Civil Partnership Recognition in Thailand of British couple.

[josh&jase]

Hi everyone. Only new to the site today and I am after some advice and hope you can help :-)

My partner and I are looking to move to Thailand some day, and it has always been a bit of a pipe dream until today when I found a job that I am seriously considering applying for, though not sure I'm quite experienced enough for it.

My partner (Jason), and I had a civil partnership back in May and are both British citizens. I am aware Thailand at this stage doesn't recognise Civil Partnerships, so was wondering where Jason would stand if I were to secure this job and travelled on a work permit. Would Jason be eligible to apply for any form of residency, even if it meant he couldn't work himself? Would our CP be recognised in any form?

Apologies if this question has been asked before, however most of my research relates to Brits and Thais trying to get residency in the Uk.

PS I currently work in law enforcement so if anyone knows of any jobs advertised where I could transfer these skills I.e. security management/consultation, disaster/emergency management etc in Thailand would be great to hear from you. Jason is a qualified hair stylist but currently works in retail :-) :alc:

[ceejay]

I've never seen this question asked before, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if nobody else here has either. You need expert advice on this. In my opinion, the best place to start in the UK is the Thai Consulate in Hull.
http://www.thaiconsul-uk.com/

Hull?

Nothing against Hull per se, but what a totally weird place to have a Consulate.

:tif:

[Sooty]

My husband did investigate this a couple of years ago and I can tell you that the Thais give no quarter on relationships unless it is one that is legally recognized in Thailand. The only sexual relationship on which you can base an application is a legal marriage between people of the opposite sex with a marriage certificate not a betrothal such as a formal engagement or a civil partnership. The certificate that witnesses a civil partnership isn't worth the paper it's written on in the eyes of Thai officialdom. You each have to apply for a long-term visa and each application is determined on its own merits and without reference to the other.

However don't take my word for it, contact visa experts like Siam Legal, you can find them via a simple Google Search and they have online contact forms. Better still, wait for a447 to come along; he'll have some piece of worthless or irrelevant information to impart.

Adding on to the above question a bit if I can......so it seems that the Thai Government ( and many others unfortunately still it seems) don't recognise Civil Partnerships - but when ( not "if" hopefully) full marriage equality takes places and Civil Partnerships are replaced with a standard "marriage" between two same sex couples will these Governments then accept that ( as it IS marriage as they currently require ) or will they then try to discriminate further by bringing in further new rules to suit them to say that they only accept marriage between a man and a woman still perhaps ??

[ceejay]

Nothing against Hull per se, but what a totally weird place to have a Consulate.

:tif:
It was the first Thai (or Siamese as it then was) Consulate in the UK, the first Honorary Consul being a shipowner who traded with Siam and lived in Hull.
There are other consulates in England, but Hull has the reputation for being the most efficient and helpful. I got my visa there, even though I live within 20 miles of the Royal Thai Embassy in London.

[josh&jase]

Hey, thanks for the advice everyone. I have contacted Siam Legal, the consulate in Hull and British Consulate in Bangkok so hopefully will get some positive news from them, although I doubt it sadly as I think you have so far confirmed what I feared. From peoples experience is it a paricularly hard process getting long term residency?

[stkyricesf]

Sawatdee Josh,
Keep a stiff upper lip, hopefully things will turn out okay. I hope you update the board, as many have stated, this issue has never been addressed.
Good luck. :nike: