Law Prohibiting Marriage To Foreigners Over The Age Of 50 Proposed To Thai Cabinet

[anon467367354]

I don't care about the law itself BUT I do care that it is completely RACIST against foreigners. If the law was applied to everyone (Thai's too) then its just a law which we must accept although may not agree with. A very controversial law, but not without some merit. I do beleive there is something uncomfortable with a 65 year old man marrying an 18 year old, but that is just personal opinion, everyone is different.

But the MAIN point here is this law should apply to ALL nationalities otherwise it is purely RACIST!

On another note, I know of a 40 year old Thai man who married a 14 year old girl in Rayong! She used to live next to my sisters house. One day I asked where she was and my sister said shyly she had been married off to a 40+ year old Thai man! Apparently this kind of thing is not uncommon. This, of course would never happen with a foreigner. Therefore, the proposed law can be deemed to be racist. The politicians proposing it should be severely reprimanded and labeled as RACISTS.

Just a quick point here, nationality and race have nothing to do with each other. Now if an oriental man over 50 that is an American, born and raised is allowed to marry based on the fact that he has yellow skin and chinked eyes, then it would be racist. No mention of race was mentioned anywhere in this post, just foreigners. And so we begin a new month.

[brahmburgers]

Marriage brings troubles no matter what the age spread. A government can't legislate good sense or decency.

There are marriages which result in murders, where the spouses are the same age, are they going to outlaw all marriages for that reason?

A law like that gets in to a whole lot of prickly territory. As someone mentioned before, can a 51 yr old farang man marry a 49 yr old Thai woman? Each time such a 'gray area' presents itself, Thai officials will grin and adjust the parameters, ....but it harkens to Thai bureaucracy wanting control over farang. They want to be in the drivers seat.

If they stand on their high horse saying it's immoral for old farang men to marry young Thai women, then what of old Chinese men, or old Thai men, or old Korean or Taiwanese men - wanting to marry young Thai women?

Oddly, a round-about way, this law proposal is good for farang men, as most who do marry younger Thai women - wind up regretting it later, unless they don't care that their bank accounts have been drained. When you marry the girl, you marry her extended family, and there are always requirements to pay as much as possible to the girl and her ever-growing family. No exceptions.

Suggestion to farang: Do as I did. I had a marriage ceremony at my home in Thailand (yes, to a young woman), and I paid Bt.1,000 to the girl's mother and Bt.1,000 to her aunt, and Bt.48k to my wife. We didn't register the marriage with the government, so it's not official. I keep my assets, and she doesn't lose face by residing in my house. When we break up, there are no messy proceedings. I maintain my retirement visa (which is not called a retirement visa, I don't know why). And all's well. Granted, if we made children, it would change the scenario, but we haven't done so.

Edited April 1, 2011 by brahmburgers

[boggle]

This is great news.

Should really put a dent in the undesirables that hang out here.

Good work thailand!!!!

[Christmasfairy]

As if 400,000THB a year isn’t enough income to live on – that’s 33,000 a month! That’s more than most ESL teachers earn!

[fiddlehead]

Sure. It will enacted one year from today.

Finally, only 86 posts before someone figured it out. Much better than the governor saying all traffic circles will have to turn left and do a U turn.

[pomchop]

April Fool?

[Frenske]

What date is today??????

[Tatsujin]

What is the date today?

Ah . . . at least 1 person here gets it . . . lol

[WormFarmer]

And the date today is: ........................ ??

[samran]

I knew that the Thai politicians are stupid but that they are so stupid I never imagined........

they are not stupid ............... Selfish is what we should say...

clearly the law is for themselves....

doesn't reflect the voices of the majority ...

somehow I don't think that it will be the Thai politicians who will be proven stupid in this case....

Just call it intuition.

[Kalbo]

April fool , anyone ?

[Tatsujin]

somehow I don't think that it will be the Thai politicians who will be proven stupid in this case....

Just call it intuition.

Wiser words have never been spoken . . . <grins>

[a51mas]

Its good if its an initiative that is collectively done by all Asean Countries and also other Asian Nations. But along with that, as Nations get more protective, Asian Immigration should also start to match those of the West , where its tougher to migrate and even to get simply a tourist visa these days or being treated like a criminal upon arrival in airports in the US.

Asian countries should also accord the same treatments to citizens of these countries.

Another issue that the Thai government should also control is foreign ownership of properties in Thailand especially condominiums. At the moment, condominium prices are beginning to be out of reach of middle class working thais as lots of local greedy developers are only targetting foreigners. Many of these foreigners especially not only Westerners but Singaporean Chinese, Taiwanese, Middle Easterns and Indians buy them as investments and then rent them out without paying taxes. (maybe another source for the local taxation department). A lot of foreign real estate companies are also to be blamed for the increase in rices as their greed is causing problems for local thais. Look at some of the interesting fthai acebook pages and this is what Thais now want as agendas for the politicians to address in their coming election campaigns.

Its not an issue of zenophobia but rather , the local sshould be accorded priviliges first. Unlik the West, where migartaion standards are high, here in Thailand, you get bums from the Britain and US, without even a tertairy education coming here to teach English or start up some illegal web-based operations from their home.

It's no accident the standards for Thais immigrating to the US are high. We have no respect for your terrible education system or your shoddy work ethic and most of you will in fact become a true burden in our country as statistics have shown unless it's a Thai woman with a farang husband who will take care of her in a way you are not capable of doing!..

This Comment, reminiscent of the master-race thinking of the Nazi Germany.

Edited April 1, 2011 by a51mas

[Murf]

Maybe a sliding scale would have been a better idea...

i.e at 50 you can only marry someone over 35

at 51 - 36

at 52 - 37

etc etc...

Never the less, this is a positive move by Thailand's government.

[boggle]

Sure. It will enacted one year from today.

Finally, only 86 posts before someone figured it out. Much better than the governor saying all traffic circles will have to turn left and do a U turn.

Party pooper!

[fiddlehead]

Have a good one guys!

(sorry Boggle)

I'll save my other comment for tonight.

Edited April 1, 2011 by fiddlehead

[VisasPlus]

This is no big deal. There is no need to marry, and it will bring a sigh of relief from many who are being pressured by their GF and her family. What is not mentioned in the article that the proposal also includes a restriction on inheritance. Any clause in the Will of foreigner which favours a Thai national will be become null and void. And this IS retro-active. This will cause some consternation, and possibly protests which will overshadow anything the red shirts have managed.

Can you explain that further ? I have never heard of this proposal.

Sure. It will enacted one year from today.

Where can I find details of this propsal, and what exactly are the consequences ? I'm not sure I understand how a Thai wife cannot benefit from something left to her in a Will ?

[brownknees]

Come on people!!!SUCKSOOM TAWAT!!!!!its APRIL THE FIRST!!!![

[personchester]

So does that mean that a foreigner over 50 cannot marry any Thai national regardless of age?

e.g Foreigner 51 and Thai woman 45 cannot get married?

That would seem ridiculous!

I am sure that if this new law gets passed it will contain an "age span factor" of say 8/10 years.

In any event this law would be more disadvantageous for Thai girls that marry an aged farang, in most cases he will have purchased a nice property (land & house) to live together, and she is already the legal owner, and when her husband crosses the Jordan she will be able to bring members of her family into the house to live there with her (Thai style) ...

In addition she will also receive a widows pension from his homeland, provided she does not (officially) marry again.

I know several cases where the old farang "Sammy" (age difference 30 to 40 years) passed away in his mid seventies, and his widow is now an independent young Thai woman with a nice house, a nice car, nice fashion clothing, and a guaranteed monthly income from a Western state.

Should the new law be passed then this will end, no doubt a disadvantage for Thai women and their families.

[timekeeper]

some very valid points are being made here from some of our more outspoken posters

this issue certainly deserves more debate and our displeasure should be brought to the attention of the Thai lawmakers

should we start a poll?

[kenny999]

Been with my GF for 2 yrs so it is natural to consider getting married because that is what you do when you love someone, right!! Now the Thai government are considering bringing out a law forbidding foreigners over the age of 50 from marrying younger Thai nationals, there reason is to stop older men being able to stay in this country under less strict immigration rules, oh plus they do not think it is appropriate for an older man to marry an innocent younger Thai girl who could be there daughter. luckily my GF is not bothered about getting married, I am already here on less strict immigration rules because of my UK pension so looks like for some people there is discrimination against age, I did not come to this country to find a younger girl(I am 55 my GF is 31, I met her through a friend and have been with her ever since if you are a decent person where is the problem with this, I am aware that in some peoples eyes older with younger is not acceptable,

So good to be in a country full of Innocent Thai girls, what about the the not so innocent Thai girls that destroy so many mens lifes everyday, maybe they should think about that too!!

[Targus]

Good morning everyone - has anyone realised that it is April 1st today !!!

[Shurup]

I personally think it is disgusting, men over 50 with young <25 year old wives. It makes me feel sick.

Thailand is doing something RIGHT for once.

No it's not!

How is 50 y.0. man + 40-50 y.o. woman is wrong? Do the older couples make you feel sick too?

[CharlieH]

And how are we a "burden" on Thailand ? as non Thais we are not entitled to sod all anyway so they dont support us or contribute anything to us being here so where is the burden ? In fact we contribute heavily and more than the average Thai to the economy and the families and extended families we have who would surely be the "burden" without us.

Edited April 1, 2011 by CharlieH

[schrifty]

So if you only have 400,000 in the bank, you are a burden on Thailand

Looks like i am a BIG burden.

Amazing we foriegners are a burden with only 400,000 that's a joke. How many thai people do you know who make over 40,000 baht a month ( 40,000 x 12 = 480,000 - taxes of about 80,000) none the average salary here for a master's degreed professional if they are real fortunate is 20,000 most make about 12,000 to 18,000. So I guess all thai citizens are a burden on thier own country according to this article.

[timekeeper]

I knew that the Thai politicians are stupid but that they are so stupid I never imagined........

they are not stupid ............... Selfish is what we should say...

clearly the law is for themselves....

doesn't reflect the voices of the majority ...

somehow I don't think that it will be the Thai politicians who will be proven stupid in this case....

Just call it intuition.

i agree with you 100%

we must share the same vision........

[samran]

This is no big deal. There is no need to marry, and it will bring a sigh of relief from many who are being pressured by their GF and her family. What is not mentioned in the article that the proposal also includes a restriction on inheritance. Any clause in the Will of foreigner which favours a Thai national will be become null and void. And this IS retro-active. This will cause some consternation, and possibly protests which will overshadow anything the red shirts have managed.

Can you explain that further ? I have never heard of this proposal.

Sure. It will enacted one year from today.

Where can I find details of this propsal, and what exactly are the consequences ? I'm not sure I understand how a Thai wife cannot benefit from something left to her in a Will ?

good to see our erstwhile sponsors share the level of perception of the rest of the TV mob!

[MTS1978]

3 Things:

1. "Innocent Thai women"...... innocent, NOT, simple minded, yes.

2. I think it should be based on age difference - slap a 20yr limit on it.... 50 to 30..... 60 to 40..... is a lady at 30-40 doesn't know what shwat she's doing..... starting to become a nanny state, huh? The irony that is Thailand......

3. Someones comment that "Thai women desrve thai men"..... as a generalisation, there is a perception that Thai women only marry farang for money...... and yes alot of the time that is true..... but farang women marry farang men for money too, and thai women marry thai men for money too..... that's life. But a significant contributing factor is that farang men generally tend to treat their wives better...... just as thai wives generally to treat us farang men better, than a farang wife would.

[darhut]

"Many older foreigners seem to marry Thai women so they can stay in Thailand under less strict requirements. Instead of needing to meet the requirements of 800,000 baht in the bank they only have to show 400,000 baht a year when married to a Thai. Additionally, many of these people seem to come to Thailand simply to marry much younger girls. In many cases they are old enough to be their father. I am concerned that these people are attempting to circumvent the rules by marrying innocent Thai women. If these people don't have enough money to retire then they shouldn't be here and become a burden to Thailand," Tawatchai Suksoom of the Ministry of Interior stated.

This is just wrong on so many levels.

Don't they know that getting married will cost a lot more than 400,000 baht. So reducing the financial requirement would hardly be valid reason to get married.

Don' they also know that in many cases they are old enough to be their grand father.

But the main reason it's wrong - "Innocent Thai Women"

I didn't know it cost more than 400,000 baht to get married in Thailand wow. It cost me 140,000 baht and had 450 people attend. I must be a cheap charlie.

[KKvampire]

Falangs are treated as second class citizens here anyway. When I am in UK and see how Thais who have emigrated get all the benefits as a British tax payer(health, welfare , owning property) . It goes back to the threads regarding the Deputy PMs remarks about "No respect for foreigners" and Children taught how "Thais are superior to other nationalities"

Edited April 1, 2011 by KKvampire