Dear readers,

Yesterday I went to the town hall of Nissewaard to register my Thai partner in the BRP and to submit a request to get married.

However, my request was not processed because the employee of Civil Affairs indicated that the birth certificate would be incomplete. This would be because the original Thai birth certificate is missing.

The problem is that the original document has been lost over time. The district office in Thailand only issues a copy, which is additionally signed and stamped by the district office. In addition, it is legalized by the Foreign Office and the embassy in Bangkok. The same applies to the attached translation of the copy.

I assume that this problem occurs more often and am therefore looking for a possible solution. It would be ridiculous if the lack of this Thai document would prevent my partner from registering with me and our Dutch child and that we would also not be able to marry each other.

Kind regards and awaiting a possible solution,

Michal

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6 Responses to “Help, no original Thai birth certificate. What now?”

  1. Rob V says up

    Registration in the BRP is also possible without a birth certificate, although one is preferred. The BRP law states that registration based on a birth certificate, the declaration in person or ex officio can take place.

    Perhaps you should ask the municipal official to refer you to a colleague or supervisor who is more knowledgeable.

    On your next holiday in Thailand you can go to the Ampheur for an official statement that the original birth certificate has been lost. A nice legalization of that and translation into English, with legalizations, and then that marriage should also be fine. And who knows, a collage official with more knowledge of the matter will be satisfied with the current paperwork. Unfortunately, there are officials who "have requested and received these documents from every citizen for years" and therefore unfortunately do not look any further. I hope this will be fine and a nice refreshing moment for the official you are dealing with.

    • rage says up

      My partner also does not have a birth certificate and is registered in the BRP without any problems.
      The government website states that a marriage with a foreign partner who cannot provide a birth certificate is still possible by making a sworn statement about the birth data to the registrar.
      Article 1 of the Civil Code, Section 45:1 BW, states that the sworn statement must state the gender, place, country and, as accurately as possible, the date of birth as well as the personal details of the parents.
      The marriage certificate will include a reference to the declaration made.
      Officials are not always flexible in this regard and may ask why there is no (original) birth certificate and to demonstrate what the person concerned has done to obtain the certificate.
      In this case, sufficient effort appears to have been made by providing a copy that has been legalised by the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Dutch Embassy.
      I am curious how this will end, so I would like to kindly ask Michal to inform us about it on Thailandblog.
      Success!

  2. Evert says up

    It is also sometimes difficult in the Netherlands. I would try again and if you get stuck in the process again, I would contact the national ombudsman. Maybe they can help. Good luck

  3. Guy says up

    I am not 100% aware of Dutch legislation in this matter, although it seems to me that the official is not really aware of the values ​​of an official duplicate of the birth certificate issued in Thailand.
    You could also write to your ministry about this….
    Option 2 – on your next holiday in Thailand you can get married in Thailand and have your marriage legalised in the Netherlands afterwards.
    Avoiding the paperwork won't work, but finding the solution certainly will.

  4. Lung addie says up

    Personally, I have solved such a problem in the past of a Thai, who wanted to marry a Belgian in Belgium. She also had no birth certificate, which is strictly necessary in Belgium for a marriage.
    The procedure consisted of:
    – to the town hall of the place where she was born
    – presence of the poejaatbaan was necessary
    – two witnesses who were present at the birth. One was the midwife, who was used in the past for home births
    – the second witness was the sister of the woman in question
    – the correct (more or less) date of birth
    In this way a birth certificate was drawn up.

  5. TheoB says up

    Dear Michal,

    I have also had this problem in connection with the RNI and presented this problem to them.

    Response from the RNI:

    — The birth was registered before 1995
    For a person born in Thailand, a birth certificate is issued only once. This original source document must be retained by the holder at all times. The system of extracts from the birth register is not common in Thailand and, if it is, a laborious affair.

    The source document is translated into English in Thailand, after which a copy of the source document in question is sealed to the original translation. The translation with attached copy must be presented together with the original source document to the Legalization Office of the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bangkok. Without the original source document, no legalization stamp will be issued by the said Ministry. No legalization will be placed on the original.
    Although the text on the legalization stamp states 'seen at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs', this is in fact a legalization.

    No more birth certificate?
    The Dutch embassy in Bangkok informs that the Thai authorities can issue statements stating that a particular birth certificate does not appear in their registers (for example due to fire).
    If a person no longer has access to his original birth certificate and a new copy cannot be obtained from the town hall ('Amphur'), ​​the town hall can be requested to have a replacement declaration (in the form of a letter - Letter of Birthplace Certification) drawn up regarding the birth. This must be done in person. Witnesses are also required for this and (if possible) documents relating to the birth must be submitted. This is therefore not a birth certificate; at most comparable to a certificate of birth awareness. The date of birth is stated in the travel document and the home registration form. In that case, the 'declaration Thai authority + home registration form' can be stated as the source document for processing in the BRP. The “Letter of Birthplace Certification” is a document as referred to in article 2.8 paragraph 2 under d BRP. Incidentally, it sometimes happens that the date of birth is not stated in such a declaration.

    — The birth was registered in or after 1995
    In 1995, the Thai authorities adopted a computerised system of registration of public deeds. A certified copy can be requested by the person concerned or any other interested party at the Amphur or District Office where the registration of the legal act took place.
    Obtaining an extract from the birth register is even easier. The person concerned or another interested party can submit an application (or have it submitted) at any 'District Office' in Bangkok or at any city hall ('Amphur') in any province. The person concerned must present the ID card with this application. An extract is issued and signed by the competent authority. This signature confirms that the information in the extract comes from the 'Registration Database' of the 'Central Registration Office', 'Department of Local Administration', Ministry of the Interior.


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