Foreign Official Documents to be submitted in Thailand – Requirements for Legalization
Thailand is not a signatory to the Hague Convention of 5th October 1961 (the Apostille Convention or the Apostille Treaty) that abolished the requirement for the legalization of documents, and therefore, under Thai law, foreign documents submitted to prove the identity of an individual or corporation as well as any other official documents must be legalized. Legalization can be accomplished by a Thai embassy or consulate in the jurisdiction from which the documents to be legalized originated and vice-versa, in a foreign relevant embassy or consulate in Thailand in which the documents are to be submitted.
1. Steps for Legalizing Documents
The process of legalization or its necessity is determined on a case-by-case basis depending on the type of document and the requirements of the person/authority requesting such document. You should contact the relevant embassy first to find out the particular requirement and process pertaining to the document you intend to submit. The process may vary from:
(a) Just being notarized (no legalization required);
(b) Just being legalized (no notarization required but most likely professional translation will be required); or
(c) Being both notarized and legalized.
The process of legalization generally involves several steps as follows:
(a) Firstly, you must have a copy of the original document notarized by a notary public in your jurisdiction.
(b) Secondly, the signature of the notary public must be validated by the government agency which has issued it with a notary`s license (such agency will keep records and list of all qualified notaries in that jurisdiction and will have and internal method of verification to validate the identity of that notary public).
(c) Thirdly, you must submit the original document together with the notarized copy to the Thai consulate in your jurisdiction for authentication. The fees may vary for each consulate. The process takes a few days if submitted in person and up to two weeks if submitted by mail.
(d) Once the document has been legalized in such a manner, it can be submitted to the relevant authority to which the document is to be submitted. The authority may also require that document be submitted in their local language and not in English, in which case, the document will have to be translated from English to the native language.
However, it is noted that each country has its own procedure and requirements and some countries will forgo with one or more of the above steps for some documents. You should therefore contact the person/authority requesting such document in your jurisdiction to determine the required procedures prior to commencing the process to ensure you are complaint with it, including the fees and timing.
2. For Steps of Legalizing Thai Official Documents to be submitted in a Foreign Jurisdiction see.
3. For Steps of Legalizing Foreign Official Documents to be submitted in Thailand see.
Thai Visa Fact Sheet
Want to stay in Thailand, here is your all-encompassing Thai Visa fact-sheet, working our way from the shorter stays to the longer stays… for further reading.
The Insurance Decipherer
Feeling like you would like to pull your hair out of your head, don’t let health insurance policies frustrate, confuse or discourage you in Thailand, South East Asia or anywhere else for that matter, a must read article that will show you all the hidden tricks and answer all the questions you did not have the courage to ask … for further reading.
Insurance companies do not make our lives easier, choosing the right health insurance nowadays seems to be a mind-boggling experience and it appears as if insurance policies are intentionally being made to be overly complicated so that people will not understand what they are getting themselves into or to be able to determine whether the health coverage is good and sufficient.
This article attempts to help people understand the web of complexities of health insurance in Thailand in particular, and South East Asia in general; the importance of having health insurance and understanding health insurance policies by breaking them down to their basic components and providing comprehensive comparison of the selected ‘best’ health policies available.
For those who can’t be bothered reading the full article at: for further reading…, here are a few key rules to take note of when trying to decide which health insurance policy is best suited for you:
1. RULE I: Ignore all marketing materials and READ THE POLICY itself and the table of benefits carefully!!! This is what counts!
2. RULE II: Do not be discouraged or frustrated, READ THE POLICY!!! Or ask someone who can help with it to read and explain it for you and/or use the table below for guidance.
3. RULE III: Use insurance brokers and websites to focus your search and obtain information with more ease, however, their answers and info are not a substitute for READING THE POLICY!!! or seeking consents and clarifications from the insurance company itself, the insurance broker does not bind the insurance company, at the end it is what is written in the policy that matters and not what comes out of a broker’s mouth no matter how convincing he may sound!
4. RULE IV: Be wary of exclusions and sub-limits and understand them and their implications.
5. RULE V: Deductibles are a waste of cash unless you are short of it, in which case, do not compromise your impatient coverage and opt for deductibles to get better and full coverage.
6. RULE VI: DO NOT EVER TAKE A HEALTH CARE POLICY WHICH IS NOT A LIFETIME POLICY and do not let any broker and/or marketing materials confuse you, READ THE POLICY and understand whether or not it is a LIFETIME policy.
7. RULE VII: Do not ever sacrifice your inpatient coverage for any other component or consideration (including financial) you may well live to regret the day you will be of need of it god forbid!
8. RULE VIII: Your guiding principle here should be to decide what is most important for you under your personal circumstances and to pay close attention to the tricky bits of the said combinations when trying to compare different policies to determine which one is the most attractive. Obviously the preference will be to have the least restrictions and caps, if any.
For those of you who are still having difficulties in deciding which insurance policy suits your needs best, please feel free to contact me privately at: [email protected], STAY WELL AND HEALTHY!
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Foreigners who wish to conduct business activities in Thailand should be made aware of several key prohibitive restrictions prior to considering commencement of their business, however, this is not meant as a discouragement of doing business in Thailand, and indeed, notwithstanding the recent economic and political changes, Thailand still remains a very vibrant economy and possesses lucrative business opportunities (relative high GDP growth, low income and educated work force, good transportation and communication and good facilities to support business activities), for further reading…
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If you would like to work in Thailand you have two main options: (i) either work for an existing company, in which case, the existing company will be responsible for arranging your relevant documentation; or (ii) set up our own company (for further information see ‘Want to start doing business in Thailand, know the Thai corporate environment- here are a few guiding practical insights in a nutshell for you…’), in which case, you will be responsible for arranging the relevant documentation on the name of your own company, for further reading…
Want to start doing business in Myanmar, know the Myanmar corporate environment- here are a few guiding practical insights in a nutshell for you…
Foreigners (namely whomever is not a Burmese national) who wish to conduct business activities in Myanmar should be made aware of several key prohibitive restrictions prior to considering commencement of their business, however, this is not meant as a discouragement of doing business in Myanmar, and indeed, Myanmar has taken some substantive strides economically and politically to open its doors for business. There is categorization of different classes of business activities in Myanmar and their prohibitive restrictions and requirements relating to foreigners which can be divided into 3 main categories (originating from various different legislative regimes), for further reading…
Want to work in Myanmar- these are a few of the things you must consider and be aware of…
If you would like to work in Myanmar you have two main options: (i) either work for an existing local company or government agency, in which case, the existing company or the government agency will be responsible for arranging your relevant documentation; or (ii) set up our own company (for further information see ‘Want to start doing business in Myanmar, know the Myanmar corporate environment- here are a few guiding practical insights in a nutshell for you…’), in which case, you will be responsible for arranging the relevant documentation on the name of your own company, for further reading…