Denied Contact with Your Child after Divorce in Thailand: What Can You Do?

If visits or video calls are repeatedly refused after divorce, collect the divorce documents and a clear contact history first. The next step depends on existing court arrangements, how specific they are, and the child’s circumstances and safety.

Contact rights do not authorise unilateral removal

Section 1584/1 of Thailand’s Civil and Commercial Code recognises parental contact appropriate to the circumstances, regardless of who exercises parental power or guardianship. It does not let either parent choose collection, overnight stays or travel unilaterally. Existing court orders and the child’s routine, health and safety must be considered.^{[Civil and Commercial Code, section 1584/1]}

Identify the document you already have

• A judgment, court order or court-approved settlement: check dates, handover location, responsible adults and conditions. Record each failure and ask a lawyer about reporting non-compliance to the court that made the arrangement, enforcement or another appropriate application.
• A privately signed divorce agreement: retain the complete agreement and registration attachments, propose a workable contact plan and consider negotiation or mediation. Its procedural route differs from a court order; do not assume the police will immediately hand over the child.
• An arrangement naming the carer but saying nothing about contact: propose weekends, holidays, video calls, handover and changes. If agreement is impossible, assess an application to the competent Juvenile and Family Court.

Section 161 of the family-court legislation provides a court mechanism for non-compliance with certain court orders. Whether it applies and what to request depends on the documents and procedural position. An application does not guarantee immediate contact.^{[Juvenile and Family Courts Act, section 161]}

Build a verifiable timeline

• Divorce certificate, complete agreement, judgments, orders, settlement and relevant service documents; avoid providing only a selected page.
• Birth or other parentage documents, where each parent and the child live, and the child’s present schooling and care arrangements.
• Dates of proposed contact, your specific proposal, the other parent’s reply, cancellations and attendance records. Preserve the full context of messages.
• A workable plan covering times, locations, transport, video contact, holidays, illness and changes, with practical limits on international travel.

Address safety and cross-border issues first

Give a lawyer evidence of violence, threats or other specific risks so that temporary protection, supervised visits or appropriate conditions can be assessed. If the child resists contact, explore the reason without pressure. Do not use the child as a messenger or publish their school, address or photographs. Child welfare and interests guide the court; refusal of contact does not automatically transfer parental power.^{[Civil and Commercial Code, sections 1520–1521][Juvenile and Family Courts Act, section 159][2024 amendment to section 1520]}

Where a parent or child is abroad, or foreign court documents exist, check jurisdiction, their effect in Thailand, immigration and travel-consent requirements. Do not forcibly collect the child from school or take the child across a border without checking the existing arrangements.

Address maintenance and contact disputes through their respective legal routes. Do not withhold maintenance to obtain contact, or treat arrears alone as a blanket reason to deny reasonable contact.^{[Civil and Commercial Code, sections 1564 and 1584/1]}

Frequently asked questions

Start with the documents and recent contact record

See our civil litigation service or use the contact page to describe where the divorce occurred, the existing documents and recent refusals. This helps assess jurisdiction, the appropriate request and missing materials. Submit documents privately. This article provides general information; measures depend on the case and the court.

Sources last checked: 20 October 2026. Existing provisions are not presented as new rules introduced in 2026.