Chaninat & Leeds, a Bangkok based law firm with myriads of experience in various areas of Thai and international law, discusses the repercussions of the International Megan’s Law and blacklisting on immigration of foreigners to Thailand.
US Immigration Attorneys in Bangkok focus on family-based immigration visas with a focus on the K1 fiancée visa and K3 marriage visa for Thai nationals.
Related Article: Thailand Blacklist Regulations
The Hague Convention on Child Abduction allows for claims by parents who have had their child abducted. The Thailand Child Abduction Act is the domestic law that allows for an aggrieved parent to enforce his rights to have his or her child returned to their country of residence.
For more information watch the full video where Chaninat & Leeds discusses the Hague Convention on child abduction in Thailand and it’s implications.
Current issues regarding Thailand family law are important for families that cross borders due to having different residences or due to business travel.
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An Illinois court ruled in favor of a Thai woman recognising an American as her child’s father
An Illinois Court has ordered a man to pay child support in Thailand to triplets he had fathered through assisted conception methods.
Justice Lampkin of the Circuit Court of Cook County ruled in accordance with a judgment order from Thailand recognizing Harlow to be the biological father of triplets conceived by gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT) and imposed child support obligations on him.
The mother, Wipaporn T. petitioned the Circuit Court of Cook County to recognize and enroll the Thai judgment under the principles of comity.
Harlow tried to get the petition dismissed under claims that it contradicted an Illinois Parentage law that does not recognize sperm donors as fathers. However, Harlow had signed the consent form for the transfer under “husband”. Wipaporn also submitted photographs showing Harlow and herself participating in a traditional Thai marriage.
The Illinois court ruled that since Harlow had acted like the father prior to conception and had “plans to claim the three boys as dependents, take tax deductions for his support payments to them and enable them to access their rights of U.S. citizenship,” he must support the three children.
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Justice Stephen G. Breyer from the United States Supreme Court is advocating that the US begins to take foreign law into account.
As New York Times reports, Breyer’s recent book “The Court and the World” suggests that the court should take note of laws overseas, as roughly 20% of court cases are related to activities outside the US.
American lawyers in Thailand Chaninat and Leeds are experts in Thai law
Justice Breyer argues the court “more harmonizing, understanding and application of American law to foreign activities is not the same as American courts deciding cases on the basis of foreign law.”
Read more here.
The Thailand Revenue Department has announced that Thailand and the USA have preliminarily agreed to a tax information sharing agreement. Pursuant to the agreement the Thai Revenue Department and the US Treasury will be required to share the financial information of both countries including banks, mutual funds and life insurance firms.
Thailand’s provision of information would assist with the US’s collection of information with regard to the enforcement of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FACTA).
FACTA is a US federal law which requires Americans, including those living abroad to file an annual report to the US Treasury Department, regarding any financial accounts or assets held in foreign countries.
There is no exception in FACTA for American expatriates who reside outside of the USA. In other words, US expats living abroad must provide a detailed accounting of their financial accounts and assets held in their country of residence (as well as other non-US assets).
Another 80 countries are in talks with the US regarding similar agreements for tax information sharing.