Baby Gammy to become an Australian citizen after his Thai surrogate mother lodges paperwork in BangkokÂ Thai surrogate mother Pattaramon Chanbua hopes Australian citizenship will secure the future of the baby boy with Down's syndrome The application could be approved within weeks David and Wendy Farnell were accused of leaving Gammy in Thailand but took healthy twin Pipah home to Australia David Farnell, Gammy's biological father, was convicted on 22 child sex charges in the late 1990s Baby Gammy, the 11-month-old boy with Down's syndrome at the centre of a surrogacy scandal in Thailand, could be weeks away from becoming an Australian citizen. The application was handed into the Australian embassy in Bangkok by his Thai surrogate mother,Â Pattaramon Chanbua, who hopes the citizenship will give Gammy entitlements to Australian welfare. The ABCÂ reports the paperwork may be approved within weeks. Paperwork was handed into the Australian embassy in Bangkok by his Thai surrogate mother, Pattaramon Chanbua (right), who hopes the citizenship will give Gammy (left) entitlement to Australian welfare David (left) and Wendy Farnell (right) were accused of leaving Gammy in Thailand but took healthy twin Pipah home to Australia The 21-year-old, who has two other children aged six and three, has vowed to take care of Gammy Just this week, Thailand's military-appointed cabinet reportedly authorised new laws to prohibit commercial surrogacy. This comes after Ms Chanbua alleged West Australian man David Farnell and his wife Wendy abandoned their baby son Gammy. The Farnells caused international outrage when they were accused of leaving the Down syndrome boy in Thailand but took healthy twin Pipah home to Australia. It was later revealed that Mr Farnell, Gammy's biological father, was convicted on 22 child sex charges in the late 1990s. Ms Chanbua, the 21-year-old who also has two other children aged six and three, has vowed to take care of Gammy. Since then, she had her children have moved into a new house paid for using part of the $250,000 raised for the family through public donations.Â About half of the money raised was spent on the three-bedroom house, leaving $120,000 to cover Gammy's future medical and living expenses, said charity Hands Across The Water. The Farnells still has custody of Gammy's twin sister Pipah (middle) after an investigation by the WA Department for Child Protection Baby Gammy and his mother have moved into a new house paid for using part of the $250,000 raised for his family through public donations Child protection officials in Western Australia are still conducting an 'extensive and rigorous' assessment into the welfare of Pipah, theÂ West Australian reported. Pipah recently returned to Australia after a trip to China with Mrs Farnell for her mother's funeral. WA Child Protection Minister Helen Morton said officers have yet to make a decision about whether she can stay in the care of her father David Farnell, a convicted child sex offender. 'The department was fully aware of her travel and was supportive of her taking time to grieve and spend time with her family,' Ms Morton told the West Australian. 'While this specific case is still subject to an ongoing thorough assessment, I can assure you that much has happened behind the scenes.'Â