Renewing my Thai passport in the Netherlands?
Dear readers,
My name is Jasmin, I am 29 years old and I am half Thai and half Dutch. I have always had a Thai passport, but it expired at some point. Last year I made an appointment online at the Thai embassy in The Hague to renew my passport, once I arrived at the appointment I was told that I need a Thai ID card to be able to renew my passport. According to the Thai embassy I can only apply for this in Thailand.
Does anyone have experience with this? What information do I need to apply for a Thai ID card? I already have a translated version of my birth certificate with a stamp from the Thai embassy (this was needed to apply for my first Thai passport).
Thank you in advance for your help!
Regards,
Jasmine
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Hello Jasmin, what I know is that someone like your situation is that she can only apply for an ID card in Thailand. Go to the city where you are registered and there you will first have to apply for an ID card and then a passport. Good luck with that.
Thank you!
Dear Jasmine, based on the summary information you provide, I assume that you were born in the Netherlands from a Thai mother married to a Dutch man. If that is indeed the case, then you are Thai/have Thai nationality based on the Thai “Nationality Act, BE 2508” (amended 2008) article 7, paragraph 1: “a person born from a Thai mother or fathered by a Thai man is Thai by birth, regardless of whether the birth takes place inside or outside Thailand.”
For the sake of convenience, I'll also assume that you mean to say that you have a Dutch birth certificate, which has been translated into Thai and legalized by the Thai embassy.
Look, now we have all the important data pretty much together.
The possession of a Thai ID card is essential for a Thai individual because it serves as a means of communication with the Thai authority/government in almost all life matters. Consider a Thai ID card as a BSN number in the Netherlands: without a BSN the Dutch government does not recognize you.
So you need a Thai ID if you want to renew your Thai passport.
The current situation is that the application for a first ID card must always be done in Thailand itself.
This is possible in the municipality where your mother was born/registered/last lived.
The easiest is if you and your mother go and do that first application at the relevant municipal office. Your mother with her Thai ID, tabien baan/blue address book; you with your legalized birth certificate, Thai passport.
If she cannot accompany you, ask the Thai embassy in The Hague which (copies of) documents you need to make that application yourself. Keep in mind that this will be a difficult exercise if you are not known in Thailand/if the mother did not report your birth at the time. Make sure you have all documents in order and updated, Thailand has a lot of bureaucracy, because being sent away empty-handed means that you have to plan a new trip to Thailand.
Nice, but also on the expensive side.
Dear Loeng,
Thanks for the detailed answer, the assumptions are correct, I was born in the Netherlands with a Thai mother and a Dutch father. The part about my Dutch birth certificate being translated and legalized by the Thai embassy is also correct.
My mother can indeed come with her job booklet and her Thai ID.
So basically I just need to bring my legalized birth certificate and my Thai passport?
Because my birth was reported at that time and I was registered somewhere.
Oops.. Unfortunately, there was miscommunication with my mother, I am not registered anywhere in Thailand.
Will my legalized birth certificate and old Thai passport & my mother coming with me with a blue address book be enough?
If your mother comes along she can also register you at her address and then you will also be in her blue tabien lane. You will need your legalized birth certificate. It will still be a lot of paperwork because you were never registered, but it will be fine and then you will have that Thai ID.
Why not contact the municipality where your mother is registered in advance. She will surely know someone who can give you the telephone number of the population service there. Then ask yourself or your mother what exactly they want to see to register you there.
Dear RonnyLatYa,
My mother did indeed try to contact the municipality there, but the employee in question asked 5000bath for just answering this question.
That was of course a bit crazy..
Dear Jasmine, as I described earlier: 'The easiest thing is if you and your mother go and make that first application at the relevant municipal office. Your mother with her Thai ID, tabien baan/blue address book; you with your legalized birth certificate, Thai passport.' See also the response from RonnyLatYa. Ask your mother to call the amphur/municipal office there, or perhaps a family member or acquaintance can do that, to find out exactly what paperwork is needed. To be on the safe side, also check whether your legalized birth certificate is still up-to-date? In Thailand they like documents with fresh dates! Good luck. It will be fine.