Thai Birth Certificate Translated In Pattaya

[Thailaw]

I would have thought this question had been asked and answered a thousand times in the past, but as I search the past posts I can find no useful information on a good, cheap and reliable Thai to English translation service in the Pattaya area. I need a Thai birth certificate (1 page) translated for presentment to the US Embassy in Bangkok for the purpose of obtaining a US birth registration and passport. Any recommendations will be greatly appreciated.

Also, any one that can alert me to problems/pitfalls in the process of getting the birth registration will be greatly appreciated also. Dealing with the US Embassy on visa/immigration matters is never easy (or fun), and I really would like to know what problems I am likely to encounter.

Thanks in advance.

[Jefferson]

Pattaya has loads of agencies that do translations and other minor legal and clerical stuff. (Arrange visas, real estate, etc.)

I once had a birth certificate translated by an agency in Soi Post Office ; Note that after translation it needs to be legalized by the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well; the agency can do this for you as well if you like.

It doesn't matter which agency or person does it, as long as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs accepts it. Also it's a good thing to check on (or specify) the spelling of names in English.

[Thailaw]

Thanks. Are you sure that the requirement for authentication/certification of the English version of the birth certificate by the MoFA is required by the US Embassy? I can find no such requirement on the website (although it won't be th first that more is required than the website states). How long does the MoFA certification process take?

[Thailaw]

I sent the following enquiry to the Consular Section of the US Embassy in Bangkok today:

"The US Embassy in Bangkok's website states that to obtain a "Consular

Report of Birth Abroad" for a child born to a United States citizen the

following, inter alia, must be provided:

"The child's official, local birth certificate issued by the district

office, and an English translation."

Must the translation of the birth certificate be certified or otherwise

verified by any agency or ministry of the Government of Thailand or any

local or provincial goverment in Thailand? If the response is "yes", by

which government agency or ministry in Thailand must the translation be

certified or verified?"

This is the reply I received from them, also today:

"<<CRBA Instructions.doc>> No, it only has to be an accurate translation

and the company or translation service that you use will usually stamp

on it 'certified true copy' or something similar to that." (emphasis added).

I hope this Q&A helps anyone trying to navigate through this process at the US Embassy. It may have no application to the same or similar process or procedure at any other embassy or with respect to any other country other than the United States.

[Thailaw]

I got an English translation of the Thai birth certificate at a travel agent called "Ocean 10" on the north side of Pattaya Klang between 2nd and 3rd Roads. Perfect translation, marked "certified true copy" with 1 day service (dropped off at 2:00 pm Monday and picked up after noon on Tuesday). Charge was Baht 300 -- highly recommended for this kind of service. DO NOT use the Pattaya Cookery School on North Pattaya Road. It was suggested to me by a photocopy shop and I went there before going to Ocean 10. They wanted Baht 800 for the same thing!

[Monkey Fish]

I downloaded the form that looked the most like our birth certificate from a thai gov page (found after a thaivisa search for "translate birth certificate" or something like that). I then modified it a bit to make it seem more accurate, then filled in the blanks.

I used it recently at the US embassy and had no problem whatsoever.

I've attached it here for your convenience...

tor1_1_modified_blank.doc

[torrenova]

I used some Visa shop on Soi Post Office (maybe called the Visa Shop ?) and it was fine.

[notmyrealname]

Can anyone recommend a shop in Phuket? I need to get this done too... it would be great if they would also have it legalised by the foreign ministry as the Finnish embassy does require this to be done.

Thanks