Thai interpreters and translators for hospitals, family solicitors, police, schools and businesses anywhere in the UK. Choose face-to-face, telephone or video interpreting, order certified translation between Thai and English, and book with us 24 hours a day, including weekends and nights.
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Thai interpreting services
Standard Thai is the speech of Bangkok and the central plains, and every Thai who went to school can use it. At home, though, a person from Chiang Mai may speak Northern Thai (Kham Mueang), someone from Surat Thani or Nakhon Si Thammarat Southern Thai, and a person from Udon Thani or Khon Kaen the Isan dialect. For a long or emotional appointment it is worth telling us the home province.
Thai has five tones and a rich system of status words. Strangers call each other phi (older sibling) or nong (younger sibling), and a male interpreter will end sentences with khrap where a female one says kha, whatever the client's gender. Consecutive interpreting suits nearly every setting.
Face-to-face interpreting
The interpreter comes to you: a hospital ward, a courtroom, a council office, a home visit or a business meeting. It is the best choice when people need to read expressions as well as words, or when the conversation is long or sensitive.
Telephone interpreting
The quickest option to set up. It works well for short calls, triage, appointment reminders and quick checks with a client.
Video interpreting
A Thai interpreter joins by video for remote hearings, consultations and meetings, which helps when there is no interpreter near you.
We also provide medical interpreting and conference interpreting.
Certified Thai translation
The documents Thai clients bring most often are birth and marriage certificates, the 13-digit national ID card, divorce registrations, name-change certificates and the tabien baan, the house registration book (blue for Thai citizens). Thai official papers are dated in the Buddhist Era, which runs 543 years ahead of the Western calendar, so 2567 is 2024; we give the converted date and keep the original visible.
Each translator works into their native language, so Thai to English is done by a native English speaker. Thai names are long and romanised in many ways, and Thai surnames are unique to one family by law, so a single wrong letter can create a stranger. We use the passport spelling and tell you where papers disagree.
- Certified translation of birth, marriage and death certificates, passports, driving licences, degree certificates and bank statements, for the Home Office, courts, universities and employers.
- Legal translation: witness statements, court bundles, contracts and immigration papers.
- Document translation of medical reports, letters, leaflets and patient information.
- Urgent translation when a deadline is close.
- Transcription of Thai audio and video recordings, with an English translation if you need one.
English to Thai translation
English into Thai for UK readers should be in Standard Thai, polite but not stiff. Official Thai prose borrows heavily from Pali and Sanskrit, and a health leaflet written that way reads like a legal notice to many people. We use the everyday word where one exists, Western digits rather than Thai numerals, and dates in the Western calendar unless you ask otherwise.
Thai court and police interpreters
Thai speakers come before UK courts in family cases, domestic abuse prosecutions and immigration appeals, and sometimes as witnesses in cases about exploitation at work. For legal bookings we look for Thai interpreters with courtroom or police-station experience, preferably holding the Diploma in Public Service Interpreting (Law) or registered with the National Register of Public Service Interpreters (NRPSI) wherever such interpreters are available for Thai. A witness may wai the judge, or apologise repeatedly; the interpreter renders what is said, not the gesture.
How to book a Thai interpreter
- Tell us about the assignment: the date, time and address, or that you need telephone or video; how long it should last; and what it is for, such as a hospital appointment, a hearing or a business meeting.
- Tell us about the speaker: their country or region and, if you know it, their dialect. Mention any preference for a male or female interpreter.
- Get your quote. We email you a quote, with no obligation to book.
Call 0800 2425 125, email info@uklinguisticservices.co.uk or request a quote online.
About the Thai language
Thai is a Tai language of the Kra-Dai family, spoken mainly in Thailand. It is the official language of Thailand.
Thai is written in the Thai script.
At the 2021 Census, 22,966 usual residents of England and Wales aged three or over gave Thai as their main language. The local authorities with the most were Leeds (349 people), the London borough of Wandsworth (292) and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (274). Source: Office for National Statistics.
Before you book: Thai is tonal and is written without spaces between words. People from north-east Thailand (Isan) often speak Isan, which is close to Lao.
| Name in Thai | ภาษาไทย |
|---|---|
| Language family | Tai language of the Kra-Dai family |
| Where it is spoken | Thailand |
| Writing system | Thai script |
| Language code | th |
| Main language in England and Wales (Census 2021) | 22,966 people |
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Thai interpreters near you
We send Thai interpreters to appointments across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and telephone and video interpreting work wherever you are. Choose a town for its local page.
Thai interpreter and translator FAQs
How quickly can I book a Thai interpreter?
We take bookings 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Telephone and video interpreting are usually the quickest to arrange. For a face-to-face appointment, give us as much notice as you can: same-day cover is often possible, but it depends on where you are and how many Thai interpreters work nearby.
How much does a Thai interpreter cost?
The price depends on the type of interpreting (face-to-face, telephone or video), how long the appointment lasts, where it is and how much notice you give. We quote before anything is booked, and quotes are free: call 0800 2425 125 or use our online quote form.
Can you certify Thai translations for a UK visa or immigration application?
Yes. We translate and certify documents such as birth and marriage certificates, passports and police certificates for visa, settlement and citizenship applications. UK Visas and Immigration asks for each translation to confirm that it is accurate and to show the date and the translator's full name, signature and contact details, so tell us when you order that the document is for an immigration application. Because Thai is not written in the Latin alphabet, send us the passport spelling of every name so the translation matches it.
Do you provide Thai interpreters for courts, tribunals and police interviews?
Yes. Tell us the setting when you book, for example a Crown Court trial, an immigration tribunal hearing or a police interview under caution, so we can match a Thai interpreter with the right legal experience and qualifications.
How many people speak Thai in the UK?
At the 2021 Census, 22,966 usual residents of England and Wales aged three or over gave Thai as their main language. The local authorities with the most were Leeds (349 people), the London borough of Wandsworth (292) and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (274). The census asked for each person's main language, so people who speak Thai at home but gave English as their main language are not in that figure. Scotland and Northern Ireland count languages in their own censuses.
