Child Custody Lawyer in Thailand

Parental power under the Civil and Commercial Code

Thai law does not use the word custody in the way common-law systems do. The operative concept in Book V of the Civil and Commercial Code is parental power, which bundles together the right to determine residence, to discipline, to require the child's work appropriate to their capacity, and to manage the child's property. Under section 1566 a child is subject to the parental power of the father and the mother, and where the parents are married that power is exercised jointly.

The position of an unmarried father is the point foreign parents most often misunderstand. Where the parents were never married, parental power over the child rests with the mother alone unless the father legitimates the child, which happens by subsequent marriage, by registration of legitimation with the consent of the mother and the child, or by court judgment. A father named on the birth certificate who has not legitimated the child has no parental power, whatever the practical arrangement has been for years.

On divorce, section 1520 allows the spouses to agree who exercises parental power; where there is no agreement, the court decides. A registered divorce at the district office therefore normally records the custody arrangement in the divorce agreement itself, and that document — not a private understanding — is what a school, hospital or immigration office will later ask to see.

How the court approaches a contested case

• The welfare and happiness of the child is the governing consideration, and the court is not bound by the parents' agreement where it considers the arrangement contrary to that welfare.
• Section 1521 allows the court to vary an agreed arrangement, and section 1582 allows parental power to be withdrawn where it is exercised improperly or where the parent's conduct is seriously unfit.
• The Central Juvenile and Family Court and its provincial equivalents apply a conciliatory, welfare-led procedure that differs materially from ordinary civil litigation, including the use of court social workers.
• The child's own view carries weight in proportion to age and maturity, and the court can hear the child separately from the parents.
• Maintenance is decided alongside parental power and is enforceable; an agreement recorded in a divorce registration is enforceable without re-litigating the merits.

Cross-border complications

Thailand is a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, and applications under it are routed through the designated Central Authority. That gives a remedy where a child has been wrongfully removed from or retained away from their place of habitual residence, but the remedy is procedural: it addresses which country decides, not who ultimately exercises parental power.

A foreign custody order is not automatically effective in Thailand. Thailand does not have a general regime for direct enforcement of foreign judgments, so a foreign order is normally used as evidence in a Thai proceeding rather than executed as if it were Thai. The practical route is to bring a Thai application supported by an authenticated and certified translation of the foreign order, and to be ready to argue the substance again.

For travel, an airline or an immigration officer may ask for consent from the parent who is not travelling. Where parental power is sole, carry the registered divorce agreement or the court order in certified translation. Where it is joint, a notarised parental consent is the standard document and should be prepared before the ticket is booked, not at the airport.

What we prepare in a custody engagement

1. Establish the legal parentage position: Marriage record, birth registration, and whether legitimation has occurred. This determines who currently holds parental power before any negotiation begins.
2. Assemble the welfare evidence: Schooling, housing, medical continuity, caregiving history and the practical plan for the child, documented rather than asserted.
3. Negotiate and draft the agreement: Drafted for registration at the district office where divorce is by mutual consent, with maintenance, residence and contact expressed in enforceable terms.
4. Litigate where agreement is not possible: Application to the Juvenile and Family Court, with bilingual filings so a foreign parent can follow and instruct properly.
5. Produce the portable document set: Certified translations of the order or agreement, legalised where a foreign authority will need to rely on them abroad.

Common mistakes and how we avoid them

More questions we are asked

Can parental power be shared after divorce?

Yes. Parents may agree that both continue to exercise parental power, or that one does, and the agreement is recorded on divorce registration. The court can vary it if the child's welfare requires.

Does a Thai mother automatically win custody?

There is no automatic rule by gender. Where parents were never married, parental power starts with the mother by operation of law, which is a different point from how a contested case is decided.

How is maintenance calculated?

There is no fixed formula. The court weighs the child's needs and each parent's capacity, and a figure agreed on registration is enforceable without re-arguing the merits.

My child was taken abroad without my consent. What can I do?

Where the destination is also a party to the 1980 Hague Convention, an application through the Central Authority is the primary route. Act quickly; delay affects the available defences to a return order.

Do you provide bilingual filings?

Yes. Thai for the court and English for the foreign parent, prepared from the same source so the two versions cannot drift apart.