A US citizen I know wanted to adopt a Thai child but believed it unlikely that he would be accepted as a suitable adoptive parent as he is gay and in a gay relationship. Accordingly, he paid a pregnant mother, who was planning to abort after the father, her Thai husband, and she separated, to carry it to full term and then turn it over to him when it was born. He made her sign a docunent relinquishing many if not all of her rights to see or visit the child or to participate in its upbringing. To avoid the complexities of legally adopting the child, this person fraudulently placed his name as the biological father on the Thai birth certificate believing this would smooth tbe way to aquiring a US passport for the boy. In the event when he made the application the US passport service required a DNA test in addition to the birth certificate he submitted to prove paternity which, obviously, the man was unable to supply. It is a Federal offense to knowingly submit a fraudulent document to support a visa or passport application. I would be interested to know howThai law sees the situation and what action could be taken by the authorities against this man, and what other possible US federal laws might be invoked were the authorities interested in pusuing this matter... And where would the child stand in all this? What are its rights?

Also under Thai law it would (probably) be an offence and could be prosecuted leading to a possible jailterm and becoming persona non-grata in Thailand.

If the woman was legally married, her husband is the legal father of the child. Another name on the birth certificate doesn't change that, even if the husband is not the biological father.

The declaration signed by the mother might be worthless or can be revoked as no adoption took place and the mother still holds parental rights. It will in any case be worthless against her (ex) husband, who has equal parental rights as her and didn't sign anything.

Thanks Mario.