Haven't been able to find any info on this but when I recently made myself the legal father of my baby whom I had with my Thai girlfriend the lawyer who took care of this procedure said when my visa runs out in January I could apply for a Supporting Visa which requires 400,000 bht in a local bank account for 3 months as opposed to the 800,000 bht that is now needed for my Retirement Visa. I am interested in checking this fact and seeing if there are any other stipulations any what is needed to apply (I will have the court documentation naming me as the legal father in Thailand).

The money does not have to be in the bank for 3 months.

2.18 In the case of a family

member of a Thai(applicable only to parents, spouse, child, adopted child or child

of his/her spouse):

Permission will be

granted for a period of

not more than 1 year at a time.

(5) In the case of a parent, one of parents must have an average annual income of not less than 40,000 baht per month or a money deposit of not less than 400,000 baht for expenses within a year.

It seems you are talking about getting an extension of stay from immigration, for which the rules are stricter then for getting a visa.

papers you need will include:

- birth certifcate of child

- court document naming you the legal fahter

- a few photo's of you and the child togehter at the house

- the child and mother (to declare you are living with them)

- household registration book of child

- bankbook and bank letter

- map to the house

Thanks for the info. I would appreciate some clarification.

If not a year, how long? And are the amounts I posted correct?

I live here full time and am interested in renewing my annual visa but perhaps another kind. Is an extension of stay a way to word this or related to this situation?

What you obtain from immigration is an extension of stay (be it retirement or child or Thai wife) and does not allow travel without a re-entry permit to keep it alive. It would be for either 60 days or one year (financials are not required for 60 days). The 400k figure is correct for one year extensions.