New sex change regulations set to take effect
By Pongphon Sarnsamak
The Nation
Published on October 28, 2009
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2009/10/28/national/national_30115353.php (http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2009/10/28/national/national_30115353.php)
QuoteThe council moved recently to strictly control sexchange operations and require that transgender people consult a psychiatrist, live as a woman for a year and receive hormone therapy before being such an operation is allowed.
For Areeya the new rules are an inconvenience. "I have already spent my whole life as a woman - since I was a little boy - and why [do] I have to live as a woman for another year to undergo sex change surgery?" she said.
Areeya said she had wanted to be a woman since she was a young boy. She said she had played with dolls like girls did and wore her mother's skirts.
Apparently, US citizens also have to have two Thai psychiatrists give their permission before SRS surgery. They will not accept US letters anymore. A friend has scheduled two sessions costing about $300 total the day before her surgery is scheduled. Those Dr's have to give their approval before she can have it.
Maggie
From the article it sounds as if foreigners will need two, one of which must be from a shrink in Thailand.
QuoteForeigners seeking to have such operations here must get approval from a psychiatrist in their country of origin as well as a psychiatrist in Thailand before undergoing surgery.