should accept the translated file

1. Get a lawyer in Belgium,

2. Give your lawyer the full authorization.

3. Let your lawyer handle everything, including the legalisation and thai embassy in Brussels.

You save yourself a trip to Belgium, but will spend probably 1,500 - 2,000 Eur on lawyer fees.

That's the way I did it in another case.

For everybody's further information, I did just what was recommended, I appointed an attorney in Belgium, who competently handled the legalisation process.

The total fee for the service (excluding the various stamp duties and translation fees, which would have to be paid even if I had done the whole thing myself) amounted to 604, 17 €. I had to insist that EU VAT was not due since I am a resident in Thailand, which was accepted. The process apparently was anything but smooth, and I am quite happy to have outsourced it to a specialised local law firm.

The part of the process in Thailand, i.e. the final legalisation at Thailand's MOFA, is proving a bit difficult, as their post-COVID process is to force everybody to make an appointment online. They only accept the first 30 walk-ins every morning, who get served after the people who have an appointment. Currently, it takes about 2 weeks to get an appointment, which makes it hard for people who urgently need their documents legalised.