Full attestation chain for Thailand work permits, teaching, retirement, and business visas
Thailand embassy attestation is the process of getting your South African documents officially verified by the Royal Thai Embassy in Pretoria. It is required because Thailand is not a member of the Hague Apostille Convention, which means a standard apostille is not accepted for documents going to Thailand.
Instead of a single apostille, documents destined for Thailand must go through a multi-step attestation chain. The Thai embassy attests documents only after they have been authenticated by DIRCO (Department of International Relations and Cooperation). We handle the entire chain so you do not need to visit any office yourself.
Since Thailand has not signed the Hague Convention, a standard apostille will not be accepted. You need the full embassy attestation chain instead. If your documents are going to a Hague country (UK, Australia, EU, etc.), you need an apostille.
The Thailand attestation chain follows a strict sequence. Each authority verifies the signature from the previous step before adding their own stamp. We manage the entire process from start to finish.
Private documents are first notarised by a Notary Public. Government-issued documents such as birth certificates and police clearance certificates skip this step as they already bear official signatures.
The High Court authenticates the notary's signature. This step confirms that the notary who certified your document is a registered South African notary.
DIRCO issues a Certificate of Authentication, confirming the High Court stamp is genuine. This is the step that precedes embassy submission and typically takes about one week.
The Royal Thai Embassy in Pretoria verifies the DIRCO authentication and stamps your document. The embassy charges approximately R300-R500 per document. This fee is separate from our service fee.
Transparent pricing with no hidden fees. The Thailand embassy fee (approximately R300-R500 per document) is charged by the embassy and passed through at cost.
| Service | Our Fee (ZAR) | Processing Time |
|---|---|---|
| Full Thailand Attestation Chain Notarisation + High Court + DIRCO + Thailand Embassy |
R3,150 per document | 2-3 weeks |
| Thailand Embassy Attestation Only Documents already authenticated by DIRCO |
R1,500 per document | 3-5 working days |
| Thailand Embassy Fee Charged by the embassy |
~R300-R500 per document | Included above |
| Local Courier | R250 | 1-2 working days |
| International Courier (to Thailand) | R1,100 | 3-5 working days |
Note: Embassy fees are charged separately and paid directly to the Thailand embassy. Prices shown are our service fees excluding embassy fees.
Thailand requires attested documents for work permits, teaching positions, retirement visas, and marriage registration. These are the most common documents we attest for clients moving to Thailand:
We handle the entire Thailand attestation chain so you do not need to visit any office. Contact us for a same-day quote.
The full Thailand attestation chain takes approximately 2-3 weeks: notarisation (1 day), High Court authentication (3 days), DIRCO authentication (~1 week), and Thailand embassy attestation (3-5 working days). If your documents are already DIRCO-authenticated, the embassy step alone takes 3-5 working days.
The Thailand embassy charges approximately R300-R500 per document. This fee is set by the embassy and is separate from our service fee. We pass it through at cost with no markup.
To teach English in Thailand you typically need three attested documents: a bachelor's degree (any field), a TEFL/TESOL/CELTA certificate (120 hours minimum is recommended), and a police clearance certificate. All three must go through the full attestation chain including Thailand embassy attestation to obtain a Non-Immigrant B visa and Thai work permit.
For a Thailand retirement visa (O-A or O-X), you typically need an attested police clearance certificate and medical certificate. Some applicants also need attested birth certificates and marriage certificates depending on their circumstances. The O-A visa is valid for 1 year and the O-X visa for 5 years, and both require attested documents from your home country.
The Campus, Bryanston
Gauteng 2021, South Africa
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