Process of becoming a Thai citizen.

[Ws93]

Hello.

I will be applying for Thai citizenship and I like some guidance please on the process.

I have gotten my Thai birth certificate translated at the Thai embassy London and the next step is I need to go to my mothers home town in Rayong.

I will apply for Thai ID card and house registration. What are the requirements? Booking an interview, waiting time, requirements: passport photo, necessary documents etc.

My mum is the Thai national so she will be with me helping me, I also have my cousins who will support me, my two aunties in Rayong and more family members in suphan buri who apparently have a certain amount of power and influence in that area who can support me, they also have their personal lawyer as well.

I would like to put my name in the Rayong house registration and will change it later to my grandfather's house in suphan buri as my my thinks it's beneficial if I follow her family name.

Is there any advice that I can have please and some steps on what next? I can speak some Thai If that helps?

Also because I am entering on a British passport, I will be a tourist, I was told by the Thai embassy to make a border run, leave the country then re-enter on the thai passport. Where is the quickest and easiest way to do this? I do not wish to put strain and hassle on my family over there. My Rayong family is quite poor and my suphan buri family are rich but I do not know them much and it would be odd if I just popped up and said "hi, I'm your cousin/nephew".

Thanks for any assurance in this matter.

[paz]

Since others can and will answer better than me on the details, I just wanted to tell that what you are about to do is easy and you should not have a problem, neither you will need to make any demands to relatives, etc, so take it easy and good luck with your Thai citizenship.

[Ws93]

Thank you for the positivity. It gives assurance everything will be okay. My mum is going back to live in Thailand so I will follow her.

I have no intentions to make demands from my family, I love them too much. Id rather they not get involved haha, they look after me too much like I'm a baby brother despite only being 3 years younger then my youngest cousin.

Is it possible if I become a Thai citizen, I can get

My dad Thai citizenship? He is the British national and I read that, any family relations to a Thai national which will be me soon, can be given Thai nationality as well? I like to give my dad a better life in Thailand, do him some good.

[paz]

No, there is no way you can pass Thai nationality to parents. And even to spouse there are limitations, but it's easier for foreign women.

[ubonjoe]

You are already a Thai citizen by birth. Your birth certificate proves that.

All you need to need to do now is get registered in a house book and get a Thai ID card. What you will need to do that will depend upon the Amphoe you do it at but it should not be that hard.

Once you get your Thai passport you will need to fly out and back to do the passport swap. It cannot be done at a border crossing.

[TerryLH]

You are already a Thai citizen. You will be applying for an ID card and passport.
The first thing you need to do is get on a house registration. The rest will be even easier to do.

By the way, are you familiar with the consription laws here?

Edited August 31, 2014 by Maestro
Removed irrelevant part of post.

[Ws93]

You are already a Thai citizen. You will be applying for an ID card and passport.

The first thing you need to do is get on a house registration. The rest will be even easier to do.

By the way, are you familiar with the consription laws here?

I am aware of the conscription laws. I'm 21 and I can speak some Thai, this should exempt me right? Half Thai and can't speak fluent Thai.

[Ws93]

You are already a Thai citizen by birth. Your birth certificate proves that.

All you need to need to do now is get registered in a house book and get a Thai ID card. What you will need to do that will depend upon the Amphoe you do it at but it should not be that hard.

Once you get your Thai passport you will need to fly out and back to do the passport swap. It cannot be done at a border crossing.

The Thai embassy said I can do a border run. Get a student visa, go to a neighbouring country and return with my Thai passport.

[samran]

you should get your thai passport in london before travelling to thailand. Will save the border run and means there wont be any limit on your stay,

[Ws93]

you should get your thai passport in london before travelling to thailand. Will save the border run and means there wont be any limit on your stay,

I thought I can only get it in Thailand? Thai id, house reg and passport in Thailand.

[paz]

I thought I can only get it in Thailand? Thai id, house reg and passport in Thailand.

Thai ID and house reg in Thailand only.

Passport in either place. When requested at a consulate, Thai ID and house reg are not required.

[dachippe]

you can apply for passport at the embassy. after that you do the house registration with your mom ( her amphur in thailand) and after that you apply for id card that's the way i did it.

[Maestro]

I have gotten my Thai birth certificate translated at the Thai embassy London and the next step is I need to go to my mothers home town in Rayong.

I will apply for Thai ID card and house registration. What are the requirements? Booking an interview, waiting time, requirements: passport photo, necessary documents etc.

It is was not necessary to get your Thai birth certificate translated into any other language for the purpose of applying for a Thai ID card and listing in a house registration book. Or do you mean that you were born in the UK, got a British birth certificate and subsequently obtained a Thai birth certificate from the Thai embassy? I this is the case, you did the correct thing, and with this Thai birth certificate you should be able to get your Thai passport from the Thai embassy without a problem. You may need a copy of your Thai mother's house registration, and your mother may have to accompany you for your passport application, bringing her Thai ID with her. Check with the embassy about their exact requirements.

It will take longer to get the passport through the embassy than it would take by applying for it in Thailand, but if you are not pressed for time I believe it would, as Samran said, be more convenient for you to get it from the embassy. Then, after your arrival, all that you need to do is get yourself listed in a house registration book and get your Thai ID card, since you are planning to take up residence in Thailand.

[Maestro]

you can apply for passport at the embassy. after that you do the house registration with your mom ( her amphur in thailand) and after that you apply for id card that's the way i did it.

The house registration does not have to be at the same District Office (amphoe) where his mother is registered.

[Ws93]

Thank you. I was not aware I can get a Thai passport in London. I will ring them up monday. I'm gong Thailand permanent with my mum in December.

Yes I am born British and was told to register my name in the Thai embassy with my mums consent.

[Maestro]

I thought I can only get it in Thailand? Thai id, house reg and passport in Thailand.

Thai ID and house reg in Thailand only.

Passport in either place. When requested at a consulate, Thai ID and house reg are not required.

Correct.

Ws93, the house registration is a record of who lives in the house or dwelling for which the registration book is issued. Therefore, a Thai national born and residing outside Thailand can theoretically not be listed in a house registration book unless and until he moves his residence to Thailand.

Regarding the Thai ID card, I remember reading a news article within the last 12 months saying that the Thai embassies in some countries will be allowed to issue Thai ID cards. I don't know whether this has already been implemented and if so, whether the embassy in the UK is included and whether it applies also for the first ID card a person gets or only for the renewal of expired cards.

[Maestro]

I found the news article about the issuance of Thai ID cards here: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/587175-thai-citizens-abroad-now-able-to-renew-id-cards-at-embassies/. From this article, it appears that it is only for the renewal of cards, at embassies authorised to do this, and not for the issuance of a Thai national's first ID card.

[Ws93]

Yes you can only renew. My mum renewed hers in London.

[Maestro]

I find it surprising that the embassy did not mention to you the possibility of getting your Thai passport from them when you were there to get your Thai birth certificate. Perhaps just a bureaucrat's habit of not thinking beyond the task he is confronted with at the moment.

The passport application form is all in Thai, several pages, I believe, which is one of the reasons I suggested that the presence of your mother may be helpful when you go the embassy. In the meantime, start practising your signature in Thai

[samran]

you should get your thai passport in london before travelling to thailand. Will save the border run and means there wont be any limit on your stay,

I thought I can only get it in Thailand? Thai id, house reg and passport in Thailand.

Nope. There has to be a way for the 100's of kids born overseas to Thai parent each year to get a passport to return to their own countries. So embassies do that too.

When you go register yourself you will technically be doing it late (all Thais must be registered within 15 days of birth). To show why you are doing this late they will ask for the passport you entered Thailand on, and it will be better to show that you entered Thailand on a Thai passport.

While dual nationality in Thailand isn't illegal in any way for you, some officials, especially up country offices, think that it is. So it is better to show them the Thai passport when you register at the ampur.

Edited August 31, 2014 by samran

[Tomtomtom69]

I find it surprising that the embassy did not mention to you the possibility of getting your Thai passport from them when you were there to get your Thai birth certificate. Perhaps just a bureaucrat's habit of not thinking beyond the task he is confronted with at the moment.

The passport application form is all in Thai, several pages, I believe, which is one of the reasons I suggested that the presence of your mother may be helpful when you go the embassy. In the meantime, start practising your signature in Thai

My fiance's signature in her Thai passport (she is a native born Thai) is in English, given that internationally apart from Laos, Thai is next to useless so she automatically signed her name in English. Her Thai signature is only used in Thailand on Thai based documents (e.g. ID card). I'm not sure if she was instructed by the passport office/embassy/consulate to sign in English, but I can imagine she was. So don't worry too much about signing a passport in Thai - as it should be signed in English anyway.

[Haverkamp1]

My son has done it, wasn't that difficult to do it in Thailand, BUT if you are male you need to do the military thing.

After he had done the registration and check-ups for that (he was exempted ) he was ready to go to Chaeng Wattana and waited for a week to pick the passport up.

[samran]

I find it surprising that the embassy did not mention to you the possibility of getting your Thai passport from them when you were there to get your Thai birth certificate. Perhaps just a bureaucrat's habit of not thinking beyond the task he is confronted with at the moment.

The passport application form is all in Thai, several pages, I believe, which is one of the reasons I suggested that the presence of your mother may be helpful when you go the embassy. In the meantime, start practising your signature in Thai

My fiance's signature in her Thai passport (she is a native born Thai) is in English, given that internationally apart from Laos, Thai is next to useless so she automatically signed her name in English. Her Thai signature is only used in Thailand on Thai based documents (e.g. ID card). I'm not sure if she was instructed by the passport office/embassy/consulate to sign in English, but I can imagine she was. So don't worry too much about signing a passport in Thai - as it should be signed in English anyway.

Indeed, my thai passport has an English signature on it!

[joy16]

I find it surprising that the embassy did not mention to you the possibility of getting your Thai passport from them when you were there to get your Thai birth certificate. Perhaps just a bureaucrat's habit of not thinking beyond the task he is confronted with at the moment.

The passport application form is all in Thai, several pages, I believe, which is one of the reasons I suggested that the presence of your mother may be helpful when you go the embassy. In the meantime, start practising your signature in Thai

My fiance's signature in her Thai passport (she is a native born Thai) is in English, given that internationally apart from Laos, Thai is next to useless so she automatically signed her name in English. Her Thai signature is only used in Thailand on Thai based documents (e.g. ID card). I'm not sure if she was instructed by the passport office/embassy/consulate to sign in English, but I can imagine she was. So don't worry too much about signing a passport in Thai - as it should be signed in English anyway.

Indeed, my thai passport has an English signature on it!

Don't worry about the signature but the full name on application form shall be in Thai. So practising it in Thai.

[Ws93]

Can anyone confirm this conscription topic please?

I will be registering my name under my mothers house in Rayong or her grandfathers in Suphan Buri so my name will probably be sent to the military and conscripted. But I am half Thai and I can't speak fluent Thai. The latter will stop me right?

[ubonjoe]

Can anyone confirm this conscription topic please?

I will be registering my name under my mothers house in Rayong or her grandfathers in Suphan Buri so my name will probably be sent to the military and conscripted. But I am half Thai and I can't speak fluent Thai. The latter will stop me right?

At the age of 21 Thai males are called to draw numbers for the draft. They go through a screening of whether they are qualified for being drafted. Your Thai language skills could be taken into consideration if that was to happen.

[Ws93]

I think I like to join. My mum says my family in Thailand will get benefits and I will make her proud if I do this and then do monkhood after.

I also think the Thai only atmosphere will definitely improve my Thai by force. Like it or not.

[Halfie]

Incorrect. Becoming a Thai citizen benefits you. Not your family. You should activley learn to speak and read Thai. When you get your name put into the housebook get photocopies of the page that you're on. You will need them.

[Ws93]

^I meant being conscripted.

I just spoke to the Thai embassy, I can't get a passport. But because I am legally Thai due to the birth certificate, I can get a document/certificate that allows me to enter Thailand as a Thai citizen. So no returning to England, visa run etc.

[paz]

I just spoke to the Thai embassy, I can't get a passport. But because I am legally Thai due to the birth certificate, I can get a document/certificate that allows me to enter Thailand as a Thai citizen. So no returning to England, visa run etc.

Why you can't get a passport ?