Baby Due Soon- Getting Baby Australian Citizenship By Decent

[ags83]

Hi,

Have a baby boy due soon. Am looking for info on the procedure to get baby Australian citizenship. Is there a certain time limit that I need to go to the Aus embassy by ( I thought I read this somewhere before but now not sure it is right) ? Or is it fine to get the citizenship/passport when I have more time ? We are not planning on going to Australia for at least 6 months after birth. Also any tips on the birth certificate procedure when the baby is born, anything to make sure that gets done (We are out in Isaan) ?

Thanks !

[Mario2008]

Congratulations!

You have to get the Thai birth certificate first. Prepare a copy of tyour passport and a translation of your name in Thai (and of the babies name in Thai), as the Thai birth certificate will be in Thai only. The Thai biertcertificate must be applied for within 15 days. (Doning it late carries a fine of 500 baht).

The embassy website should tell you more about the birth registration and passport application process for the Australian side. There shouldn't be a time limit for this.

Are you officially married? If not, read this thread about legitimizing your child: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/381917-how-to-gain-parental-rights-as-a-father/

[ags83]

Thanks Mario,

Good to know that I won't have to rush to Bangkok. Married in Thailand with certificate but never registered in Australia, would this make for any difficulties ?

Cheers

[Mario2008]

Your marriage is recognized by Australia, so I don't suspect any problems. At the most the embassy will want to see a certified translation of your marriage certificate, but the embassy website should make that clear.

[Logarhythm]

Congratulations!

You have to get the Thai birth certificate first. Prepare a copy of tyour passport and a translation of your name in Thai (and of the babies name in Thai), as the Thai birth certificate will be in Thai only. The Thai biertcertificate must be applied for within 15 days. (Doning it late carries a fine of 500 baht).

The embassy website should tell you more about the birth registration and passport application process for the Australian side. There shouldn't be a time limit for this.

Are you officially married? If not, read this thread about legitimizing your child: http://www.thaivisa....ts-as-a-father/

I went through this late last year. Get your passport data translated into Thai. The hospital will give you a form with all the birth details on it. Take them along with your wife's ID to the government office where you apply for birth certificates. They wanted to see a Tabian Baan as well. Carefully check that they have written Australia, and not Austria on the birth certificate when they issue it.

Once you've got your birth certificate you'll need it translated. You apply for the citizenship by descent at the Australian Embassy in Bangkok. Go to their web-site it will guide you through the process. Fortunately, it's a lot simpler and a lot faster than the partner visa. We applied on a Weds morning and had the certificate of citizenship by descent less than 24 hours later. Make sure you have everything they ask for, including proof of relationship between the parents. We showed photo's and joint bank accounts (translated form Thai to English). They also ask for proof of address here in Thailand.

Edited August 11, 2011 by Logarhythm

[chunktal]

No time limit on when you can apply, my daughter was over 1 before I went to do the citizenship. As stated it is easy, don't remember the exact proceedure, but followed what is on the web site. only I had to go from memory, my wife and daughter did not need to be there.

Passport is a different story, can't apply until after you get the certificate but you can walk straight from where you get the certificate to where you apply for the passport and lodge the application there if you are prepared. Fill in the application form from the website and print it out with the citizenship certificate number blank and write it in when you pick it up.

Problem I had here is that they said they did not like my signature and could I sign it again. Did so, twice in front of them and they said it still did not look the same as my signature on my passport. Told them I'd signed so many bits of paper in 4 years here at that time that it had evolved a bit but clearly it was me standing in front of them signing it. No go though so got her a Thai passport instead (lot easier to do and deal with). She had to travel back to Aus on a Tourist Visa.

She is nearly 3 now and still don't have an Aussie passport for her, we have another baby due at the end of the year so will do the citizenship for this one then and try and get them both a passport after that or go back to Aus on holiday's and apply for them there.

Congrats on the new bub also.

[ags83]

Thanks the replies,

Yes I usually try to avoid anything to do with government departments if at all possible, terrible waste.

cheers

[PlastikbinLina]

All good advice from members. I also had my two girls get Citizenship by Descent, although my partner and I were not married at that time 15+ years ago. The first girl descent recognition, born in 1995 in Bangkok, was painless. Just took along the Thai Birth Certificate, and my passport along with details of mother's ID etc, to the Oz Embassy. Then we moved to Indonesia for two years and my second girl was born in Makassar. Same deal again, sent birth certificate of hospital's record of birth to Oz Embassy in Jakarta. Not an Indonesian Government birth certificate as children born in Indonesia of foreign parents are not recognized as Indonsian Citizens. When my Thai partner came back to Thailand for a visit she got a Citizen by Descent birth certificate for our second girl without difficulty. And as I was born in England and I have British citizenship the girls citizenships are recognised in Thailand, Australia and the UK.

[dsj]

<br>Thanks the replies,<br><br>Yes I usually try to avoid anything to do with government departments if at all possible, terrible waste. <br><br>cheers<br>

<br>I am from Canada and have Thai wife marriage registered here in Thailand, and have a daughter that was born at Bumrungrad Hospital and they offered the option to have the birth certificate in Thai and English, I think I paid 1,500 baht to have it translated into English, it might have been excessive but at least they did all the work and took all the worry out of it.  So talk to the hospital to see if they offer that service of getting the birth certificate in Thai and English.<br><br>

[Preman]

I am Australian and married to a Thai. I registered my son about as an 'Australian by Descent' a few months after he was born.

Like others have already said, - it is quite straight forward as long as you have all the paperwork. The Embassy web site will have a list.

Of course if you are married, - it starts with the marriage certificate. That in itself makes for a more streamlined application.

When the baby is born, you make sure that the Thai version of the Birth Certificate is absolutely correct.

I also suggest that you obtain your baby's Thai Passport prior to this and provide that as a secondary proof of surname etc.

You will need your birth certificate and your passport.

You will need your wife's family book and her ID card - and passport if she has one.

You then take all of the above documents to an official english translation agency and obtain certified english copies of the documents that are not already in english.

When you take all of the above to the Embassy, they will make their own photocopies and give you back all originals (including the certified english translations). You should keep those english translation documents as you will need them for other things in the future (like for the passport application).

Someone previously posted that you can go from picking up the Citizenship document and then into the next office to lodge the application for a passport. That was not my experience. The Citizenship document is usually sent to you in the mail (unless it is an emergency). They say to set aside 10 days for that. In my case it came in about a week.

Then you can prepare the paperwork for the passport application. You will need photographs that are signed on the back by someone who falls into the 'approved persons' list that they have. To say, yes - this is a true photo of your baby. As mine was only three months, I thought that I would not need that. Wrong! they sent me away, and I had to come back with those signed photos.

Aside from that, - everything was smooth sailing.

However, it all is up to how well you prepare your paperwork. There is a section in the application form about how you met your wife / fianse.

How long you have been with other. They ask for photographic evidence of the history (you bothe together while she is pregnant etc).

Photos of you and her and your baby - at the birth / hospital is also good to have.

If you do not have the photos and documents that show you have lived together (bills, leases, etc), - they can elect to order a DNA test.

They only do that on very rare circumstances (suspicious). In my case, we had all the paperwork and our boy had blue eyes. So easy.

Do not worry. It is all simple. Just take your time to prepare everything on the hit list. Good luck with your new boy!

[Logarhythm]

I should add that I wasn't married when my son was registered as an Australian citizen. They rang my fiance to verify that she was the mother within 30 minutes of me putting the application in. If only the dreaded partner visa was as straightforward.

[chunktal]

Someone previously posted that you can go from picking up the Citizenship document and then into the next office to lodge the application for a passport. That was not my experience. The Citizenship document is usually sent to you in the mail (unless it is an emergency). They say to set aside 10 days for that. In my case it came in about a week.

No emergency in my case, just asked them when I submitted the Citizenship application and they said if I liked, i could come back and pick up the certificate when it was issued and lodge the passport application on the way out. You have to go back to the embassy to lodge it anyway.

You've given the OP a fairly detailed run through which is good, I'll have to go through it again in a few months so handy to read what you wrote as well, just letting him know there is another way to do it rather than wait for the mail.

[Chris Lawrence]

Very goof information here. I did this 5 years ago. We also had to take passport size photo in application. This photo must be as per the embassy/immigration directions. Our son's photo just passed the requirements; they were back in Chiang Rai at the time. I had trouble convincing the photographer in Chiang Rai how and why our son should appear in the photo. We needed the photo's because we also were applying for his passport. Just a thought if you wanted to the both.

Edited August 14, 2011 by Chris Lawrence

[chmiroau]

There is one very funny part of the identity verification process that has to be addressed. On the web site it states that you must have a photo of the person applying, in our case it is a baby (I'm applying for the same thing right now). This photo and the identity needs to be verified by a suitably qualified person, such as a police man (all Australian of course), a Judge, or a JP. This person must have known the applicant for at least a year!(?)

A conundrum awaits you, but there is a simple answer. As by advice from the Aus Embassy, they state that the delivering doctor, Thai doctor here in Thailand, can be the signatory for the identification of the baby. You do not need to do the supplementary identification form as all you need for this kind of application is on the standard form. You do not need to do the character assessment as the baby has not grown up enough yet. The rest is up to the fact that you are in a relationship with the mother and on that fact alone the identity requirements are fulfilled.

Hope this helps with the identification issue.

[Preman]

There is one very funny part of the identity verification process that has to be addressed. On the web site it states that you must have a photo of the person applying, in our case it is a baby (I'm applying for the same thing right now). This photo and the identity needs to be verified by a suitably qualified person, such as a police man (all Australian of course), a Judge, or a JP. This person must have known the applicant for at least a year!(?)

A conundrum awaits you, but there is a simple answer. As by advice from the Aus Embassy, they state that the delivering doctor, Thai doctor here in Thailand, can be the signatory for the identification of the baby. You do not need to do the supplementary identification form as all you need for this kind of application is on the standard form. You do not need to do the character assessment as the baby has not grown up enough yet. The rest is up to the fact that you are in a relationship with the mother and on that fact alone the identity requirements are fulfilled.

Hope this helps with the identification issue.

No, they do not have to be Australian. I had a Thai lady sign the back of the photos and the signature position on the passport application form.

As long as the Thai person falls into the list of job categories, - it is OK. My initial mistake was that when I read 'must know the person for at least 12 months', - and because my son was only three months old, - I thought that the signed photo and signature on the application would not be relevant. But, indeed they still wanted it.

The Thai doctor who delivered the baby is a good solution. However, in my case, I had already traveled from Chiang Mai to Bangkok and did not have access to him.

Fortunately, the lady who owned the hotel where I stayed a few times - who knew us (and my baby) had other qualifications and fulfilled the embassy's criteria.

I should add, - that by the time I had got back to the hotel from the embassy, - they had already called her. They are fast to those checks.

So, in summary, - before going there - make sure that those photo signatures and form is done properly.

[tombkk]

Carefully check that they have written Australia, and not Austria on the birth certificate when they issue it.

LOL! My friend from Austria always complains that nobody know his country here in Thailand and they always understand "Australia". Nice to know that it works both ways.

[Logarhythm]

Carefully check that they have written Australia, and not Austria on the birth certificate when they issue it.

LOL! My friend from Austria always complains that nobody know his country here in Thailand and they always understand "Australia". Nice to know that it works both ways.

You'd be surprised by the amount of times that Arnold Schwarzenegger gets a mention when I say that I'm from Australia.