BANGKOK – Thailand’s prime minister on Thursday said he may also be British, acknowledging claims by opponents trying to use the issue to bring him before the International Criminal Court. But the British-born Abhisit Vejjajiva said he considered himself Thai and had not sought to benefit from dual citizenship.
“Now if I travel to England I need to ask for a visa. It is clear that I intend to hold Thai citizenship. Whether that means I hold dual citizenship or not, that’s a legal issue,” he said in response to questioning in parliament. According to the British Home Office’s UK Border Agency, anyone born in Britain before January 1, 1983 is almost certainly a British citizen.
The only exception is a person born to certain diplomatic staff of foreign missions who had diplomatic immunity, it says on its website. Abhisit, the scion of an influential family, attended Britain’s elite Eton College where he was reportedly known to his friends as “Mark Vejj.”
