Lake said he is very happy that Carmen will be able to return to the couple’s home in Spain and meet their family.

Santos, who is legally married to Lake, is confident they can leave Thailand as soon as court papers are signed by the judges in charge of this landmark case.

The gay couple won after the surrogate mother, Patidta Kusolsang, did not object to Lake’s request for sole custody of the girl, who is now 15 months old, during the trial.

Santos said he hoped the surrogate mother would not appeal the case.

However, if she does Santos said he and his partner would come back to fight the case in Thailand in the Appeals Court.

The couple filed a defamation lawsuit against Patidta after she accused them of being human traffickers.

The Criminal Court has accepted the suit with the first hearing scheduled for May 23.

Santos and Lake have been fighting to have custody of Carmen for the past 15 months.

As a result of the long battle, they said many thing in her room at their home in Spain needed to be changed.

Carmen will go to school in Spain with her elder brother, Santos’ son.

Once the court papers are completed, Santos said Carmen will have to apply for a passport to travel to Spain.

The content of the court verdict also centres on the gay couple having taken good care of Carmen since she was born while the surrogate mother has her own children.

Santos said the legal fight has been costly.

The couple’s concerns over gaining custody of the child had been exacerbated by Patidta’s human-trafficking claim in local media.

To fight the case, the couple opened a Facebook page, “Bringcarmenhome” to try and create a better understanding among Thais about their motives for wanting the child.