Reviewed by ThaiLawOnline, a licensed Thai law firm practising in Thailand since 2006. Thai lawyer of record: Wichuda Atthamethakon, LL.M., Thai Bar Licence 3149/2556.
Last updated on September 5, 2026
Visitation rights (สิทธิในการเยี่ยมบุตร, also called contact or access) are the right of a parent who does not exercise parental power, or with whom the child does not live, to maintain personal contact with the child after a divorce or separation. Section 1584/1 of the Civil and Commercial Code gives every parent a right of contact with the child according to the circumstances, whoever holds parental power. In practice the right is defined in a custody agreement registered at the district office or in an order of the Juvenile and Family Court, and it can be varied when the child’s situation changes.
Table of Contents
What Section 1584/1 gives a parent
The right belongs to the parent, not the custodian. Section 1584/1 separates two things Thai law otherwise bundles together: parental power, the authority to decide for the child, and contact, the relationship itself. A parent who has lost or never obtained parental power still has the right to see, telephone and spend time with the child. The words “according to the circumstances” are the hook on which a court hangs restrictions when contact would harm the child.
How it is fixed. Parents divorcing by mutual consent under Section 1520 record in writing who exercises parental power, and the same agreement normally sets out contact: which weekends, which school holidays, video calls, who pays for travel. Where they cannot agree, the Juvenile and Family Court decides on the basis of the child’s welfare. It may order contact to be supervised, for example at a place it designates with a social worker present, and may suspend it where there is evidence of violence, abduction risk or drug use.
Practical points for a foreign parent
Write the schedule down. The amphur records only a short custody clause when it registers a divorce, and a clause saying “the father may visit the child” is almost impossible to enforce. A workable agreement names days, times, handover places, holiday splits, passport arrangements and how the schedule changes if one parent lives abroad. Parents divorcing at the district office bring their own signed agreement and have the registrar refer to it.
A parent living outside Thailand should build in remote contact and a fixed block of time each year, and should deal with travel expressly, because taking the child abroad still needs the consent of the holder of parental power under Section 1567(1) or a travel consent letter. An unmarried father should complete legitimation first; without it he is not a parent in law and has no contact right to enforce.
When contact is refused or abused
A custodial parent who blocks contact without cause can be brought back before the court. The remedies run from an order fixing the schedule in detail, to a finding under Section 1521 that the custodian is behaving improperly, to a change of custody where alienation is persistent. Unpaid maintenance is not a reason to refuse contact, and refused contact is not a reason to stop paying; the two obligations are independent.
Conversely, contact can be reduced or suspended when the visiting parent uses it to remove the child, exposes the child to harm, or repeatedly fails to return the child on time. The standard remains the circumstances of the child, so orders are revisited as the child grows, changes school or expresses a preference the court finds mature enough to weigh.
Frequently asked questions
Can a foreign father get visitation rights in Thailand?
Yes, provided he is the legal father. A father married to the mother at the time of birth, or who has completed legitimation under Section 1547, has the right of contact under Section 1584/1 whoever holds parental power. A father who has not been legitimated must obtain that status first, usually by registration at the amphur or by court judgment.
What happens if my ex-wife refuses visitation in Thailand?
The remedy is a petition to the Juvenile and Family Court. The court can fix the contact schedule in an enforceable order, warn or sanction the custodial parent, and in persistent cases transfer parental power. Keep a record of each refused visit, and continue paying maintenance, because withholding it weakens the case rather than strengthening it.
Can visitation rights in Thailand be changed later?
Yes. Contact is set according to the circumstances of the child, so either parent can apply to the court to vary it when circumstances change, for example a move abroad, a new school or a change in the child’s health. A registered custody agreement can also be amended by a new agreement between the parents.
See also: child custody, full (sole) custody, parental rights, child support, and the full guides to child custody in Thailand and parental alienation in Thailand.
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