Adopting a child within my Thai Family. Advice needed.

[lannaman]

I am British aged 69, my Thai wife is 46. We have been married 9 years.

My wife has a niece who left a baby girl with my wife's family, she was only one month old and we took her into our care and she's been with us since then. She's now 21 months, and has completely bonded with us.

Her birth mother works in a low income job in Bangkok, is single with three kids, she has the oldest child with her, the middle one lives with his grandmother and she could not afford to keep the baby who is now living with us.

The mother is completely happy with us adopting her, as are the rest of the family.

My wife has been to the municiple office dealing with adoptions, and they have said that as I am a foreigner I need to go to the Adoption Centre in Bangkok, I plan to go there next Wednesday. I tried phoning them but had such a softly spoken Thai lady that I could understand a lot of what she said.

Has anyone had a similar experience? We are very keen to adopt her,and thus under our loving care give her a decent future. She is a quiet, good and intelligent child, and we love her very much. Please advise!

[Mario2008]

They want you to undergo an international adoption, so the adoption will be both recognised by Thailand and your own country the UK. (This might give the child your nationality also). This menas the adoption must be according to Thai and British law and makes it a little bit longer (and more exensive).

Still, especially with family adoptions it should not be a problem.

Can't give you more advise as my knowledge is limited. But others on the form have gone through the process succesfully.

[Frogmountain]

Please join BAMBI Adoption Support on Facebook. Members have a ton of good advice on Thailand adoption. Good luck!

[KelinUT]

They want you to undergo an international adoption, so the adoption will be both recognised by Thailand and your own country the UK. (This might give the child your nationality also). This menas the adoption must be according to Thai and British law and makes it a little bit longer (and more exensive).

Still, especially with family adoptions it should not be a problem.

Can't give you more advise as my knowledge is limited. But others on the form have gone through the process successfully.

I recently adopted my step-daughter under Thai law, and she now has my surname in her Thai passport. This took almost 6 years. Granted we did have a 12-month stint in Japan during that time - I am Australian and my wife and I have been married 7 years (married in Thailand) - but it is not a quick process to have the adoption formalised in Thailand. The Bangkok Adoption Centre is where it all happens, and they process and control the proceedings. I did make the mistake of accepting advice and hands on support from some people who gave the impression they knew more than they did, and that almost put a stop to the proceedings. Fortunately, my wife recovered that situation and things progressed.

Apart from the year or so in Japan, we have lived - and intend to live - permanently in Thailand.

There is mention in this quote of an 'International Adoption'. Is there such a thing - other than the Hague Convention adoption of non-related children?

I assumed, during the 6 year wait, that the Australian Government would recognise the adoption and therefore my step-daughter would be eligible for Australian Citizenship. That is not the case it seems. I am told I need to apply for adoption in Australia. I am also told that, after applying for a Spouse Visa for my wife to enter Australia (a 14 month wait in some cases) which could include my step-daughter, then when in Australia the process for an Australian citizenship application for my step-daughter could be made. She would need to live in Australia for 4 years. And given we will not be, I am unsure about how adoption that is recognised in Australia will proceed?

My step-daughter is 12 years old, and given we intend to live permanently in Thailand, I am frustrated to say the least.

My youngest child has Australian Citizenship by birth and will have an Australian passport issued next month. I waited to apply for my youngest daughter's passport thinking it would be nice to have both issue around the same time. How naive of me to think the Australian Government would be that 'generous' - they seem too busy giving free entry, benefits and support to illegal refugees!

I want both my children to have the benefits of Australian citizenship and an Australian passport.

I have spoken with the Attorney General's Department in Australia, Border Control and Immigration in Australia, Australian Embassy staff in Bangkok in the Australian Citizenship section and the Border Control and Immigration section, and the VSS office in Bangkok. Not one person in Thailand in a Government capacity gave very much information or a definitive answer. I received more information from an Indonesian gentleman with impeccable English skills who had lived in Australia and ran an immigration support business on the 5th Floor of the VSS building in BKK.

There surely must be a way for me to get Australian citizenship for my step-daughter without having to send her to Australia and split the family, which is the guidance received from the public servants at the Embassy?

Any and all comments/advice from expats who have similar scenarios would be welcomed. In fact, any constructive comments at all would be appreciated. I lived almost 20 years in Japan and over that time I found that the little snippets of information that I could piece together from foreigners living there proved most useful.

Edited December 12, 2014 by KelinUT