Changing from marriage based 1yr extension to Thai child extension

[Andre1]

Hello,

I am currently on a marriage based 1 year extension and will be divorcing soon. We have a child born after marriage and I am named as the father. As part of the divorce agreement I will have shared custody and continue to support the child financially. My question is once we divorce how and when do I need to change my extension permit from Thai Wife to Thai Child? Immediately after filing for divorce? Any grace period? The extension I have now expires early next year but I doubt I can keep it till then?

Thanks for the advice.

[ubonjoe]

You would have to change the reason for your extension on the date the divorce is is finalized. You would need the divorce decree to cancel you current extension and other documents to support one based upon being the parent of a Thai.

You should check with you local immigration office to see what their requirements are for the extension.based upon being he parent of a Thai. Some may not do the extension unless you have full custody of your child.

[Andre1]

You would have to change the reason for your extension on the date the divorce is is finalized. You would need the divorce decree to cancel you current extension and other documents to support one based upon being the parent of a Thai.

You should check with you local immigration office to see what their requirements are for the extension.based upon being he parent of a Thai. Some may not do the extension unless you have full custody of your child.

Thanks Ubonjoe.

I live in Bangkok, any idea what they require? If not what's the best way to find out? Call?

If they do require full custody this may be an issue since there's no way the wife will agree on full custody.

[ubonjoe]

The best way would be to contact them in person. I think they will allow joint custody.

If you had problems getting the new one year extension when the divorce is finalized you could apply for a 60 day extension to visit your child then do the one year extension before the 60 days end.

[MaeJoMTB]

The best way would be to contact them in person. I think they will allow joint custody.

I think they will insist on sole custody.

That's the way most immigration offices are going these days.

[Andre1]

The best way would be to contact them in person. I think they will allow joint custody.

I think they will insist on sole custody.

That's the way most immigration offices are going these days.

If they do, what are my options? Non Imm O from outside of Thailand, such as Savannakhet? Do they give 1 year single / multi? Any idea what the requirements are in terms of documents? I have his original birth certificate, do I need financial proof? I usually get a letter from the embassy showing my monthly income for this. What about his tabian baan, copy? Anything from the ex?

[ubonjoe]

Not all offices want sole custody. There are really not enough posts about the custody issue to be able to any certainty they will want it or not. The written rules only state you have to be the parent of a Thai.

If needed your best choice to a get a multiple entry non-o visa is Penang. They will accept your income letter as financial proof.

[Andre1]

Not all offices want sole custody. There are really not enough posts about the custody issue to be able to any certainty they will want it or not. The written rules only state you have to be the parent of a Thai.

If needed your best choice to a get a multiple entry non-o visa is Penang. They will accept your income letter as financial proof.

I'll report back once I give it a try, should be fairly soon.

Penang won't be possible for me. Israeli passport, no diplomatic relations with Malaysia.

[ubonjoe]

There have been reports of Savannakhet not doing a multiple entry visa for a divorced parent.

You could go to Malaysia but you would have to apply for a visa. Info on embassy website: http://www.kln.gov.my/web/tha_bangkok/other_information/-/asset_publisher/2TQe/content/visa-application-requirements?redirect=%2Fweb%2Ftha_bangkok%2Fother_information

[whatproblem]

I changed mine from marriage to support child .i went to immigration and told them my wife had left ,the immigration officer filled in all the forms for me in Thai ,I was asked where she is and I said I not know .this was a lap choeng and the guy was the young one with the rank ,very helpful ,I was told come back in 1 month ,when I went back a month later the old guy said I filled it out wrong and he did it for me .it was all painless

[dereklev]

The best way would be to contact them in person. I think they will allow joint custody.

If you had problems getting the new one year extension when the divorce is finalized you could apply for a 60 day extension to visit your child then do the one year extension before the 60 days end.

ubonjoe, I am currently on the last 90 days of a Multi Entry Non Imm "O" based on marriage. This expires on the 9th September.

I want to do an annual extension based on having a Thai chilld and showing income of over 40k a month. One of my income letters has been lost in the post and a replacement has been sent but I doubt it will arrive in time for me to get a letter of income from the British Embassy as they require 10 days to issue the letter.

Can I do a 60 day extension based on visiting my Thai child and then get an annual extension towards the end of the 60 days?

[ubonjoe]

The best way would be to contact them in person. I think they will allow joint custody.

If you had problems getting the new one year extension when the divorce is finalized you could apply for a 60 day extension to visit your child then do the one year extension before the 60 days end.

ubonjoe, I am currently on the last 90 days of a Multi Entry Non Imm "O" based on marriage. This expires on the 9th September.

I want to do an annual extension based on having a Thai chilld and showing income of over 40k a month. One of my income letters has been lost in the post and a replacement has been sent but I doubt it will arrive in time for me to get a letter of income from the British Embassy as they require 10 days to issue the letter.

Can I do a 60 day extension based on visiting my Thai child and then get an annual extension towards the end of the 60 days?

You can get the 60 day extension and the apply for the one year extension during the last 30 days of it.

If you are still legally married you will have to apply based upon marriage.

[dereklev]

The best way would be to contact them in person. I think they will allow joint custody.

If you had problems getting the new one year extension when the divorce is finalized you could apply for a 60 day extension to visit your child then do the one year extension before the 60 days end.

ubonjoe, I am currently on the last 90 days of a Multi Entry Non Imm "O" based on marriage. This expires on the 9th September.

I want to do an annual extension based on having a Thai chilld and showing income of over 40k a month. One of my income letters has been lost in the post and a replacement has been sent but I doubt it will arrive in time for me to get a letter of income from the British Embassy as they require 10 days to issue the letter.

Can I do a 60 day extension based on visiting my Thai child and then get an annual extension towards the end of the 60 days?

You can get the 60 day extension and the apply for the one year extension during the last 30 days of it.

If you are still legally married you will have to apply based upon marriage.

Far be it from me to contradict you but from about 2006 until 2013 I was on an annual extension based on being father of a Thai child whilst being married and living with my wife.

These annual extensions were issued by Korat Immigration.

The first extension was extremely difficult to get and involved a lawyer but I stood my ground, or rather the lawyer did, insisting that if the regulations stated that I could apply for an extension based on my child then I should be issued with one regardless of the fact I was married. After 6 hours of saying no the OIC allowed one the the other officers to call Bangkok for instruction and they were told it should be issued.

Maybe things have changed recently but I will try and get the extension based on my son.

Thanks as always for your help.

[ubonjoe]

The current (2014) and the previous police order (2008) are written such that an extension based upon being the parent of a Thai are meant to be for a single parent.

The only difference between marriage and being a parent is the that the 400k baht does not have to be in the bank for 2 months. But there are some offices that want it to be in the bank for 2 months for both of them.

[dereklev]

The current (2014) and the previous police order (2008) are written such that an extension based upon being the parent of a Thai are meant to be for a single parent.

The only difference between marriage and being a parent is the that the 400k baht does not have to be in the bank for 2 months. But there are some offices that want it to be in the bank for 2 months for both of them.

OK so it has changed since I was last issued with one in March 2012.

I will ask when I go next week for the 60 day extension if they will give me an annual extension based on my son.

[Andre1]

An update on this topic. I just submitted my application for this extension based on Thai Child on Friday at the Bangkok immigration office in Chaengwattana. I can confirm that sole custody was NOT required. Our divorce agreement, which they scrutinized from start to finish, clearly states joint custody.

However, related to this, the first officer I spoke to 2 days earlier on Wednesday said that since it's joint custody my ex-wife has to agree and show up with me on the day of application. This is obviously not an ideal situation.. Nevertheless she came with me on Friday, and then when we sat with another officer they said she didn't need to show after all, only me and my child. To remove legitimate doubt, there was nothing lost in translation here, my Thai is sufficient that it was very clear when I asked to clarify that the first officer wanted ALL 3 of us to be there.

I'm also attaching the list of requirements I was given specifically for this type of extension. The other side of this page is in English but is shorter and several items which they insisted on aren't listed there at all, for example a letter from the child's school stating s/he is a student there.

There was also a delay of 4 days between my date of divorce and this application so I had to pay 4 * 500 THB for overstay. I was aware of this and did not see a better option for me. It was impossible to go on the same day anyway since we finished at the Amphur at 5pm sharp. Just to caution people not to delay too much, and maybe someone will have a better solution/approach to this.