I apologize in advance if this is not the right group to post this in, but I could not find a more related group on the site to ask this in.

Child, male,16yr old student living in the US. Father is American, mother is Thai. Kid has two passports US/Thai. Family visits Thailand every year with him in tow for about a month.

How does he satisfy the Thai military service requirement or does he get a deferment due to not living in Thailand?

If he only uses his US passport to come in to Thailand until he is 30, would there be a problem renewing his Thai passport before he turns 30?

Very conflicting info on the web on this subject.

Thanks all!

I can't give a lot of specific details about this, but from what I've lightly gathered over the last few years: Yes, there is a legal requirement. And yes, there are rules that say he can get in trouble when returning to Thailand. Those rules have not been enforced for a long time, so it's not generally something to worry about. Can that change at any time? Yes. But as of right now it's not something I would withhold traveling from Thailand for.

Like many thing in Thailand, BHT20,000 and problems can disappear.

As a student in full-time education, he will be exempt till he leaves education. To get the exemption you will need to go to your Amphoe on the draw registration day with proof (valid in Thailand) that he is in education. Due to the Cambodia conflict you may have difficulty finding officials willing to take bribes for this. Failing that do not let him travel to Thailand till after he is 30. If he fails to register or has insufficient proof of education he might be entered in the draw in absentis'.

8 hours ago, Surasak said:

Like many thing in Thailand, BHT20,000 and problems can disappear.

True. My son is 17 so this trip we are reporting to thai village headman. He will be registered for the draw, money will be paid and fingers crossed. However if his name gets drawn he will not renew his thai I'd and only use his British passport (born in uk). Problem can be if he ever decides to join the British military!

All eligible men who do not qualify for an exemption must attend the annual recruitment draft in April of the year they turn 21. If voluntary enlistment quotas are not met, a lottery is held. Black Card: Drawing a black card completely excuses you from mandatory service. Red Card: Drawing a red card means you are drafted to serve for 1 to 2 years, depending on your education level and whether you volunteer.

Living overseas or holding dual citizenship does not exempt you from Thai military conscription. Under the Military Service Act, B.E. 2497, the law strictly applies to all male Thai citizens regardless of where they live or if they hold a second pass If you remain abroad and ignore the draft, you face severe legal consequences. You could be arrested at Thai immigration, blocked from renewing your Thai passport, or subjected to fines and jail time.

The legal obligation to participate in the lottery draft expires at the end of the year you turn 29.

If you reside completely outside of Thailand and never enter the country, Thai authorities cannot actively conscript you. However, choosing this path means you cannot visit Thailand during your 20s without running the immediate risk of arrest at border immigration or being forced into active service. Once you turn 30, you can no longer be forced to serve or join the lottery. However, you may still have to pay a small historic fine at a local station to clear your record and safely renew your Thai documents.

8 hours ago, BritScot said:

True. My son is 17 so this trip we are reporting to thai village headman. He will be registered for the draw, money will be paid and fingers crossed. However if his name gets drawn he will not renew his thai I'd and only use his British passport (born in uk). Problem can be if he ever decides to join the British military!

I don't think the village headman has much say in it. The bribes are normally paid to someone in the military. Best if mom goes so they don't know there's a foreigner involved, if possible. That would likely raise the price significantly.

Standard pricing depends on province, village, connections, etc. I've seen everything from 20,000 - 50,000 baht.
I've also seen different ways to achieving resolution of the requirement. The simplest is paying and then getting a letter of exemption for one of the approved reasons like a medical issue.

I've also seen paying and still drawing a card, but somehow they ensure that it's black, perhaps with some sleight of hand.

Both of these are not anecdotes, they are actual experiences from my close friends within the last 3 years, but different provinces.

20 hours ago, pete43 said:

As a student in full-time education, he will be exempt till he leaves education. To get the exemption you will need to go to your Amphoe on the draw registration day with proof (valid in Thailand) that he is in education. Due to the Cambodia conflict you may have difficulty finding officials willing to take bribes for this. Failing that do not let him travel to Thailand till after he is 30. If he fails to register or has insufficient proof of education he might be entered in the draw in absentis'.

16 hours ago, Liquorice said:

All eligible men who do not qualify for an exemption must attend the annual recruitment draft in April of the year they turn 21. If voluntary enlistment quotas are not met, a lottery is held. Black Card: Drawing a black card completely excuses you from mandatory service. Red Card: Drawing a red card means you are drafted to serve for 1 to 2 years, depending on your education level and whether you volunteer.

Living overseas or holding dual citizenship does not exempt you from Thai military conscription. Under the Military Service Act, B.E. 2497, the law strictly applies to all male Thai citizens regardless of where they live or if they hold a second pass If you remain abroad and ignore the draft, you face severe legal consequences. You could be arrested at Thai immigration, blocked from renewing your Thai passport, or subjected to fines and jail time.

The legal obligation to participate in the lottery draft expires at the end of the year you turn 29.

If you reside completely outside of Thailand and never enter the country, Thai authorities cannot actively conscript you. However, choosing this path means you cannot visit Thailand during your 20s without running the immediate risk of arrest at border immigration or being forced into active service. Once you turn 30, you can no longer be forced to serve or join the lottery. However, you may still have to pay a small historic fine at a local station to clear your record and safely renew your Thai documents.

The problem with this is he and his family live in the US, only visiting Thailand for a couple of weeks a year during June or July months . Almost sounds like he would have to come into Thailand on his US passport once he turns 21, until he is 30yrs old, allowing his Thai passport to expire in the meantime, and then renewing his Thai passport once he turns 30. Sound about right?

Can I jump in here with a slightly different question. My kids has born in the UK and had UK and Thai passports. Both passports lost in the tsunami. The UK ones were replaced but the wife did not renew the Thai ones to avoid the conscription issue. I assumed that they could not renew them in the future but that is not how I read this. Since the passports no longer exist can they renew them once they pass 30?

My experience might be a bit dated but here it is for reference only. Both of my sons are dual citizens and hold current Thai passports. They were born in my home country but we moved to Thailand when they were 4 & 2 years old. We moved back to my home country when they were 16 & 14. After completing secondary school they both attended university. Each visited Thailand at various times throughout their 20's but only used their non-Thai passports. As for their Thai passports, when they were about to expire they just renewed them at a nearby consulate. Very easy to do. No one at the consulate has ever brought up the issue of military service. Now at ages 40 & 38 I'm pretty sure it is a thing of the past. Now when they visit they bring both passports and their Thai ID cards. Never a problem.

How does it work if the dual nationality son doesn't speak Thai? Can hardly send them to the border jungle not having a clue whats going on.

3 hours ago, Geoff914 said:

I assumed that they could not renew them in the future but that is not how I read this. Since the passports no longer exist can they renew them once they pass 30?

They can apply for a new passport at any age.

3 hours ago, Kananga said:

How does it work if the dual nationality son doesn't speak Thai? Can hardly send them to the border jungle not having a clue whats going on.

Very difficult to follow orders.

6 hours ago, Geoff914 said:

Very difficult to follow orders.

Well exactly. He'll be using the British passport from next year just to avoid any issues but not exactly sure what you do with a recruit that only speaks English and that's only 'Thai' in passport and 50% genetics.

11 hours ago, Kananga said:

How does it work if the dual nationality son doesn't speak Thai? Can hardly send them to the border jungle not having a clue whats going on.

If you think the military would not find a use for a conscript fluent in a foreign language, think again.

In addition, some jobs e.g. mowing a lawn, washing a car, picking up litter do not require language fluency.

42 minutes ago, Briggsy said:

If you think the military would not find a use for a conscript fluent in a foreign language, think again.

In addition, some jobs e.g. mowing a lawn, washing a car, picking up litter do not require language fluency.

Surely it is not the fluency in the foreign language that is the issue, it is the zero knowledge of Thai. And how do tell them to cut the grass, wash the car, pick up litter? Draw a picture may be. I would have thought the aggravation of dealing with a non Thai speaker just would be worth the trouble. Would they even have boots to fit a Western foot.

4 hours ago, Geoff914 said:

Surely it is not the fluency in the foreign language that is the issue, it is the zero knowledge of Thai.

I doubt very much that any child born to a Thai mother will have zero knowledge of Thai.

Thai mothers tend to raise the child speaking only Thai.
In my experience most dual nationality children are quite apt at understanding and speaking two languages by the age of 8-10.

A suggestion; have your son delisted from his house registration in Thailand and instead put him in the Central House Register (which is for Thai who have no registered address in Thailand). Because he has no longer a normal house registration he will not be called up for conscription. Downside is that he cannot renew his Thai ID card or passport but he can visit Thailand on his foreign passport.

When he is 30 years old you can move him back to the regular house registration and get a Thai ID and passport again.

In your case this looks to me like the best solution to avoid any problems with Thai military conscription.

6 hours ago, Liquorice said:

I doubt very much that any child born to a Thai mother will have zero knowledge of Thai.

Thai mothers tend to raise the child speaking only Thai.
In my experience most dual nationality children are quite apt at understanding and speaking two languages by the age of 8-10.

Depends on where they are living. If in Thailand then yes, they will probably learn some Thai. If living in the father's home country, I've known lots of luk krung kids that can barely say hello in Thai.

14 hours ago, Briggsy said:

If you think the military would not find a use for a conscript fluent in a foreign language, think again.

In addition, some jobs e.g. mowing a lawn, washing a car, picking up litter do not require language fluency.

Then I'm all in. He can start doing that here as well when he gets back.

1 hour ago, Hanuman2547 said:

Depends on where they are living. If in Thailand then yes, they will probably learn some Thai. If living in the father's home country, I've known lots of luk krung kids that can barely say hello in Thai.

My guess would be once they start school and learn and use the foreign language daily, they forget any basic Thai already learned.

We have a son at Uni in Thailand and since not living at home for long periods and only speaking Thai, his spoken English has shockingly deteriorated.

8 hours ago, Liquorice said:

I doubt very much that any child born to a Thai mother will have zero knowledge of Thai.

Thai mothers tend to raise the child speaking only Thai.
In my experience most dual nationality children are quite apt at understanding and speaking two languages by the age of 8-10.

My son speaks pretty much zero Thai. His mother talks to him in English and always has done. Whether thats a wasted opportunity not, thats up to them. But he has never really had any interest in Thai culture, food and definitely sees through the religious <deleted>.