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| Thailand Law |
Thai law | Child custody disputes between foreign and Thai partners are more complicated than custody disputes between two people of the same nationality abroad or here locally. Under Thai law if a man and a woman have a child together and are not married, the lady will have one hundred percent custody of the child. The reason for this is because she is certain to be the mother of the child as she is the one pregnant whilst the father cannot be confirmed as easily. To obtain custody of the child the father must go through the family court and apply to be the father of the child and then be approved; this can be avoided if you have the mothers consent on the issue. After you have received the court order and are registered as the father of your child. Or if you are already married at the time of birth, you are now eligible for fifty percent custody of your child upon separation with your common law wife or wife.
In Thailand it is different from the west in that it is not a real fifty-fifty split for custody; the most important factor is the education and care of the child. The parent that takes care of the child’s education will have custody on working days from Monday to Friday. Whilst the other partner will have custody on the weekends, school holidays will be split fifty-fifty between the two parents. Another important factor is the paying of expenses for the child; this payment is also split between the parents fifty-fifty per month with the approximate court order relative to age of the child: 1 to 10 years old 10,000 Baht, 10 to 15 years old 15,000 Baht, 15 to 20 years old 20,000 Baht. If one parent has sole custody they do not have to pay for their child as the child is living with them, so the amount must be paid by the other partner every month.
You have to understand that custody in Thailand is not permanent. Every time that you have the child in your custody you will have to care for them personally, you cannot leave them in the care of a nanny or a relative. If this is the case the other party has the right to submit a case to the court for full custody of the child, if this were to happen it is very difficult to regain custody of the child. But even in this worst case scenario in that you lose all custody, you will still get the chance to visit your child on special occasions such as birthdays or days that are important to them like graduation. It will not mean that you do not have the right to see your child at all.
Our comment: It is very difficult to take a child to a foreign country if your child does not have dual nationality passports. If he/she doesn’t have one you will need to apply for a visa at your countries embassy, the chancellor will need to ask the mother of the child to give consent for the child to leave the country. Please understand also that a court order from a foreign country regarding custody will not have any effect here in Thailand whatsoever, vice versa any court order here will not have any effect in your home country. So if you have any problems regarding custody of your child please resolve it here in Thailand. If you have your own case or any questions regarding Thai law feel free to write in to us and we will answer any questions or concerns in this column.
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