Baby Gammy With His Thai Surrogate Mother
IN PHOTO: The baby has applied to Australian citizenship in hope to secure his future. CREDIT: REUTERS/DAMIR SAGOLJ

The surrogacy scandal revolving around Baby Gammy got a new twist as the his surrogate Thai mother has applied for an Australian citizenship for the baby. The baby boy is already in the process of becoming Australian citizen.

Baby Gammy's Thai surrogate mother Pattaramon Chanbua has approached the Australian embassy in Bangkok to complete the paperwork so that the baby can be the citizen of Australia as well. The application filed could be approved within few weeks and the Gammy will be then a legal Australian, as told by ABC news.

Once Gammy becomes the citizen of Australia, he might be eligible for some welfare benefits by the country. The move has been taken by the Thai mother in a hope to secure the baby's future.

Baby Gammy came into the world media glare just after his birth as his biological Australian parents David Farnell and his wife reportedly refused to accept him and take him along as he was diagnosed with Down syndrome. The parents allegedly took back the baby's twin sister and left him alone with his surrogate mother.

The Australian parent's callous behavior raised hue and cry all over the world after which Thailand's military-appointed Cabinet approved new laws to ban commercial surrogacy. The new law has been approved this week.

The Thai mother who gave birth to Gammy however took him in despite her financially weak condition. The baby is now being raised in a family of two other kids, his surrogate mother, her husband and parents.

Earlier, Chanbua had claimed that she loves Gammy like her own child but does not have enough funds to afford the medical treatment which he needs. Along with Down syndrome, baby Gammy also has a hole in his heart. He will need expensive surgery in the future to rectify the same.

Mr Farnell, who abandoned Gammy and took his twin sister, is also a convicted criminal and has 22 child sex convictions cases. He was recently given green signal from Australian court to raise the baby girl only as per the guidelines set by the court.

Donations have poured in for the baby Gammy from all around the world. Recently, the family of Chanbua has moved from their small dingy house to a new three bedroom house in the same neighborhood, thanks to the money raised in the charity.

Thai woman also told ABC that she hoped Gammy to study and get higher education so that he could be sent to Australia to work and get a better lifestyle and might even meet his twin sister. It is still unclear whether the Gammy's newly acquired citizenship will entitle him to Australian welfare or not.