Q1037. How to translate foreign medical certificates for hospital treatment or visa extensions in Thailand?

Answered by the NYC Visa & Translation certified translation team

Foreign medical certificates are used in Thailand for two main purposes, with different standards. For hospital treatment: international patient offices generally accept an English translation without the full legalisation chain — the priority is clinical accuracy, so the translation must preserve diagnoses, medication names (generic names, not brand names, with dosages), and investigation results exactly; imaging reports reference the accompanying images by date and study type. For visa extensions (e.g., medical-treatment extensions or retirement-visa health requirements where a foreign certificate is offered): immigration requires the certificate legalised through the chain (home foreign ministry plus Royal Thai Embassy), translated into Thai or English, and MFA-certified (200/quoted on request per stamp), and the certificate must be recent — typically issued within 1–3 months. Cautions common to both: abbreviations differ between countries and must be expanded; the issuing physician's name, licence number, and signature must be transcribed; and where the certificate states a prognosis or fitness assessment, the wording must be translated precisely because the receiving officer relies on it. For ongoing treatment in Thailand, Thai hospitals usually re-issue their own certificates after assessment, which then become the operative documents for official purposes. Confirm the receiving office's recency and legalisation requirements before commissioning.