What are the steps to get a one-year extension on a Non-O visa as a father of a Thai child?

Hi. Is there anyone in Bangkok who is familiar with Thai regulations?

My head is spinning because everyone tells me something different.

My situation is as follows: I have a 3-year-old son with a Thai woman; we are not married. I am in Thailand on a Non-O visa, which allows me to stay for 90 days plus a 60-day extension. To extend the visa, I always submit the required documents: house registration (Tabien Baan), proof of residence, the birth certificate (where I am listed as the father), and a bank statement showing 400,000 THB. This is enough for the 60-day extension.

However, there is an option to extend this visa for one year as the father of a Thai child. And here is where the trouble starts.

To get the one-year extension, the documents I use for the 60-day extension are not enough. Yes, it’s illogical, like many things in Thailand. To extend for a year, the birth certificate is suddenly insufficient, and a Kor Nor 11 document (Legitimation of Child) is required. This can be obtained at the Amphur (District Office), and theoretically, according to Thai law, it should be very easy—you just go to the Amphur with the mother.

The reality in Thailand, however, is different. Regardless of what the law or regulations say, the officer refuses to issue this document without a court ruling on paternity. Printouts of the legal code or even a phone call from a lawyer changed nothing. They won't issue it, period. This is despite the fact that Thai law clearly states that if the child is a minor, the presence and consent of the mother are sufficient.

Another option is to wait until the child is 7 years old because then the child can sign for themselves, but I don't want to wait that long.

So, I went to court to file a petition for child legitimation. And of course,more hurdles. [continue will be in first comment]