On 1 March 2023, Mr. Rooge Thammongkol, Director- General of the Department of Consular Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Chadchart Sittipunt, Governor of Bangkok, and Mr. Sompol Tripopnart, Chief Shopping Center Business Officer, MBK Public Company Limited, co-presided over the inaugural ceremony of the Legalization Office, Pathum Wan, at MBK Center. Over 50 representatives from foreign missions in Bangkok as well as relevant Thai agencies were in attendance.

Mr. Sompol Tripopnart welcomed all participants and was pleased with the close cooperation with the Department of Consular Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Bangkok Metropolitan Administration in providing legalization service to the public. This is in line with MBK Center’s so-called “One Stop Shopping & Service” to customers, thanks to its prime location in Bangkok.

Director-General Rooge Thammongkol opened the new Office and reiterated that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has developed and launched the pilot legalization system in parallel with the existing service. The advantages of this new system is that it is a paperless application, as the people can apply for the legalization of documents without having to fill out any paper forms. The system itself provides a convenient electronic signature system or e-signature on legal documents with a QR code for authentication. Meanwhile, the documents to be legalized can be easily verified by any competent authorities, with a hologram on the sticker to prevent forgery. Furthermore, the Ministry is committed to improving and expanding our services to cover more offices in other provinces nationwide, making it easier and more convenient for the people to access government services. In addition, the development of the new legalization system will pave the way for Thailand’s accession to Apostille Convention which would help cut down sophisticated legalization process.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has expanded legalization services to various provinces, including at the passport offices in Chiangmai, Ubon Ratchathani, Songkhla, and Phuket. The latest passport office which provides legalization service is the Passport Office, Pattaya, which has begun the service since 6 February 2023 to facilitate citizens in Eastern region. The opening of Legalization Office at Pathum Wan is a good example of “one stop service” that illustrates strong cooperation between the public and private sector—the Department of Consular Affairs, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and MBK Center.

The Governor of Bangkok expressed heartfelt congratulations on the opening of the new legalization office at MBK Center. He reiterated that this will further strengthen the collaboration between the Department of Consular Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA). This reflects both agencies’ commitment to the public service which is the heart of our policy. BMA itself has also provided civil registration documents and other relevant services to further compliment the Ministry’s work.

The opening of the Legalization Office in Pathum Wan, which has started providing legalization service since 1 March 2023, is a great public service through a one-stop service destination for government services, as the Passport Office and Bangkok Express Service, providing ID registration and extracts of civil registration documents, are also located in the same area.