The Defence Council has endorsed a proposed amendment to a ministerial regulation to allow a Thai national to serve in the armed forces if just one parent has Thai citizenship.
Previously, both parents were required to be Thai before people could enrol.
Defence spokesman Khongcheep Tantrawanich said the change was made in line with the changing security situation and to better respond to the armed forces' needs.
Under the regulation which was introduced in 1963, Thai nationals who are eligible to serve in the military services must be born of a father and a mother who both have Thai citizenship.
Col Khongcheep said the armed forces' recruitment of personnel especially in specialist fields has been limited by the regulation.
He said the amended regulation allows a Thai national born of a parent with Thai citizenship to apply for employment in the three armed services, at both commissioned and non-commissioned levels.
However, the 1963 regulation on the nationality requirement still applies to candidates seeking to enrol in military schools and education institutions under supervision of the Defence Ministry, Col Khongcheep said.