LGBT spouse residency Thai visa

[Razolf72]

Hi all, 

Is there any development in Thailand regarding the possibility for gay expats spouse to be granted Thai residency visa as a dependant? We are both male legally married in France with French passport. We have successfully received a dependant Visa for 5 years in Japan in our first assignment and my company is looking at opportunity for me to join Bangkok office. I understand there is no law to legalise same sex partners (as in Japan) but I have read and heard of rare cases (out of which one diplomat spouse) when it was granted. If dependant visa cannot be obtained, is there any school/programs that are available? My spouse is 27 years old. Thanks for your insights!

[ubonjoe]

Technically if you have a legal marriage in another country Thailand is obligated to honor it under international treaties. But some authorities with not agree it is legal.

Immigration does have procedures for same sex marriages but can make it difficult to get an extension of stay for the spouse as their dependent. All a person can do is try. I can recall a report of it being done for person working as a executive for a large company getting one for their spouse

Getting a non-o visa at an embassy or consulate that will be required to apply for an extension will also be difficult. I can recall a couple trying to get one at the embassy in the UK and were refused.

 

[mahjongguy]

This may be a case where the Elite visa is the only practical choice. 

[4evermaat]

I assume your spouse is NOT Thai. I would imagine places like Chaeng Wattana, or main office in Phuket / Pattaya would be good starting points.

Maybe reach out in the gay forum to see which offices are friendly.

Side q: if the spouse was thai, could OP have gotten a non-o visa @ thai embassy/consulate for bein married to a thai?

Sent from my ASUS_Z010D using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[ubonjoe]

5 minutes ago, 4evermaat said:

Side q: if the spouse was thai, could OP have gotten a non-o visa @ thai embassy/consulate for bein married to a thai?

It would depend upon the embassy or consulate a person applied at. Some might do it.

A honorary consulate might be the best choice to get a single entry non-o in this case in some countries.

[Razolf72]

Thank you all, for your feedback. Elite Visa remains an ultimate option. In the meantime and because my earlier post is already 7 months old, i'd be interested to know if the ongoing discussion on legalizing same sex union in Thailand may facilitate the obtention of Visa when Foreign marriage certificate (French in our case) are brought to the application. Would you know of any specific condition for applying and contact person/company that could facilitate the application on our behalf and provide information on lead time, cost etc...?

[onera1961]

Why don't you contact a Thai law farm dealing in immigration and Thai visas. They would be able to guide you and, if possible, take care of all paper works. I think it is worth spending 30K in this situation.

[Razolf72]

Thank you. Is there one firm in particular you would recommend?

[indouk]

Hey Razolf72,

i am so interested in this topic, both me and my husband (we’re married gay couple) living in Switzerland.

my husband got a job in thailand and soon will move there. I want to join him in thailand, but i didn’t have a job. 
 

i found about Dependant Visa (required marriage certificate) but i don’t know if they accept the gay one.

 

my question is, do you and your husband living together in thailand now ??

 

thanks

[dbrenn]

Thailand's government is very conservative, and doesn't share such liberal western views like same sex marriage, so good luck with that, but as others have said an elite visa is an option. 

Edited January 27, 2020 by dbrenn

[ubonjoe]

3 hours ago, dbrenn said:

Thailand's government is very conservative, and doesn't share such liberal western views like same sex marriage, so good luck with that, but as others have said an elite visa is an option. 

I think under international agreements Thailand must accept a valid (legalized) marriage certificate from another country. It should not matter if it is same sex or not.

I can recall a post a few years ago of a same sex couple being able to get a visa and extension for the spouse of a person working here at Chaeng Wattana immigration.

[dbrenn]

6 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

I think under international agreements Thailand must accept a valid (legalized) marriage certificate from another country. It should not matter if it is same sex or not.

I can recall a post a few years ago of a same sex couple being able to get a visa and extension for the spouse of a person working here at Chaeng Wattana immigration.

What Thailand should do and what it does do are two different things. For example, immigration officers aren't legally entitled to refuse people entry on the pretext of having insufficient funds despite being shown otherwise, but they do, all the time. 

 

The case that you mentioned may well have happened, but I would suspect that far more same sex marriage visa applications get stonewalled, or declined on a pretext. People should prepare a plan B such as an elite visa.