Mixed Thai/Farang offspring - should I get them Thai nationality

[drewbonce]

I have 2 kids aged 19 and 16 living in the UK.

Their Mum is Thai

Both were born in the UK but the eldest (female) has a Thai birth certificate obtained from the Thai Embassy in London soon after she was born.

I didn't do this with the second as being a male I was concerned he might have to do National Service in Thailand when he was older.

I'm now thinking of getting Thai Nationality for him so that he can inherit and own property in Thailand.

Can anyone advise please what National Service he will have to do if I get him his Thai Nationality, or other risks/benefits from doing this. For example, is he likely to be frog-marched off to the local nic for not doing his national service next time he enters Thailand?

He doesn't speak any Thai.

thanks

[bangkokstick]

He won't do any service because you have enough money to pay his way out.

[samran]

Nope. So long as he is not resident in Thailand and not on the house registration doc, then he is off the radar. Once he turns 30, he becomes ineligible to be called up.

Fact of the matter is, children of Thai nationals are automatically Thai citizens. Your children are Thai nationals by birth, just with no evidence to prove the fact.

If he is UK born, the register his birth with the Thai embassy in London, they will issue a Thai birth certificate. Also apply for a Thai passport via the embassy as they can issue one without the need to be registered on the house reg in Thailand.

This is fine for travel to and from thailand.

Ignore the silly post about having to pay a bribe to get out of the military service. If he doesn't need to, why pay.

[dominique355]

My two children of my marriage with my Thai wife were born in Switzerland. Me being a Swiss citizen, they became automatically Swiss citizen. When in 2006 we moved to live in Thailand, we initiated the process for recognizing their Thai nationality and were eventually successful.

So now they have both nationalities, which is certainly an advantage when living in Thailand (owning real estate, business etc). It is also a great advantage when travelling because no hassle with obtaining visas with the Swiss passport and no hassle entring Thailand with the Thai passport.

As of the military service, that is still some time ahead and maybe by then there won't be an obligatory military service anymore.

If your children can keep both nationality I certainly would recommend getting the Thai nationality. You never know if later they want to move to Thailanfd and live there.

[Lostpack3t]

Do it. I have 2 children Australian/Thai aged 5 and 8. I got their thai birth certificates this year and then their thai passports. This allows them to stay in either country without applying for long term visas. In the future as you mentioned, they can own property etc much easier and cheaper than if they only held Australian nationality. Worth the effort.

[ChangMaiSausage]

I was under the impression that if you already have a passport from another country then the Thai authorities would not give you a Thai passport (no duel passport if the child already has a passport from country xxxxxx, even if born with a Thai parent)

Maybe chinese wispers, my son holds both.

[David48]

I was under the impression that if you already have a passport from another country then the Thai authorities would not give you a Thai passport (no duel passport if the child already has a passport from country xxxxxx, even if born with a Thai parent)

Maybe chinese wispers, my son holds both.

You have been lead up the proverbial garden path.

See Samrans' post ... he knows this stuff.

[zeichen]

"I was under the impression that if you already have a passport from another country then the Thai authorities would not give you a Thai passport (no duel passport if the child already has a passport from country xxxxxx"

I have never heard of this at all. Sounds like more hogwash.

[memkuk]

Go for it, no problem. My children, now 29 and 26, live and have their own business in Phuket. They own property in their name. No need for a Thai visa or work permit. They travel on their Belgian passport, since that is so much easier: out on their Thai passport and showing their Belgian passport in lieu of any needed visa and leaving from abroad with Belgian passport, showing Thai passport upon re-entry in Thailand. Never had any problem.

[wileycoyote]

Yes

[minikev]

A Thai born anywhere is Thai

listen to the national anthem

[phitsanulokjohn]

Always a good idea.My daughter was born in the Uk to my first Thai wife of 24 years,but has a Thai birth certificate and Thai passport and is on my 2nd Thai wife's tabian Baan.I cannot own land here except going down the owning a company and paying taxes for the privilege route.So i can get my daughter to buy whatever land or houses i want in her name,she will always fly back here if I need to sell them and i don't need to will them to her as they're already in her name.

This is quite similar to lovely Yingluck being in charge, but someone else pulling the strings from another country.

Where there's a will there's a way.

[Maestro]

Troll post removed.

[Arkady]

For a boy who is not currently living in Thailand the best approach is apply for a Thai passport at the Thai Embassy. When he is 30 and beyond the age of conscription he can get on a tabien baan in Thailand and apply for an ID card. If he wants to live in Thailand before that, he will have to deal with the issue of conscription, if he wants an ID card. Alternately he could be in Thailand on his UK passport. This might be OK for studying but, if he wants a job that cannot provide him with a work permit, he will need an ID card and military exemption papers. A girl can can get on a tabien baan and apply for an ID card any time it is convenient.

[Arkady]

I was under the impression that if you already have a passport from another country then the Thai authorities would not give you a Thai passport (no duel passport if the child already has a passport from country xxxxxx, even if born with a Thai parent)

Maybe chinese wispers, my son holds both.

The Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs that issues passports in Thailand and at Thai embassies abroad has no problems with Thais holding foreign passports. See their website. For children born to Thai and foreign parents Section 14 of the Nationality Act provides the option but not the obligation to renounce Thai nationality at the age of 20.

[Sydebolle]

Get the Thai citizenship by all means. Your son can legally live in the UK and hence is exempted from military service. Happened to my two kids, both studying abroad, and they were never drafted again.

Should they opt to move to Thailand in particular or ASEAN in general then a Thai citizenship comes in more than handy - apart from inheritance etc. etc. etc.

[MegaRanter]

Tiger Wood fame made certain changes possible to kids of mixed parentage.

Sometime in the distant past, women married to foreigners had condition to fulfill to own properties.

[kiniyow]

So what is so wrong with Serving your country? It builds character....

[ben2203]

The tabian baan is basically an electoral register, so if you are not on the tabian baan then you cannot vote, be asked to go on military service, I was unfortunate not to be able to go into the military because I appled for my citizenship late so wasn't on the tabian baan, if you do live in thailand and you're able to do military for two years that will help a lot in the long run, anyway what's the chance of thailand going to war with Britain say for example, I doubt there would be a need but for sure the matter of national security excuse wouldn't be brought up much if one was to join the thai army for two years

[Equalizer]

Sign him up, do him good and learn the language. Character building that what its all about.

[maccaroni man]

IMO yes if no other reason than to be able to do your own business by proxy

[joboss]

Sign him up, do him good and learn the language. Character building that what its all about.

I agree... Nothing like a good grounding in collecting tea money to focus on life.

[wolf5370]

I was under the impression that if you already have a passport from another country then the Thai authorities would not give you a Thai passport (no duel passport if the child already has a passport from country xxxxxx, even if born with a Thai parent)

Maybe chinese wispers, my son holds both.

No this is not true. In fact my kids hold both too and sometimes are asked to show both at Thai immigration (to show their eligibility to fly to their destination without a visa). The last PM held both Thai and British passports. Its not new. My Thai wife also holds dual nationality and has both passports.

[bkk_mike]

As others have said - the only downside is the possible National Service liability.

But that only becomes a factor if he goes to live in Thailand before he's 30.

And if he does go to live in Thailand, or even elsewhere in ASEAN - then he'll be glad to have the Thai nationality.

As for the National Service, there isn't much likelihood of war. However, you probably don't want your kid to be conscripted and sent to the south where he'd be target practice for the extremists there.

[MAJIC]

I was under the impression that if you already have a passport from another country then the Thai authorities would not give you a Thai passport (no duel passport if the child already has a passport from country xxxxxx, even if born with a Thai parent)

Maybe chinese wispers, my son holds both.

No this is not true. In fact my kids hold both too and sometimes are asked to show both at Thai immigration (to show their eligibility to fly to their destination without a visa). The last PM held both Thai and British passports. Its not new. My Thai wife also holds dual nationality and has both passports.

And the PM before that! (Taksin) Thailand and Montenegro.

[wolf5370]

I was under the impression that if you already have a passport from another country then the Thai authorities would not give you a Thai passport (no duel passport if the child already has a passport from country xxxxxx, even if born with a Thai parent)

Maybe chinese wispers, my son holds both.

No this is not true. In fact my kids hold both too and sometimes are asked to show both at Thai immigration (to show their eligibility to fly to their destination without a visa). The last PM held both Thai and British passports. Its not new. My Thai wife also holds dual nationality and has both passports.

And the PM before that! (Taksin) Thailand and Montenegro.

Two diplomatic passports no less - now that has top be contentious.

Or had his Thai passport already been cancelled at the point he purchased the Montenegro one. Though when his new one was illegal created by the present government (under cloak and dagger) I doubt he burned the other.

[MAJIC]

I was under the impression that if you already have a passport from another country then the Thai authorities would not give you a Thai passport (no duel passport if the child already has a passport from country xxxxxx, even if born with a Thai parent)

Maybe chinese wispers, my son holds both.

No this is not true. In fact my kids hold both too and sometimes are asked to show both at Thai immigration (to show their eligibility to fly to their destination without a visa). The last PM held both Thai and British passports. Its not new. My Thai wife also holds dual nationality and has both passports.

And the PM before that! (Taksin) Thailand and Montenegro.

Two diplomatic passports no less - now that has top be contentious.

Or had his Thai passport already been cancelled at the point he purchased the Montenegro one. Though when his new one was illegal created by the present government (under cloak and dagger) I doubt he burned the other.

"Or had his Thai passport already been cancelled at the point he purchased the Montenegro one"

I doubt it,otherwise he would have had difficulty,obtaining a Montenegro Passport,without another one to get him there,and don't forget he spent a month or two in the UK! before he went to Montenegro.

[SeabagsFull]

I thought I had read a ThaiVisa thread in the past whereby a Thai/Farang child had waited too late to cash in on his right to Thai citizenship.

So today, 10-04-2013 U.S. PST, I called the Thai Embassy in Los Angeles, California, for confirmation. Per the Legalization Department representative, "there are no age limit restrictions. Girl or boy, they can wait until they are 40 or 50 or whenever to get a Thai birth certificate if they want to."

My only reservation would be that, as someone who lived in Thailand for several years knows, Thais sometime speak with authority when they otherwise lack precise knowledge. I absolutely mean no disrespect toward Thai people, but a common characteristic I've noted is that a Thai doesn't like to say, "I don't know" or "I'm not sure." Of course, we all know exceptions to this.

All that said, the girl I spoke with was representing the Legalization Department, so my feeling is that there is no age limit as to when you or your child could apply for his or her birth certificate.

Personally, I want my children to have all doors open to them, & I don't necessarily trust the applicable laws of today (including both Thailand's & my home country's) to remain unchanged tomorrow. As many posters here have stated, there's no harm in getting the papers now while you still can.

Edited October 4, 2013 by SeabagsFull

[Thai at Heart]

I was under the impression that if you already have a passport from another country then the Thai authorities would not give you a Thai passport (no duel passport if the child already has a passport from country xxxxxx, even if born with a Thai parent)

Maybe chinese wispers, my son holds both.

Chinese whispers. Very uncommon for any country to deny a citizen their birth right.

[samran]

@seabagsfull. The consulate is indeed correct. Technical note however, a child born to a Thai citizen is automatically a Thai citizen. That is what the legislation says in pure black and white. They won't have to apply/request it. All the embassy/consulate effectively does is provide documentation affirming that fact.