Hi..

Can someone explain to me the importance of the Thai House Records / ID Booklet. The one that shows who lives in the family house..

I realize the Thai's love bureacracy, but why is it SO important.?

And who actually keeps all those records..?

My Thai had to produce the record of his original family house (where he was brought up) to UBC to get cable service in our rental apartment (not the family house)... together with copies of his Thai ID Card.

I know they have to prove "they are Thai"... but wouldn't a Thai ID Card and Birth Certificate do the same thing... as it does in the West..?

We don't have this booklet in the US or the UK... Just trying to understand their system.. that's all.

ChrisP

You have no idea of bureaucracy if you think Thailand has a lot. That house paper has a continuous link from birth to death - ID cards are only issued after age 15. In most cases it replaces the need for a birth certificate. The records are kept by the government, starting at the local District Office. Now as ID cards become more secure the Home Register may become less important but for now it is still a must have.

Thanks Lopburi for the info......

But I still don't understand why the House Record is SO important to Thai's.... If they have a Birth Certificate, then (like most countries) that's the main form and proof of ID, isn't it?...

What is so special about the House Record above and beyond the Birth Certificate...?

And, if they move out of the House into their own place, doesn't that make it all a bit redundent?

ChrisP

My wife doesn't have a birth certificate. She was born in her mother's house. Therefore, the House Record is all she had to act like a birth certificate. I think birth certificates were only issued to those born in hospitals. I'm sure all of this is changing. For instance, our children have both US and Thai birth certificates.

As said many Thai do not have certificates of birth for one reason or another - the home register is THE important document. The birth certificate is not the main form of ID here - The ID card is. And that is backed up by the Home Register.