Adopting Thai Step Daughter

[jjp]

I went to the Thai Adoption Centre yesterday with my wife and was told that if I adopt my stepdauther legally, her mum has to give up her rights to her daughter and sign her over to me. I mentioned to the woman that that as a family surely as the step father and mother we share the responsbility of bringing up over daughter together but the lady insisted that she has to sign her daughter over if i want to adopt her. My wife was a bit shocked by this, as was I.

The question being

Has anybody adopted their stepchildren and if so, is this Thai law and was the woman correct?

cheers in advance

ps. she mentioned something about intercountry adoption and this was international law????

JJP

[tutsiwarrior]

I went to the Thai Adoption Centre yesterday with my wife and was told that if I adopt my stepdauther legally, her mum has to give up her rights to her daughter and sign her over to me. I mentioned to the woman that that as a family surely as the step father and mother we share the responsbility of bringing up over daughter together but the lady insisted that she has to sign her daughter over if i want to adopt her. My wife was a bit shocked by this, as was I.

The question being

Has anybody adopted their stepchildren and if so, is this Thai law and was the woman correct?

cheers in advance

ps. she mentioned something about intercountry adoption and this was international law????

JJP

I may be wrong but I remember reading something on this forum to the effect that in the case of a foreigner adopting a thai child that in order for the adoption to be recognized internationally the child must become a citizen of the foreigner's country of nationality...

my interest at the time had to do with the possibility of declaring my thai step daughter to be legally adopted in order to benefit from international school fees paid by employers when working on assignment overseas on 'married status'...I remember being put off the idea by the perceived 'citizenship requirement'...

this may be what the lady was talkin' about at the adoption center if it was 'intercountry adoption' that was being discussed...

Edited February 23, 2008 by tutsiwarrior

[skylar]

You don't mention your own nationality - what passport are you on in TH?

[IssanFarang]

Four years ago, my Thai wife and I applied to the child welfare agency in Bkk for me to adopt my wife's two children (3, 7). The very first statement from the officer was, "The Thai father must agree to give up his custodial rights over the children." In fact, the officer called him immediately to ascertain whether he was willing to do this. She was quite adept at convincing him that it was in the kids' best interests to be adopted. I was prepared to pay him tea-money, but he acquiesced on the spot.

We then proceeded with all the necessary paperwork, including a standard letter from the visa dept of the US embassy stating that the adopted kids would be elegible to apply for a US immigration visa. We prepared a photo album of every room in our house... showing how the kids lived. This was for the social officer in Udon when he finally showed up after a year for the home visit. We found out later that the paperwork he faxed back to Bkk was unreadable. After another 9 months, we were invited to Bkk for the group interview with 15-20 welfare officers. That was a formality, because the process had already been approved. The official adoption decree in Thai was issued by our local district office (20 red-stamped copies), and was based on the recommendation of the Bkk agency.

The US embassy informed me that the adoptions would be recognized by the US after a two-year waiting period.

Last November I petitioned US immigrations (Homeland Security) in Guam for the kids' US citizenship under a 2002 law granting fast-track citizenship for adopted children of a US citizen... even if the kids had no intention of immigrating to the US (form N600-K). After only two months we were invited to bring them to Guam for their oath ceremony, and we will fly there in 3 weeks. (The petitioning can take 9-12 months in the US.)

My wife and kids were issued 10-year multiple-entry tourist visas to travel to Guam. The interview at Bkk's US visa section was based entirely on the kids' invitation letters. No background questions were asked by the officer. All around me I could hear interviews involving questioning and rejections at adjacent windows. I could view the screener's computer with the Thai database windows, so everything was known to the visa people in advance.

So, after nearly five years, the kids will have their dual citizenship and no need for more UK visas to visit relatives there. At age 18, as I understand it, they will make the choice as to which passport to give up. They will also be elegible for monthly social security checks until age 18 because their retired father is already receiving these benefits. (This question came up during the adoption interview... would I be applying?)

I apologize for the length of this post, but I wanted to go into some detail because these issues arise daily. I hope I answered the two questions above regarding giving up custody and citizenship of the adopted child. If anyone has questions, please PM me.

[newcomer01]

I can't find all the info at the moment but just for info did you go to the main adoption office in Bangkok? Did you get the forms to be filled out?

When I started the process a few years back (Never completed due to me working outside of Thailand and was unable to get the correct verification - home visits from the Thai Embassy) there was no need for handing over the child to the new partner.

The paperwork and adoption is done in both names and it would have taken a year or much longer. Medicals, home visits etc.

Check out these. Adoption Agency address:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/lofiversion/...hp/t101095.html

Google search of Thai Visa:

http://www.google.com/custom?domains=www.t...D%3A1&hl=en

A lot depends on what nationality your are, where you are going to reside,where you are currently residing etc. I do know all the paperwork has to be done in Bangkok.

Hope it works out for you

Edited February 25, 2008 by newcomer01

[thaihome]

..... At age 18, as I understand it, they will make the choice as to which passport to give up. They will also be elegible for monthly social security checks until age 18 because their retired father is already receiving these benefits. (This question came up during the adoption interview... would I be applying?)

I apologize for the length of this post, but I wanted to go into some detail because these issues arise daily. I hope I answered the two questions above regarding giving up custody and citizenship of the adopted child. If anyone has questions, please PM me.

Great post and it sounds like you did a good job following this through to the end. One clarification, the kids do not need to give up either passport at 18. Both Thailand and US have no problem with dual citizenship. This has been discussed many times.

TH

[thaihome]

We started the process some years back when we were living in Thailand. Only got as far going to provincial court to not have to get the fathers permission. We then moved out of the country for a couple of years and did not follow through.

My company recognizes my step daughter as eligible for education and home leave benefits, so I didn't need to adopt her in order for them to pay tuition at international schools.

While working out of Thailand, we have never tried to get her a dependent visa in another country and I would think that may be problem in some countries. She attended boarding school in Thailand (which company paid for) while we were out of country.

TH

[IssanFarang]

One clarification, the kids do not need to give up either passport at 18. Both Thailand and US have no problem with dual citizenship. This has been discussed many times.

TH

I wish I were here often enough to keep up with things. Your follow-up comment is much appreciated.

[SNGLIFE]

I was in the same boat as you a year ago. I got the same responses from the board. It didn't sit well with me, so said to hel_l with trying to change my step-daughter's surname and went ahead and completed the immigration process (to USA). Once she is in the States (if that is your goal), changing her surname is waaaaaaaaay easy. Laws differ state-to-state, but basically, just have your wife file a petition as the natural mother wanting to change her daughter's surname. Done deal. MUCH MUCH easier and cheaper than going the adoption route.

Here's an online resource for you:

https://www.legalzoom.com/legal-name-change...e-overview.html

You can also google "change surname" for other sites. Contrary to what one would surmise from lots of these posts, not everyone is stuck in the box here (lol) Cheers!

[thaisail]

I was in the same boat as you a year ago. I got the same responses from the board. It didn't sit well with me, so said to hel_l with trying to change my step-daughter's surname and went ahead and completed the immigration process (to USA). Once she is in the States (if that is your goal), changing her surname is waaaaaaaaay easy. Laws differ state-to-state, but basically, just have your wife file a petition as the natural mother wanting to change her daughter's surname. Done deal. MUCH MUCH easier and cheaper than going the adoption route.

Here's an online resource for you:

https://www.legalzoom.com/legal-name-change...e-overview.html

You can also google "change surname" for other sites. Contrary to what one would surmise from lots of these posts, not everyone is stuck in the box here (lol) Cheers!

I found a goldmine with this thread but I have a question for you since seem to have a found a loophole. My stepdaughter is 16 now and her Thai father died 10 years ago. Her mom is Thai and we have been married for two years and have a 2 year old baby together. We live in Phuket and I want to adopt my step daughter so that I can get her a US social security number. Citizenship is not as important since we plan to remain in Thailand at least for time being. I have been unable to claim my step daughter as a dependent on my US tax return. I work in US merchant marine and I would get about $2000 per year in tax relief if I could get my step daughter a US social security number and of course having US citizenship one day would be a great advantage for her one day. Please let me know if your idea of a name change would help in this process.

[BigSnake]

I went to the Thai Adoption Centre yesterday with my wife and was told that if I adopt my stepdauther legally, her mum has to give up her rights to her daughter and sign her over to me. I mentioned to the woman that that as a family surely as the step father and mother we share the responsbility of bringing up over daughter together but the lady insisted that she has to sign her daughter over if i want to adopt her. My wife was a bit shocked by this, as was I.

The question being

Has anybody adopted their stepchildren and if so, is this Thai law and was the woman correct?

cheers in advance

ps. she mentioned something about intercountry adoption and this was international law????

JJP

I may be wrong but I remember reading something on this forum to the effect that in the case of a foreigner adopting a thai child that in order for the adoption to be recognized internationally the child must become a citizen of the foreigner's country of nationality...

my interest at the time had to do with the possibility of declaring my thai step daughter to be legally adopted in order to benefit from international school fees paid by employers when working on assignment overseas on 'married status'...I remember being put off the idea by the perceived 'citizenship requirement'...

this may be what the lady was talkin' about at the adoption center if it was 'intercountry adoption' that was being discussed...

From my understanding you are right on. Good luck to the fellow that want to adopt the step daughter.

[Mario2008]

This thread is a year old. I would guess it doesn't make sense to reply to the OP any more. Thaisail posted a new question today. Lets reply to his question only.

[Deelectro]

Hi,i just found this thread and would be keen to hear more information from those wih experience on this topic. What processes they went through, how long ti took. Canadian, wifes daughter is 7, dad is long gone, hopefully we don't have to contact him.

[thaisail]

This thread is a year old. I would guess it doesn't make sense to reply to the OP any more. Thaisail posted a new question today. Lets reply to his question only.

I just got a bill from the lawyer in Phuket that I found through Thai Visa. He wants 90000 baht to handle the adoption of my 16 year old Thai step-daughter. All I was asking is how to get the Thai Adoption Agency to send me the application forms for adoption. The lawyer doesn't seem interested in helping us get the application forms but only to do the entire adoption process. I am looking on this forum for other Thai Visa members who can let me know what kind of battle that I am in for. So if anyone out there knows anyone who has gone through this, please let me know.

Quick recap: My Thai wife is 36 year old. She has a daughter who is now 16 years old. This child's Thai father died in 1999. I am a US and French dual citizen and I am 53 years old. My Thai wife and I have a baby who will two years old in June this year. I would like to adopt my 16 year old Thai step daughter so that she might get US citizenship like her baby sister. We live together as a family in Phuket and plan to stay living in Thailand for the future. I work in the US merchant marine as an engineering officer on US flagged ships with a work schedule of 4 months on and 4 months off and spend all my vacation time in Thailand.

Anyone out there who has been down this adoption road, please let me know if I have to pay 90000 Baht to a lawyer to do this or am I getting ripped off!!!

[SNGLIFE]

I found a goldmine with this thread but I have a question for you since seem to have a found a loophole. My stepdaughter is 16 now and her Thai father died 10 years ago. Her mom is Thai and we have been married for two years and have a 2 year old baby together. We live in Phuket and I want to adopt my step daughter so that I can get her a US social security number. Citizenship is not as important since we plan to remain in Thailand at least for time being. I have been unable to claim my step daughter as a dependent on my US tax return. I work in US merchant marine and I would get about $2000 per year in tax relief if I could get my step daughter a US social security number and of course having US citizenship one day would be a great advantage for her one day. Please let me know if your idea of a name change would help in this process.

Sorry, I have not been logging in too much. It's a boring day and I decided to surf around and found this thread again.

You can apply for and receive a TIN (Tax Identity Number) for each person in your family regardless of their citizenship status. Check www.irs.gov for the form. As far as claiming a non-citizen dependent step-child, forget it. You do need her to get citizenship, first. That requires the full green-card process. A name change alone won't do it. My previous post was for just getting the surname changed. There is no loophole to get a SS card. You have to go the full Monty.

I would not ever pay a lawyer for something that can be easily done solo if you have the patience to deal with the Thai government employees who will surely fck up the process and also send you running around in circles at some point(s). Take an electronic dictionary and your wife along and you should be ok

For the US part, all the information is on the ucis.gov website and you can use the 800 number and other free resources for person-to-person questions you may have about the forms and process.

Green Card Information

Applying for a social security card: http://www.ssa.gov/ssnvisa/eae_info_sheet.doc Your answers and a telephone number can be found there. Cheers!

P.S. - IMHO, going the green card route makes more sense than the Thai adoption route. The wait may be shorter and the risk of future problems is less, too. Even if you adopt her here (and that will probably take forever and be messy), she still has to go through the green card process in the future with the added complication that the US requires the 2 year wait before they recognize the Thai adoption.

We are back in Thailand after having taken care of all the above while I was working on my last contract. Due to running around and some time constraints, we did not get around to getting her surname changed (my fault), but I should be able to take care of that when we go back to the States to visit later this year.

Edited March 16, 2009 by SNGLIFE

[acacia]

Hello everyone im quite new in here not to sure how this is work...i have a very important question to ask whoelse knows about this..i have a daugther 3yrs with my ex ( English) we split up after i got pregnant about 3months and never have in contact with him dont know where he is dont know nothing about him after that then i met my English husband after i gave birth to my daugther but in my daugther birth citificate i was a mistaked put other guy name on it!! not my Ex partner but someone else.and now my husband and i wanted to bring my dauther over to England which i concern that might be a problem cuz we dont know where the father is and in the way i dont want nothing to do with him and also the name in the birth citificate is not her father,but he's also british.i dont know what to do. me and my husband we've been thinking about this alots and we've been looking on inthernet. Doesnt mean after i married my husband and my daugther will automaticly became his stepdaugther ? ( we did married in the Uk )and also can i change the name in her birth citificate? ( I am Thai citizen)

[Mario2008]

Yoiu can not change the birth certificate. If the child was born during the marriage with your ex, if you were married, your ex- is as far as the law is concerned the father, despite someone else being named on the birth certificate.

[acacia]

i wasnt married with my Ex.and do i have to contact the guy who has the name on my daugthers birth certificate which i dont wanna do cuz he's not the father of my child, he was my friend at the time and he told me to put his name on the birth certificate just be'cuz he didnt want me to feel embarassed about being pregnant with no father, we are not friends anymore.now the problem is me and my husband want her to be here in the uk with us and have the education over here. i am confused where to start. 1 her father nowhere to be found. 2 the name in the birth certificate isnt her father..so im compeletly lost.

[Mario2008]

If you were not married to the ex- he is not the legal father. When not married, the father has to legalise the child (state before the law that he acknowleges that the child is his). In Thailand that is done by having the father do the birth registration by himself. If someone else did the registration of the birth at the amphur, then legaly he is not the father. So who registered the child at the amphur?

If anybody else then the person named as the father did the registration it seems that you have sole costudy and that is what I believe the main issue for getting you child to the UK. I think that question is better handled t the visa and migration for other countries section.

[Livinginexile]

I was in the same boat as you a year ago. I got the same responses from the board. It didn't sit well with me, so said to hel_l with trying to change my step-daughter's surname and went ahead and completed the immigration process (to USA). Once she is in the States (if that is your goal), changing her surname is waaaaaaaaay easy. Laws differ state-to-state, but basically, just have your wife file a petition as the natural mother wanting to change her daughter's surname. Done deal. MUCH MUCH easier and cheaper than going the adoption route.

Here's an online resource for you:

https://www.legalzoom.com/legal-name-change...e-overview.html

You can also google "change surname" for other sites. Contrary to what one would surmise from lots of these posts, not everyone is stuck in the box here (lol) Cheers!

Mate, that is all well and good but what about her real father?

So what you are saying is that you STOLE another mans daughter?

The things one reads on this forum are unbelievable!!

I will find out what UNESCO has to say on this subject.

[acacia]

If you were not married to the ex- he is not the legal father. When not married, the father has to legalise the child (state before the law that he acknowleges that the child is his). In Thailand that is done by having the father do the birth registration by himself. If someone else did the registration of the birth at the amphur, then legaly he is not the father. So who registered the child at the amphur?

If anybody else then the person named as the father did the registration it seems that you have sole costudy and that is what I believe the main issue for getting you child to the UK. I think that question is better handled t the visa and migration for other countries section.

Thank you for ur advice..that's help me alots.

[timang]

I went to the Thai Adoption Centre yesterday with my wife and was told that if I adopt my stepdauther legally, her mum has to give up her rights to her daughter and sign her over to me. I mentioned to the woman that that as a family surely as the step father and mother we share the responsbility of bringing up over daughter together but the lady insisted that she has to sign her daughter over if i want to adopt her. My wife was a bit shocked by this, as was I.

The question being

Has anybody adopted their stepchildren and if so, is this Thai law and was the woman correct?

cheers in advance

ps. she mentioned something about intercountry adoption and this was international law????

JJP

is that possible possible? i was also shocked! OMG!

[timang]

is this possible? i was also shocke! OMG!

[sweeneythailand]

hi all

a question if you are the father of a child born in Thailand and not married to the mother can the child be registered as a UK citizen as well as a Thai, and what is the process?

[Mario2008]

hi all

a question if you are the father of a child born in Thailand and not married to the mother can the child be registered as a UK citizen as well as a Thai, and what is the process?

I believe that several mebers have registerd their child and gotten a passport without any problems.

Have a look at the British embassy website or call them for more information.

[nozmo]

Hi All,

Looking for a bit of advice. My wife and I have been married in Englnad for past 2 and half years and now she has indefinate leave to remain we want to bring her daughter over to England to be with us. As her daughter is only 5 we felt that we needed to make sure that we could create a stable and happy home before looking further into this.

Now that we have I gather we have a few problems and I hope someone can offer help.

My wife and her husband (although not legal, something about paperwork) had a child. Shortly after she gave birth he left her for another lady. The problem is now that his name is on the childs birth certificate and we fear that he may not be willing to sign the necessary paperwork. I will also add that he has not seen or spoken to her child since he left

My wifes family have managed to track him down via mutual friends and he is living somewhere in the north of Thailand but shortly is moving to Singapore with his family.

Is there anyway round him not signing and my wife and I being able to bring her daughter to England and give her a great start in life and complete our family. We miss her immensly and what we thought would be a simple process is turning into a nightmare.

Please please please help to make us understand what we need to do.

Edited January 26, 2010 by nozmo

[Mario2008]

Being named on the birth certificate doesn't mean he has parental powers, in all likely hood your wife has sole custody over the child. This can be confirmed by a letter from the amphur where the child is registered. There is a form there, which she will need anyway if she wants to apply for a passport for the child.

Are you sure it is needed when your wife has sole custody?

[MikeyIdea]

Nozmo, there are 2 sides to this.

Thai side:

As Mario2008 says, the mother most likely has sole custody, it's just that she doesn't know. Ask the mother to go to the Amphur (bring the birth certificate and her id card) and request form tor por 13 (that's a form stating sole custody). With this, she can request a Thai passport without father signing. And that's the end of the Thai story. There should be no reason for the father to sign anything because he is not the legal father of the child (since they never married and he (most likely) didn't legitimate his child). Don't wake the father up though, he may see the possibility to get money and create problems

English side: Not sure, check with the British Embassy. I'd assume that you need to get the tor por 13 form stating sole custody translated to English

Edited January 27, 2010 by MikeyIdea

[a2396]

..... At age 18, as I understand it, they will make the choice as to which passport to give up. They will also be elegible for monthly social security checks until age 18 because their retired father is already receiving these benefits. (This question came up during the adoption interview... would I be applying?)

I apologize for the length of this post, but I wanted to go into some detail because these issues arise daily. I hope I answered the two questions above regarding giving up custody and citizenship of the adopted child. If anyone has questions, please PM me.

Great post and it sounds like you did a good job following this through to the end. One clarification, the kids do not need to give up either passport at 18. Both Thailand and US have no problem with dual citizenship. This has been discussed many times.

TH

Ain't necessarily so. In many, if not most cases, USA does not allow dual citizenship.

[MikeyIdea]

The mother should need nothing from the father to bring her daughter to England. Or to change surname of her child if she wants to do that. It's a good idea to do it before getting a passport for the kid if she (or the child) wants to do that

Now, adopting is a totally different matter, that require the fathers approval regardless of if he legitimized his child or not.

Edited January 27, 2010 by MikeyIdea