Child Travel Consent for Thailand From Australia

For Thai-Australian families, the consent that matters most is the parental consent the Royal Thai Embassy asks for when a Thai child's passport is issued without both parents present. It is signed in front of a Thai consular officer, or by post after DFAT authentication, which may first need a notary. Australian-only children visiting Thailand follow their airline's rules.

Key takeaways

• The Royal Thai Embassy in Canberra asks for parental consent when a Thai minor's passport is applied for and a parent cannot attend.
• Thai missions treat passport applicants under 20 as minors, so the consent rules reach further than Australia's age of 18.
• The consent form is completed but not signed in advance; it is signed in front of a consular officer, or handled by post after DFAT authentication.
• The embassy says DFAT may require prior notarisation by a notary public for the postal route, depending on the case.
• Australian documents such as court orders, divorce certificates and death certificates must be authenticated by DFAT before the embassy will accept them.

Which consent are you actually dealing with?

People searching for "child travel consent Thailand" usually mean one of two different things, and they are handled differently.

The first is the parental consent the Royal Thai Embassy asks for when a Thai child is issued a Thai passport, and sometimes as supporting evidence for a visa. The second is a consent letter an Australian family carries when a child flies to Thailand without both parents. This page covers both, but the first is where the formal rules are.

When does the Royal Thai Embassy ask for parental consent?

The embassy's page on letters of consent says parental consent is necessary for the issue of a passport for a minor when the father, the mother, or both cannot accompany the child to apply. It gives examples: if the mother can accompany the child but the father cannot, the father must give consent; if neither parent can accompany the child and they have asked a relative to do so, both parents must consent. It adds that parental consent may also be required as supporting documentation for visa applications in some countries.

Two points are easy to miss. The Royal Thai Consulate-General in Sydney describes Thai passports for minors as being for those under 20 years of age, so a Thai-Australian 19-year-old is still a minor for these purposes. The Consulate-General handles Thai passports for minors as well as the embassy, so check which office covers your area.

What documents does the embassy ask for?

For parental consent, the Canberra embassy lists:

Document	Notes from the embassy
Petition for legalisation	Completed with all necessary information
Parental Consent form	Completed, but not signed; it is signed in front of the consular officer
ID of the consenting parent or guardian	A valid ID card or passport; other government documents such as a driver licence may be accepted
The child's birth certificate	Or another government document showing the relationship, such as a Thai household registration
Evidence of any name change	For the child, parent or guardian, if applicable

It then lists extra documents for particular cases: custody documents if the parents are divorced, such as a divorce certificate showing sole custody or a court order naming the guardian; a letter of guardianship (known as P.C. 14 or Por Kor 14) from the district office in Thailand if the parents are not married under Thai law and the child is in one parent's guardianship; and a death certificate if a parent has died.

Why do Australian documents need DFAT authentication?

This is the part that sends Thai-Australian families to DFAT, and sometimes to a notary. The embassy says that all documents issued by Australian authorities, including court orders, divorce certificates, letters of guardianship and death certificates, must be authenticated by DFAT before they are submitted. At our last check, Thailand had acceded to the Apostille Convention on 30 June 2026, with the convention due to enter into force for Thailand on 28 February 2027. Until it is in force, the embassy's process uses DFAT's authentication rather than an apostille. Check the HCCH status table on the day and follow the embassy's current instructions, which may change once the convention applies.

How do you sign the consent: in person or by post?

The embassy describes two routes.

In person. You personally submit the petition and supporting documents, and sign the Parental Consent form in front of consular officers at the embassy. The embassy offers advance booking through its online appointment system, under "Legalisation and Document Certification". This route avoids DFAT for the consent form itself, though Australian supporting documents such as a court order still need DFAT's authentication.

By post. The embassy says the postal route involves more steps. After signing the consent form, you have the documents authenticated by DFAT, and it notes that DFAT may require prior notarisation by a notary public, depending on the case. You then send everything to the embassy in a registered, express, prepaid A4 envelope addressed to yourself, and the embassy returns the documents once it has finished.

Allow time for both routes. Embassy appointments, DFAT's authentication and return post each take time, and a passport cannot be issued until the consent is in order. Start well before any planned trip. For a parent who lives far from Canberra, the postal route is often the practical one, and this is where an Australian notary fits in. DFAT authenticates the signature and seal of an Australian official, such as a notary, rather than a private signature on its own, so a consent form signed by a parent usually needs a notary's certificate before DFAT can authenticate it. A notary confirms the parent's identity, witnesses the signature, and adds a notarial certificate. Our apostille and authentication page explains how DFAT's step works, and our guide to documents for Thailand covers Thailand more generally.

What about an Australian child flying to Thailand?

For an Australian child who is not a Thai citizen, the Thai government pages we checked do not set a border rule requiring a consent letter from an absent parent when a child visits Thailand as a tourist. That does not mean you should travel without one. Airlines set their own rules for children flying without both parents, and some visa applications ask for parental consent as supporting evidence, as the embassy notes. Thai missions also publish consent letter templates for children travelling to Thailand without either parent, and one such template provides for the signatures to be notarised.

A clear letter from the parent not travelling, with the child's passport number, the travel dates, the accompanying adult's details and the parent's contact details, is sensible for any trip. Whether to notarise it depends on the trip; our general guide to travel consent letters explains when that is worth it.

How do you prepare the parental consent?

1. Check which Thai office covers you: the embassy in Canberra or the Consulate-General in Sydney.
2. Download and complete the petition for legalisation and the Parental Consent form, without signing the consent.
3. Gather the child's birth certificate, the parent's ID and any name change evidence.
4. Have Australian court orders, divorce or death certificates authenticated by DFAT, as the embassy requires.
5. Choose a route: sign in person before a consular officer, or sign, have it notarised if DFAT needs, and have DFAT authenticate it for the postal route.
6. Post or deliver the documents, with a registered, prepaid A4 return envelope for the postal route.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Signing the consent form before the appointment. The embassy wants it signed in front of the consular officer.
• Sending an Australian court order without DFAT authentication.
• Assuming a 19-year-old is an adult for Thai purposes. Thai minors are under 20.
• Posting a privately signed form to DFAT without checking whether it needs a notary first.
• Forgetting the P.C. 14 letter where the parents were not married under Thai law.
• Using a JP for a document going through DFAT to a foreign embassy.

Here is an illustration, not a real case.

A Thai mother in Brisbane is renewing her eight-year-old son's Thai passport. His Australian father works away and cannot attend. Because the father cannot sign at the embassy, they use the postal route: he signs the Parental Consent form before a notary in Brisbane, DFAT authenticates it, and they post it to the embassy in Canberra with the petition, the son's birth certificate, a copy of the father's passport and a prepaid return envelope. The mother applies for the passport with the returned consent.

In short

For Thai-Australian families, the Royal Thai Embassy asks for parental consent when a Thai minor, under 20, applies for a passport without both parents, and sometimes for visa applications. Sign the consent in front of a consular officer, or use the postal route, where DFAT authenticates the documents and may require a notary first. Australian court, divorce and death documents must be DFAT-authenticated. For an Australian child visiting Thailand, carry a clear consent letter for the airline. Our document notarisation page explains the notarial act.

People also search for

• Do I need a notarised travel consent letter for my child?
• How do I get documents ready for Thailand?
• How do I get a certified copy of a birth certificate?
• Which documents can DFAT authenticate?
• Is a notary the same as a Justice of the Peace?

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