Thailand’s Department of Consular Affairs has announced its digital transformation this year by introducing ten new consular services applying technology and artificial intelligence (AI), as follows:
- E-Passport: The e-passport features facial image, fingerprint, and iris biometrics, in compliance with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards.
- E-Visa: The department is planning to increase the online visa application system in 11 consular offices in nine countries in 2024, up from the present 38 offices in 23 countries.
- E-Legalization: The electronic document certification system allows citizens to follow up on the status of their documents for international use.
- E-Help: The online assistance system offers help and evacuation for Thais overseas from violent situations and disasters.
- E-Complaint: The system is developed to receive complaints online.
- “Thai Consular” application: The mobile application allows people to access various consular services, such as an emergency SOS system, internet calls, and automated Q&A.
- Consular Index: The system gathers data from consular offices worldwide for determining the department’s policies.
- Overseas Voting Monitoring System: The system handles voting from outside the country.
- E-Consular Manual: A manual that enables global consular officers to quickly access regulations and data.
- Centralized Consular Data Center (CCDC): The system collects “big data” for future use by consulates. The CCDC also links data with other agencies.
Besides the ten systems above, the Consular Department is studying the use of blockchain and quantum computing to improve the services. (NNT)
