Child custody and separation in Thailand

[james555]

Hi. I would really appreciate some advice.

I am from france and my wife is from Germany. We have been living in Thailand for 1 year. I am the father and we have 1 child who is 6 years old.

i have a company in Thailand and a work permit and I work here now.

my wife is here on a non O visa which she got through my work. She doesn’t work.

Now to the point...

my wife has mental issues, she has been getting progressively more violent and aggressive for the last 2 years. Now it’s at a point where every week sometimes even every 3 days she has a violent outburst . She will punch me kick me, spit at me etc.

i decides i cannot live with her anymore. So I took my son too because she also hit him sometimes.

my question is - does she have any legal power to take my son back to Germany?

again - I am the father and I live and work in Thailand. My son is in school here too.

is the law on my side? What if she goes to the police and makes up lies about me? (She is a pathological liar) 

she might easily go to the police and say I attacked her or something. Will the police force me to give my son to her?

i am afraid to lose him. She will shout and hit him. I am a peaceful person and it brakes my heart to think she might be able to take him away from me. He has a wonderful life here. He likes his school and friends and in Germany my wife’s family live in a really horrible town.

Edited February 20, 2019 by james555

[blackcab]

If you had video footage of her being violent, especially against your son, then you would have evidence enough to get full custody.

 

At the minute your wife has joint custody, so she has equal rights over your child.

[cooked]

Looks like you will have to go through Thai divorce courts, as well as applying for custody. 

I believe that the Thai family courts really do look after the well being of children involved, which traditionally meant that sons go to the mother, daughters to the father. To disqualify your wife from getting custody you will need proof of the mental state of your wife, witnesses, video maybe, not sure if a psychiatric assessment would be of much help. 

Visitation rights will need to be arranged whatever happens, not that they are easily enforceable here.

You need a lawyer. 

Good luck.

[khunPer]

On 2/20/2019 at 4:43 AM, james555 said:

I am from france and my wife is from Germany. We have been living in Thailand for 1 year. I am the father and we have 1 child who is 6 years old.

[ ... ]

Will the police force me to give my son to her?

As you are both foreigners, child custody might not be up to a Thai court to decide, that's a matter for a French and/or German court, presumably following some EU-law or rules.

 

I don't know if you can seek divorce in Thailand, unless your marriage is registered here, perhaps you can when your wife has permission to stay based upon marriage to a foreigner with a Work Permit.

 

Police might just try to calm down any domestic violence as you are foreigners on a permission for temporary stay.

 

Presume you should consult a lawyer for best knowledge of your legal status as a foreign family, living temporary in Thailand.

[Mavideol]

My advise is to contact the Department of Child and Youth (DCY) at

http://www.dcy.go.th/webnew/main/contactus.php  or better to contact the French Embassy Social Services https://th.ambafrance.org/

good luck

 

 

[Ulic]

Despite what Social Justice Warriors scream men are statistically much more likely to be physically assaulted by their partners. Social norms being what they are men rarely report these assaults. That said when men assault women the results are much more catastrophic as they have much greater upper body strength. Catalog her assaults and report them to police including assaults on your child. Try to get her to return to Europe for help. Much more help is available there with medication and counseling. Talk to her family in Europe, they may be of help. Best of luck.

[mike787]

On 2/21/2019 at 12:56 AM, blackcab said:

If you had video footage of her being violent, especially against your son, then you would have evidence enough to get full custody.

 

At the minute your wife has joint custody, so she has equal rights over your child.

I second that!  gather and do not stop gathering evidence, documentation as objective as possible.  It will help in the future.  Good for you to decide to leave, I did the same after a very long time....wish I did it sooner.  

[Otis Cribelcoblis]

The most important question you will asked here, will be this:

 

Do you have physical possession of his German Passport?

[Accidental Tourist]

My dear James

First of all I guess your wife might urgently medical treatment. Having say that much, this could also your proof that your wife is unfit to have custody over the child.

You will need urgently advise from a international lawyer as you case can't be handled by a Thai court.

Depends where you got married this is also the place where the court ruling will be; either France or Germany. Also important is which nationality the child has, as family court and rights are NOT the same in France vs Germany. The rule of dump will be that a minor child will go into custody of the mother (unless you can proof that she is unfit). 

I don't think that this forum is the right place to solve your and your wife problems; divorce will be in most cases ugly and unpredictable if children are involved.

So proper advise from a International lawyer is needed...

Good luck and kind regards