I had a baby last year and registered her with my American surname and had translation done by a translation shop.  Had another last week and we are now being told there has been a change of law and I must go to Bangkok, to the American embassy, have names translated, then go to Phon (near Khon Kaen) to the Tetchaban(only this one) to have name registered and it must be completed within 14 days of birth or will have to go to court.  This sure seems like a lot of running around with newborn and I really don't care if the baby has American birth certificate, US citizenship or US passport.  Does anyone have experience in this or know where I can find the present correct procedure.  Just seems very complicated with a lot of travel during a very hectic time in my life.  Thank you in advance for any info you may have.

I had a baby 6 weeks ago in Bangkok. The hospital used my name in Thai as written on my marriage certificate and work permit. Could the hospital be concerned about the 'official' spelling of your name in Thai?

 

We had to register our newborn (half Thai) in a blue book within 14 days of birth. Otherwise, there was going to be a fine (I think about 20 THB per day).

 

The only thing we had to do translations for was registering her birth at the US Embassy and first passport.

Can't help with your specific problem I'm afraid, enjoybeing, but I live in Phon too and recently got my yellow book and ID card there. 

 

On the subject of translation, Phon tessaban seem quite difficult.

 

For my yellow book, despite my showing my Thai marriage certificate and driving licence with exactly the same translation of my name, they were adamant that a MFA certification of my passport was absolutely necessary, no alternative. This was despite the woman actually doing the paperwork and her superior who'd eventually sign the yellow book both being friends of my wife, who was with me the whole time.

 

Went to UK Embassy, got the certified copy of passport, went to a translation service and asked for a translation - apparently, US Embassy will translate too, whereas UK Embassy won't. They asked if I had any documents with my name already in Thai for them to use, for consistency. I showed my MC and DL, just as I'd shown to Phon tessaban - you could easily use your older child's birth certificate for this. They copied the transcription of my name there and took it to MFA then sent the whole lot back to us.

 

So Phon tessaban ended up using exactly the same spelling as I'd shown them a while previously.

 

Unfortunately, when we asked them why they insisted on the translation, they couldn't answer except to say it was the law - not sure that's true because many have apparently obtained a yellow book in Khon Kaen city without the need for a translation - and didn't seem to appreciate the stupidity of their insistence on a translation when there's already a perfectly valid & legal transcription of the name in existence.

 

I think you'll just have to live with their requirements, as usual, no matter how daft it might seem. Changing their requirements might be an admission of their mistake - can't have that in Thailand, can we!!

 

 

16 hours ago, janejira said:

I had a baby 6 weeks ago in Bangkok. The hospital used my name in Thai as written on my marriage certificate and work permit. Could the hospital be concerned about the 'official' spelling of your name in Thai?

 

We had to register our newborn (half Thai) in a blue book within 14 days of birth. Otherwise, there was going to be a fine (I think about 20 THB per day).

 

The only thing we had to do translations for was registering her birth at the US Embassy and first passport.

Thanks so much for the reply.  Are you saying the hospital just did the birth certificate and you didn't even need go to the tessaban?  The tessaban approved the spelling for the last child but seem to want an entirely new certified translation and certification as MartilL posted below.  I do have my DL I could show them but they seem adamant about me going to US embassy in BKK.   Did the US embassy do your translations?  Was it easy to get the passport?  Do we need register their births with US embassy?

 

11 hours ago, MartinL said:

Can't help with your specific problem I'm afraid, enjoybeing, but I live in Phon too and recently got my yellow book and ID card there. 

 

On the subject of translation, Phon tessaban seem quite difficult.

 

For my yellow book, despite my showing my Thai marriage certificate and driving licence with exactly the same translation of my name, they were adamant that a MFA certification of my passport was absolutely necessary, no alternative. This was despite the woman actually doing the paperwork and her superior who'd eventually sign the yellow book both being friends of my wife, who was with me the whole time.

 

Went to UK Embassy, got the certified copy of passport, went to a translation service and asked for a translation - apparently, US Embassy will translate too, whereas UK Embassy won't. They asked if I had any documents with my name already in Thai for them to use, for consistency. I showed my MC and DL, just as I'd shown to Phon tessaban - you could easily use your older child's birth certificate for this. They copied the transcription of my name there and took it to MFA then sent the whole lot back to us.

 

So Phon tessaban ended up using exactly the same spelling as I'd shown them a while previously.

 

Unfortunately, when we asked them why they insisted on the translation, they couldn't answer except to say it was the law - not sure that's true because many have apparently obtained a yellow book in Khon Kaen city without the need for a translation - and didn't seem to appreciate the stupidity of their insistence on a translation when there's already a perfectly valid & legal transcription of the name in existence.

 

I think you'll just have to live with their requirements, as usual, no matter how daft it might seem. Changing their requirements might be an admission of their mistake - can't have that in Thailand, can we!!

 

 

Hi,  Thanks for the detailed info., much appreciated.  Did they show you a law?  Would love to see it, so I did everything correctly.  My lawyer also says (from Phuket) that I should only have to show them the birth certificate of the older child.  I also have a Thai DL. but I believe it is in English.  I am not sure what a yellow book is, or what an MC is.  Sorry about my ignorance on the subject.  Didn't know what an MFA cert. was till I googled it but I don't seen anything for MC.  So, if I just show up at my embassy, do you think they should know what to do?  Small town here...  Maybe we could catch a coffee or drink sometime..  Thanks again.. 

Sending you a PM soon.

6 hours ago, enjoybeing said:

Thanks so much for the reply.  Are you saying the hospital just did the birth certificate and you didn't even need go to the tessaban?  The tessaban approved the spelling for the last child but seem to want an entirely new certified translation and certification as MartilL posted below.  I do have my DL I could show them but they seem adamant about me going to US embassy in BKK.   Did the US embassy do your translations?  Was it easy to get the passport?  Do we need register their births with US embassy?

 

 

The hospital took care of the paperwork for the birth certificate.  We provided them with copies of our IDs, marriage certificate, house registration, and work permit (for me) and signed a few documents. The hospital took the paperwork to the relevant government office on our behalf (I am not sure where they took it, but it took about a week to process.)

 

My husband's family (Thai) registered our daughter in their blue book at the tessaban where they live. We mailed the paperwork to them.

 

We did a certified translation of the birth certificate and our marriage certificate to register the birth at the US embassy. We didn't have it translated at the embassy; I am not sure if they have or how to request this service, but the embassy does provide a list of independent translators in the area on their website. The translation shop took the translations and originals to the MFA for the official stamp as part of their service. (The translation and stamp took about a week.)

 

Process for registering a birth abroad was pretty straight forward. We made an appointment and followed the details and instructions on the website. There is a lot of paperwork to put together and a brief interview with an officer, but we were in and out in about 30-45 minutes. We registered her birth, applied for a passport, and applied for a social security card all in the same go. Once the documents are ready, you can choose to come back to pick them up or have them mailed to your address. 

 

You could call the embassy to see if they know what the tessaban needs? but it sounds like they just want a stamp to verify the spelling of your name.

 

Good luck! And congrats on the new baby!

Thanks..  I will make my way to embassy in BKK tomorrow.   Yes, hopefully all they want is the stamp to verify my name.  Do you happen to remember who you used for a translator?   Thanks again for all the info..

Sent you a PM on Friday evening & you've not read it yet.

 

If unsure, check top right-hand side of this page, above Facebook, YouTube etc. symbols  & green "SUBSCRIBE TO NEWSLETTER" banner - you'll see an envelope symbol with a red dot containing a number; click on it to see messages.

 

Contains info. that might be useful before you go all the way to the embassy.

 

 

This is the list of translation shops from the embassy's website. We used the second one down.

Thanks very much for that info.  Hope your baby and family are well!

Thank you also Martin!  I had looked and didn't see any message notifications.   Sorry I missed that. Will check it out now krap..  Thanks again.