Applicants 18 years old and over, born outside the United States, may claim U.S. citizenship through his/her biological parent who was a United States citizen at the time of the applicant’s birth. Please carefully review this link Obtaining U.S. Citizenship for a child born abroad requirements to find out if you may qualify for U.S. citizenship. Once the citizenship claim is established, the applicant qualifies for a first-time U.S. passport. Please note that applicants 18 years and older are not eligible for a Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA).
All appointments for Adult Derivative Citizenship Claim in Thailand will be made only after receiving the application by mail in order to provide better service to our citizens. Please note, Embassy and Consulate staff cannot pre-adjudicate the applications, pre-screen documents or answer specific questions via phone/email until we receive the application package via post mail.
In-person delivery of applications are not accepted as receipt of an application and the interview cannot happen on the same day.
Once the determination is made that all required documents are completed, we will contact you via email to schedule an appointment. Please follow the below steps on how to apply for Adult Derivative Citizenship Claim.
1. Required Documents
- A completed DS – 11: The Application for a U.S. Passport
- One passport photograph 2in x 2in (5cm x 5cm) set against a white background, taken in the last six months. No eyeglasses allowed in passport photos. See link for specific requirements, photos that do not meet the requirements will be rejected.
- One COPY of each required document according to the Adult Derivative Citizenship Claim Checklist (PDF 228KB). DO NOT send the original documents, you will present the original documents at the interview.
2. Application fees
- Pay the $165 passport application fee via the U.S. government’s secure payment site. When click Continue to the Form; please select Thailand at Country field.
- After successfully paying the fee, you must print out the electronic payment confirmation you receive via email and include it in the package you send to the U.S. Embassy Bangkok.
- If you are submitting a payment on behalf of another applicant, please enter the applicant’s name. All fields are required.
Note: Online payment receipts for Adult Derivative passport applications must be submitted with the mail-in application documents. Failure to provide payment confirmation will delay your ability to receive an appointment. Online payments are only available in US dollars.
3. U.S. parent’s evidence of physical presence in USA
- The U.S. Embassy requires applicants to complete page 2 of the Adult Derivative Citizenship Claim Checklist (PDF 228KB) accurately. The parent transmitting U.S. citizenship to his or her child should list all dates you have been present in the United States. (Month and Year [or MM-YY format] is acceptable if exact dates are unknown. You may be asked to provide exact dates, if necessary, to determine statutory requirements have been met. If this section of the application is missing or incomplete, it may delay the application processing.
- In the event the applicant has one U.S. citizen parent and one foreign national parent, proof of the U.S. citizen parent’s physical presence (i.e. the number of days the U.S. citizen parent was demonstrably in the United States) is required.
- If the applicant was born on or after 14 November 1986, he or she will need to show five years of cumulative physical presence of in the U.S. for the U.S. citizen parent, two of which must have been after the parent was 14 years of age.
- If the applicant was born on or before 13 November 1986, he or she will need to show ten (10) years of cumulative physical presence of in the U.S. for the U.S. citizen parent, five (5) of which must have been after the parent was 14 years of age.
- Examples of items that show physical presence are entry/exit stamps in current and previous passports, school/college transcripts, income tax returns with W-2’s, social security earnings history, pay stubs, military/government orders, etc. Applicants are encouraged to provide as much evidence as possible. If the provided evidence is deemed insufficient you will receive email notification and a timeline to submit further evidence/documentation before an appointment can be scheduled.
- Evidence of physical presence is not required if BOTH parents were U.S. citizens before the birth of the applicant. However, evidence of current or prior residence in the United States is required for one of the two parents.
- If the U.S. citizen parent does not meet the transmission requirements. Applicant may contact U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to see if they are eligible for expeditious naturalization under the Child Citizenship Act of 2000.
4. Mail
Before you send your package, you will need to pay for the Thailand Post Courier Pass back envelope fee 100THB here https://www.thailandpostmart.com/product/1013460000929/ ;
- if the page is in Thai, please use languages/translate function at the top right corner of the page,
- sign up before continuing if you are a new user
- complete all required information, see *asterisks,
- ensures providing applicant’s full name and accurate returning address on both billing and shipping address.
Please include payment confirmation invoice number, THPxxxx, with your application package. Send your completed application package ONLY through the following couriers (Thailand Post and DHL), otherwise the package will be rejected; ensuring that you received a tracking number from the courier.
| APPLYING IN BANGKOK Attn: Mail-in CRBA Application American Citizens Services, Consular Section 95 Wireless Road Bangkok 10330, Thailand |
APPLYING IN CHIANG MAI Attn: Mail-in CRBA application American Citizen Services, Consular Section 131 Moo 4 Chiang Mai-Lampang Superhighway Road, T. Nongpakrang, A. Mueang, hiang Mai 50000, Thailand |
5. What to expect next
- Upon receipt of the application packet, the American Citizens Services Unit will review the documents and contact you via phone or email to discuss a suitable appointment. The confirmed appointment date and time will then be sent to your email addresses provided on the checklist.
- ONLY the applicant and/or both parents should be present at the interview. The applicant MUST appear, NO EXCEPTIONS. Minor siblings may accompany the family; however, this is not recommended as appointments can last 1-2 hours and the waiting area is small unaccommodating.
- Please arrive at the Consular Section 15 minutes prior to the appointment. The appointment time is not the same as the interview time. Interview times depend on the number of applicants and the length of the interviews.
- Bring your appointment confirmation email and valid government issued photo identification for both parents.
- Inside the Consular Section all applicants will pass through a metal detector and will undergo an extensive security screening. Cameras, mobile phones, smart watches, laptops and other small electronic devices with features such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, audio and video recording, or global positioning system (GPS) are not allowed inside the Embassy. Luggage is also not allowed. Strollers, diaper bags, baby foods and formulas will be screened.
- Bring ALL original documents of which copies were made and mailed with the CRBA application.
Track my passport
After the four to five weeks processing period has passed, you may track your passport through the Thai Post website https://track.thailandpost.co.th/. Your tracking number is located on your Thai Post receipt.
our new passport will reach you within four to five weeks from when your application was approved. Someone must be present to sign for delivery. If no one is present to sign and receive the envelope, it will be kept at your local Thai Post Office until you retrieve it. Please check with your local Thai Post Office before reaching out to us if you have not received your envelope within four to five weeks.