Thailand cracks down on illegal Thai citizenship scheme for Chinese children

BANGKOK, July 10 (TNA) - Thai authorities have arrested multiple suspects, including local officials and hospital staff, for allegedly falsifying birth registrations to illegally grant Thai citizenship to the children of Chinese nationals.

The crackdown involved raids across 42 locations. The investigation expanded from the April 2024 arrest of a Chinese national accused of running a 70-billion-baht ($2 billion) money-laundering network in Thailand, whose wife and three children were found holding Thai nationality.

Investigators revealed that wealthy Chinese nationals paid a syndicate to secure Thai citizenship for their children. The scheme relied on "fake fathers"—Thai men paid between 2,000 and 15,000 baht ($59 to $449) to falsely acknowledge paternity—along with complicit medical and administrative staff.

A private hospital employee in Bangkok allegedly acted as a broker, charging a 20,000-baht ($599) service fee to arrange forged birth documents. Authorities stated that 164 birth registrations involving Chinese mothers and Thai fathers were linked to the hospital, and DNA testing has already confirmed fraud in multiple cases.

A local district registrar was also arrested for facilitating the unlawful registration process. Public officials involved face malfeasance charges.

"This operation is a crackdown on a transnational criminal network exploiting legal loopholes to illegally obtain Thai citizenship," Deputy National Police Chief General Samran Nualma said during a joint press briefing.

A total of 40 arrest warrants have been issued in connection with the network, targeting hospital and district staff, 17 Thai "fake fathers," and 21 foreign parents.

In response, the Department of Provincial Administration has tightened birth registration rules, banning hospitals from handling documents and mandating that foreign parents must appear in person before registrars to verify paternity claims. -819 (TNA)