Father of Thai National, What else is needed to qualify for Guardian Visa?

[wisemonkey]

Hi,

I am 30 years old and currently looking after my 2 year old son (thai national) by myself, I am here now on a multi entry education visa but that ends in May. Wondering if it is going to be possible for me to get a guardianship visa? Any info is much appreciated as I dont have long left to sort this out. Cheers,

[paz]

Yes as often answered you need to legitimize your paternity as described here:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/381917-how-to-gain-parental-rights-as-a-father/

In your case you will also need to travel abroad to get a non-imm 'O' visa. Typical destination is Laos. Again, many many threads on the subjet do answer all questions.

[ubonjoe]

There is no guardian visa or extension. It is a visa or extension of stay based upon being the parent of a Thai.

Until you become the legal father of your child you can get a single entry non-o visas and 60 day extensions to visit your child.

[wisemonkey]

Thanks so much for the replies, sorry if the topic has been done to death, just a hectic period in my life so didnt really do a thorough search.

So it seems option I need to take is to become the legal father at the amphur, I am still on good terms with his mother (for the time being anyway) so should not be a problem, curious if anyone has gone through this or know what the process involves? Is it day thing, as in you can just show up and get it done on the day? Also is there going to be any financial repercussions in doing this, what worries me is if becoming the legal father obligates me to some form of child support and then the mother takes my son from me in order to get these payments... whereas the the time being she knows he will have better life with me and cause there is no financial benefit in taking him she is allowing him to stay with me.

ubonjoe, thanks for ur to the point information. You seem knowledgable in the area, what do you think the best way about me to go about things is?

[ubonjoe]

Your child is to your young to do the legitimization at an Amphoe. In most cases the child must be at least 7 year old to do there. You will have to go through the family court to do it. If you read through the topic a link was posted for you will find a good deal of info about the process and costs.

There should be no financial repercussions for doing the legitimization.

[Mario2008]

To become the legal father, you must go through court as the child is too young to give a statement. Becoming the legal farther means you have rights and resonsibilities towards the child. One of those is that you will need to take care of the child, together with the mother.

[wisemonkey]

Cheers guys, seems like its going to be a bit of a process, might just wait till he is a bit older, I want to do the best by him, fully supporting him myself at the moment and his mother is fine with it, a neighbour just told me about the possibility of getting a visa easy in my situation, but seems like not really the case, will prob try to get education visa instead then when my current visa ends.

[fxe1200]

I went through the process of becoming a "Guardian" (the other option is adoption) for two of "my" Thai kids. The process with the attorney at law at the family court in Trang took about half a year and about 25.000 THB in travelling and translating expenses. Then I was promised the legal paperwork within three weeks, as all questions and interviews went in my and the family courts favour. The paperwork never arrived. During a request by telephone done by my Thai translator, I was asked to represent myself at the family court by a lawyer, which was, according to the translator, a roundabout way of saying, that they want some money, which then would be handed over by the lawyer. I skipped this step, and today I still take care of the meanwhile juveniles, except that I do not have the final responsibility for the them, which is fine with me.

[ubonjoe]

You went through process of becoming the legal father by way of legitimization but apparently you did no complete it.

Guardian is normally used as a shorted term for legal guardian. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_guardian

[paz]

I went through the process of becoming a "Guardian" (the other option is adoption) for two of "my" Thai kids.

From your use of quotes I understand these are not your biological sons, unlike the OP case.

In which case it is good that you did not legalized a false parenthood.

[Scotthai]

Just for confirmation. I have a son (5 years old) and have been married to his mother since before he was born.

To get the visa based on being the parent of a Thai I thought you needed 400K in the bank (the same as for a marriage visa). Is this correct?

[paz]

Just for confirmation. I have a son (5 years old) and have been married to his mother since before he was born.

To get the visa based on being the parent of a Thai I thought you needed 400K in the bank (the same as for a marriage visa). Is this correct?

You mean extension of stay, it is not a visa.

You do, furthermore in your case, you cannot base your extension application based on having a son when you are married in first place.

Reason for which you will have have to base your extension on being married, and meeting the financial requirements.

[Mario2008]

Just for confirmation. I have a son (5 years old) and have been married to his mother since before he was born.

To get the visa based on being the parent of a Thai I thought you needed 400K in the bank (the same as for a marriage visa). Is this correct?

To get an extension of stay for 1 year based on your Thai child you need 400,000 baht in the bank or an income of 40,000 a month. if married to a Thai, you will get the extension based on the marriage, if divorced it can be granted based on the child if you have sole or shared parental rights and take care of the child.

[Scotthai]

Just for confirmation. I have a son (5 years old) and have been married to his mother since before he was born.

To get the visa based on being the parent of a Thai I thought you needed 400K in the bank (the same as for a marriage visa). Is this correct?

No you don't, but in your case, you cannot base your extension application based on having a son when you are still married.

Reason for which you will have have to base you extension on being married, and meeting the financial requirements.

So if I get divorced (we have been separated for 18 months) I can then apply for an extension based on being the parent of a Thai National (My son lives only with me).

What financial requirements are needed for that?

This is for info only. My current visa status is perfectly fine and I don't want to start the $h!tstorm that asking for a divorce would get me.

[nzexpat]

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Just for confirmation. I have a son (5 years old) and have been married to his mother since before he was born.

To get the visa based on being the parent of a Thai I thought you needed 400K in the bank (the same as for a marriage visa). Is this correct?

No you don't, but in your case, you cannot base your extension application based on having a son when you are still married.

Reason for which you will have have to base you extension on being married, and meeting the financial requirements.

So if I get divorced (we have been separated for 18 months) I can then apply for an extension based on being the parent of a Thai National (My son lives only with me).

What financial requirements are needed for that?

This is for info only. My current visa status is perfectly fine and I don't want to start the $h!tstorm that asking for a divorce would get me.

400,000 Bht in the bank or evidence of 40.000 Bht /month income.

[SoFarAndNear]

When your name is already on the birth certificate of your son. Then I think the best way for you is to get a 90 days Non-O single visa at first. You can get a Non-O single 90 days visa with it at most embassies in neighbor countries. You can also extend this in Thailand for 60 days more. After that you have to leave and apply for a new Non-O 90 days single visa or do the 1 year extension inside Thailand. But for this you have to be the legal father and have 400k THB or more at least 2 months (some Immigration's even want 3 or 4 months) on a Thai Bank account or a proof from your embassy that you have at least 40k THB income from outside of Thailand or have a job in Thailand with at least 40k THB salary. Also many immigration officers intend to have also full identification of the mother including an interview with you both. Also you will need photos of you and your child in your home in Thailand. Expect that this is a very cumbersome procedure and every immigration around the country has it's own rules and ways.

You will have to go to a Lawyer about legal father rights. Because you will have to go through thai civil court system with this. This will take around 2 months. Then you should go to a local Visa Agents who can tell you exactly what you will need at your local immigration to get the 1 year extension.

I know the ThaiVisa.com Forum has all the information here somewhere. But every case and every immigration office and their officers are different.

[wisemonkey]

Sofarandnear, appreciate the detail in that post, kind of you to take time out and share that knowledge.

It seems it's going to be easier for me just to go about getting the education visa through learning the Thai language, I've been told I just need to spend a night in Laos and then come back and check in immigration every 3 months. ... I need to learn Thai as well, been here 3 years and barely know more than the food I like to eat, kra pow, pennang, larb pra duk, Leo, samsong, last two probably a reason I don't know more thai

[paz]

It seems it's going to be easier for me just to go about getting the education visa through learning the Thai language, I've been told I just need to spend a night in Laos and then come back and check in immigration every 3 months. ... I need to learn Thai as well, been here 3 years and barely know more than the food I like to eat, kra pow, pennang, larb pra duk, Leo, samsong, last two probably a reason I don't know more thai

Think well before you embark into that, because currently the cost of studying and obtaining paperwork for an ED visa and extensions is easily Bt 60,000 a year. While studying at your own pace would cost you much less and avoid any interaction with immigration. You can read the many threads running about ED visa and the current situation.

Also, personally I think that as a father you have the moral duty to legitimize your son, so that the mutual obligations and rights are recognized by law. And in case you haven't done that already, he's also entitled to have his nationality recognized, just as you were when born.

[SoFarAndNear]

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Sofarandnear, appreciate the detail in that post, kind of you to take time out and share that knowledge.

It seems it's going to be easier for me just to go about getting the education visa through learning the Thai language, I've been told I just need to spend a night in Laos and then come back and check in immigration every 3 months. ... I need to learn Thai as well, been here 3 years and barely know more than the food I like to eat, kra pow, pennang, larb pra duk, Leo, samsong, last two probably a reason I don't know more thai

Same boat here. I am going to be 30 soon and also have a Son here but not married to the mother.

It seems it's going to be easier for me just to go about getting the education visa through learning the Thai language, I've been told I just need to spend a night in Laos and then come back and check in immigration every 3 months. ... I need to learn Thai as well, been here 3 years and barely know more than the food I like to eat, kra pow, pennang, larb pra duk, Leo, samsong, last two probably a reason I don't know more thai

Think well before you embark into that, because currently the cost of studying and obtaining paperwork for an ED visa and extensions is easily Bt 60,000 a year. While studying at your own pace would cost you much less and avoid any interaction with immigration. You can read the many threads running about ED visa and the current situation.

Also, personally I think that as a father you have the moral duty to legitimize your son, so that the mutual obligations and rights are recognized by law. And in case you haven't done that already, he's also entitled to have his nationality recognized, just as you were when born.

I have to agree with paz. The ED visa thing might be good for you now but your are totally depending on a Visa which has been severely restricted in the last 2 years, who knows what is next. You can keep studying Thai with the Non-O Visa. I also avoided the difficult process of legalization until last year when my Son was nearly 2 years old. I realized it is really a win win situation for all of us. Do you know that at the moment are not legally allowed to make any important decision for your child? Hell, I think you can't even apply him at the school. Also I think you are not allowed to leave the country with him. I know when the relationship to the mother is good, you think everything is fine and it will always be like this but love can always change, especially with a child. A year ago also thought everything was perfect but at the moment me and the mother of my child are going through hard times. Also with the the Non-O Visa you are doing the first steps for the "residential permit" requirements. If you love it here and want to live here I think you should do it.