I Need Help Understanding Thabian Baan For My Son

[pete66]

I have a 11-year old son with Thai lady (we are divorced 4 years) and I need help understanding the whole concept of Thabian Baan (house registration papers).

I have too many questions to list really, so if there is one Q&A resource that could help me, that would be amazing.

Just as further information, the son lives with me in BKK and has done since the divorce. We live in rented accommodation.

For purposes of passports, bank accounts, schools etc. does he just need a copy of his house registration paper, or is an original required? Who has the right to update this document, and can he be transferred to any house in any province in Thailand? Is the province important for schools, bank accounts? For example, can you only open bank account in province where you are registered?

(oops, questions started, apologies, I'll stop now and hope for some magical "resource" to answer all my questions!!)

many thanks,

[Mario2008]

The tabien baan is the official register of where people live, often you will need to provide the original when dealing with the government.

The location where someone is registered can be changed, but would need the permission of the house owner. You will have to consult him if he will allow it.

[g00dgirl]

When moving the child from one tabian baan to another, is the original document for the old address needed as well, or just the permission and original book of the new owner/address?

[pete66]

The tabien baan is the official register of where people live, often you will need to provide the original when dealing with the government.

The location where someone is registered can be changed, but would need the permission of the house owner. You will have to consult him if he will allow it.

ok, so it is more of a record of where a Thai citizen lives in Thailand than anything to do with their family situation?

If so, cool, but the problem I have is I live in a rented apartment. Could my son be registered to such an address, or are all Thai people actually registered to a "house" somewhere?

[Boo]

Many thai people stay registered at their family home (where parents or whoever they go to during holidays/unemployment etc live) regardless of where they are actually living. This is usually due to moving in & out of rented accomodation due to changing jobs & changing the TB is a pain in the ass when living in a lot of different locations.

Example. My husband lived in UK for over 6 years, as does our 3y/o son, both are thai citizens, both are registered as living at my mil's property. My bil & sil are also both registered there, sil has not lived there for over 16 years & only visits sporadically.

As others have said, if your son lives with you in rented accom, then ask the landlord if it would be ok to register your son on his tabien baan & update it to the new address should you ever move.

[samran]

As others have said, the Tabieen Baan is basically a book which registers an official residence for all Thai citizens.

As others have also said, it isn't necessarily the place where they actually live, especially if they rent - so many, many Thai's can and do have their Tabieen Baan at a different address to where they actually live.

In my case, I've found landlords very wary of registering tenants on their Tabieen baan. In the situation where you need to have a registration at a more 'convenient' location, it is best to ask close friends etc if you can be registered on their books.

The Tabieen Baan is a pretty important document, as in many cases, it is THE piece of evidence which confirms who you are (that and the ID card).

As such, the database for the Tabieen Baan is generally accessible across all government departments - including tax, welfare and passport offices - so that your house registration details can be cross matched immediately when you are dealing with these departments.

Given this, with a Thai ID number, as a Thai citizen, dealing with government departments these days is generally a breeze, with most services which require evidence of identification being able to process your requests upon presentation of an ID number.

This goes for passports as well, which can be issued in three days basically require a 1/2 page 'application' form.

In terms of your child getting a Thai passport, the tabieen baan will be essential for him to to get a passport, as well as BOTH parents signatures. The only exception to this is if you have been granted sole custody of the child and this is legally recognized in Thailand.

At 15 - your son will get his first ID card, based on his being registered on the tabien baan, and throughout life, when applying for a drivers license, bank account, any financial instrument, registering a car, paying taxes etc, generally a copy of the ID card and tabieen baan will be needed for all of these things.

So, in summary, it is one important little document!

Edited January 10, 2011 by samran

[pete66]

Many thanks for the answers, I know a lot more than I did 24 hrs ago, that's for sure.

My only remaining questions are:

1) Is there only one thabian baan document per house or does every person registered to that house have a document saying where they are registered?

2) If a person wants to transfer, they do that at the amphee of the new house presumably? What documentation is required? The old thabian baan presumably, but anything else from the owner of the old house? They don't need to actually turn up right?

My questions are really coming out of the circumstance I have found myself in during the last 3 years where my son has been without a thabian baan document, and when I tried to get him sorted on one, I was asked for a lot of money .... so I really want to understand how it works and make it easy for my son in the future to do things he has the right to do with the minimum of fuss.

[MikeyIdea]

There is one tabien baan per property as it is a register of the people living in the property

Do you have shared custody according to Thai law? Basically, did you register the marriage with the mother? If you did, then you have shared parental rights and that opens up doors for you that you should use

The child doesn't seem to have much contact with the mother, you take care of the child alone since 4 years back and you pay everything for the child if I understand things correctly, does the child want it to continue to be like that? If this is the plan (or how it probably is going to work out) then if you don't have custody, then you should petition the court to get it.

Apart form that, it would be good for you to get an original birth certificate. You have lost it of course, go to the police station and get a police report stating that, then go to the amphur where the child was first registered (where he was born), show police report, evidence that you are you and evidence that you are legal father and you can get a new original birth certificate, it's even totally free

(Legally recognised) Father and mother can decide place for child separately. If you have shared custody, then you (without the mother or child present) can move the child from where it is currently registered and you do not need the original book, you need another tabien baan and permission from "chao baan" (master of that house hold) that he allows the child to come in, you need evidence that you are you, the birth certificate of the child (why not an original since it is so easy to get) and evidence that you have shared custody

If your Thai is not good, then you may need a lawyer to help you at (both) amphurs - child can only be registered in one book so old register has to be updated, the actual book doesn't actually

Good Luck

Edited January 11, 2011 by MikeyIdea

[MikeyIdea]

the actual book doesn't actually

What I mean is that the actual book doesn't have to be updated at the time the child is moved, you don't need the old book to move the child to a new book. The old book will be updated the next time someone brings it in

If you have shared custody, then you can move the child without the mothers permission and without the master of the old households permission

Edited January 11, 2011 by MikeyIdea

[pete66]

the actual book doesn't actually

What I mean is that the actual book doesn't have to be updated at the time the child is moved, you don't need the old book to move the child to a new book. The old book will be updated the next time someone brings it in

If you have shared custody, then you can move the child without the mothers permission and without the master of the old households permission

ok, great. I have the original birth certificate. What I don't have is any written evidence of shared custody. What sort of evidence can you present for that?

[MikeyIdea]

the actual book doesn't actually

What I mean is that the actual book doesn't have to be updated at the time the child is moved, you don't need the old book to move the child to a new book. The old book will be updated the next time someone brings it in

If you have shared custody, then you can move the child without the mothers permission and without the master of the old households permission

ok, great. I have the original birth certificate. What I don't have is any written evidence of shared custody. What sort of evidence can you present for that?

If you registered the marriage at the amphur, then that is the evidence of shared custody and it is already in their computers, they can take the BC and they see that father and mother was married. Did you legally marry in Thailand? If you didn't then mother most likely have sole custody and you can't move the child. If you went to court to get legitimized then their computers would also be updated with that father has custody.

You have divorced so it could be possible that you wrote an agreement at the back of the divorce papers (i.e., mother gets sole custody = you as father can't move child) but that is so far-fetched that I don't think they will ask for the divorce agreement. Another way I used was to legitimize at amphur and I got a bai rapp long bott - certficate of fathership (can only be done if all 3 parties agree and child is approx 7 years old), that paper is evidence of shared custody. I did this several years ago so it wasn't updated into the amphurs computers at that time -> I actually have to bring the bai rapp long bott with me to prove shared custody.

It's easy for you to check, just go down to the amphur and show them the birth certificate and ask and they will tell you what they see in their computers. If you have / can get Por Kor 11, that form states shared custody, then you're good and can move the child

Good Luck

[MikeyIdea]

I didn't write one thing clearly

Regarding " and without the master of the old households permission "

The master of the old house holds permission is never needed when people want to move of course

Edited January 12, 2011 by MikeyIdea