Baby Due In 4 Months,uk Legal Advice Please?

[Bazzzzza]

Hi guys,im new to the forum.

Well,basically as the title says....

I live in Pattaya,been with the (thai) mrs for over a year now.

She's 5 months pregnant...scary as hel_l,as its my 1st,and im in a foreign country, with no idea of the laws here.

What rights etc(if any) will the baby have in Britain? Its obviously best for the baby to be registered as a British citizen?if so,how do i do this...

So many questions....

I have litterally no idea where to start.

Could anyone offer some help or advice? or point me in the direction of a reputable legal advice company locally?

Thanks for reading.

[Mario2008]

First of all, congratulations! I hope everything will go well.

To answer your question, it is important to know if you are married or not. If not, you need to follow a different procedure, to be recognized as the father.

It is all very simple and you don't need a lawyer. But it is easier to answer if you tell if you are married or not.

[Bazzzzza]

Thank you Mario:)

I didnt leave an awful lot of info did i?

But i really have no idea,what to do,who to go,or what info they'd need.

Ok, firstly,no we re not married.

I live here,plan on being here a long time,for the forseeable future anyway.

If you'd like any more info,please ask.

Thanks again Mario.

[Mario2008]

If you are not married the first thing you need to do is to register the birth of the child at the amphur. You will have to do this yourself, if anybody else does this you will not have legitimised the child. (Meaning acknowledged that the child is yours and with that you become the legal father). So don't let the hospital or the mother register the child, YOU have to do it to become the father.

The child will have Thai nationality because of the mother and if you have British nationality and were born in the UK yourself, the child will also have British nationality. Both countries allow to have dual nationality and the child will be a full Thai citizen as well as a full British citizen.

After you have registered the birth of the child a the amphur, you can register the birth of the child at the embassy. With that the British government will know that the child is born and has British nationality because of the father. Look at the embassy website for more details.

The child will also give you a reason to stay in Thailand and apply for extensions of stay.

[ArthurPewty]

Mario, my name is on the birth certificate, isn't that enough? Where is it in Bangkok? All of the websites for it are in Thai.

Thanks if you can help.

[Mario2008]

Mario, my name is on the birth certificate, isn't that enough? Where is it in Bangkok? All of the websites for it are in Thai.

Thanks if you can help.

If you are not married to the mother, only being named on the birth crtificate as the father is not enough to legalise the child under Thai law.

A Thai birth certificate should list the name of the father and the name of the person registering the birth. If you are not married and the name of the father is not the same as the person listed at having registered the birth as far as the Thai law is concerned you are not the father and don't have custody over the child.

(If you are British and registered the child at the embassy you might have legitimised the child under UK law and the child can apply for a British passport. However, you would not have legitimised under Thai law and won't hold custody over the child. After all, tis is Thailand and you should follow Thai law).

As to you other questions, where is what in Thailand and which websites/infromation do you mean?

[Bazzzzza]

Thank you very much for the info Mario.

I apolagise,but i have no idea where/what an amphur is?

Could u answer this 1 last question for me?

Next time your in,or around Pattaya i owe you a drink!

[Mario2008]

The amphur is the district office, there they keep the files on who is living in the district, get married, etc.

[Bazzzzza]

How would i find this Amphur?

In the Pattaya area?

Feel like IM the baby here...havent a clue!!!

[sinbin]

Your g/f isn't telling you, or helping much, is she ? She will know all about registering the baby and where the Amphur is.

Edited November 24, 2009 by sinbin

[Mario2008]

How would i find this Amphur?

In the Pattaya area?

Feel like IM the baby here...havent a clue!!!

For Pattaya I haven't got a clue either. But any Thai will be able to tell you where you can find the amphur in Pattaya.

[richm7]

To add to Mario's excellent responses, if you go to the British Embassy Bangkok web site (I'm too lazy to look it up, do a search) there is a whole bunch of information there on the process you need to follow. Note I'm adding information here, so everything Mario tells you already still applies. These days, you do not have to be married to the mother for your offspring to be British by descent (i.e. you're British so your child is too, albeit with limited ability to pass that on to their own children, though that is a complication we don't need to discuss). Once you have the Thai birth certificate as already instructed, you can get a British passport. You can also get a British birth certificate, though this is not strictly necessary; you might want to do that though otherwise you will be relying on the Thai certificate and a translation you'll need to get certified by the Thai consular service (at Chaeng Wattana in BKK, not sure about Pattaya). The whole package, as I recall, with certificate and passport costs over THB15k at the embassy, so be prepared for sticker shock. You'll need to get all the paperwork together as instructed by the embassy, but once you do that it is a straightforward process and they won't change the rules on you at the last minute like they do at Thai immigration. They'll even smile if you're lucky!

Good luck and very best wishes. Hope you get plenty of sleep in for the next four months, because you won't after that!

[sinbin]

You may need to know this. A birth certifiate isn't a proof of Nationality, where as a passport is . As 'richm7' says 'a british b/c is not strictly neccessary'. So save money, and just apply for a passport at the UK Embassy. It can even be done by post, to save you the visit.

[Bazzzzza]

I was recommended this forum,and it really has proved to be helpful.

Thank you very much guys.