Divorce in Thailand follows rules that surprise many foreigners: an uncontested divorce can be registered in a single day without a judge, while a contested divorce requires proof of one of the legal grounds listed in the law. For mixed couples, the choice of country, the division of property and the recognition of the divorce abroad add a second layer of questions.
Christophe Larrouilh Law Office, based in the Klongtoey business district of Bangkok, assists foreign and Thai-foreign couples at every stage of a divorce. Christophe Larrouilh is a member of the Paris Bar and practises both French and Thai family law. This guide condenses what you need to know before taking the first step. A more detailed version is available in French: divorcer en Thaïlande.
Recent reforms (2025)
Two changes came into force in January 2025. First, article 1523 of the Civil and Commercial Code was amended after a Constitutional Court ruling: any spouse, regardless of gender, may now claim damages from a third party who had an affair with their partner, and the former requirement that the affair be public was removed. Second, Thailand became the first country in South-East Asia to recognise same-sex marriage; the Code now refers to “spouses” rather than “husband and wife”, and the divorce rules are identical for all couples.
The legal framework
Thailand is a civil-law country. Article 1514 of the Civil and Commercial Code sets the principle: a divorce can only take place by mutual consent or by court judgment. Two authorities are therefore involved:
- The Amphur (district office) registers uncontested divorces. The procedure is administrative, fast and inexpensive.
- The Juvenile and Family Court hears contested divorces, where one spouse refuses the divorce or the couple cannot agree on its consequences (property, custody, maintenance).
Uncontested divorce at the Amphur
This is the most common and simplest route. Both spouses agree on the divorce itself and on all of its consequences, and attend the district office together.
Conditions. The marriage must have been registered in Thailand; a marriage celebrated only abroad, or a religious ceremony without civil registration, cannot be dissolved at the Amphur. The agreement must cover everything: division of marital property (Sin Somros), custody and parental power, child maintenance, spousal support if any, and visitation.
Steps.
- Negotiate and agree on all points.
- Draft a divorce agreement, ideally in Thai and in your own language, signed before two Thai witnesses. Even for an amicable divorce we strongly recommend having it drafted by a lawyer: an ambiguous clause is a future dispute.
- Attend the Amphur together with the original marriage certificate (Kor Ror 3), the Thai spouse’s identity card and house registration (Tabian Baan), the foreign spouse’s passport, the agreement and the two witnesses. It is now possible to divorce at a different district office from the one where the marriage was registered.
- Registration. The registrar checks that both spouses consent freely, registers the divorce immediately and issues a divorce certificate in Thai.
Couples with children. An agreement registered at the Amphur can later be challenged; a divorce approved by the court has the force of a judgment. When minor children are involved, we usually recommend filing a joint petition with the Family Court: after a mediation hearing, the agreement is recorded with the same value as a judgment and can then be registered at the Amphur and at your embassy.
Divorce at a Thai embassy. An uncontested divorce can also be registered at any Royal Thai Embassy or Consulate-General abroad, with the same documents and two Thai witnesses.
Contested divorce in court
Court proceedings become necessary when one spouse refuses the divorce, when there is no agreement on property or children, when one spouse wishes to rely on the other’s fault, or when the spouse cannot be found.
The petitioner files a complaint with the competent Family Court, stating the facts, the legal ground(s) relied upon, preliminary evidence and the claims concerning children and property. The respondent is served and given time to answer; a respondent who fails to appear loses the right to present evidence. The court generally orders mediation first, which can turn the case into a consent judgment on the same day. If mediation fails, hearings are scheduled: each party testifies at least once, presents witnesses and documents (official records, bank statements, title deeds, photographs, messages, medical reports). The burden of proof lies with the petitioner and the evidence must be strong and direct. The judgment rules on the divorce, custody, property division, maintenance and, where fault is proven, damages. A contested divorce usually takes six months to two years.
The legal grounds for divorce
Article 1516 lists the grounds exhaustively; nothing else can be relied upon, and the court will refuse a divorce that is not based on one of them. In summary:
- Adultery or bigamy (equal for both spouses since 2025).
- Serious misconduct causing shame, hatred or excessive injury to the other spouse (gambling or drug addiction, dishonourable conduct…).
- Physical or mental harm, or serious insult to the spouse or their parents.
- Desertion for more than one year without good reason.
- Imprisonment for more than one year under a final judgment, where continued cohabitation would cause excessive injury.
- Separation for more than three years, whether voluntary or ordered by the court.
- Disappearance for more than three years.
- Failure to maintain and support the other spouse, or acts seriously prejudicial to the marital relationship.
- Incurable insanity for more than three years.
- Breach of a bond of good behaviour given to the court.
- A dangerous, incurable and contagious disease.
- A permanent physical disability preventing cohabitation as husband and wife.
Several grounds may be invoked together when the facts allow it. Our French-language guide on divorce for fault in Thailand details the evidence accepted for each ground.
Mixed couples: which country, which law?
When a mixed couple divorces in Thailand, Thai law governs the procedure and the conditions of the divorce. The real strategic question is where to divorce. For each case we compare Thailand and the home country according to the location of the assets, the children’s habitual residence, the matrimonial property regime, and the speed, cost and enforceability of each procedure. The language barrier is real: documents must be translated and hearings often require a sworn interpreter, which is why many clients choose a lawyer who speaks their language.
Visa. A spouse who holds a marriage visa (Non-Immigrant O based on marriage) loses that basis once the divorce is registered and must change status: retirement, work, education or other visa. This should be planned before the divorce is filed.
Division of marital property
Thai law distinguishes Sin Suan Tua (personal property: owned before the marriage, or received by gift or inheritance during it) from Sin Somros (marital property acquired during the marriage by either spouse). Personal property stays with its owner; marital property is divided equally on divorce unless a prenuptial agreement provides otherwise (article 1533). For an uncontested divorce the property is valued at the date of registration; for a court divorce, at the date the petition was filed.
Land and houses. A foreigner cannot own land in Thailand. When a mixed couple buys a house, the title is registered in the Thai spouse’s name and the foreign spouse signs a declaration at the Land Office that the funds belong to the Thai spouse. If that procedure was followed, the property is the Thai spouse’s personal property and is not divided. To protect the foreign spouse, keep all proof of funding, consider a usufruct or a 30-year lease, and sign a prenuptial agreement before buying. Article 1534 protects against concealment or dissipation of marital property: assets disposed of to the detriment of the other spouse are counted as if they still existed.
The court may allocate assets in proportions, order a sale, or award an asset to one spouse against a compensating payment, taking into account each spouse’s financial and non-financial contributions. In an uncontested divorce the spouses may agree freely on the division; where significant assets are involved, having the agreement approved by the court gives it far greater security.
Child custody and parental power
Parental power applies to children under 20. The guiding principle is the best interests of the child (article 1520); there is no automatic presumption in favour of either parent.
In an uncontested divorce the spouses must agree in writing who will exercise parental power over each child, and the agreement must be explicit about who the custodian is: a vague clause may leave parental power joint. In a contested divorce the court weighs eight factors: the needs of very young children, continuity of care, keeping siblings together, the child’s own wishes (decisive from around 14), each parent’s ability to provide education and material support, the child’s existing environment, and the emotional bond with each parent. Serious misconduct (violence, addiction, abuse) disqualifies a parent. Custody can later be modified by the court if circumstances change, but never by a private arrangement alone.
The non-custodial parent keeps visitation rights, fixed by agreement or by the court. For parents living in two countries, prevention of unlawful removal matters: a court order prohibiting travel without consent, notification to immigration, control of the children’s passports and strict clauses in the divorce agreement. See our French guides on custody and child maintenance and cross-border visitation rights.
Child maintenance and spousal support
Both parents must support their children regardless of marital status (articles 1520 and 1522). In an uncontested divorce the amount is agreed in the divorce agreement; in court the judge sets it according to each parent’s income and assets, the child’s needs and the family’s standard of living. Maintenance is due until the child turns 20, with possible extension for higher education. Non-payment can be enforced by seizure of bank accounts and assets, and is a criminal offence in Thailand. Spousal support after divorce is not automatic: the court may order temporary support where one spouse cannot provide for themselves as a result of the marriage or its dissolution.
After the judgment
An appeal must be lodged within one month of notification of the judgment; the appeal typically takes six to eighteen months. Once final, the judgment is enforceable, voluntarily or by seizure. Frequent post-divorce disputes concern unpaid maintenance, unilateral changes to custody arrangements, concealed assets discovered after the division, and unpaid compensating payments; mediation is often the fastest way to settle them.
Remarriage. Under article 1453, a divorced woman may not remarry within 310 days of the divorce, unless she gives birth during that period, remarries her former husband, produces a medical certificate from a Thai hospital stating that she is not pregnant, or obtains a court order. A marriage registered in breach of this rule is void.
Recognition of a Thai divorce abroad
A Thai divorce, whether registered at the Amphur or pronounced by a court, does not take effect automatically in your home country. For French nationals, the divorce must be transcribed in the French civil-status registers: the Thai divorce certificate is legalised by the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs, translated by a sworn translator and filed with the French Embassy in Bangkok or the Central Civil Status Service in Nantes; a contested judgment goes through an exequatur procedure. Without recognition you remain married in the eyes of your home administration: no remarriage, succession complications, outdated family records. Other nationalities have equivalent procedures; check with your consulate before the divorce is registered, because the documents required can be gathered at that stage.
How the firm can help
We assess each case to decide where and how to divorce (Thailand or the home country, consent or court), draft or review the divorce agreement, represent you before the Family Court, secure the division of property and the custody arrangements, and handle the recognition of the divorce in France. Contact us by phone, WhatsApp or through the contact form; we reply within 24 hours.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a divorce take in Thailand?
An uncontested divorce can be registered at the Amphur in a single day if both spouses attend with the required documents. A contested divorce takes a minimum of six months for a simple case, twelve to eighteen months for an average one and two to three years when significant assets, companies or custody disputes are involved. Court-ordered mediation can shorten this considerably.
How much does a divorce cost in Thailand?
An uncontested divorce costs a few hundred baht in administrative fees, plus translations (2,000 to 5,000 baht) and, optionally, lawyer’s fees for drafting the agreement (15,000 to 50,000 baht): roughly 500 to 1,500 euros in total. A contested divorce involves court fees calculated on the value of the assets in dispute and lawyer’s fees typically between 100,000 and 500,000 baht, more for complex cases.
Can I divorce in Thailand if I was married abroad?
Not at the Amphur: the administrative divorce is reserved for marriages registered in Thailand. A marriage celebrated abroad can be dissolved by the Thai courts if they have jurisdiction, or in the country of celebration. For mixed couples this is precisely the choice to make with a lawyer before filing.
What if my spouse refuses to divorce?
You must file a contested divorce with the Family Court and prove one of the legal grounds of article 1516. Unlike most Western countries, the wish of one spouse alone is not enough: without proof of a legal ground, the court will refuse the divorce.
Can a foreign spouse keep the house?
A foreigner cannot own land. If the house was registered in the Thai spouse’s name with the usual Land Office declaration, it is the Thai spouse’s personal property. A condominium unit owned by the foreign spouse, a registered usufruct or a long lease, and proof of funding, are the tools that protect the foreign spouse’s investment.
Does the divorce affect my visa?
Yes. A marriage-based extension of stay ends with the marriage; you must switch to another category (retirement, work, education…) before your current permission expires. Plan this before the divorce is registered.
