{"id":1795,"date":"2026-04-18T17:01:02","date_gmt":"2026-04-18T10:01:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/glossary\/desertion\/"},"modified":"2026-09-27T22:16:38","modified_gmt":"2026-09-27T15:16:38","slug":"desertion","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/glossary\/desertion\/","title":{"rendered":"L'abandon de famille comme motif de divorce (Article 1516)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><p><strong>D\u00e9sertion<\/strong> (\u0e01\u0e32\u0e23\u0e17\u0e34\u0e49\u0e07\u0e23\u0e49\u0e32\u0e07, <em>kan thing rang<\/em>, also pleaded as <em>abandon<\/em>) is the wilful leaving of one spouse by the other, without reasonable cause, for more than one year. It is a statutory ground for divorce under Section 1516(4) of the Thai <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/glossary\/thai-civil-and-commercial-code\/\">Code civil et commercial<\/a>. It is the ground most used by a foreigner whose spouse simply left and cannot or will not sign a divorce by consent at the amphur, because it does not depend on the absent spouse&#8217;s cooperation.<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rank-math-toc-block\" id=\"rank-math-toc\"><h2>Table des mati\u00e8res<\/h2><nav><ul><li><a href=\"#what-section-1516-4-requires-the-court-to-find\">Ce que l'article 1516(4) exige que le tribunal constate<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#proving-desertion-when-the-spouse-cannot-be-found\">Prouver l'abandon du domicile conjugal lorsque le conjoint est introuvable<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#desertion-separation-and-what-happens-after\">La d\u00e9sertion, la s\u00e9paration et ce qui se passe apr\u00e8s<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#frequently-asked-questions\">Foire aux questions<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"what-section-1516-4-requires-the-court-to-find\">Ce que l'article 1516(4) exige que le tribunal constate<\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><p><strong>Three elements<\/strong> must be established. First, one spouse left the other: the matrimonial home was abandoned, or the deserting spouse refused to live with the other. Second, the leaving was wilful and without reasonable cause; a spouse who moved out because of violence, or who was driven out, has not deserted. Third, the desertion has lasted more than one year, counted to the day the petition is filed. Desertion is a continuing state, so the one-year limitation in Section 1529, which applies to the grounds in Section 1516(1), (2), (3) and (6) and to compensation under Section 1523, does not cut off the claim while the absence goes on.<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><p><strong>Neighbouring grounds<\/strong> are often confused with it. Section 1516(4\/1) covers a spouse imprisoned for more than one year for an offence in which the other took no part. Section 1516(4\/2) covers three years of voluntary separation, or separation under a court order, which needs no fault. Section 1516(5) covers a spouse adjudged to have disappeared or absent for more than three years with no certainty whether they are alive. Section 1516(6) covers failure to maintain and support the other spouse. Each has its own evidence.<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"proving-desertion-when-the-spouse-cannot-be-found\">Prouver l'abandon du domicile conjugal lorsque le conjoint est introuvable<\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><p>The petition goes to the Juvenile and Family Court. The evidence is usually documentary: the house registration (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/glossary\/tabien-baan\/\">tabien baan<\/a>) showing who lives where, messages in which the spouse refuses to return, bank records showing no contributions, testimony from the village head or neighbours, and immigration records if the spouse left the country. Where the defendant&#8217;s address is unknown, the court permits service by publication and the case proceeds in their absence.<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><p>Practical points for a foreigner: keep a record of every attempt at contact, think before letting the spouse back for short stays, because that can reset the period, and translate foreign evidence into Thai. A well-prepared undefended case is usually decided within four to eight months. The procedure is in the guide to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/contested-divorce-in-thailand\/\">divorce contentieux en Tha\u00eflande<\/a>; le <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/glossary\/court-fees\/\">frais de justice<\/a> for a divorce petition without a property claim is 200 baht.<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"desertion-separation-and-what-happens-after\">La d\u00e9sertion, la s\u00e9paration et ce qui se passe apr\u00e8s<\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><p>Desertion is not the same as separation. Spouses who agree to live apart have separated, and after three years either can divorce under Section 1516(4\/2) without proving fault. Desertion requires that one spouse left against the wishes of the other. A spouse who refuses all contact but keeps paying the household bills may have separated rather than deserted, and the court looks at the whole conduct.<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><p>A divorce on this ground still requires the court to divide the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/glossary\/marital-property\/\">sans sommeil<\/a> equally under Section 1533 and to decide <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/glossary\/child-custody\/\">garde \u00e0 vue<\/a> on the child&#8217;s interests. The deserted spouse may also claim a living allowance under Section 1526, if the divorce is caused by the fault of the other spouse alone and would leave them without enough income from their property or work; the claim must be pleaded in the divorce action itself. If the absent spouse reappears and both agree, the matter can be settled as an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/glossary\/uncontested-divorce\/\">divorce par consentement mutuel<\/a> at the amphur instead.<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Last reviewed: 27 September 2026.<\/strong> Civil and Commercial Code sections 1516, 1523, 1526, 1529 and 1533 and Civil Procedure Code section 79 were read in Thai. The evidence list, the four-to-eight-month estimate and the 200 baht court fee are practice points, not re-checked here.<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"frequently-asked-questions\">Foire aux questions<\/h2>\n\n<div id=\"rank-math-faq\" class=\"rank-math-block\">\n<div class=\"rank-math-list\">\n<div id=\"faq-question-1\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question\">Combien de temps mon conjoint doit-il \u00eatre absent pour demander le divorce pour abandon du foyer en Tha\u00eflande ?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer\">\n\n<p>Plus d'un an. L'article 1516(4) du Code civil et commercial exige un abandon volontaire sans cause raisonnable pendant plus d'un an. Si les \u00e9poux se sont s\u00e9par\u00e9s par accord mutuel plut\u00f4t que par le d\u00e9part de l'un d'eux, le motif applicable est une s\u00e9paration de trois ans en vertu de l'article 1516(4\/2).<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-question-2\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question\">Puis-je divorcer en Tha\u00eflande si je ne trouve pas ma femme ou mon mari ?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer\">\n\n<p>Yes. A petition can be filed at the Juvenile and Family Court on the ground of desertion, and if the spouse&#8217;s address is unknown the court allows service by publication. If the spouse has been absent for more than three years with no news, Section 1516(5) provides a separate ground.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-question-3\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question\">Est-ce que l'abandon du domicile conjugal affecte le partage des biens ou la garde des enfants en Tha\u00eflande ?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer\">\n\n<p>Not the property split: marital property is still divided equally under Section 1533. Custody is decided on the child&#8217;s best interests, though a parent who abandoned the family for years will find it hard to obtain custody. The deserted spouse can also ask for a living allowance under Section 1526.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><p>Voir aussi\u00a0: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/glossary\/ground\/\">Motifs de divorce<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/glossary\/adultery\/\">adult\u00e8re<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/glossary\/contested-divorce\/\">divorce contest\u00e9<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/glossary\/family-court\/\">Tribunal pour enfants et pour la famille<\/a>, et les guides pour <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/contested-divorce-in-thailand\/\">divorce contentieux en Tha\u00eflande<\/a> ET <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/divorce-in-thailand\/\">divorce en Tha\u00eflande<\/a>.<\/p><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Desertion (\u0e01\u0e32\u0e23\u0e17\u0e34\u0e49\u0e07\u0e23\u0e49\u0e32\u0e07, kan thing rang, also pleaded as abandonment) is the wilful leaving of one spouse by the other, without [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":214,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":"","rank_math_focus_keyword":"desertion divorce thailand","rank_math_title":"Desertion Divorce Thailand: Section 1516(4) | ThaiLawOnline","rank_math_description":"Desertion as a divorce ground in Thailand: a spouse who wilfully abandons the other for more than one year gives grounds under Section 1516(4). What to prove.","rank_math_breadcrumb_title":"","rank_math_canonical_url":""},"class_list":["post-1795","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","pmpro-has-access"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1795","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1795"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1795\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8650,"href":"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1795\/revisions\/8650"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/214"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1795"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}