surrogacy clinics or brokerage staff can easily complete the process.
Afterwards, agencies will apply for a Thai passport for the child and then the intended parents can obtain visas for the baby from their embassies in Thailand.
Each embassy has different conditions; some require DNA tests and some do not.
Some European embassies will not grant a visa for a surrogate child as surrogacy is forbidden there.
In addition, since there is no law to regulate surrogacy in Thailand, taking the Thai baby out the country could be construed as human trafficking.
Responding to the legal complication, the Israeli government has instructed Israeli homosexual couples to avoid surrogacy procedures in Thailand, and warned that as of Nov 30, 2014, the government would no longer provide assistance to parents of babies born in this country.
Tratree Chauvachata, director of the Legalisation Division under the Consular Affairs Department, said many surrogacy cases have come to light since January when the agents of foreign parents, particularly Israelis, came to the division to apply for passports for the babies.
"Our staff told the agents to bring both the fathers and mothers to the interview, but the foreign fathers did not show up," Mr Tratree said.
"After we interviewed the Thai mother, all admitted they were surrogates for commercial reasons," he said.
The cases involved fathers from Spain, Brazil and Germany.
Previously, many of the world's surrogacy services were performed in India and Nepal but after their laws tightened, intended parents shifted their focus to Thailand, he said.
In the Gammy case, a twin boy and girl were born to a Thai surrogate mother. The Australian couple who hired her to carry the child took home the girl, but left Gammy, who has Down's syndrome, behind, sparking an international outcry.
Officials say Gammy's sister might have obtained a Thai birth certificate and a Thai passport. Her foreign father asked for an Australian visa to take her to Australia.
Alternatively, Australia might have given the child Australian nationality as the foreign father did not take a Thai birth certificate to certify her nationality at the Consular Affairs Department.
In January, news reports revealed more than 50 Israeli couples who had hired Thai women as surrogates were blocked from taking their children home after the Israeli government, worried about a Thai regulation granting parental rights to the Thai surrogate, declined to issue visas for the children. Israel was worried that removing the Thai children from their birth country could be construed as kidnapping.
How the draft law works
The draft law, which is pending National Legislative Assembly (NLA) consideration, addresses the problem of parental rights.
A child born under surrogacy procedure is deemed to be the legitimate child of the commissioning parents, according to the draft. In addition, if the surrogate mother is married, her husband must give consent.
An official from the Social Development and Human Security Ministry, the law's sponsor, said these clauses are important to ensure the parental rights of the commissioning parents and to protect the child born under surrogacy.
According to the legislation, a surrogate mother could be anyone except the mother or descendant of the commissioning parents. However, she must have given birth before.
This is at odds with the regulations of the Medical Council of Thailand, which allow surrogacy to be performed only with a surrogate mother who is a blood relative of one of the commissioning parents.
Same-sex surrogacy prospects
The draft law is not clear whether it allows or bans surrogacy for same-sex couples.
It stipulates that "commissioning parents must be legally married, must not be able to have a child and desire to have one by using another woman as a surrogate mother".
The lawyer said this clause means that individuals and unmarried couples will no longer be allowed to perform surrogacy in Thailand.
As Thai law does not recognise same-sex marriage, a same-sex couple could not perform legal surrogacy here based on the draft law.
After India prohibited gay couples, single men and women, and non-married couples from hiring a commercial surrogate in India in late 2012, Thailand became a popular alternative for such groups seeking surrogacy services.
"This law reflects a bias against same-sex couples with its assumption that the only good parents are male-female couples," said Anjana Suvarnananda, a gender-rights advocate and founder of the lesbian rights organisation, the Anjaree Group.
"No law should stop same-sex couples having the same rights as others," she said.
Natee Teerarojjanapongs, a gay rights protection advocate, said the draft bill should not prevent particular genders from having access to surrogacy services.
"Everyone has equal rights," he said. "Surrogacy services should be available to everyone, including the third gender."
An official said the matter has yet to be finalised.
Commercial surrogacy control
The Department of Health Service Support says the commercial surrogacy industry in Thailand is worth at least 4 billion baht a year. About 20 agencies, most of them run by foreigners, act as brokers between intended parents, surrogate mothers and clinics.
Despite easing the regulations as to who can offer surrogacy services, the draft law would ban commercial surrogacy, as well as brokers and advertising.
The Bangkok Post talked to a prospective surrogate mother who posted a message on an internet board advertising her services.
The message read: "A woman aged 33 with one five-month child offers to be implanted and impregnated. I have good health, pray and meditate every day. Happy to observe controls on my diet and physical activity for the sake of the child. I want money to take care of my son."
The woman said she saw many women put themselves up for surrogacy and earn large sums of money from it.
"But I realised that to be employed as a surrogate mother may be illegal after recent controversies in the media," she said.
"An agency contacted me but said its procedure has now been suspended due to the news reports."
Asked whether she worries she might grow attached to the idea of being a mother and want to keep the baby after carrying the pregnancy for nine months, she said most women would be able to walk away the day they give birth.
"Bonds of affection take hold only after the mother and the baby have been together for some days," she said.
Wanlop Tangkhananurak, a child protection advocate and NLA member, said he would press the NLA to adopt the law. However, he said some changes are needed to specify that a surrogate mother would be allowed only for blood relatives of one of the commissioning parents.