Is adoption possible without marriage?

[micmichd]

I'm German, and I'm with a Thai lady in Pattaya. The lady comes from Surin, her family accepted me as "a son of the earth" in the Temple of Surin in January 2014. Due to legal problems, I had to leave my property in Europe, so I could never buy a common house in Pattaya. I'm not married.

My gf has a daughter in Surin, her father ran away. The daughter is 18 years old and will go to University in Pattaya now. I've got 2 pensions from Germany, and that's enough for the daughter and me, even without my property which is still in Germany.

I want to adopt the daughter now, and marry my gf later when my property (or compensation) is in Thailand.

So, I would like to know if adoption of an 18 year old child is possible without being married to her mother?

[Thorgal]

You need to be married.

It's a long legal procedure but with many benefits for the child.

You need to contact your embassy and the local DSDW (department of social welfare and development).

Best is to visit them personally, instead of sending e-mails.

http://www.adoption.dsdw.go.th/Inter-country.html

http://www.bangkok.diplo.de/Vertretung/bangkok/de/04/3-Konsularservice/Adoption__seite.html

Edited March 1, 2015 by Thorgal

[Mario2008]

Per above, you can adopt a person of any age in Thailand, but you need to be married. So best to wait till you get married.

[nongsung]

Well, I'm married to my Thai lady (married in Europe) and we live in Esaan since

a couple of years. My wife's sister couldn't take care of her kid and we couldn't

adopt her with me involved. You need some kind of form from your Embassy and

there is a cut-off age (I think something like 46yo) and I'm older...

The Amphur helped my wife to have the kid registered on my wife's name. Both the

father & mother signed documents and my wife was checked by a psychiater

and after some months the papers came through. She is legally my wife's child now.

She (the kid) lives with us, speaks great English (better than me), is smart en

very loveable. Soon we are going to apply for a passport for her and hopefully there

will not be too many problems...

So, although we are married (but not in Thailand) and my wife does not carry my

last name it seems possible to 'adopt' a child. The Amphur kindly instructed my wife

to let me stay home; it only would complicate matters,

Regards,

Nongsung

[scorecard]

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Well, I'm married to my Thai lady (married in Europe) and we live in Esaan since

a couple of years. My wife's sister couldn't take care of her kid and we couldn't

adopt her with me involved. You need some kind of form from your Embassy and

there is a cut-off age (I think something like 46yo) and I'm older...

The Amphur helped my wife to have the kid registered on my wife's name. Both the

father & mother signed documents and my wife was checked by a psychiater

and after some months the papers came through. She is legally my wife's child now.

She (the kid) lives with us, speaks great English (better than me), is smart en

very loveable. Soon we are going to apply for a passport for her and hopefully there

will not be too many problems...

So, although we are married (but not in Thailand) and my wife does not carry my

last name it seems possible to 'adopt' a child. The Amphur kindly instructed my wife

to let me stay home; it only would complicate matters,

Regards,

Nongsung

It seems there are rules (and there should be strict rules on this subject to protect children), but it also seems that exceptions are possible.

i'm well aware of a case where a farang man and his Thai wife applied to adopt a Thai man 18 years old, the 18 year old was not related but had lived with the farang and Thai wife since he was quite small. They applied to adopt when the lad was 18 because at that point both of the boys birth parents had passed away. Previously the birth parents were unsure what they should do and kept delaying any decision on this matter. Other family relatives (aunts / uncles) were contacted by the ministry during the deliberations about the farang and wife adopting, all the other relatives gave 'approval'.

Both the farang and his Thai wife had professional employment in Thailand (both doctors of medicine).

During the application process the Thai wife suddenly passed away.

The authorities did some further deliberations (the ministry of Interior also then came into the discussions - I don't know why) then all concerned quickly gave approval for the farang to go ahead and adopt. The adoption was completed and the family name of the 18 yr old Thai man was changed to the farang family name (during one of the interviews the Thai lad asked the officers if it was possible to change his family name to his new fathers family name and this was approved without further question).

Edited March 2, 2015 by scorecard

[rotary]

Give this idea some long thought and consider the liability long term before going any further. All I am saying is think about this hard to protect yourself.

[micmichd]

The time when I could not protect myself is long time gone.

This small woman in fact saved my life a couple of times. Without her I would be dead or a limbo now.

When I told them in Germany, everybody said this would be an impossible long-distance relationship, and I would only fall for prostitution.

This lady only wanted education and security for her daughter, but nobody in Germany understood it.

I hope they understand it now.