A good friend of mine (British guy) is having a few problems with the Embassy regarding his son.

Over the new year his girlfriend (Thai) passed away and now he is trying to sort out a trip to the UK to get a few things sorted. Here are the facts:

- They were not married

- The boy (almost 2) has a full British passport AND a Thai passport

- The Father is officially on the Birth Certificate

- The boy has been to the UK before with Mother and Father

- The girls family have no problem with the Father at all and are very cooperative

So the Father gets all the necessary paperwork ready for the British Embassy and on the phone they say there will be no problem. When he gets there they look through the paperwork and tell him he needs to hire a lawyer. My friend went straight to Asok where he was quoted 90,000B for the service.

The question is.....WHY does he need a lawyer in the first place and what alternatives are there?

We would appreciate some advice on this and apologies if I am missing some information.

Basically all he wants to do is take his son to the UK for a few months.

why is he dealing with the emabssy at all?

If his kid has a uk passport, book a ticket and go..

I often travelled with my daughter without her mom

he will need to be legitimized as father which could prove tricky what with the mother being dead, so a DNA test would be required unless the child is over 7 years old.

the thais at the british embassy knew FA about this when i asked them.

Oho... another guy recommending kidnapping and child trafficking again... It's getting boring to tell people that it is advisable to follow the law.

Smokey Jones - Read this thread: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Leaving-Thai...46#entry3342046

I'll post more in an hour or so, read the post above meanwhile

The boy is 2 years old, the mother is dead and the father didn't marry the mother before she died. The father is then by law most likely not the legal father of the child. That the father is named as father on the BC is fine for British authorities but has no legal impact what-so-ever in Thailand.

The British Embassy told your friend that he needs a lawyer probably because when they saw the papers, they realised that the child probably has no legal custodian now. He or you can go to the amphur with the childs BC and the mothers death certificate and ask. You could bring a family member since they are cooperative but be careful in your choice if you do. I don't know the procedure, how difficult or easy it is for a child whose only legal custodian dies to get a new custodian but maybe it is not that difficult. This must be happening quite often in Thailand (many Thais don't register their weddings either so many Thai children thereby have no legal father). It should be better to make the father custodian instead of the mothers parents and then having to change afterwards. You do not need a lawyer to ask at the amphur but you probably need decent spoken Thai.

Show them the BC, the death certificate and the childs passports. Ask if the father on the BC can get Por Kor 13 (that's a form stating that someone has sole custody). If they say yes, goodie, if they say no ask Who can get Por Kor 13. If they say No one except going to Juvenile court first, bad luck

Most people don’t know this but children born out-of-wedlock in Thailand only have one custodian (the mother) and the father is according to the law nothing. He cannot even be forced to pay for his children and he has no right to visit them either, if the mother does not agree. The process to become a father according to law and get shared parental rights is called legitimization. A father must normally go to juvenile court and it takes 3 -4 months including waiting time if the mother / custodian agree. If the child is approx 7 years old and the child and the mother agree, then father can become legitimized at the amphur for a few hundred bath without lawyer needed

Please let me know what the amphur says

The boy is 2 years old, the mother is dead and the father didn't marry the mother before she died. The father is then by law most likely not the legal father of the child. That the father is named as father on the BC is fine for British authorities but has no legal impact what-so-ever in Thailand.

The British Embassy told your friend that he needs a lawyer probably because when they saw the papers, they realised that the child probably has no legal custodian now. He or you can go to the amphur with the childs BC and the mothers death certificate and ask. You could bring a family member since they are cooperative but be careful in your choice if you do. I don't know the procedure, how difficult or easy it is for a child whose only legal custodian dies to get a new custodian but maybe it is not that difficult. This must be happening quite often in Thailand (many Thais don't register their weddings either so many Thai children thereby have no legal father). It should be better to make the father custodian instead of the mothers parents and then having to change afterwards. You do not need a lawyer to ask at the amphur but you probably need decent spoken Thai.

Show them the BC, the death certificate and the childs passports. Ask if the father on the BC can get Por Kor 13 (that's a form stating that someone has sole custody). If they say yes, goodie, if they say no ask Who can get Por Kor 13. If they say No one except going to Juvenile court first, bad luck

Most people don’t know this but children born out-of-wedlock in Thailand only have one custodian (the mother) and the father is according to the law nothing. He cannot even be forced to pay for his children and he has no right to visit them either, if the mother does not agree. The process to become a father according to law and get shared parental rights is called legitimization. A father must normally go to juvenile court and it takes 3 -4 months including waiting time if the mother / custodian agree. If the child is approx 7 years old and the child and the mother agree, then father can become legitimized at the amphur for a few hundred bath without lawyer needed

Please let me know what the amphur says

Thanks for this, will inform my friend and let you know.