How to Adopt Thai child?

[iGiveMaximum]

Hi,

 

been together with my wife for 10 years next month and taking care of her daughter (12yo) for 10 years as well.

I would like to adopt her so that she won’t need her biological dads signature for official stuff like changing schools anymore etc.

 

My wife and I don’t know where to start.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

Thank you🙏🏻

[chickenslegs]

The Department of the Children and Youth, Child Adoption Centre in Bangkok can give you all the information you need.

 

IME - They are very helpful and sympathetic. Well worth a trip to Bangkok and a face to face interview.

 

If you only need your wife to have sole decision making, the Family Court might make an order of sole custody, but you will almost certainly need the biological father to agree to have your wife as sole custodian. That might need some negotiation and a visit to the Family Court.

 

If you want to have parental rights for yourself and your wife, that would be more complex and involve official adoption. I guess this would be very difficult if the biological father doesn't agree.

 

In our case the biological mother and father had abandoned the child, so things were a bit easier. Still, it was a lengthy process but we got there in the end (about 2.5 years). Another year or so to get our daughter a citizenship of my country.

 

Good luck.

 

Child Adoption Center
Department of Children and Youth
Ministry of Social Development and Human Security
255 Ratchawithi Road 
Ratchathewi District
Bangkok 10400
Tel. / tél. : +66 (2) 3068821; +66 (2) 3068801

 

 

[jcmj]

I raised my friends son since he was 3. Now 21. He’s always been asking me to adopt him, but his mother is actually from Laos and they used a Thai lady friend to put her name on the birth certificate. We could never find her so we couldn’t do it. Now that he is of legal age he still wants me to adopt him as he considers me as his Dad. I told him that I don’t know if I could now that he is older. If anyone knows if this still can be done I’d sure love to do it for him.  He’ll always be my son no matter what the paperwork says, but it’s more important for him and still brings it up often. 🙏

[chickenslegs]

17 minutes ago, jcmj said:

I raised my friends son since he was 3. Now 21. He’s always been asking me to adopt him, but his mother is actually from Laos and they used a Thai lady friend to put her name on the birth certificate. We could never find her so we couldn’t do it. Now that he is of legal age he still wants me to adopt him as he considers me as his Dad. I told him that I don’t know if I could now that he is older. If anyone knows if this still can be done I’d sure love to do it for him.  He’ll always be my son no matter what the paperwork says, but it’s more important for him and still brings it up often. 🙏

I'd suggest you contact the Child Adoption Centre (details above). They will tell you whether it is possible or not.

[khunPer]

16 hours ago, iGiveMaximum said:

Any advice would be much appreciated.

An friend of mine – Thai lady with farang husband – cleared the matter with her son's little difficult father by some cash compensation.

[Mister T]

3 hours ago, jcmj said:

I raised my friends son since he was 3. Now 21. He’s always been asking me to adopt him, but his mother is actually from Laos and they used a Thai lady friend to put her name on the birth certificate. We could never find her so we couldn’t do it. Now that he is of legal age he still wants me to adopt him as he considers me as his Dad. I told him that I don’t know if I could now that he is older. If anyone knows if this still can be done I’d sure love to do it for him.  He’ll always be my son no matter what the paperwork says, but it’s more important for him and still brings it up often. 🙏

I was in a similar situation, got dicked around by the adoption centre for four and a half years. One day a female from the centre called me and said it was easier to wait until daughter turned twenty. All we had to do was go the the local Amphur with two recognized witnesses, fill in some forms, pay a hundred baht and all was done within an hour. Would suggest you and wife go and ask what are the requirements for your particular office.

[LukKrueng]

17 hours ago, iGiveMaximum said:

Hi,

 

been together with my wife for 10 years next month and taking care of her daughter (12yo) for 10 years as well.

I would like to adopt her so that she won’t need her biological dads signature for official stuff like changing schools anymore etc.

 

My wife and I don’t know where to start.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

Thank you🙏🏻

You're mixing 2 issues here. 

When officially married couple have children, both parents have parental rights of the child, even if they later divorce. I guess that's what happened with your wife. If they were not officially married when the child was born only the mother has parental rights, even if the father is registered on the birth certificate.

If both the child's parents are alive and hold parental rights - you won't be able to adopt the child without the father giving up his parental rights willingly or by court order. Only then you'll be able to start the adoption process.

On a side note, if the father has neglected the child or is unavailable to carry his duties such as signing documents needed for the child, the mother can request the court to grant her sole custody of the child and then she won't need the father's signature or approval for anything. So I guess that's what your wife has to do first. However, I'm pretty sure that in order to adopt the child officially you'd still need the father's approval.

[thailand49]

17 hours ago, chickenslegs said:

The Department of the Children and Youth, Child Adoption Centre in Bangkok can give you all the information you need.

 

IME - They are very helpful and sympathetic. Well worth a trip to Bangkok and a face to face interview.

 

If you only need your wife to have sole decision making, the Family Court might make an order of sole custody, but you will almost certainly need the biological father to agree to have your wife as sole custodian. That might need some negotiation and a visit to the Family Court.

 

If you want to have parental rights for yourself and your wife, that would be more complex and involve official adoption. I guess this would be very difficult if the biological father doesn't agree.

 

In our case the biological mother and father had abandoned the child, so things were a bit easier. Still, it was a lengthy process but we got there in the end (about 2.5 years). Another year or so to get our daughter a citizenship of my country.

 

Good luck.

 

Child Adoption Center
Department of Children and Youth
Ministry of Social Development and Human Security
255 Ratchawithi Road 
Ratchathewi District
Bangkok 10400
Tel. / tél. : +66 (2) 3068821; +66 (2) 3068801

 

 

Thanks I second your comment!  I could never remember the Department in Bangkok, I just remember a road near Monument up that road a red brick looking building.

 

I started the process with an agencies or Thai Lawyer had no clue then but early process i was thinking WTF?  What I do remember the little contact I had with the center all the staff spoke really good English I mean really good and that was just rare to me since I had only started living here that was around 2005.

 

What I do know the Center a group of ladies came to Pattaya one day while in the area they called my wife. Just thought it was part of the process but their visit was to asking why we using an agencies or lawyer. After reason, they told me that since I'm adopting a Thai and remaining in Thailand to rest him that they would do it for free. Thereafter we just provided them and went wherever they told us when they called. The process took less or close to a year the final day we were ask to go to Bangkok to the center. I remember lots of people majority I found out were adopting to take out of country. It was basically a final interview in front of a panel of around 8, at one point they told me to leave the room and they interview my wife and son he was 7 at that time.

 

I remember having to provide financial docs to show I have funds to take care of him, I had to go back home and obtain a police report from the City I lived also legal papers I was divorced from my first wife, had to go into Bangkok to police HQ get a police report from Thai, had to go to U.S. Embassy to obtain a letter that I wasn't already married, there is more but that what I do remember.

 

Good luck!

[4MyEgo]

18 hours ago, iGiveMaximum said:

I would like to adopt her so that she won’t need her biological dads signature for official stuff like changing schools anymore etc.

 

When my wife's x split, she went to the local Amphur and changed the boys surname back to her maiden name, problem sorted.

 

That might be an an option of less paperwork and stressful environment for you, albeit I do know that as the father was never in the picture after the kid was one years old, and that the whole village where witness to the situation and the Mayor assisting, it was much easier than going through the rigmarole of courts etc etc.

 

The above said, we even took them abroad when they were 15, no problems with passports being issued or leaving the country.

 

Edited October 26 by 4MyEgo

[JBChiangRai]

7 hours ago, jcmj said:

I raised my friends son since he was 3. Now 21. He’s always been asking me to adopt him, but his mother is actually from Laos and they used a Thai lady friend to put her name on the birth certificate. We could never find her so we couldn’t do it. Now that he is of legal age he still wants me to adopt him as he considers me as his Dad. I told him that I don’t know if I could now that he is older. If anyone knows if this still can be done I’d sure love to do it for him.  He’ll always be my son no matter what the paperwork says, but it’s more important for him and still brings it up often. 🙏

Yes, it can be done, I have done it.

 

It can be a little bit torturous, but it can be done.

[john donson]

does the deadbeat dad agrees?

[ChaiyaTH]

7 hours ago, chickenslegs said:

I'd suggest you contact the Child Adoption Centre (details above). They will tell you whether it is possible or not.

What is the point of contacting them as the kid is 21 already, he is no longer a child after 20. So it is too late. Likely even at 18 already. Kind of a huge miss obviously, that person could have had a western passport....

 

There is quite a few half thai kids even to which this happens, when the dad dies unexpected and they were not married. Get it done if you can get it done, don't delay stuff like this. Same for adopting. It's like throwing away a 250-500K USD passport / second life option.

Edited October 26 by ChaiyaTH

[thailand49]

2 hours ago, ChaiyaTH said:

What is the point of contacting them as the kid is 21 already, he is no longer a child after 20. So it is too late. Likely even at 18 already. Kind of a huge miss obviously, that person could have had a western passport....

 

There is quite a few half thai kids even to which this happens, when the dad dies unexpected and they were not married. Get it done if you can get it done, don't delay stuff like this. Same for adopting. It's like throwing away a 250-500K USD passport / second life option.

Maybe I'm wrong written confusing?  but I believe the girl is now 12 years old!  noted he as been taking care of her for 10 years my which makes my opinion when he started they met she was 2, she isn't of legal age since he is talking still of school?

[JBChiangRai]

Adopting an adult 20 years or older just needs the adopter to sign with his wife (or prove single/divorced), no biological parent involvement at all.