The Process Of Getting Dual Citizenship For Your Child - Part 1

In my previous post, I was sharing about things to consider for a Singapore/Thai couple choosing to deliver their child in Thailand instead of Singapore. Today I would like to share about the child registration process in Thailand, how to bring your child back to Singapore and then how to finally register as a Singapore citizen to officially have a dual citizenship till 21 years old.

Right after the child is born, you will have to get a Birth Document from the hospital certifying that the child is born at the hospital, who the parents are and details regarding the new born. You will have to fill up a form with the parent's detail and give it to the hospital before they can process this birth document. Form is in Thai but you can still write in English. 

If I don't remember wrongly, you will also have to give them a copy of you and your wife's IC and marriage certificate. For me, I had my passport and marriage cert translated to Thai and got them certified at the Immigration Department so it is easy for the hospital to verify my documents. 

It should take about 1 - 2 days to get the Birth Document from the hospital. If you are rushing for time, talk to the nurses nicely and they usually can help to give it to you the next day.

With the Birth Document and the Household Registration Book (a little blue book which documents all the residents of a particular house, think it is call Samut Baan), you will have to go to the district office (Am-per) to register the birth and get the Birth Certificate. If you do not have the House Booklet at that point of time, you can still get the Birth Certificate but will have to resister the child to a house within a month of the child's birth. You will have to check with your wife which is the correct district office to go based on the place of resident.

It should take about an hour or less, including waiting time, to get the Birth Certificate. With this, You child is officially a Thai Citizen and you are also 1 step closer in bringing your child to Singapore and getting his Singapore Citizenship.

I would recommend anyone doing this to get all necessary documents ready so as not to waste time running in and out of the hospital to get copies of the necessary documents.

In the next blog, I will continue to share the next part of this process of how to get the Thailand Birth Certificate translated to English for registration of Singapore Citizenship.