DIY Cheap Charlie

[wolf5370]

Hi,

was a post here earlier (could not find it in a search on 'id cards' or'identity' hence this thread rather than reply - Mods feel free to link if you can find it) about the new requirement for ID Cards for 7+ year olds. Some schools are being visited by officials to make it easier (apparantly), but this gave way to questions how to do it for kids in Intenational schools or home schooled etc.

Anyway, yesterday got two ID cards for my girls, this was the process:

Took the girls to the main Amphur (Meung) in the city - smaller (area) Amphurs do not issue ID Cards apparantly.

Kidsmust be in attendance and required clothing that covers their shoulders (i.e. shirt/blouse or long sleeved T-shirt etc) - fell fail of this and had to return home for a quick change out of summer dresses with shoulder straps and into polo-shirts,

Need Tabien Ban (House Book) and two copies thereof.

Need parent's ID Card and two copies thereof (for the Thai parent - foreigner not needed).

Birth certificates of Kids and a single photo copy thereof.

We also took Thai passports which they looked at and used for verification - but this is not a requirement (makes it easier for them to approve apparantly, so worth taking).

No need for photos as will be taken there.

No need of marriage certificate (we took but it was not looked at or asked for).

No fee (though nice little plastic holder to keep it damage free - one hopes - cost just 10B)

Process:

Wait for your turn.

Hand in paperwork and watch girl type up the form on a computer.

Fingerprints and signiture of kids.

Photos.

Wait for card printing.

Buy plastic covers.

Go home.

With queueing the whole process (not including return trip for clothes change) took about an hour.

All quite painless.

Hope this helps clear up any fears or confusion for people with Thai national kids.

[bristolgeoff]

next you have id cards from birth.do you think that is a good idea.it was scraped in the uk

[jackr]

Thanks for that.

[Ricardo]

Very clear & helpful, Many Thanks Wolf5370 ! :jap:

[WinnieTheKhwai]

In a country where traficking of children still occurs, I don't think it hurts to keep a closer tab on the nation's kids.

[Atmos]

useful info, thanks

earlier thread here: ID cards for children issued from July 10

[wolf5370]

Certainly can help half-Thai kids where their Thai nationality is in question - i.e. every place that double charges, registering at new schools, adding them to tabien ban for the first time, medical, cheaper insurance etc. Much easier to carry than birth certificates and marriage certificates.

We have already decided that the Mrs will carry them, not the girls (so we do not need to do it all again every other day when they get lost).

As to babies to 7, I believe this IS in the wind in the next few years.

[wolf5370]

useful info, thanks

earlier thread here: ID cards for children issued from July 10

Cheers Atmos. Amazing my search didn't return it given the first two words exactly match the search parameters!

Edited August 6, 2011 by wolf5370

[Atmos]

^ the search function . . . (scream) I remembered I'd made a post to that thread and added 'Sa Kaeo' to the search and it came up on the list

Have not seen any progress reports in the news about how they're goings with all the kids, rang my friend in SK to ask if their kids had been issued cards yet, answer 'no' - must be quite a backlog with processing the remote/rural areas, as those kids took in their info on 7 July but the mobile service to take their pics has not visited them yet. They are a 90km round-trip to an amphur office, so at least the mobile service is convenient, if slow.

I think it's a good scheme esp for health and education purposes - as long as mum/dad hold on to them or they'll be lost.

[wolf5370]

next you have id cards from birth.do you think that is a good idea.it was scraped in the uk

I'm not sure, but one thing I immediately thought of was that Thais can go back and forth across the Burmese border with ID Card photocopies and without passports - this implied to me (because it may not be so) that they could carry babies across undocumented - seemed to be a God send for human traffic crime.

I think the whole ID Card debacle in the UK was dragged down mostly due to the silly tacking on of the National database that would hold all medical, tax and other records - and the massive negaive spin this brought about by the media (much of it Orwelling and just dumb - like suggesting anyone with access to the ID Card could go sifting through medical records at will). I think UK ID Cards was a good idea, but should have been free and not linked to anything other than Citizens database (for validation). This would have allowed for NHS and other benefits to go to citizens only and such things as passportless travel between EU countries etc, as well as ID for police, bars and financial affairs. I could not really understand the objections to the ID Cards there, but did understand the Database objections (to some degree)

[scorecard]

In a country where traficking of children still occurs, I don't think it hurts to keep a closer tab on the nation's kids.

Totally agree, kidnapping of children whether poor or otherwise happens more often than you might think and right across Thailand, which is why our family make sure, when we are outside that one of the adults is always with the little ones, every second.

We are perhaps a little overprotective but there has been a kidnapping in our extended family, the youngster disappeared from a modern shopping centre, aged 5 years old, never been seen again. Police did make some effort but came up with no clues whatever.

Now quite a few years on, the parents have not gotten over the whole episode and sadly they have retraced inside themselves, and they rarely say anything more than yes or no. So sad.

[scorecard]

^ the search function . . . (scream) I remembered I'd made a post to that thread and added 'Sa Kaeo' to the search and it came up on the list

Have not seen any progress reports in the news about how they're goings with all the kids, rang my friend in SK to ask if their kids had been issued cards yet, answer 'no' - must be quite a backlog with processing the remote/rural areas, as those kids took in their info on 7 July but the mobile service to take their pics has not visited them yet. They are a 90km round-trip to an amphur office, so at least the mobile service is convenient, if slow.

I think it's a good scheme esp for health and education purposes - as long as mum/dad hold on to them or they'll be lost.

Perhaps also make a copy to go in the kids school bags etc. But not sure if copies might be illegal.