3 days after my 59th birthday,  my hospital wrote in my patient's file "age 60" 

My niece just turned 17 and tells everyone now she is legally grown up, 18 y.o.

 

It never occurred to me Thai officialdom might calculate the age the same way Thais colloquially do it.

IMHO I would still not qualify for retirement at 60 or the senior MRT card (for 60 y.o.).

And my niece is not 18, so no driver's license etc.

 

Am I right? 

Completed years in the West, the year yr in , n Thailand 

 

59 in Europe in your 60th year in Thailand.

3 hours ago, CharlieH said:

Completed years in the West, the year yr in , n Thailand 

 

59 in Europe in your 60th year in Thailand.

I know this,  but do Thais really retire the day after their 59th birthday because now they "are 60"?

Is a girl not a minor anymore the day after her 17th birthday?

I find this hard to believe.

54 minutes ago, Lorry said:

I know this,  but do Thais really retire the day after their 59th birthday because now they "are 60"?

Is a girl not a minor anymore the day after her 17th birthday?

I find this hard to believe.

It's highly unlikely.

 

Have any expats been able to get a visa based on being 50 or over at 49?

1 hour ago, youreavinalaff said:

Have any expats been able to get a visa based on being 50 or over at 49?

 

No. 

1 hour ago, lamyai3 said:

 

No. 

There you go then. 

 

What Thai people think traditionally and what the law says, are two different things.

5 hours ago, youreavinalaff said:

There you go then. 

 

What Thai people think traditionally and what the law says, are two different things.

According to this thread,  there seems to be no universal answer to my question - it depends on the situation/legal context,  in different situations age may be calculated differently. 

 

Section 19 and 25 of the Civil and Commercial Code, for instance,  stipulate that for these 2 situations (ceasing to be a minor, ability to leave a will) age is counted by "completed" years. 

 

https://www.samuiforsale.com/knowledge/thailand-family-laws.html

On 12/22/2025 at 4:00 PM, Lorry said:

I know this,  but do Thais really retire the day after their 59th birthday because now they "are 60"?

Is a girl not a minor anymore the day after her 17th birthday?

I find this hard to believe.

My wife retired from normal job when 53, and as 55 was the retirement age she took part time job to maintain social security. Shortly after her 55th birthday she got the letter specifying the options regarding the social.

It is facts that count rather than beliefs.

whenever I go to the hospital, they get my age right.

I think some lazy person looked at your year, and didn't translate the month.

As for 17 year olds, they always want to appear older than they are....

On 12/22/2025 at 10:58 AM, Lorry said:

3 days after my 59th birthday,  my hospital wrote in my patient's file "age 60" 

My niece just turned 17 and tells everyone now she is legally grown up, 18 y.o.

 

It never occurred to me Thai officialdom might calculate the age the same way Thais colloquially do it.

IMHO I would still not qualify for retirement at 60 or the senior MRT card (for 60 y.o.).

And my niece is not 18, so no driver's license etc.

 

Am I right? 

In much of the western culture, we wait until the end of living the first year before declaring being "one year old". In Asia the cultural view is that after being born, we are in out "First year" thus declared being "one". Mai pen rai ... just allow for small cultural differences.

IMHO, An exact age count should start from conception; we are already nine months old on the day of birth. . . 

2 hours ago, Wrwest said:

In much of the western culture, we wait until the end of living the first year before declaring being "one year old". In Asia the cultural view is that after being born, we are in out "First year" thus declared being "one". Mai pen rai ... just allow for small cultural differences.

Well said. 

On 12/22/2025 at 7:00 PM, Lorry said:

I know this,  but do Thais really retire the day after their 59th birthday because now they "are 60"?

Is a girl not a minor anymore the day after her 17th birthday?

I find this hard to believe.

You haven't lived for 60 years until you 61st. birthday.

1 hour ago, Look Chang said:

IMHO, An exact age count should start from conception; we are already nine months old on the day of birth. . . 

That my friend is nonsence to don't start to live offically until you take your first breath on your own.So on your first birthday you have lived for 1 year.

2 hours ago, Andyfez said:

whenever I go to the hospital, they get my age right.

I think some lazy person looked at your year, and didn't translate the month.

As for 17 year olds, they always want to appear older than they are....

It's a very Thai thing to tell people your age is one year older than they really are.  Social standing and age are the 2 things that count for who has to show more respect.  My wife had her 75th birthday in Oct. and she is already telling everyone she is 76.  I ask her, "Why do you want to make yourself older than you are?"

I was once told that age was counted from the date of conception. 

Load of rubbish.

On 12/23/2025 at 1:39 AM, Lorry said:

According to this thread,  there seems to be no universal answer to my question - it depends on the situation/legal context,  in different situations age may be calculated differently. 

 

Section 19 and 25 of the Civil and Commercial Code, for instance,  stipulate that for these 2 situations (ceasing to be a minor, ability to leave a will) age is counted by "completed" years. 

 

https://www.samuiforsale.com/knowledge/thailand-family-laws.html

I lived in Shanghai for 14 yrs, and the Chinese seem to adopt the same system.  I remember someone in China told me that the age starts with conception????!!!!

Calculating the actual age of Thai seniors is complicated by insufficient information on theit birth certificates particularly those born in the 1940s. Foe example, my Thai wife's birth certificate records her as born in January 1945 with no Day date. Her younger sister's birth certificate shows 1947 with no month and no day dates. The parents in rural familes of the 1940s often delayed formally reporting the births and being uneducated and illiterate did not record births to paper relying only on memory.

Since this was widespread and recognised from formal periodic Census returns the resonsible Goverment departments had to make concessions when recording and individuals status. This is refected in the issue of a first national Identity Card and later Passport where, unlike Western documents, the Date of Birth may be one 'agreed' at the point of registration. 

It's all about arithmetic.  In farangland during your first year you are 0 years old.  When you've had your first birthday you say you are 1 year old but in reality to Thais you are then in your second year of life and so on.

 

So farang count birthdays and use that number but Thais want to know which year you are in.  So when you have had 49 birthdays you are in your 50th year.

 

They use the same system for which decade you are in as well except they call decades cycles.  As this is Thailand, of course Immigration uses the birthday count as that's what we're used to.

20 hours ago, Purdey said:

I was once told that age was counted from the date of conception. 

Load of rubbish.

Indeed. Particularly in this day and age.

How old could a baby be from a frozen embryo.

When can you legally vote and or buy liquor?

 

21st year, and 21 years old have completely different meanings. 

 

No one calls a baby a one-year-old. 

On 12/29/2025 at 12:30 PM, Purdey said:

I was once told that age was counted from the date of conception. 

Load of rubbish.

Back in the seventies, we struggled to find my GF’s age, one hand written Birth Paper from Village Amphur showed B-Year of 1954, but her Birth Certificate showed her B-Day as September 1957 so she was either 18 or 15……..I decided to wait a year to make sure. I was told then they also count the ‘year’ she was in her mothers belly…….. 🤭🤭🤭

On 12/22/2025 at 10:58 AM, Lorry said:

3 days after my 59th birthday,  my hospital wrote in my patient's file "age 60" 

My niece just turned 17 and tells everyone now she is legally grown up, 18 y.o.

 

It never occurred to me Thai officialdom might calculate the age the same way Thais colloquially do it.

IMHO I would still not qualify for retirement at 60 or the senior MRT card (for 60 y.o.).

And my niece is not 18, so no driver's license etc.

 

Am I right? 

Just checked the appointment slip for my next hospital/doctor visit.... It has my correct age on it.

On 12/22/2025 at 7:39 PM, Lorry said:

there seems to be no universal answer to my question - it depends on the situation/legal context,  in different situations age may be calculated differently. 

... like so many issues in Thailand I think ...