Applying for your son or daughter’s US social security number and card from within Thailand is one of the easiest–and cheapest–processes you’ll have to go through to make them a legit US citizen.
I’ve already written about the first steps you have to take after your child is born to get him or her a Consular Report of Birth Abroad certificate and US passport.
Assuming you’ve done that and you have those documents, you can now follow the steps in this post to finish up the process of getting your child recognized as a US citizen.
Required Documents
You only need to fill out the application and send three supporting documents to apply for your son or daughter’s US social security number and card.
- Form SS-5-FS
- Your child’s original Consular Report of Birth Abroad certificate (or US Embassy notarized copy)
- Your child’s original US passport (or US Embassy notarized copy)
- Your original US passport or US Government issued ID (or US Embassy notarized copy)
If you’re the parent who signed the application, you must send your passport or ID, not the passport or ID of your American spouse.
You may or may not be able to get your documents notarized, but as you’ll read below, you can send your original documents through the mail with little-to-no worry.
How to Send the Application and Supporting Documents
The closest place to Thailand to apply for your child’s US social security number and card is in Manila, Philippines.
Manila has a US Social Security Administration office and the address is listed on their website as follows:
Social Security Administration
U.S. Embassy – Manila
1201 Roxas Boulevard, Ermita
Manila, Philippines 0930
But there is something important you must know about the zip code of this address. Zip code 0930 doesn’t show up in the registrar for UPS, FedEx, or DHL, which are the only three local shipping companies the office in Manila will receive packages from.
I only discovered this after trying to arrange for UPS to pick up the documents. They insisted that zip code is 1000. I called the office in Manila and they confirmed this to be true.
So the address will appear as follows:
Social Security Administration
U.S. Embassy – Manila
1201 Roxas Boulevard, Ermita
Manila, Philippines 1000
Lastly, before you send anything to Manila, make sure the office is actually open. You can email them at [email protected].
Cost
Applying for your child’s US social security number and card is free. The only things you have to pay for are the shipping costs and prepaid self-addressed return envelope costs.
I went through UPS, and to send the documents from Bangkok to Manila with one prepaid self-addressed return envelope cost roughly 950 baht. Both FedEx and DHL were almost twice the cost.
If you’d rather send US Embassy notarized copies of the documents listed in the above section, then you’ll have to pay roughly 1,500 baht per document you need notarized.
I chose to take my chances, put my faith in UPS and the staff at the social security office in Manila, and send only the original documents. They were returned to me within two weeks with no issues.
If you’re going to send your original passport, however, I suggest making sure you don’t have any 90-day check-ins or visa renewals coming up. If this is the case, handle those first.
Moreover, make copies of your passports before you send them, just in case you need them while your original passports are in transit.
When Will You Get the Social Security Number and Card?
After the Social Security Administration office receives your original documents, they will check them and send them back to you using the prepaid self-addressed return envelope you sent them.
Then you’ll have to wait for the US Government to process your child’s application and create his or her social security number and card.
The Social Security Administration office in Manila’s website says it could take up to 90 days to receive the card, but we got the card in the mail in two weeks.
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