Am I a Thai citizen?
Children born overseas to at least one Thai parent are eligible for Thai citizenship, regardless of the place of birth of that parent.
There is often some confusion about the eligibility of a child born to a Thai parent overseas. The easy answer is that a child born to a Thai citizen, whether in Thailand or outside of Thailand, is automatically born a Thai citizen.
In the case of Thailand, citizenship by birth is by blood, or to use the Latin phrase “jus sanguinis” (by the right of blood). In layman terms, it means the right to citizenship through one’s bloodline or ancestry. The main exception is when a child is born in Thailand to two foreign parents who both have permanent residence status in the kingdom at the time of birth. In that case, the child will be a Thai citizen from birth due to their parents’ permanent residence status.
As such, if you were born to a Thai parent overseas, or your children born overseas to a Thai parent, they are eligible to receive Thai nationality.
For those born overseas, there are three main options to register yourself as a Thai citizen. These are listed easiest to hardest (for reasons I’ll explain below).
- Applying for a Thai birth certificate via the Thai embassy in the country you were born.
- Applying at a district office in Thailand – where option (1) is not possible.
- Applying at a district office in Thailand using DNA testing in the event that (2) is not possible.
Once you have done one of the above, it will be possible to then get registered in a house book/tabien baan from which you’ll be able to get a Thai ID card and Passport.
Option 1: Apply for a Thai birth certificate in the country of birth
Thailand does not issue ‘citizenship via descent’ certification like many countries.
Thai citizenship when born overseas needs to be established by a Thai birth certificate (สูติบัตร). This is the primary document proving one’s status as a Thai citizen throughout their life. Without one, it becomes increasingly difficult to get registered on a Thai House Registration – the ‘tabien baan’ (ทะเบียนบ้าน) – which is needed to be able to then get a Thai ID card (บัตรประชาชน) or a Thai passport (หนังสือเดินทาง) issued
A Thai citizen born overseas will go through life with two birth certificates: the one issued by their country where they were born, as well as their Thai birth certificates which is issued by the Thai embassy in that country.
The first step is to apply for a Thai birth certificate at the Royal Thai embassy in the country of birth. For example, all children born to a Thai parent in the United Kingdom and on the island of Ireland must apply to the Thai Embassy in London, whereas a child born to a Thai parent in the United States must apply to the Thai Embassy in Washington DC.
Requirements for a Thai birth certificate will vary slightly depending on the embassy, however general requirements should include:
- Full birth certificate issued in country of birth*.
- Marriage certificates of the parents**
- Photo’s of the applicants
- Passport/identity documents of the parents
- Thai ID card and house registration copies of the Thai citizen parent.
*Local birth certificate will need to be legalized in the country of birth by the appropriate body. Please contact the relevant embassy for the appropriate national counterpart. For example, in the US this will be the Secretary of State and Department of State respectively.
**Please see individual embassy requirements in the case where parents are not married, divorced or deceased.
It is generally not necessary to attend the embassy to apply for a birth certificate; however, it is possible that the father and mother will be asked to attend the Thai embassy in person if the child was born before 1 March 1992.
1.1 – Thai birth certificate for a foreign-born child (applying in Thailand)
In some cases, a person who is eligible for a Thai birth certificate has already moved back to Thailand using a foreign passport.
For a person who is born outside of Thailand to a Thai parent, only the Department of Consular Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bangkok can assist you in obtaining a Thai birth certificate. They will do this by liaising with the Thai embassy in the country of birth for the child. The requirements will be exactly the same as required by the Thai embassy in question, however the Department of Consular Affairs will also request that any non-Thai language documents need to be translated into Thai first – something that doesn’t need to be done when dealing with the embassy directly. Details of the Department of Consular Affairs are:
Legalization Division, 3rd floor
Department of Consular Affairs
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
123 Chaeng Wattana Road
Bangkok 10210
Tel: 0-2575-1058 and 59 Fax: 0-2575-1054
Service hours: 08.30 – 14.30 hrs. (Closed on Saturday – Sunday and Public Holidays)
Email: [email protected]
Links for major Thai embassies are outlined in the FAQ section at the end of the article
1.2 Registering your name on the house registration in Thailand
The expectation is once the embassy has issued you with your Thai birth certificate the name of the overseas born Thai citizen will be added into the house registration at an address in Thailand, either by the person themselves, or in the case of minors, via a parent or other authorised representative doing so on their behalf.
When coming to Thailand for the first time, if the embassy has issued you with a new Thai passport, then you should enter Thailand on that passport. Once stamped in, you can head to a district office to be registered on a house registration or ‘tabieen baan’.
Normally most overseas born Thais opt for being registered on the tabieen baan of family members, and ideally the same house registry as your Thai parent. While it isn’t strictly necessary, it does help make the process a lot easier. Generally, for this, you’ll need to go to the district office personally with the following documents:
- Thai birth certificate issued by the embassy
- Thai passport which you entered Thailand on (if you have it – otherwise a copy of your foreign passport will be fine)
- Copies of your Thai parent’s Thai ID
- A copy of your non-Thai parents’ passport or other official ID (in many cases this will have to be officially translated as the tabieen baan will require the Thai spelling of this parent’s name)
Also needed will be two Thai citizens who can vouch for your identity. This will likely include the ‘house master/เจ้าบ้าน’ who has control over the tabieen baan document, and one other person. It helps (though not compulsory) that they are relatives. In more remote areas you may also be asked to being the village head.
Information about registering on the house registration for overseas born Thai’s is available here (Thai language only).
Option 2: Applying at a district office in Thailand
In some cases, a person born to a Thai citizen overseas won’t be able to gather the documents necessary to satisfy the requirements from at the Thai embassy in the country they were born. In this event, district offices in Thailand will be responsible for registering an overseas born Thai citizen onto the national citizenship database and issuing an ID card.
This option should not be confused with option 1 or 1.1 above as at the end, you will have a Thai ID card and house registration, but you won’t have a birth certificate issued.
At the heart of all this, is proving you have a Thai parent at the time of your birth. Doing so, under Thai law, entitles you to citizenship too.
The thing to understand about this option is that while there is a list of documents that a district office will ask for, there is a level of discretion that the district office has in determining whether an applicant is genuinely entitled to Thai citizenship or not, and the head of the district office will be required to sign off on any request. Unfortunately, recent controversies about foreigners illegally getting added to Thai house registrations (effectively giving them Thai citizenship) means that a district office will be wary, or downright refuse to even consider getting your name on a house register via this method. So while on paper it may actually sound easier than Option One above, people may find themselves stonewalled by district officers refusing to assist.
And even if they do decide they can assist, be prepared to accept that the burden of proof may be significantly higher than Option One above, and the district officer will have discretion in asking for more if they aren’t satisfied that you are indeed the child of a Thai citizen.
- Your foreign birth certificate translated and stamped by Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Your foreign passport
- Copies of your Thai parents ID card and tabien baan
- Copies of your non-Thai parents ID
- The ID card of the Thai citizen who’s house registry you will be put on
- A copy of the house registration book that you will be put on
- Three 2×2 inch photos of the applicant
- Two Thai witnesses to certify your identity and relations to a Thai citizen parent.
Option 3: DNA tests
In many ways, this option is an extension of Option Two above. As mentioned there, given the standard of proof is quite high, district officers may ask for blood tests to be done to definitively prove your relationship to a Thai citizen parent.
Fortunately, in recent years the Thai government has become quite active in assisting this group of people, allowing DNA testing to be used to match an applicant to another Thai citizen relative. Given this is a process in and of itself, we have outlined the steps in an article Thai Citizenship using DNA Testing for those who, for whatever reason, are unable to take advantage of the standard ‘paperwork routes’ to Thai citizenship.
FAQ’s
Question: What are the websites for major Thai consulates and embassies around the world that can issue Thai birth certificates?
AUSTRALIARoyal Thai Embassy, CanberraClick this link Royal Thai Consulate General, SydneyClick this link |
UNITED STATESRoyal Thai Embassy, Washington DCInstruction for applying (Thai only): click this link
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GERMANYRoyal Thai Embassy, BerlinClick this link (available in Thai and German only) |
Thai Consulate, LAList of forms: click this link (English) |
IRELAND & UNITED KINGDOMRoyal Thai Embassy, LondonFor all births in the Republic of Ireland, N.I., and the UK click this link (available in Thai only) |
Question: At what age can I get a Thai birth certificate?
Answer:
A person is eligible for Thai citizenship when born overseas can be granted a Thai birth certificate any time. There is no time limit to do so. People have known to have applied and received their birth certificates in their 40’s!
However, please note that it can be more difficult (though not impossible) to prove your Thai citizenship without documents from the Thai parent proving such eligibility. The death, divorce, or parent absconding, or the loss of the parents Thai identity papers are all very common problems. In such cases, DNA testing back in Thailand using links to remaining relatives is the only other method of establishing one’s rights to Thai nationality, and understandably this process can be cumbersome and expensive.
As such, it is recommended to apply for a Thai birth certificate overseas as practically as possible after the child’s birth.
Question: Someone told me even though I was born overseas I can apply for a Thai birth certificate via a district office in Thailand
Answer:
No, this is a myth. It is important to note that your district office (สำนักงานเขต) in Thailand CAN NOT issue a foreign-born child with a Thai birth certificate. Some will claim that they can, but it isn’t possible. The reason is a local district office in every region in Thailand is only able to provide birth certificates for those who are born within their boundaries. As such no district office in Thailand will be able to issue a Thai birth certificate.
Question: Why is applying for a Thai birth certificate overseas the best option?
This is for a couple of reasons:
- A Thai birth certificate issued overseas is instantly recognized as a document entitling you to Thai citizenship by birth and any government office you deal with will treat it as such. It is very difficult for them to refuse to add you to a house registration with this proof.
- Since 2023, all Thai citizens who apply for a birth certificate via a Thai embassy will also automatically get a Thai ID number allocated to them. This literally means you are ‘in the system’. Upon going to Thailand, any district office will automatically be able to put your name into a house book easily and without fuss.
Question: Does this make me a dual citizen?
Yes it does! As such, you’ll be able to travel with two passports, both your Thai and non-Thai one, maximising the number of countries you can travel to visa free! Thailand has absolutely no issue with dual citizenship, so the world is your oyster!
Question: How do I now get a Thai passport?
If you are born overseas and applying via the Thai embassy there, once you have a Thai birth certificate, the Thai embassy will generally allow you to apply for your first Thai passport through them.
Normally a Thai passport requires being registered on a house registration (tabieen baan/ทะเบียนบ้าน) in Thailand and for those over 15 years of age, to have a Thai ID card. This requirement is waived for the first passport someone with Thai citizenship born overseas if they apply for the passport at the same time as receiving the birth certificate.
However, if you choose one of the other methods above that doesn’t involve applying for your Thai birth certificate via the embassy, you’ll need to return to Thailand, get your name on the house registry/tabien baan and have a Thai ID card issued before you can apply for a passport (which can be done quite easily in Thailand).
Question: I’ve got my Thai ID card now but I entered Thailand on my foreign passport. Do I get charged overstay?
No you won’t. Recent changes in 2023 mean that if Thai dual citizens entered on a foreign passport they won’t get charged overstay when departing so long as they can show their Thai ID card to immigration. We cover that in this article titled ‘Entering Thailand on a foreign passport‘.
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Hello thank you for this wealth of information, it is really helpful. I’m wondering if you know if it is possible to apply for a Thai Birth Certificate without the non-Thai parent’s passport and without a signed permission form for using the father’s last name? Have been estranged from my father for many years who doesn’t live in the same country as me, but I’m able to provide them with a divorce certificate to prove that parents are divorced. I’ve heard about Por Kor 14 but as I was an adult when they divorced this does not apply, so we don’t have any ‘child custody’ documents. I even went to our Embassy in person with my mother who was there to renew her Thai passport and asked these questions to them in English, but they either didn’t understand me or weren’t willing to help me. Hope you can shed some insight into this, thanks!
Hi Nicky,
Thanks for your message. You don’t say where you are born as the embassy website normally has guidance on this stuff, but if you are no longer in contact with your father and are unable to provide any of his identification then I suspect that can dealt with so long as you have your ‘local’ birth certificate there. You might need to make a written statement by your mother and you explaining this.
The important side of things, your mother and her ID, is what the embassy is really focused on and given none of your entitlement to citizenship has anything to do with your father, simply his name on an offical document (like the divorce certificate and your original birth certificate) may suffice.
Thank you for your response, I was born in New Zealand and the Thai Embassy NZ website doesn’t seem to have a clear indication of what I’m required to provide in case of lost contact for a child over the age of 18 (as there is no mention of providing a written statement), but your comment makes sense and perhaps as long as I can provide everything else it should suffice (fingers crossed!).
I’ve just had a look at the Por Kor 14 form (this one from the Thai embassy in the UK http://supibee.thaiembassyuk.org.uk/forms/porkor.pdf)
I still think it’s worth the effort for your mum to fill the NZ equivalent in. Then for her also to do a handwritten statement in Thai that the father has moved away and you are no longer in contact with him any more. This may/may not cut it, but if it doesn’t then you’d be looking at doing ‘option 2’ as outlined in the article above which would require travel to Thailand unfortunately to kick things off.
Thanks for the additional info! I have another question that hopefully you can help with.. do you know if the Legalization form needs to be completed by my Thai mother, or myself? At first I assumed it was me, but now that I’ve spent some time looking at the application requirements, I’m wondering if it is supposed to be completed by the Thai parent (because assuming they are completing an application for a child)? I’m assuming we are stating on the form that we request the Embassy to issue a birth certificate for me (the child).
https://image.mfa.go.th/mfa/0/Ty8J7f4hKr/FORMS_(%E0%B9%81%E0%B8%9A%E0%B8%9A%E0%B8%9F%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%A3%E0%B9%8C%E0%B8%A1)/Legalization_Form_(TH-EN).pdf
So if it is the legalisation form, it’s a bit ambiguous, but I suspect it is your mother.
First of all, thanks for the site! It resolved many of my doubts (military conscription, dual citizenship eligibility, etc.) before I decided to start the process of obtaining my Thai ID card.
For context, I’m the son of a Thai mother and a Spanish father — not a common combination, at least from what I’ve seen in the comments — and I’m 35 years old. I’m still in the early stages of this journey, specifically working on obtaining my Thai Birth Certificate.
The process initially seemed quite straightforward: just send a long list of documents (parents’ passports, parents’ marriage certificates — both Thai and foreign — household certificate, taabien baan, etc.) to the Thai Embassy in Spain.
After a month of reviewing my documents, the Embassy requested that I resend some of them, but this time certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in my country (an annoying yet reasonable request). They also asked my Thai parent to complete a petition form explaining the reason for the delay in my birth registration.
My question is: Are they allowed to ask for a reason for the delay? In other words, are we obligated to provide one? If they find the reason unsatisfactory, could they decide not to grant me my Thai Birth Certificate?
From what I’ve read in the comments, this doesn’t seem like a common situation. I’m unsure what to say except something like: “When I was born more than 30 years ago, my parents were told by a Thai officer that I could only hold one citizenship after turning 18.
Jo
Hi Jo
Glad you are benefiting from the site!
As to your question, I think you are over thinking it all and being asked for a statement like this is all part and parcel of the process.
Given that all births should technically be reported within 15 days of birth, a ‘reason’ for late reporting is generally needed.
Being overseas there are a myriad of potential reasons, and there is no ‘wrong’ one that will kill your hopes of getting citizenship.
Something simple like saying you never thought it was possible to do so in Spain, or you lived too far away from the embassy, would more than suffice. It doesn’t need to be overly complex, the embassy just need to ‘tick the box’ in terms of their internal processes so they can issue you with a birth certificate.
Hope all of this makes sense and clarifies things for you.
Cheers
TC
So after about 18 months, I finally got my Thai ID card. Thanks for your help!
To give as much detail as I can from people in the UK for folk over the age of 30.. I applied in August 2023 and got my ID Christmas Eve 2024
You’ll need to get a copy of your birth certificate from your local council. You will then need to send this off to FCDO office to get stamped. This is chargeable.
You’ll then need to go to London embassy with your parents/Thai side to get a Thai Birth certificate. Also bring a envelope with postage attached as for them to send you your Thai Birth certificate. Bring EVERYTHING you can think of, marriage certs, death certs, thai parents ID card, Thai parents passport, your passport, proof of address. Bring everything so you don’t make the trek for nothing.
I got my Thai birth certificate back within a week..Birth certificate will actually have your Thai ID number on it (top right).
Once you’ve got that, you’ll need to get your behind to Thailand to get yourself registered in the house book. This is relatively straight forward.
When you go into the house book, your file (ID – Citizenship) is locked. You basically basically need to interviewed by the Bailff in the amphur. To get the interview you literally need to hassle to get one booked in. Fortunately my family used a couple of favours to get me one (Cousins husband works for the police lol).
It’s not an interview (especially if you don’t speak Thai), its more sitting there and smiling for an hour or two and signing papers.They then send off all this paperwork gibberish to be signed off.
Mine took 4 weeks for my file to be unlocked with pestering them every day. Once you’re file is unlocked. Some finger prints here and there, sign some docs here and there, have your photo took which makes you look like you’re being sentanced and then you get your ID card.
Oh and you’ll have to pay a fine (mine was 50THB) for not registering my birth in a timely fashion. Your ID card is valid I believe for 8ys ish (mine runs 2033) basically when i’m 45/46.
You can get your Thai Passport in Thailand if you want and get it as an express, or when you’re back in the UK, you can use the Thai Embassys portal to apply for one (best get a 10 year one – Currently £45..again you’ll need an envelope I believe for them to send).
If you want to make yourself all official, get yourself a Thai Bank account too…If you opt for a physical bank card, its like £6 quid a year but you’ll save yourself £6 per ATM withdrawl doing so if you are going to Thailand…Just makes it feel a little more official….and you’ll feel Thai given you can do all the QR scan to pay nonsence too xD.
Hope this helps your very helpful article that got me to this point. Thanks again!
Spencer
Hi Spencer – congrats! Must be a huge relief to have gotten the ID card. All the best with the future and glad the site was useful to you.
Cheers
TC
Looks like the link in 1.2 is broken. Could you update?
Hi Jacob,
Sorry about the delay in getting back to you on this, and thank you for the heads up. Always a challenge when the government insists on updating their websites!
Anyway, latest link now included.
Cheers
TC
Thanks for the great article.
I’m in the process of applying for a Thai birth certificate at the LA consulate. My mother is Thai / American (dual) and my father American. Currently I have only a U.S. passport.
The Thai birth certificate process and requirements seem straightforward but there is one detail I’m worried about and perhaps you might have some advice.
My mother was born fully Thai but adopted at a young age and brought to the US. She only got a new Thai passport much later in life. Unfortunately, the birth date on her Thai passport is not the same as on her US passport (sloppy administrative handling that she had no control over when she was a young child). This would otherwise be fine as I don’t believe it is a requirement she submit her US passport for my BC application. However, the marriage certificate between her and my father is a requirement and that document has her US passport birth date.
I’m worried that the Thai consulate will take issue with this discrepancy and refuse the application. I’m even more worried of not having further recourse for appeal if we do attempt to submit as is, which is why we hesitate.
Is this a legitimate concern do you reckon?
Hi there
So I suspect it could be a potential problem. While they will rely on your mums Thai ID card and house registration as proof of her Thai citizenship to be passed onto you, the ‘person’ (ie your mum) on the US birth certificate who gave birth to you has slightly different details.
I know from the Thai side they always are sticklers for ensuring the spelling of names line up exactly so I suspect it will be for the dates too.
The path of least resistance will probably be to get some acknowledgment of the date of birth error from the US side of things (how I don’t know) but maybe the passport office or birth certificate registration office can help provide advice on that?
Thanks for the response!
I just want to clarify that the only place where this date discrepancy is visible is on the marriage certificate between her and my father — not on my own birth certificate.
So funnily, if my mother wasn’t currently married (and had no marriage certificate to submit) there would no longer be a discrepancy on paper in the application.
Of course, I don’t think we could omit their marriage certificate just for the sake of the application.
Do you happen to know if there is an appeal process if the consulate does reject the application? We’ve found getting in touch directly for specific solutions to be difficult in the past.
Ah okay. So if it’s just the marriage certificate it might not be a problem as the citizenship derives from your mother directly (whether she was married or not) so the way nationality works, her being married isn’t consequential. As such I’d say just submit it and if they make a bit deal about it then you’d probably need to apply for the marriage certificate to be amended.