Thai step son, name change

[Benjune11]

Hello

My self and my thai wife are due to fly to thailand end off september for a 6 week hoilday,

and we have now decided to try bring her 8 year old son to the uk,

my wife will be going to her province office to get the letter staying that she has sole custody of the child,

as the father has not be around or seen him since he was two years old,

after we have got that sole custody letter we are going to bkk to get the passport and submit all are documents to the uk embassy,

but as he hasnt got a pasport yet i want to know how and can i, change the boys name to my name,

he currenty has the fathers surename on birth certificate and id card

i would be very grateful some some help on this

ben

Edited August 22, 2013 by Benjune11

[Mario2008]

You will find that it is not that easy to bring the child to the UK, as the mother doesn't take care of him for a long time.

If she has sole custody depends on if she was married officially married to the father or not and if so, If she got sole parental rights over the child or not. if she was not married to the father, she will have sole parental rights over the child. The fact that the father has not been around for a long time is meaningless to the amphur.

The chances of the child changing the name to yours depends on if the mother has sole custody or not. If so, she might do it.

I strongly suggest you do some more research about the requirements to get the child over to the UK. I will move this thread to the forum for getting visas for other countries, where they can give you some good advice.

[7by7]

Firstly, changing his surname to yours will have absolutely no effect on any UK visa application.

With regard to that application, have a read of the relevant parts of UK Settlement Visa Basics.

You will see that the biggest hurdle is showing that his mother has been exercising sole responsibility throughout the separation.

There is also the financial requirement.

Although if your wife has ILR then you will not have to meet this for the boy's application; but you will need to show that you can adequately support him without recourse to public funds.

Having read all that, feel free to ask any further questions you may have.

[Benjune11]

hi 7by7

thanks for the reply,

its a head ache at the moment should off done this years ago, we have a angencis helping us at the moment,

but as i left it so long they also said he will be hard,

if we dont get the visa first time so be it will keep trying, it will cost alot but money is no option when it comes to my step son,

his grand parents are now very ill so they cant keep control of him so we are going to try are best

best any helpful tips or hints on this would be welcomed

have a good day

[7by7]

I hope that the grandparents currently looking after him are his maternal ones; if paternal you will have great difficulty.

Provide as much evidence as you can to show the contact between your wife and her son. Not just recent contact, but covering as much of the period of separation as you can.

Show that she has been making all the decisions regarding his life and upbringing; schooling for example.

Explain why he has been living with his grandparents in Thailand and did not accompany his mother when she came to the UK.

Explain why this arrangement is no longer suitable and if it is due to his grand parents ages and infirmities provide evidence of this if possible.

Good luck; prepare well and prepare carefully and fully. Whilst it is true that you do not want to smother the Entry Clearance Officer with paper, I firmly believe it is better to include something which is not required than to leave out something which is!

[Benjune11]

thanks again 7by7

the grandparents are the maternal ones, they both have letters and booklet (i guess) about vists to hospital doctor ect

we have bank statements and phone bills of contact and sending money,

but the one thing i am finding hard to get my head round is how is my wife going to show she makes decisions regarding his life and upbringing; schooling,

every thing is done over the phone,

we dont have letters or everything like that

my wife has only been back 3 times in the 6 years she has been here, she did go back for 3 months about 6 months after arriveling in the uk

but since then only on a hoilday and we have a had a son in the uk together plus we did have problems getting her extended visa 4 years ago where she had to wait nearly 2 years for but we have all the paper work to prove why she couldnt travel around that time

many thansk ben

[Pilotman]

We are going through nearly the same process and getting nowhere fast! I have formally adopted my wife's biological daughter, through the UK court system. She now has British citizenship and a UK Passport in her new name, my name. Unfortunately, her Thai passport is in her old name, that of her biological father. We have tried ever which way to get her Thsi passport name changed to her new, lawful name. We have all of the UK court documentation, translated and legalised, but the message that we are getting, confirmed by others on this forum, is that we need to go through the formal, legal adoption process here in Thialand. I have flatly refused to do that as it s a waste of time and money. She will have to get it sorted once she is 18. As she isn't in the slightest bit bothered and thinks the Thai legal system is bring particularly thick in its approach to her and others like her, they are likely to lose the loyalty of one of their citizens! The only down side is that she needs a multi entry tourist visa each year to visit her grandparents for any length of time. A bit of a pain, but a lot better than going through another adoption!

We have a meeting planned with the authorities in Bangkok in the coming weeks. I will make sure that I pass on any information that I get from that meeting. Sorry to pass on negative information, but forewarned is forearmed?

[7by7]

the one thing i am finding hard to get my head round is how is my wife going to show she makes decisions regarding his life and upbringing; schooling,

every thing is done over the phone,

we dont have letters or everything like that

Then explain that fully in your sponsor's letter.

If you can get a letter from the school confirming your wife's involvement; so much the better.

Note, though, that the ECO may phone the school to confirm it's contents and if it is written in English will expect to speak to the author in English. So maybe better to have it written in Thai and accompanied by a translation.

They may also want to speak to the grandparents and the boy himself.

Everything said by everyone they talk to must be consistent with everything said by everyone else and with what you and your wife say in the application.

You also need to explain why she has not been able to visit him as often as she would wish; include the paperwork showing that she was unable to leave the UK for 2 years due to her own immigration problems.

[Jay Sata]

Pilotman is correct.

I've been down this road a long time ago and the only way you can change the child's family name in Thailand is by legal adoption in the kingdom.

It's a long time consuming affair that involves a lot of documentation.

I gave up.

[Benjune11]

7by7

u said in your last reply

If you can get a letter from the school confirming your wife's involvement; so much the better.

could you explain what needs to but in a letter like that,

we are hoping the school will be open when we get there so we can go talk to the head and the boys teacher, explain what letters we need,

1- letter stating that the schools is letting the boy leave to come to the uk

2- letter stating that the boy atends this school

3- and a letter which you have just said about

[7by7]

Three separate letters are not necessary; it can all be in one letter.

Anything in the letter must be true, of course.

Has your wife ever spoken or written to the school concerning her son?

If so, then the letter should confirm that she has done so and how often; though the ECO will be aware that exact dates will be difficult to remember unless specifically recorded.

If she hasn't, then there is little point in obtaining anything from the school at all. Though in your sponsor's letter you should say that although she has not personally dealt with the school, the decisions on his schooling and all other aspects of his life are made by her and carried out by her parents on her instructions.

Assuming that is true, of course.

[Benjune11]

thanks 7 by 7

is there any chance you culd give me a list of all documents me and wife will need uk side and thai side

thanks ben

[7by7]

My suggestions.

From Thailand:-

Child's passport; obviously.

Copy of his ID card if he has one.

Child's birth certificate.

Your marriage certificate to show that your wife is his mother, even though their surnames are different.

Sole custody document; Por Kor 6 if issued by the local ampur, but I think she will need the boy's father to agree. Otherwise, as my wife did, she will need to go to court to get custody. Hopefully this was sorted out when they divorced.

Ampurs may also issue a document called a Por Kor 14; which basically confirms that your wife is the person exercising parental responsibility; ask them. On it's own, not enough to satisfy the ECO as to sole responsibility, but added to other evidence it can help.

If possible, letters and documents to confirm sole responsibility as previously discussed.

You say your in laws have medical letters etc. concerning their failing health; include copies of these to show why they can no longer take care of the child.

Any documents not in English should be accompanied by an English translation certified by the translation office which carried out the translation.

From you:-

Sponsor's letter, can be signed by you or your wife but I'd suggest jointly, briefly explaining why the child did not accompany his mother when she emigrated to the UK, why he has not applied to do so before now and why he is doing so now. Include any expansion to questions on the application form you feel is necessary and any further information you feel may help. Not too long, though; two pages max.

List of supporting documents.

Copy of your passport to show your status as a British citizen; can be self certified as a true copy.

Copy of your wife's passport to show her immigration status in the UK; again can be self certified.

Letters etc. from the UKBA and anyone else concerning the difficulties she had with her Leave to Remain to show why she was unable to leave the UK and visit her son for 2 years.

Evidence of contact between her and her son and his current carers; phone bills, email headers etc. going back as far as possible.

Financial evidence as per the appendix linked to in my first post. Unless your wife has ILR in which case your last 6 months bank statements and pay slips. Hers too if she has a separate bank account and works. Not just current accounts; all accounts to show the full picture.

Evidence of the accommodation available. Brief description of the property and who lives there. If you own then evidence of this such as mortgage statement; if you rent then a letter from your landlord confirming that the boy can live there.

Anything else you think may help.

See also the pinned topic I linked to in my first post.

[Benjune11]

cheers 7by7

the thai father has had no contact with his son since the age of 2 years old, and no one nos where he is,