Am I Thai?

[warloc]

Swaddee Kup!

I hope that you can help me shed some light on this topic.

Both my mother and father were born in Thailand. My mother gave birth to my brother and I at the local hospital in Bangkok, as matter of fact I lived there til the age of 10 til I migrated to the US legally and lived with my father in the US after the divorce. My father has a green card as permanent residence status and worked as a machinist.

So I grew up, and educated in the US. I was employed by an aero space company which was heavily funded by the US Goverment. To make a long story short, I applied and received a US Citizenship so I can continue to work for US government agencies.

Now I want to be close, and spend more time with my mother who lives in Thailand. The 3 months visa is not long enough for me. I also want to have the Thai identity and have rights as a Thai. Here's my problem.....

My name is no longer on the housing registry. My aunt decided to cut me out of the housing registry to avoid military enlistment when I was about 16 to avoid any problem with the Thai Military and government officials. I am unable to locate my birth certificate at local Thai government agencies. We checked at the hospital that I was born but they do not keep record since it has been over 35 years.

The only thing that I have proved that I'm Thai is my original expired Thai Passport which expired in 1982 when I first entered the US in 1979, a copy of my name on the housing registry before it was removed, and a letter from the school in Thai stating that I attended from 1st to 4th grade.

Will the above documents be enough evidence so I can get my Thai passport renew. Can my expired passport be re-newed? My goals is to have dual citizenship. What advice do you have for me and others like me? How should I proceed? Who can help me? My mother is not getting any younger. Please help.........

Cob Kun Kup!

(And yes I can speak, read, Thai! )

[PvtDick]

Sounds like you'd be best off contacting your nearest Thai consulate or embassy for advice. A real consulate, not an honorary one. They're listed here:

Thai Embassies and Consulates in North America

[sbk]

You might try the Thai embassy in DC or the ministry of foreign affairs but frankly, their email response is incredibly slow so maybe phoning (altho expensive) would be a better idea. Since you left the country so young you will never have had an ID card, however, if you (or your mother) go to the amphur where you were born they should have a copy of your birth certificate. My husband is the same age as you and his copy was available even tho his birth was registered at another amphur. Make sure you are going to the right place! Perhaps the Thai embassy can give you some advice if all you have is an old passport and can't find the bc. Good luck, Thai bureaucracy is, like most, slower than molasses

[warloc]

Thank you for your response PvtDick. I'm planning to head down to my local Thai Consulate after the 1st of the year. I just want to know the best way to approach this. I have already made 2 trips to Thailand, and I have learned so many things about my people regarding politics, and corruptions. So I want to be polictically correct and avoid any corruption fee(s).

[samran]

Firstly,

Yes you are still Thai. I am in a similar situation to you, in that I have dual Thai- Australian citizenship and got my first Thai passport overseas.

1) Getting the Thai passport:

Firstly, get to a Thai embassy and RENEW your Thai passport. Explain to them that you have been living in the US since you moved there and haven't moved back.

The Thai embassy should give you a new passport. In your situation, you shouldn't need a house registration or ID card to prove that you are Thai. Your old Thai passport and perhaps some sort of evidence of your parents Thai citizenship should do it.

When did it, I just had to prove that my mum was Thai (I was born in Australia). They will issue you with a new Thai passport, but this may take a couple of months (usual processing time).

Also ask them the process of getting a replacement birth certificate. They may be able to give you one (although I doubt it). Don't worry about that quite yet though.

2) Going to Thailand;

When you go to Thailand, take your new and old thai passport with you. When entering the country, show immigration both new and old thai passports. They will need to see the last time you exited Thailand as a Thai citizen as well as the new passport. They may very well stamp you in on your expired Thai passport, like happened to me once. The next time you leave Thailand, you can use your new Thai passport to leave.

3) In Thailand;

Now you are in Thailand and can stay for as long as you want. The next step is to get the new ID card.

You will have to go down to the local Ampur to re-register yourself and get a new ID card. This will involve notifying authorities that you have moved to this ampur. I don't know how hard this will be for you, depending on the Ampur I guess. If you went down to them with your Thai passport and an official letter from the Thai embassy in DC explaining that you have been resident in the US for most of your adult life, this should be enough. Having your birth certificate will help of course

;-)

There shouldn't be any corruption involoved, however, there is apparently a small fine involved for those who do not register themselves at the age of majority (18 years old).

As for the military service, you may have to register yourself. However, as you are over 30 now, you cannot be conscripted. You should be given release papers from the military officials. Officially, you will be put into the Army reserves (all thai Males are in this). This does not involve active duty. You should have a chat to the local conscription officer. Again, you may be asked why you waited till 35 till register for the military. You should re-show them the letter from the Thai embassy explaining that you have been resident in the US for most of you life. Again, there is apparently a small offical fine for registering so late.

Before you leave, I highly recommend you post a question regarding getting your ID card, registration and military service at this Thai law site run a Thai legal expert, Ajarn Mechai. He will answer you in Thai, but it is OK to post a site question in English. http://www.meechaithailand.com/meechai/ask.pl

Good luck with it all.

[huski]

Both my mother and father were born in Thailand. My mother gave birth to my brother and I at the local hospital in Bangkok.

You are THAI, You need to have your name added to house papers and get a THAI ID.

The only thing that I have proved that I'm Thai is my original expired Thai Passport which expired in 1982 when I first entered the US in 1979

Have your expired THAI Passport renewed. There are some POST OFFICES that even offer this renewal service.

Passport renewal at Thai Post offices in 15 minutes

[george]

The only thing that I have proved that I'm Thai is my original expired Thai Passport which expired in 1982 when I first entered the US in 1979

Have your expired THAI Passport renewed. There are some POST OFFICES that even offer this renewal service.

Passport renewal at Thai Post offices in 15 minutes

Husky, the fact is that you must renew it at the post office 6 months *before* it expires:

http://www.thaivisa.com/index.php?514&back...14&&tt_news=508

[dr_Pat_Pong]

The original passport expired over 20 years ago. He'll have to apply for a new one. Samran knows what he's on about, and has first hand experience. He needs to apply in a major center, eg. DC, New York, LA, Chicago. Go for it.

[huski]

The original passport expired over 20 years ago. He'll have to apply for a new one.

George and Dr. PP, you guys are right

[warloc]

Thank you for all those that responded to my post, I and my mother can not personally thank you enough.

Happy New Year, Peace, and Prosperity to All

Chok Dee Pe Mai na Kup

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Sawasdee pee mai Warloc....glad we could help.