Documents from Canada for use in Thailand

Obtain an issuer-certified original, have the Canada authorities authenticate the signature, legalise at the Royal Thai Embassy in Canada or at the Canada mission in Thailand, translate into Thai, have the translation certified by the Department of Consular Affairs, then file with the Thai receiving authority.

Canada is an Apostille contracting party, but Thailand is not, and the Convention only operates between contracting states. A document from Canada therefore still needs embassy legalisation and a Thai translation certified by the Department of Consular Affairs. Thailand acceded to the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention on 30 June 2026; it enters into force for Thailand on 28 February 2027, so Apostilles are not yet issued. An Apostille from the issuing country alone does not automatically make a document usable before a Thai authority. The foreign document is legalised either at the Royal Thai Embassy in the issuing country or at that country’s mission in Thailand, then translated into Thai, and the translation is certified by the Department of Consular Affairs, MFA, before it is filed with the Thai receiving authority.

Canada maintains a mission in Thailand, so you may legalise either at the Royal Thai Embassy in Canada or at the Canada mission in Bangkok.

Documents from Canada are usually issued in en. Unless the document is already in Thai, it must be translated into Thai with every seal transcribed.

Generally no. Certification is placed on a document already authenticated by the issuer or a diplomatic mission; a self-made photocopy carries no weight at this stage.

Attach linking evidence such as a change-of-name certificate or a same-person affidavit; otherwise the registrar will not record it. Fix the spelling in the translation to match the passport from the outset.

The document itself usually has no expiry, but many Thai receiving bodies require it to have been issued or legalised within a recent window. Check the receiving authority’s rule before starting.

Not always. In many cases an authorised representative can act at origin, or the document can be certified at the issuing country’s mission in Thailand instead, depending on what the receiving body accepts.

It depends on the Thai receiving body. In practice a printed copy carrying the same legalisation chain is still expected; where only a file exists, have the issuer certify a true copy first.

Name spellings that differ from existing Thai records are the single most common rejection reason at the translation-certification stage. The next most common is: Many people stop at the Apostille and fly to Thailand, then have to send the document back for further legalisation.

Yes. We review what you hold, sequence the legalisation correctly, prepare the translation, file it for certification and advise you through the Thai submission — advisory support throughout, not just processing.

Send photos of the document and all legalisation stamps to LINE @Thainotary or call 094-895-8999; we will tell you whether the copy you hold can proceed as is.