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| File photo of fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. |
He was stripped of his passport by the previous Thai government but received citizenship from Montenegro last year, allowing him to travel internationally.
His sister Yingluck is now premier after a resounding election victory by his party earlier this year, in the wake of mass opposition protests in 2010 by Thaksin's "Red Shirt" supporters which ended with a bloody army crackdown.
"When Thaksin's passport was cancelled, there was no order from the courts or the police to seize it," Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul told reporters.
"So I will use my authority to do whatever is not illegal under the regulations of the ministry to give the passport to ex-premier Thaksin," he said.
"We are checking some more details but it will be very soon. It will be a normal Thai passport. Let's make a normal passport legally first. It doesn't have to be a diplomat passport."
The move is certain to anger Thaksin's enemies, already irked by the opposition's suggestion of an amnesty for political figures including the ex-leader.
