RedCardinal

I suspect many of us will have different experiences, depending on Immigration office, IO, direction of wind on a given day etc. But every year I've had to deal with Non-O Family here in Thailand has introduced something new. This year was video call with son inside/outside the house with a tour of the rooms. There was a recent news story here in Phuket where a father was required to provide the title deed from his rented home to prove it had no encumbrances on the back (I've no idea why this had any bearing on his Non-O application). From my own experience, I've found being a parent with joint custody where the child lives with his mother is one of the trickier visa applications to navigate. Had I known what I know now some years ago I would have happily paid up for Elite Visa.

Missed this - yes, you had to show 400k in Thai bank for ME. No more ME, so mute point now. On the 400K - you need to show this if you switch from TV to Non-O Family in-country. I don't think you need this to get a 90-day Non-O from an embassy/consulate. You will also need to show the 400k for annual extensions. Another thing to note - your location may matter. Different Immigration offices sometimes make up their own rules. I'm in Phuket. Different regions may have slightly different rules. YMMV so take care when reading experiences from others that differences may be down to the office they used.

None issue ME Non-O visas based on Thai family anymore. That's from what I can find out here and contacting some of the nearby embassies/consulates. With ME you needed to leave every 90 days, so you never needed to do 90-day reporting. No need for re-entry permit either. As someone who travels frequently, this visa quite suited me, and given the stress and time-loss blackhole that my local Immigration office is, I was quite happy to travel to Penang annually to get a new visa. That's no longer an option. Of course, 90-day bounces may not suit everyone, but I had that down to a fine-art also with flying to KL in AM, pass through transfers (never enter Malaysia), and fly straight back. Home by lunchtime. Anyhow - this option is no longer possible anymore.

@craftyone for reference, I'm a father to a 10 year old. I separated from the mother 8 years ago. I've had to deal with visa applications for a few years now. I used to use multi-entry Non-O and avoid Immigration, but they no longer issue ME, and want parents to go down the extension route. If you want to stay here long term based on parenthood of you child you'll need to navigate this process. If you can afford it I'd go Elite Vis. The time and stress of dealing with Non-O in the situation you describe may be significant.

For Non-O issued outside Thailand. Inside Thailand you will be required to provide mother's ID and housebook. Also photos and video of parent with child inside and outside parent's registered address. For the op to stay here long term he will need to apply for an extension, which has far more onerous requirements than the info you provided.

For custodial rights this makes no difference under Thai law. What the op is looking for is called "legitimization". Can be done via the Family Court, or the local authority if the child has reached an age whereby they can articulate that a given person is their father. I did it via the Family Court when my some was 2. In terms of enforcing joint custody - very, very hard for a farang father IME. Future visa situation - should be easy while you live as a family. If you separate from the mother it will get more difficult. If the mother becomes uncooperative it can get very difficult. Immigration can be quite hostile to farang parents if the child's Thai parent becomes unhelpful. YMMV.

Why bother posting this? You've clearly made no effort to read the OP or understand the context of his problem. Your post adds nothing of value whatsoever.

Sorry, I missed these replies earlier. At one time I explained my situation to 2 IOs in Phuket Immigration when I last applied for an extension. They were empathetic and helpful. I was asked to provide a letter from my son's school in Bangkok, which did not cause any issue. My extension was granted, but I suspect some finer details about living arrangements etc. were less pronounced in the application. The child and mother housebook copies were also required, but these are from a different region altogether. They are required however, so you'll need them. On a recent quest to convert from Tourist to Non-O the IO I dealt with (who was also very friendly and helpful), really seemed to focus in on family situation, despite my son's mother explaining the situation. The IO kept referring to my "wife" and wanted to speak with the mother on different occasions. At times it felt like the approach was similar to a marriage visa application. I'm not a lawyer, but my understanding is that a married father and mother have joint custody/guardianship of their shared children. In the case of unmarried parents, legitimization bestows the same legal arrangement regarding custody. Under Thai law (again, my understanding) both recognised parents have joint custody unless a court has determined otherwise. Enforcement of that law is almost unheard of IME. But things can get very fuzzy very quickly. The foreign volunteers at Phuket have a website (well done to them BTW) which includes a "Custodian Visa", but they state that it's only available if the foreign parent has sole custody. I do remember @ubonjoe telling me that no such provision existed in the Immigration Act. He also mentioned that their was no restriction requiring the child to live exclusively at the same address as the Alien. But of course we all know that Immigration policies don't always strictly follow the letter of the law. In this case, I think you're going to be in a very difficult position. Unless the grandparents have become the legal guardians, you're unlikely to get anywhere without the consent of the legal guardian. I'm not a legal expert (I'll emphasise this yet again), but right now that appears to be the mother, despite the kids living with the grandparents. I don't know your situation, but FWIW if it were me I'd focus on the grandparents initially, and trying to work out a solution with them. It might mean building a relationship over a year or 2 - paying support, school fees etc. - and then trying to leverage that to get an amicable solution regarding joint or sole custody. I'd also find a good lawyer ASAP just to help define the best approach. I'm lucky in that I have some leverage over my son's mother since I pay for literally everything, and she has an interest in keeping it this way. That's not uncommon here (I've heard many stories of mothers handing over sole custody in return for large payments, sadly), and in your case you may just have to accept a hostile visa environment for a year or 2 for the sake of your children. I again wish you all the best with this.

This actually might work if you live in the same Immigration area AND the grandparents agree to support your visa arrangements. The wildcard in all of this is whether Immigration will accept that the grandparents are the legal guardians or not, and whether they insist on the compliance of the mother. However this works out I wish you and your children well. Just to note that @ubonjoe provided many answers over the years to my problems, and I only yesterday noticed the very sad announcement that he had recently passed away. He was truly a kind soul, and his knowledge and wisdom will be sorely missed. RIP.

Yes, it was. I used this for many years as I was frequently travelling and it suited my profile best. I was issued with these in Europe and Malaysia up to about 3 years ago. I inquired recently, and they apparently do not. Only SE, and then advise to get extension in-country.

My situation is different, but there are some similarities. My most recent experience might be of some value. Here's my context: * I'm in Phuket * never married my son's mother * legitimised my son via Family Court when he was ~2 * relationship ended ~7 years ago * son is now 10 and lives in Bangkok * I maintain both son and mother, and see him frequently + on talking terms with his mother First thing - location within Thailand matters. Different Immigration offices seem to make up their own rules. I'm in Phuket, and when I applied for Non-O based on Thai family, they expected him to be in this region also. He had to accompany me to Immigration to apply for my most recent visa (in-country switch from tourist to Non-O) and on previous extension applications. At one time a couple of years ago the Phuket IOs suggested I go to Bangkok since that was my son's location, but Bangkok IOs said I needed to apply in Phuket where I was registered. Go-figure... So residing in the same Immigration area as your kids may be beneficial. Immigration also wanted a video call from me with son in my home. This was possible, but they gave the distinct impression they expect him to be fully resident in the same home. My understanding of the visa regulations is that joint custody should be respected, but my experience with various IOs over the years is that it creates friction in the visa application process. Maybe not always the case, but you're subject to the sole discretion of the individual IO you get the pleasure of dealing with on any given day. Immigration did want mother's ID. signed etc. along with house book of mother and child. Again, this seems counter-intuitive since my visa should have no relationship to the child's mother. My court documents show I have joint legal custody. But you will get nowhere trying to argue with IOs. They also requested evidence from my son's school of attendance. I wasn't asked to prove I paid his fees or otherwise supporting him, although providing that would have been easy enough. Again, the mindset they approach this with is that everyone is living together as a family. Introducing joint custody opens a can of worms IME. I expect you're going to have a lot of trouble jumping through hoops to even get an initial visa in-country. It may be easier from an embassy/consulate, and I think will likely issue a SE Non-O with the docs you mentioned. My recent inquiries to nearby Thai embassies/consulates regarding ME Non-O based on Thai family all drew blanks. So it seems that ME for this visa class may be no longer issued. Getting an extension is probably your sole solution longer-term, and that will likely require at least some interaction and accommodation from the mother. Without that, you may be faced with a long and expensive legal trek in order to meet Immigration requirements for the issuance of a long term visa/extension. I feel for you. I expect you're in for a very rough time ahead based on the info you've shared. Getting good legal advice now rather than later might shorten the journey you're just beginning. Don't expect any assistance from Immigration. I've met good/empathetic IOs, but the entire system is a bureaucratic nightmare which cares more about document checklists than the people it's supposed to serve.

Meanwhile they expect you to get your bank passbook updated on the same day, with many smaller local bank branches not opening until 10am. Must have a line update the same day you apply. No matter that you could clear out the account 10 minutes later.

In the Thai-dominant public areas the figure is probably >95% still. Unmasked tend to always be farang. Regardless of ones personal views on masks, it's probably sensible to respect the views of our hosts.

Thai son with my family name in his Thai passport. Most recent departure 3 weeks ago. He's 10, and IO asked him a bunch of questions in Thai about where is his mum before allowing him to leave. I've always been asked for letter from his mum saying he can leave. One time they called her phone to speak to her from the immigration desk, despite me having all the docs from family court showing I had joint custody (not married) and letter from mother. That said, I've never had anything stamped by Amphur. I've always taken his birth cert, copy of Family Court order, letter from mother with copy of her ID. Has been sufficient every time. Him having my family name might have eased this. I've never been asked once for anything when departing my EU home country with my son alone.. So for anyone saying OPs doubts are unfounded: YMMV.