The change of name certificate is issued by District registrar or Bangkok district office. File it together with any document still bearing the former name so the destination can link the identity. It is then translated to the standard South Africa accepts, legalised at Consular Affairs and attested at the destination mission where the receiving body requires it.
Request it from District registrar or Bangkok district office. File it together with any document still bearing the former name so the destination can link the identity.
An English translation with the translator's certificate of accuracy
File the original with its translation at the Department of Consular Affairs, MFA.
Attest at the South Africa mission in Thailand where the receiving authority requires it.
Anyone submitting a change of name certificate in support of a visa application, a civil-status registration, an employment file, or a court or registry filing in South Africa is normally required to submit both the Thai original issued by District registrar or Bangkok district office and a properly certified translation. Filing only the translation is one of the most common reasons a file is returned unread.
Foreign nationals sending a change of name certificate back for use in South Africa — to prove family status, claim an inheritance, apply for a benefit or confirm an address — should first confirm whether the receiving body requires legalisation by the Department of Consular Affairs, and whether the South Africa mission in Thailand must attest the document afterwards.
Employers posting staff to South Africa, or filing contract and registration documents, should prepare the whole bundle as a single set so that personal names, company names and spellings match on every page. A one-letter discrepancy between passport and certificate routinely forces the entire certification chain to be restarted.
Before starting the certification chain for South Africa, gather the following in one pass. Doing so keeps the file to a single round and avoids having to re-issue documents later.
Each certification answers a different question, and choosing the wrong one costs a full round trip. For a change of name certificate intended for South Africa, the differences are as follows.
An English translation with the translator's certificate of accuracy
Documents issued in Thailand still pass through the Department of Consular Affairs and the South African Embassy, because Thailand is not an apostille party
In practice, confirm the required format with the receiving authority in writing before starting: two bodies in the same country often differ. Some accept a translation certified in Thailand, while others insist on a translator registered in the destination country itself.
Tell us the receiving authority in South Africa, the purpose of the document, your filing deadline and the certification format it specifies, and send a photo of the change of name certificate and passport page for a first review. We will map out only the steps your file actually needs.
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Obtain the change of name certificate from District registrar or Bangkok district office, translate it to the accepted standard, have it legalised by the Department of Consular Affairs, then attested at the South Africa mission in Thailand where the receiving body requires it.
File it together with any document still bearing the former name so the destination can link the identity
Thailand acceded to the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention on 30 June 2026 and it enters into force for Thailand on 28 February 2027, so no Thai Apostille is issued yet, so no Apostille is issued in Thailand. The working route is certified translation, legalisation by the Department of Consular Affairs (MFA), and then attestation at the destination country’s mission in Thailand where the receiving authority requires it.
An English translation with the translator's certificate of accuracy, and every part of the document must be translated, including stamps, signatures and marginal notes.
The Department of Home Affairs and the South African Embassy in Thailand
Documents issued in Thailand still pass through the Department of Consular Affairs and the South African Embassy, because Thailand is not an apostille party
It is a public record issued by a state authority, so it can enter consular legalisation directly once an accurate translation is attached.
Connect the names as a chain using change-of-name records or a spelling confirmation, then translate and legalise them together as one bundle.