Enlèvements d'enfants en Thaïlande

Révisé par ThaiLawOnline, un cabinet d'avocats thaïlandais agréé exerçant en Thaïlande depuis 2006. Avocate thaïlandaise en charge du dossier : Wichuda Atthamethakon, LL.M., licence du barreau thaïlandais 3149/2556.

Dernière mise à jour : 27 septembre 2026

Last reviewed: 27 September 2026. Checked against section 1567 of the Civil and Commercial Code, the Central Authority’s regulation of 2013 made under the Act on International Cooperation in Civil Matters concerning the Breach of Rights of Custody of Children B.E. 2555, and the Hague Conference status table for the 1980 Convention, including the list of states that have accepted Thailand’s accession. Not verified in this review: the foreign agency contacts listed at the end, and enforcement practice.

Child abduction in Thailand is a serious problem. It happens when a parent takes a child out of the country. This usually occurs to avoid a garde fight. Thailand acceded to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction on 14 August 2002, and the Convention entered into force for Thailand on 1 November 2002. A parent whose child has been wrongfully taken to or kept in Thailand can apply through the Thai Central Authority for the child’s return, and does not need the other parent’s permission to do so. That authority is the procureur général, acting through the Office of the Attorney General, under the Act on International Cooperation in Civil Matters concerning the Breach of Rights of Custody of Children B.E. 2555. It is not the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, which is widely but wrongly named for this role and in fact runs the Prachabodee mediation centre.

Vérifiez d'abord que la Convention s'applique effectivement entre la Thaïlande et votre pays. La Thaïlande a adhéré à la Convention au lieu de la signer dès le début, de sorte qu'elle ne s'applique qu'entre la Thaïlande et un État qui a formellement accepté cette adhésion. La plupart des guides omettent cela, et cela détermine si vous disposez ou non d'une voie La Haye. Les États-Unis ont refusé leur acceptation pendant des années au motif que la Thaïlande n'avait pas adopté de législation d'application, et ne l'ont acceptée qu'en janvier 2016 ; la Convention est en vigueur entre les États-Unis et la Thaïlande depuis 1er avril 2016. Vérifiez votre propre pays par rapport au Tableau d'état de la Convention de 1980 de la HCCH before you rely on it. An abduction can have severe legal and emotional consequences for everyone involved. International law offers certain provisions that can be utilized in such cases. If your child has been taken from another country to Thailand or vice versa, the situation can be more common than you might anticipate. Remember that an unmarried father in Thailand does not have pouvoirs parentaux (Child Custody in Thailand). He must register at the amphur or get a court order to gain these rights.

Les affaires d'enlèvement dépendent de la personne qui détient légalement l'autorité parentale, ce qui est expliqué dans notre aperçu de droit de la famille en Thaïlande.

À quoi ressemble l'enlèvement d'enfant par un parent en Thaïlande

1. Cela commence généralement comme un voyage légal

These cases rarely begin with a stranger. They begin with an agreed holiday, a visit to family or a school break, and the child is simply not brought back. That shapes the whole case, because the child left, or arrived, with everyone’s consent. The question is therefore not how the child travelled but who held the right to decide where the child lives. Under Section 1567(1) of the Code civil et commercial that right belongs to whoever holds parental power.

2. Celui qui détient l'autorité parentale décide de l'affaire

An unmarried father in Thailand does not hold parental power automatically, and this is the single most common surprise for foreign fathers. Until he legitimates the child at the amphur, or obtains a court order, the mother holds parental power alone. A father in that position who keeps the child has far weaker standing than he expects, and a father in that position whose child is kept from him has fewer levers than he expects. Fathers’ rights here are not the rights they would have at home. See our guide to legitimation and fathers’ rights in Thailand.

3. Le retour de l'enfant est lent, et la route de La Haye est plus étroite qu'elle n'y paraît.

Recovery is difficult in practice. Agencies coordinate poorly, resources are thin and proceedings take time. The Hague route is also narrower than it appears, because it runs only between Thailand and the countries that accepted Thailand’s accession, as set out above. Where the Convention is not available to you, or while a Hague application grinds on, a custody ruling from a Thai court is often the more durable instrument. It is worth getting one even if your child is already abroad.

A foreign custody order, including a United States order, is not enforced in Thailand as it stands, and a parent who travels to Thailand comes under the jurisdiction of the Thai courts. Older United States government guidance, written before the Convention took effect between the two countries on 1 April 2016, warned that the Embassy could not force a child’s return. Since that date a parent in the United States can apply for return through the Hague route described above.

Enlèvement d'enfants en Thaïlande et gouvernement américain

The practical point is the same for every foreign parent: a foreign custody order does not bind a Thai court. Americans who travel to Thailand come under Thai jurisdiction, and a foreign ordonnance de garde d'enfant n'a aucune valeur ici tant qu'un tribunal thaïlandais ne la reconnaît pas.
La première chose à faire est de contacter les autorités compétentes. Cela inclut la police, les services gouvernementaux et les ambassades. Il existe des organismes de protection de l'enfance dans la plupart des pays.

Once you have contacted the authorities, you could need a lawyer in order to start some legal proceedings. Sometimes, the authorities do these cases without lawyers. You just want to be sure that things are being done properly and quickly. You can also use Thai Courts and try to get full and garde exclusive if you don’t. That would give you all the rights on the child but it is hard to get here. Even if your child is abroad, a clear decision by a Thai court about custody here could help you.

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Enlèvement États-Unis, Thaïlande :

Consulter: travel.state.gov, Enlèvement international d'enfants par un parent

Enlèvements Australie Thaïlande :

consult: the Attorney-General’s Department, and its current contact details are listed in the Annuaire des Autorités centrales de la HCCH

Enlèvement Canada Thaïlande :

consulter: travel.gc.ca, enlèvement d'enfants et protection de l'enfance

Enlèvement France Thaïlande :

consult: the Bureau du droit de l’Union, du droit international privé et de l’entraide civile at the Ministry of Justice, whose current contact details are in the Annuaire des Autorités centrales de la HCCH

Enlèvement Allemagne Thaïlande :

consulter: bundesjustizamt.de (Bundesamt für Justiz)

Pays signataires de la Convention de La Haye

Tableau d'état de la Convention de La Haye de 1980 sur l'enlèvement d'enfants

Should you need any help about international child abduction, ThaiLawOnline has worked on several cases from different countries and they all found success.