Hello, I've been reading through the posts here regarding extension based on child support, but have been unable to find an answer to whether it is required that the child lives full-time with the parent asking for the extension. Does anyone here know what the requirements related to this are?

My specific situation is: currently on a one year non-imm-o extension for marriage. Have a child that was born during current marriage to a Thai woman.

As I understand, this means I will be recognized as the father by immigration without any particular problems, as my name is also on the birth certificate, issued during marriage. Is this correct?

In the future, my wife and I may separate, and if so, hopefully my child will alternate between living with the mother one week, and me the next, here in Thailand. The child is a minor attending school, so mother and I would continue to live in the same district, but at different addresses obviously. Will the fact that the child does not live full-time with the farang parent present a problem when applying for an extension based on child support?

Thanks for any help.

You can apply for an extension of stay based upon being the parent of a Thai (it is not for supporting them). But if you are still legally married to the child's mother you cannot apply for it. It is meant to be for single parents.

There is no written rule that states that the child must live with you full time. Some immigration offices think otherwise though and will make it difficult to get the extension.

If you separate on good terms your best option would be to get a multiple entry non-o visa based upon marriage. Your wife would just have to give you signed copies of her house book and ID card.

ubonjoe, many thanks for the reply. I apologize for being imprecise regarding what I meant by separate. It would be a divorce, so a multiple entry non-visa based on marriage would unfortunately not be possible in my case.

I'm guessing the safest way to find out how my particular office and immigration officer treats this (Chiang Mai immigration office) would be to depart Thailand while still married, with the necessary paper work for obtaining a multiple entry non-o visa in a nearby country. Then re-enter Thailand on the multiple entry non-o, rather than my current re-entry extension due to marriage, finalise the divorce, and then apply for an extension based on being the father. Having the multiple entry issued from abroad I will then not be risking the one year extension I currently have based on marriage being revoked when no longer married, forcing me to leave immediately I assume. Perhaps a risk that is purely theoretical in most cases, but possible not so theoretical when presenting oneself at the immigration office to apply for a new extension, making it obvious the current one is no longer valid.

If the extension based on being father is rejected due to the mentioned living arrangements, with the child alternating between mother and father, I would then perhaps be forced to buy the "light" version of the Thai "elite" card for the next five years, and repeat as needed. But that is an expense I would much prefer to avoid, so many thanks for any more tips.

I give the same advise to those that are anticipating a separation or divorce. Getting a multiple entry non-o avoids the problem of your extension ending.

It your case it would give you time to sort things out with immigration. If you were sure about getting the extension based upon being the parent of a Thai you could change from marriage to being the parent of a Thai as soon as you divorce and have joint custody of your child.

Another option to give you some time would be applying for a 60 day extension to visit your child when the divorce is finalized.