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Certification work is carried out by attorneys registered as Notarial Services Attorneys with the Lawyers Council of Thailand under the Regulation of the Lawyers Council on Registration of Notarial Services Attorneys B.E. 2551. Licence numbers and personal data in the images below are redacted for privacy; originals can be verified in person.
Miss Anutaree
Mr. Jiraphan
Mr. Jirasak
Mr. Patipan
Mr. Warawut
Mr. Wiwat
Issued by the Lawyers Council of Thailand · personal data partly redacted
A foreign national coming to Thailand for anything beyond short-term tourism generally needs a visa matching the purpose of travel, obtained before departure from a Royal Thai Embassy or Consulate-General or through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Thai e-Visa system. Once in Thailand, extensions of stay and reporting obligations sit with the Immigration Bureau, while the right to work requires a separate work permit from the Department of Employment — a visa is not a work authorisation in itself. Personal and corporate documents issued in a foreign language usually need a complete translation, and in many cases certification by the issuing country's embassy in Thailand followed by legalisation at the Department of Consular Affairs before a Thai authority will accept them.
| What you apply for | Deciding authority | What it covers | What it does not cover |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visa | Royal Thai Embassy or Consulate-General, or Thai e-Visa | Permission to travel to Thailand and seek entry for the stated purpose | Not a work authorisation, and no guarantee that entry will be granted |
| Entry stamp and extension of stay | Immigration Bureau | The period you are permitted to remain, extensions, and periodic reporting | No right to work, and not permanent residence |
| Work permit | Department of Employment, Ministry of Labour | The right to work in the named position, for the named employer, at the named workplace | Does not extend your permission to stay — that is a separate Immigration matter |
| Certification of foreign documents | The issuing country's embassy in Thailand and the Department of Consular Affairs | Makes a foreign document usable with Thai authorities | Does not verify that the facts stated in the document are true |
Two things are needed side by side: a visa of the category matching employment, and a work permit issued by the Department of Employment. The permit is tied to the employer, position and workplace stated on it, so changing any of them requires a formal amendment. Degrees, transcripts, employment references and police certificates issued abroad normally need full translations and certification.
Spouses and children applying on the basis of a family relationship must evidence that relationship with civil registration records — marriage certificate, birth certificate, household registration or the foreign equivalent. Foreign-issued records generally pass through the issuing country's embassy in Thailand and then the Department of Consular Affairs.
Applications rest on an acceptance or enrolment document from an institution recognised by the relevant Thai authority, supported by previous qualifications and transcripts. Names must be spelled identically across the enrolment document, the qualifications and the passport.
Long-stay routes such as the BOI's Long-Term Resident visa set their own eligibility criteria and evidence lists for each sub-category. Because the criteria and the qualifying evidence are revised from time to time, check the current conditions on the BOI LTR site rather than relying on second-hand summaries.
Employment, business, family, study and long-stay each use a different category and a different evidence set. Choosing the wrong category at the start usually means restarting the whole process.
Each Royal Thai Embassy and Consulate-General publishes its own document list, format rules and lodgement channels, including whether Thai e-Visa is used. That announcement always overrides general guidance.
Marriage certificates, birth certificates, qualifications, police certificates and company records must be rendered completely — body text, stamp text, signature blocks and marginal notes — with personal names spelled exactly as in the passport across every document in the set.
Documents issued abroad are typically certified in the country of origin, then by that country's embassy in Thailand, then legalised by the Department of Consular Affairs. The exact order depends on the country of origin and the Thai office receiving them.
For employment, the usual sequence is to obtain the correct visa category, have the employer lodge the work permit application with the Department of Employment, and then apply to the Immigration Bureau for an extension of stay under the applicable conditions.
Periodic reporting, notification of address, re-entry permission, and notification of a change of employer or position are separate ongoing obligations. Letting the permitted stay and the work permit fall out of alignment is a common and avoidable problem.
No. A visa concerns entry and the purpose of stay. The right to work comes from a work permit issued by the Department of Employment, Ministry of Labour, and it is tied to a specific employer, position and workplace.
Anything issued in a language other than Thai that the Thai authority will rely on: marriage and birth certificates, qualifications and transcripts, employment references, police certificates, and corporate records. The translation must cover the whole document, stamps included.
Frequently, yes. The common chain is certification in the country of origin, then by that country's embassy or consulate in Thailand, then legalisation by the Department of Consular Affairs. Confirm the required chain with the Thai office receiving the documents.
Availability depends on the Royal Thai Embassy or Consulate-General responsible for your location and on the visa category. Check the Thai e-Visa site and that mission's announcement before preparing documents.
Government fees and processing times are set and published by each authority and mission and are revised from time to time, so we do not quote them. Check the official announcement of the office you will lodge with. For translation work, send your page count and destination via LINE, phone or email and we will quote on the actual documents.
No. High-resolution colour scans can be sent from any country and signed certified translations are returned as PDF. Paper originals with legalisation or embassy certification involve additional handling and delivery.
Content reviewed August 2026. General information on document preparation, not legal or migration advice. Requirements, forms and fees are those published by the relevant authority at the time of lodgement.
The information on this page is based on the official sources below. Reviewed August 2026. Requirements change — always confirm with the receiving authority before lodging.
Reviewed August 2026. Requirements change — confirm with the receiving authority before lodging.
Marriage and birth certificates, bank statements, employment letters, police clearance and academic records, depending on the visa type. The immigration office or embassy publishes the list that governs your case.
Frequently yes: a translation plus legalisation by the issuing country and then the Thai mission, or an Apostille where the route allows. Confirm the exact chain with the office receiving the file.
Documents submitted to Thai authorities are generally required in Thai. Some offices accept English for supporting evidence — ask before assuming, since practice varies by office.
No. Category selection and eligibility are matters for the immigration office or a licensed adviser. We prepare and certify the documents that category requires.
Immigration offices normally want statements covering a defined recent period and issued close to submission. Order the bank letter and the translation together so dates line up.
Foreign documents supporting a Thai application: marriage and birth certificates, police certificates, bank statements, employment letters and qualification documents. The Thai receiving office sets the language and certification requirement, so ask it before ordering.
Source: Thai Immigration Bureau
Document preparation, translation and certification are handled remotely, but the extension itself is an immigration process with its own appearance and biometric requirements. Check the current rule for your visa class with the Immigration Bureau.
Source: Thai Immigration Bureau
Inconsistency across documents — a name spelled differently, an address that does not match the house registration, or a document dated outside the accepted window. Cross-check the whole set against your passport before lodging.
Illustrative scenarios used to explain how the process works. They are not individual customer cases and are not a guarantee of any authority's decision.
Client: Foreign national · Location: Overseas
Client: Foreign national · Location: Bangkok, Thailand
Client: Foreign family · Location: Overseas
Reviewed August 2026. Requirements change — confirm with the receiving authority before lodging.
Foreign nationals applying for a Thai visa or an extension of stay need home-country documents translated into Thai or English and certified as Thai authorities require.
Marriage, retirement, work and dependant categories each carry different documents and conditions.
Foreign documents usually need certification by that country's authority and by the Royal Thai Embassy before use in Thailand.
Translate into Thai and legalise at the Department of Consular Affairs so Immigration and other Thai offices accept the file.
Lodge at a Royal Thai Embassy abroad or at an Immigration office in Thailand, depending on the application type and your current status.
If you would rather not track each step yourself, send scans on LINE. Our team, which has handled this type of work for over 15 years, will map your document route first — where it should end, how many copies you need, and which steps would be wasted — and you decide afterwards whether to do it yourself or hand it to us.
Documents issued abroad usually need certification in the issuing country first, then translation into Thai. This table compares the steps.
| Option | What it certifies | Issued or signed by | When to use | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NAATI-certified translation | A translation signed by a NAATI-certified translator with a stamp or digital certification showing the practitioner number | NAATI-certified translator (Australia) | Submissions to Australian authorities: Department of Home Affairs, skills assessing authorities, universities, state agencies | Certifies the translation only — not that the source document is genuine, and it is not Thai consular legalisation |
| Certified translation by a Thai translator | A translation with the translator's or agency's certificate of accuracy | Translator or translation company in Thailand | Domestic use, or as the base document before MFA legalisation in Thailand | Many Australian authorities will not accept it unless the translator is NAATI-certified |
| Notarial certification (Thai Notarial Services Attorney) | Certification of a signature, or that a copy is a true copy of the original | Notarial Services Attorney admitted in Thailand | Powers of attorney, affidavits, child travel consents, company documents, certified copies for overseas use | Does not certify that the content is true and does not replace a NAATI translation |
| Legalisation by the Department of Consular Affairs | Certification of the signature of the issuing officer or of the certifying translator | Department of Consular Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand | The destination requires Thai documents to pass through the MFA before the embassy step | Certifies signatures, not content, and it is not an Apostille |
| Embassy or consulate certification | The final link in the legalisation chain, applied by the destination country's mission | Embassy or consulate of the destination country | The destination country still requires a further certification after MFA legalisation | Each mission sets its own document list and queue; always check that mission's current notice |
| Apostille | Certification under the Apostille Convention that replaces multi-layer legalisation between contracting parties | The competent authority of the country that issued the document | A document from one contracting party used in another contracting party | For Thai documents the Convention enters into force on 28 February 2027 (source: HCCH); until then the MFA + embassy chain still applies |
If you are unsure where your document chain should stop, send scans and the name of the receiving authority on LINE. Our advisory team, with more than 15 years on this type of work, will map the route first so you do not pay for steps you never needed.
Thai visa bundles most often attract a request for further information when financial and relationship evidence do not line up. We check the internal consistency of the bundle before translating.
Reviewed August 2025. Confirm current requirements with the receiving authority before lodging.
Ask about your document path on LINE @NAATI