In regards to child abduction in Thailand, there are two (2) main issues at hand. Firstly is the issue of when one parent who is living outside Thailand with the spouse and child decides to take the child and go to Thailand. The second scenario involves the parents living in Thailand with their child when one decides to take the child outside Thailand. Both of these situations can be considered abduction in Thailand. This article contains information about what you can do if your child has been abducted TO Thailand or if your child has been abducted FROM Thailand.

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Child Abduction from Your Home Country to Thailand

In this scenario, two parents are living in a country that is not Thailand. This could be the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, or any other country. Then one day, the mother or father decides to take the child from this country and flee to Thailand. Whilst Thailand is a signatory to The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, which is also known as The Hague Abduction Convention, it has historically still been challenging to accomplish much without special assistance from law firms like TFL.

However, Thailand made advances in this area with the Child Abduction Act of Thailand in 2013. This lets one parent make a legal claim to make the child come back to where the child had been living (habitually residing). The central authority (a legal term for whoever has the power to make a decision on a legal matter) will then check to see if the child was living in Thailand or not before the child arrived here with the fleeing parent. It is important to provide evidence to the court to show that the child was not living in Thailand (in this situation) so that the court can provide an order to send the child back to his or her home.

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Get Help For an Abducted Child Case in Thailand

Child abduction in Thailand is a complicated matter, and may involve areas of law outside family law. TFL is well-experience in elements of criminal law that may be involved in the abduction of a child in Thailand and can advise on this as well. If you know of a child who has been abducted in Thailand, please contact TFL for legal advice on how best to proceed.