Prisoner Transfer

You will note that prisoner transfer in Thailand comes with requirements that will need to be met. If you have been found guilty of a crime in Thailand, you can apply to have your prison sentence served in your home country. There are only 24 countries that have bilateral agreements for prisoner transfers. If you are from one of these countries and you have met the requirements, then you can be transferred back home.

You and your government need to agree to the prisoner transfer. From the Thai side there are a number of people who also have to authorize this. The “The Committee for Consideration of the Transfer of Prisoners” has to make the decision. This committee is comprised of the following government departments:

– Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Justice (Chairman),

– Judge Advocate General,

– Chief Justice of the Criminal Court,

– Chief Justice of the Central Juvenile Court,

– Attorney-General,

– Director-General of the Royal Thai Police,

– The Director-General of the Department of Corrections,

– Director-General of the Treaty and Legal Department,

– The Director of the Penology Division of the Department of Corrections and

– Director of the Treaty Division of the Treaty and Legal Department.

Safe to say that it is going to be a difficult process but it gets done every year. Note that you cannot apply for the transfer until the judgement and sentence in your criminal case is final. Also note that a prisoner must have served a minimum period of imprisonment and is required to pay all the fines that was imposed as part of the criminal sentence prior to transfer.

When can the Prisoner Transfer occur?

Prisoners who have less than 1 year remaining cannot apply for transfer nor can prisoners convicted of military offences and political offences be transferred.

The process starts with an application to your local Embassy in Thailand. You will be required to collect the relevant documents and then provide this to the Embassy. Once you have provided all of these to your Embassy they will contact the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Committee for Consideration of the Transfer of Prisoners will look into the matter.

– You send your documents to your Embassy;

– Your Embassy contact the Thai Department of Foreign Affairs;

– They contact the Transfer Committee to look into your transfer;

– The Corrections Department looks into matter and arranges the meeting for the committee;

– If they agree then a transfer order is sent to the Thai ministry of Foreign Affairs;

– They send the order to your Embassy in Bangkok;

– Your Embassy arranges the date for your transfer.

Note that you will have no right to appeal, modify, set aside, or otherwise challenge your foreign conviction in your home country. The information contained on our website is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For further information, please contact us.