How To Gain Parental Rights As A Father

[thequietman]

Been my stepsons Dad since he was 3 months old. Dad cleared off but not before going to the local Amphur within 15 days of birth to register himself as the dad. Cleared off just 3 months later. Anyway, I married the mum and stepson is now 18. Wife says old boyfriend didn't go to any court and only the Amphur without her permission and without her signature on anything. Tor Ror 1 was the only form the dead beat dad signed.

 

So, can my stepson claim me to be his Dad or not?  thanks.

[Preacher]

You could go to the amphur (mother, stepson and you), and claim that you are the father and see where the ship strands. 

They might ask for a DNA test or the could simply acknowledge that you are the father. 

[Xaos]

My court costs were 15k thb. Before that enquired with 4 or 5 other lawyers and lowest was 20k thb. One told us all the local lawyers have a pact where they wont do anything under a fee of 20k thb 5555. Apparently a reletively easy process to lodge the application which others said they have been able to do without a lawyer. We were told not having a lawyer would show disrespect to the judge.

In hindsight though...apart from filling out the application form there is a little bit of mucking around like organising interviews at family services. Actual representation in a non English speaking court. I would recommend getting a lawyer.

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Sounds complicated.

U are the father? And how old is kid?

[stupidfarang]

Hi

Can I get a legal document to give me full / sole custody of my son? We are not married, have separated, my name is on the birth certificate, ex is thinking about giving me our son to look after. I would like a legal document that says I am the guardian of son so that he cannot be taken away from me in years to come. We live in Thailand. What is the best action to take.

 

Thank you in advance.

[Preacher]

You could legitimize the child and at the same time apply for sole custody with the agreement of the mother. That will take some time and cost money. 

 

If the child is 7 years or older you can legitimize the child at the amphur by showing up there with the child and mother. 

[stupidfarang]

Hi

 

Can you please help with these questions?

1) Can I legitimize the child at the amphur by myself or do I need the mother as well? 

2) By legitimize the child will this give me more rights with the child?

3) Is it easy to legitimize the child at the amphur with the mother? is it just paperwork

4) What papers will I need to legitimize the child at the amphur?

 

Thank you in advance for taking time to answer these questions, it is appreciated. 

[Preacher]

2 hours ago, stupidfarang said:

Hi

 

Can you please help with these questions?

1) Can I legitimize the child at the amphur by myself or do I need the mother as well? 

2) By legitimize the child will this give me more rights with the child?

3) Is it easy to legitimize the child at the amphur with the mother? is it just paperwork

4) What papers will I need to legitimize the child at the amphur?

 

Thank you in advance for taking time to answer these questions, it is appreciated. 

1. You need the mother AND the child. The child must generally be at least 7 yaers old. But if 6 and going to school they might accept that.

 

2. legitimizing the child means that you are also legally the father, not only biological. yes, it would give you more rights.

 

3 and 4. Yes, it should be easy and is just paperwork. How easy will depend on the amphur and what they require. Some want witnesses etc. You will need your passport and a translation of your name. It is great if you have a work permit so they can copy the name in Thai from there. 

If they ask a lot of paperwork, ask them to put it in writing. That might help them back down.

[Xaos]

My kid is 3 and half i guess I have to go to court.
Wr happy fam, I want to do it so i get year visa extension, cuz now in out every 5.

And marriage my country requires lots of papers and it takes time.

Any one knows lawyer in Pattaya that can sort me out.

Thx

[MrLars]

Great threat with lots of helpfull information.

Im currently trying to push trought this shit myself.
I have a daughter 4 years old.
Born in Norway, but lived she have lived in thailand the past 2 years.
Her mother is thai.
She have both Thai and Norwegian passport.
I have BC for her in Thai, and also a Norwegian one translated and confirmed by the Norwegian embassy in BKK.

I got to the Immigration Office here in Phitsanulok and to make sure my papers was ok, but at my surprise they wanted me to go to the Amphur to get papers.
We tried go to the Amphur but there was little or no help at all to get, they just told me to go to the court.
I went to the court, and there they told me it would be around a 3 months process to get the papers.
I went back to the Immigration office again and told them about my problems, they was telling me to get married and everything would be ok.

My problem is, my visa expires in 1,5 month, so going to court is no option the way i see it.
I have now requested Certificate of No Impediment to Marrige, from my country, but the papers take around 3 weeks to get... and i guess around 4-5 weeks to get my marrige arranged. How do i obtain my visa, or extend it for a month or so, while waiting on my papers to get ok?
 

[offset]

On 5/19/2018 at 1:21 PM, thequietman said:

Been my stepsons Dad since he was 3 months old. Dad cleared off but not before going to the local Amphur within 15 days of birth to register himself as the dad. Cleared off just 3 months later. Anyway, I married the mum and stepson is now 18. Wife says old boyfriend didn't go to any court and only the Amphur without her permission and without her signature on anything. Tor Ror 1 was the only form the dead beat dad signed.

 

So, can my stepson claim me to be his Dad or not?  thanks.

 

[offset]

2 hours ago, MrLars said:

Great threat with lots of helpfull information.

Im currently trying to push trought this shit myself.
I have a daughter 4 years old.
Born in Norway, but lived she have lived in thailand the past 2 years.
Her mother is thai.
She have both Thai and Norwegian passport.
I have BC for her in Thai, and also a Norwegian one translated and confirmed by the Norwegian embassy in BKK.

I got to the Immigration Office here in Phitsanulok and to make sure my papers was ok, but at my surprise they wanted me to go to the Amphur to get papers.
We tried go to the Amphur but there was little or no help at all to get, they just told me to go to the court.
I went to the court, and there they told me it would be around a 3 months process to get the papers.
I went back to the Immigration office again and told them about my problems, they was telling me to get married and everything would be ok.

My problem is, my visa expires in 1,5 month, so going to court is no option the way i see it.
I have now requested Certificate of No Impediment to Marrige, from my country, but the papers take around 3 weeks to get... and i guess around 4-5 weeks to get my marrige arranged. How do i obtain my visa, or extend it for a month or so, while waiting on my papers to get ok?
 

I think this should be posted in the Thai visa and Residency section I am sure that you will get the info you need there

[MrLars]

thank you

[spcldad]

6 hours ago, MrLars said:

Great threat with lots of helpfull information.

Im currently trying to push trought this shit myself.
I have a daughter 4 years old.
Born in Norway, but lived she have lived in thailand the past 2 years.
Her mother is thai.
She have both Thai and Norwegian passport.
I have BC for her in Thai, and also a Norwegian one translated and confirmed by the Norwegian embassy in BKK.

I got to the Immigration Office here in Phitsanulok and to make sure my papers was ok, but at my surprise they wanted me to go to the Amphur to get papers.
We tried go to the Amphur but there was little or no help at all to get, they just told me to go to the court.
I went to the court, and there they told me it would be around a 3 months process to get the papers.
I went back to the Immigration office again and told them about my problems, they was telling me to get married and everything would be ok.

My problem is, my visa expires in 1,5 month, so going to court is no option the way i see it.
I have now requested Certificate of No Impediment to Marrige, from my country, but the papers take around 3 weeks to get... and i guess around 4-5 weeks to get my marrige arranged. How do i obtain my visa, or extend it for a month or so, while waiting on my papers to get ok?
 

My experience in Hua Hin.  My daughter was 5 and we went to the Amphur to register as the legal father.  First, I needed my passport translated and certified by the Foreign Ministry -- name must be spelled the same in Thai as on the Birth Certificate.  Second, mother and daughter had to go with me to the Amphur -- we did not do this in the same Amphur where my daughter is registered but we did have to have copies of the Blue Book where she is registered.  Third, my daughter had to be able to write her entire name in Thai -- we were told this when we check about the process a year or so earlier.  Other than making the trip to the Foreign Ministry to do the passport, the entire process was simple and no fuss.   Hope this helps. 

[Dimebag]

4 hours ago, spcldad said:

My experience in Hua Hin.  My daughter was 5 and we went to the Amphur to register as the legal father.  First, I needed my passport translated and certified by the Foreign Ministry -- name must be spelled the same in Thai as on the Birth Certificate.  Second, mother and daughter had to go with me to the Amphur -- we did not do this in the same Amphur where my daughter is registered but we did have to have copies of the Blue Book where she is registered.  Third, my daughter had to be able to write her entire name in Thai -- we were told this when we check about the process a year or so earlier.  Other than making the trip to the Foreign Ministry to do the passport, the entire process was simple and no fuss.   Hope this helps. 

Thanks for post, very helpful. Could you tell me where the nearest foreign ministry is to Hua Hin that does this translation?

[spcldad]

Thanks for post, very helpful. Could you tell me where the nearest foreign ministry is to Hua Hin that does this translation?

You can get the translation done at Chang Wattana (Consular Building) in BKK. They have a desk near the front will do the translation and then you take the copy upstairs to get it legalized. They no longer do same day service. When competed they will post it to you — it take only a couple of days to get it back.


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[Preacher]

The problem with legitimising a child at the amphur is that the law doesn't state an actual age to be able to express his or her will to give consent. In most cases the age that will be accepted is 7, or when the child goes to first class of elementary school. 

Age 4 is very young and the amphur already told you that they want you to go to court.

 

If you can't get the marriage papers in order or get the court decision in time you can get a new non-O visa in Laos with the help of the birth certificate and a note from the mother as well as a copy of her ID-card. 

[Dimebag]

On 11/12/2018 at 7:23 AM, spcldad said:

You can get the translation done at Chang Wattana (Consular Building) in BKK. They have a desk near the front will do the translation and then you take the copy upstairs to get it legalized. They no longer do same day service. When competed they will post it to you — it take only a couple of days to get it back.


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Allow me to add a crucial piece of information that could save a long wasted trip to Chaengwattana as I just wasted 4.5 hours and found out the hard way. Before you attempt to go there for a certified translation in Thai of your passport, you must first go to your embassy and get a certified copy of your passport by your own embassy or you will simply be turned away at Chaengwattana

[spcldad]

Allow me to add a crucial piece of information that could save a long wasted trip to Chaengwattana as I just wasted 4.5 hours and found out the hard way. Before you attempt to go there for a certified translation in Thai of your passport, you must first go to your embassy and get a certified copy of your passport by your own embassy or you will simply be turned away at Chaengwattana

You are correct! I inadvertently omitted that step. You must have a certified copy of the passport by the Embassy before having it translated into Thai. With this certified copy, I went to the translation desk at the top of the escalator and after they translated my passport into Thai (took about 2 hours), I went upstairs and applied to have the translation “certified” — another hour or so. I paid the fees (cannot remember how much) and they mailed the document to me. I did this back in March/April just after my Daughter turned 5. My wife worked with her for a couple of months to ensure she could write her full name in Thai — as my daughter did have to sign her name on one of the forms. The Amphur Official was very accommodating in explaining what we needed to do and then in completing the process.


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[justin case]

On 11/16/2018 at 9:08 PM, spcldad said:

You are correct! I inadvertently omitted that step. You must have a certified copy of the passport by the Embassy before having it translated into Thai. With this certified copy, I went to the translation desk at the top of the escalator and after they translated my passport into Thai (took about 2 hours), I went upstairs and applied to have the translation “certified” — another hour or so. I paid the fees (cannot remember how much) and they mailed the document to me. I did this back in March/April just after my Daughter turned 5. My wife worked with her for a couple of months to ensure she could write her full name in Thai — as my daughter did have to sign her name on one of the forms. The Amphur Official was very accommodating in explaining what we needed to do and then in completing the process.


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2019 and you need a passport written in English, used by the rest of the world, to be translated into Thai, but first, you need to pay the embassy to see that a freaking piece of copy paper is a real copy as if your passport is not a valid way to identify yourself ?

 

2019 and a farang man cannot just be with his family even in case of divorce or a hostile wife that he is still married to but she does not want to do a visa extension ... (costing me now about a million baht soon in lawyers, elite visa, in stead of 1900 baht nonsense)

[FruitPudding]

I finally got my child legitimized at Amphur.

 

Our local countryside Amphur said it couldn't be done, there was no such thing.

 

My lawyer said, "They don't understand the law". He quoted me 50k to do it through court. Another quoted 30k, and another quoted 20k.

 

My EX was becoming threatening, so I chilled for a bit.

 

Then I took kid to an Amphur (not our local one, but the main one for the muang) to make her ID card at 7.

 

I asked about legitimacy there. They said sure. I reminded them that it wasnt the amphur where our housebook is registered. They asked why I don't just do it there. I explained that my local Amphur don't have a clue and they laughed and said I could do it with them.

 

I had to get certified true copy of passport from my embassy, then translated, then legalized by MoFA. Also, mother had to make a statement and child interviewed. Mother and child's IDs required. Also 2 witnesses and all signatures on papers, including kid.

 

They did insist, however, that I get the legitimization document translated to English (by anyone) so they know I knew what I was signing (cos I can't read Thai) before the registrar would sign and so they could keep the English translation in their file (to prove I knew what i was signing to). We only signed the Thai document though.

 

Easy in the end, once the mother plays ball.

[Xaos]

Whats the process at amphhur. What I need? Can I just walk in with kid and gf? 

 

We not married. And its Sattahip amphhur. When we called they said come and we interview father. 

 

 

[Preacher]

Go together with mother and child and all have to declare that you are the father. Basically that is it, although some amphurs will require a translation of your passport or even a DNA-test. So if you have a work permit or Thai drivers license with your name in Thai take them along so they can establish your name in Thai script.

 

For the rest the most important thing is that the child is at least 7 years old. There is no oficial age limit, but at least 7 is the norm.

[soalbundy]

On 2/7/2017 at 7:11 PM, Preacher said:

 

Nice links to the documents, but the info you quote from Siam-Legal is incorrect.  Important info is left out. As the link to their website states, registration by the biological father can only be made with consent of mother and child. The biological father alone cannot do this.

 

Do note that legitimizing a child is not equal to getting parental rights. The mother can refuse this latter part in which one has to go to court to get parental rights.

I'm a bit confused to your last paragraph, my wife/partner and I are not married but cohabit (I am legally married to someone else) when I legitimized my relationship to my biological son after his birth before court my partner was warned that I have parental rights and should we break up, I as the financial stronger partner would have the right to keep the child, she had to agree to this before the legitimization could be recognized by the court (Surin).

[Preacher]

There is a difference between being the legal parent of a child and having parental rights. For example in a case of child abuse one could be the legal parent but the parental rights might be taken away.

If the mother disagrees with you being the legal father a court might decide that you are indeed the legal father. But because of the situation might decide that you will not also get parental rights, in essence the right to decide things for the child as to where the child lives, goes to school, medical treatment, etc. But as legal father you would have to pay child support.

 

In your case the judge saw no reason to deny you parental rights.

[justaphase]

Do i need to get the passport translation certified or is the translation service certification enough?

Anyone?

[Preacher]

1 hour ago, justaphase said:

Do i need to get the passport translation certified or is the translation service certification enough?

Anyone?

Depends on the amphur what they require.

 

Names are recorded in Thai. Thus if you have an official document with your name in Thai, such as a drivers license or work permit it should be enough. 

[FruitPudding]

5 hours ago, justaphase said:

Do i need to get the passport translation certified or is the translation service certification enough?

Anyone?

At my Amphur they insisted I get my passport copied by my own embassy, then translated, then stamped by MoFA.

[FruitPudding]

On 5/31/2019 at 3:08 AM, soalbundy said:

I'm a bit confused to your last paragraph, my wife/partner and I are not married but cohabit (I am legally married to someone else) when I legitimized my relationship to my biological son after his birth before court my partner was warned that I have parental rights and should we break up, I as the financial stronger partner would have the right to keep the child, she had to agree to this before the legitimization could be recognized by the court (Surin).

 

Most likely they meant that in a custody battle (should you have one) you would (likely) win due to being financially stronger (in the event that you broke up).

 

Though what confuses me is that you say she had to agree to forfeit custody to you should you break up before legitimization? Or were they just informing her of that potential danger before she went ahead with it (to give her one last chance to back out)?

 

Seems odd because she could win the lottery before you break up!

[offset]

On 10/28/2019 at 9:14 AM, justaphase said:

Do i need to get the passport translation certified or is the translation service certification enough?

Anyone?

When I did mine they only wanted it certified to make the my name correct in Thai on the paperwork

[Cristiancjb]

A question. I need the papers to be claimed as the father of my Thai born child so that I can get a Nin-O Thai Child visa through immigration and I also need those papers to register my baby as Swedish citizen (my nationality). We got a lawyer and went to court, seems like it's gonna take almost 2 months for the court decision (even though it's an easy case since we have DNA test and the mother approves and all).

But, before they make a decision, it seems like we have to go to some Child Protection Center (สถานพินิจและคุ้มครองเด็กและเยาวชนจังหวัดเชียงใหม่)...does anybody know why we need that? We have an appointment in Friday...does anyone know what kind of questions they will ask? Seems like they are gonna interview me/us since we need to bring someone that can translate for me in English...

 

Any info would be grateful!

Thanks in advance