My Thai wife and I are planning on having a baby next year. I am a NZ citizen. Is there anyone on this board who has taken their Thai wife back to NZ to actually give birth in NZ, or had the baby in Thailand then moved to NZ later?

As far as I am aware if the baby is born in NZ it will a NZ citizen. But can the baby be a Thai citizen also because the mother is Thai?

If the baby is born in Thailand, then goes to NZ later and gets "residence" as a member of my family, can this be changed to "citizenship" at some later date?

We are not sure which country the baby will be bought up in yet.

Any advice and experiences appreciated.

As long as you were born in NZ, then your child will get NZ citizenship if he or she is born outside of NZ. However, for your child to be able to pass on NZ nationality to their children (if those children happen to born outside of NZ as well), then your child will have had to live in NZ for more that 2 years at some point in their life.

Odds are, that your child will be a NZ citizen automatically from you. You just have to go through the motions at the embassy, and your child will be able to go to NZ at anytime they wish without restriction.

For Thai nationality, doesn't matter where the kid is born, it will get Thai nationality as long as one of the parents is Thai.

We just went through this ourselves, and had our little one here in Bangers. The little tacker will be slightly confused as she now has Thai, Australian and NZ nationality. Samtivej hospital was absolutely fantastic, and all up it cost us a touch under 100K for first class treatment. A bargain in my book.

If the mother gives birth in thailand then the child will obtain NZL citizenship by descent.You will need a deed of paternity if you are not legally married.

If the mother gives birth in NZL, and you are a NZL citizen, then the child will obtain NZL citizenship by birth. The mother will have to be in NZL on a valid permit at all times.

The NZL embassy in Bangkok has the best info online at :

NZL Embassy Bangkok Citizenship by Descent Procedure

ALL information on citizenship can be obtained from :

Department of Internal Affairs - Citizenship

ALL information on the mother getting a visa and permit for NZL can be obtained from :

NZL Immigration Service

Edited August 30, 200620 yr by kiakaha

As long as you were born in NZ, then your child will get NZ citizenship if he or she is born outside of NZ. However, for your child to be able to pass on NZ nationality to their children (if those children happen to born outside of NZ as well), then your child will have had to live in NZ for more that 2 years at some point in their life.

Odds are, that your child will be a NZ citizen automatically from you. You just have to go through the motions at the embassy, and your child will be able to go to NZ at anytime they wish without restriction.

For Thai nationality, doesn't matter where the kid is born, it will get Thai nationality as long as one of the parents is Thai.

We just went through this ourselves, and had our little one here in Bangers. The little tacker will be slightly confused as she now has Thai, Australian and NZ nationality. Samtivej hospital was absolutely fantastic, and all up it cost us a touch under 100K for first class treatment. A bargain in my book.

Thanks Samran, it's great to know that the child can enjoy the best of both worlds without any visa restrictions. I was under the impresion that this wasn't possible.

100k at Samtivej? That a bit rich for me! It's all free in NZ! Another consideration.

Thanks also, Kiakaha.

Good luck with it all.

We considered the 'freeness' of it all in either OZ or NZ. Given the costs of the flights for both of us, it wasn't going to be worth it.

Plus in NZ and OZ, you are basically shipped out of hospital the next day to some sort of care centre, and then you are kicked out of that quite quickly too.

Here, private room, attentive nurses and doctors, and excellent after care support tipped the balance for us.

Good luck with the bubs! Fantastic news.

Your child can aquire Thai citizenship via your wife's, under section 7(1) of the Thai Nationality Act. If born in New Zealand, the child may obtain a Thai Birth certificate and passport from the Royal Thai Embassy.

See also New Zealand's Citizenship By Descent.