Baby Gammy gets Australian citizenship

Baby Gammy, who was at the centre of a Thai surrogacy scandal last year, has become an Australian citizen.

West Australian couple Wendy and David Farnell made international headlines last August when a Thai surrogate alleged they abandoned Gammy, who has Down syndrome, and returned to Western Australia with his twin sister, Pipah.

Gammy and his family have a new home in Thailand, and last year an application was lodged with the Australian embassy in Bangkok to make the boy an Australian citizen.

The Department of Immigration and Border Protection confirmed on Tuesday that the child's application for citizenship by descent had been granted.

Mr Farnell, a convicted child sex offender, still had custody of Pipah late last year after an investigation by the WA Department for Child Protection and the development of a safety plan.