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

[whybother]

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.

How much have you been paying since then? It all adds up.

[brahmburgers]

How good does this get,I am 50 now planning on moving to Thialand at the end of April (retirement visa) sorry I can't get marry I am to old.

Go ahead a come to Thailand - meet the girls of your dreams. Have as much fun as you can afford - or more. Don't feel driven to getting married. If your pattern is similar to the 86% of farang who married young Thai ladies, than you'll last about 18 months and regret it later. But of course, each new guy who comes along thinks, "It will be different for me. My affections are true, and the girl I find (or found) will be a great partner. We'll buck the trend and be happy very after. You'll see."

Advice you won't heed: Have fun, play the field, wear a condom, shack up once in a while, don't break any hearts, and don't get yours broken. It's a good way to practice one of the basic tenets of Buddhism: NO ATTACHMENTS.

[SymS]

If the reason is the 400,000 Baht vs. 800,000 Baht in the bank, why don't they increase it to 800,000 Baht for people over 50 years old whether you are married or not ?

[grumpyoldman]

Why does this need to be posted on this forum when it is already running in the news forum?

This is not Phuket specific.

Anyway, it won't pass, unless they elect Purachai PM.

Edited April 1, 2011 by grumpyoldman

[Tatsujin]

Seems like there is a lot of resentment out there . . . you're all gonna be SO red-faced soon when you wake up . . . lol

[Suradit]

Very amusing, for the Thai government (yes, he is a minster, so a representitive of the government) referring to foreigners with less than 400,000 baht as a "burden" on Thai society. Tell me the ratio of Thais vs. Farang over the age of 50 with less than 400,000 in the bank?

Not really a Thai versus farang issue in terms of money in the bank. The Thai government exists (in theory anyway) to look after the interests of Thais, regardless of their person wealth. It is only interested in foreign residents in terms of what they contribute to the economy. Maybe not the Disneyland scenario most farangs assume, but realistic nonetheless. One farang who has, and presumably spends, Baht 800,000 a year is less of a burden for the economy than two farang who have B400,000 each. Personally I don't see how an individual, much less a married couple, can exist in any of the urban areas on less than Baht 800,000, but that's another matter.

If you think the idea that some farang come here to live cheaply and that they marry Thai women just to lower the minimum money they need to keep in the bank is ridiculous, you should indeed spend a little time in Pattaya ... preferably with your eyes open.

That said, it might be more to the point if they raised the minimum amount required in the bank to B 800,000 for all foreigners so that all the 20 year old Thai women who pine for a 75 year old farang are not disappointed.

[Sydebolle]

I assume the government is prepared to cover hunderts of millions of child support every year because this is why quite a few of these old geezers are getting married for. Needless to say that if the age gap is more than a generation then it is not "love at first sight". Nothing wrong with it as long as everyone concerned is aware of what the deal stipulates. He gets a partner so he's not lonely anymore, she gets the ATM machine into the house (for which he has to pay) and he pays for the kiddies she brings into the deal as the Thai bonkers fathering half those kids who normally grow up in the sticks of Isarn ........

We all know what it is all about so let's see, if the government retaliates against those geezer aliens .... again!

[SPIKECM]

Excellent stuff! Exactly. The alternative is to call them naive which would be laughable. Innocent Thai ladies!! If you told that one to a Pattaya bar girl she would fall off her perch laughing. At first she would until she realised that some rich connected son of a rich connected son sitting in the Thai senate was trying to ruin her chances of getting her next sin sot payment. This is all part of this new nationalistic brave new Thailand that they use to try and make a successful electoral alternative to Thaksin, but when they realise the implications, it will never happen. The economic future of Issan would be in jeopardy, although that would have one advantage of the ruling Chinese class. That they could buy up Issan land much cheaper without farang money to compete with.

It will be interesting to see the development of the new tourist markets in future and see what kind of respect they show for Thai people. Particularly the Indians and the Chinese. If they are genuinely looking for respect from foreigners, then first of all try to deserve it and by that start with the politicians. The politicians should realise that farangs in general have a lot more respect for Thailand and Thai people than they will ever likely get from their brave new markets.

The whole idea that any State can control the decisions between two consenting adults is really quite dangerous and abhorrent. Government keeping out of people's lives (apart from being brainwashed in schools!) is one of the most attractive things about this country. This is a dangerous precedent, but it is unlikely to happen. I think the "innocent" ladies in Thailand can just get back on with their lives after this little scare.

should be said by now: "thailand, the hub of law"

Wrong...... it should read "Thailand, the hub of incompetent, ignorant, xenophobic, sexist, manipulative, wanna-be elitist politicians with a bought degree and an indescribably warped and surreal social outlook that could only ever exist in a country that encourages xenophobia and obsessively nationalistic behavior in order to control its populace for fear that they will ever realize how they are being abused and subdued in a class controlled society and would probably start a revolution (or already have)."

Yeah, I know its a mouthful but Im not good at condensing things sorry!

Edited April 1, 2011 by SPIKECM

[JUDAS]

What date is it today? Tawatchai Suksoom, say the name slowly.

[xen]

If i didn't know better and thought some Thai legislators had a sense of humour instead of taking themselves so seriously , i would say this news relates to today's date the 1st of April, April Fools Day!!!!

[thaiorchidsource]

The anti Farang sentement in Thailand really stinks. Marriage has always been used for gains in their culture and elsewhere, but not necessarily so. I am in this country for over 9 years working as an exporter and staying in Thailand legally, and paying taxes on a business extension visa. My age is 65, and I will receive my American social security income at my 66th birthday. I have 3 children, age 7, 5, and 2. Yes, I could die before my children are old enough to take care of themselves, but they also maybe be able to receive some entitlement money until they are 18 years old from social security. Even if not, my wife will assume my position in my company and be set to live without fear of poverty. I built them a new home , and it was paid for in cash. My wife has a masters degree in computer programming. She did not stay with me for need. I am convinced that she truly is devoted to me, and our children. Anyone knowing her would never think she was with me for any other reason. Her age is now 31 years and she still turns heads. My brother in law, a prominent attorney and quite athletic died in his sleep at age 42. Who here knows when they will die!? There are many factors in life expectancy and every person should live every day to its fullest, for it truly might be their last day. The new Thai law really steps over and past all wisdom, but we who have been living here in Thailand have seen many similiar situations with Thai law using Farangs as their whipping post ans scape goat. These policy makers need to look first at what goes on in their own society, never mind age differences. How many of you know of a Thai man and woman having married and having children, then the husband abandons the wife for his mia noi and no support. This is one reason why Thai women do not want to marry their own kind and prefer the way Farangs respect them and act responsibly towards their bond and their children's upbringing. Age only plays a significant role in the minds of those who are age discriminitory. My wife has the capacity to look past the aging man, and see the person inside. If your wife only sees a younger body, then she will be shocked to find out later that she will age, and so will you, and what then!

[moe666]

They just made my day, sorry teelak no can do. The problem isn't the old guys marring younger women its the young guys who cannot get a visa ant other way talk about a burden.

It is just another example of shooting from the hip, or engaging the mouth before the brain can work..

[McFarang]

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 have to agree with you there will be a lot of egg on a lot faces by the end of the day.

[jsflynn603]

I'm over 50, so this, if passed will affect me, since I'm in the middle of the K-1 fiancee process, so if anyone hears more about this please post.

*shrug* If it passes, there goes my K-1 application, ไม่เป็นไร.....

I don't have 40,000 baht in a bank either. Frankly anyone that keeps that much in a bank hasn't a clue how to handle money these days, though I will say that keeping a quantity of baht instead of dollars or Euros (or Pounds) may be in fact quite wise, (our Canadian, Australian, Singaporean and Nordic readers can ignore this...) not because of the measly interest, but because of inevitable currency restrictions that America and/or European/British will most likely be enacting within the next, not to many years. Laugh if you wish to, but if you want to, before you laugh, look at the history of Iceland's crisis--even if a relative died in another country you could not take Icelandic kroner with you unless you had special permission.

Notwithstanding the above discussion, banks offer little return in this economy.

This statement is a joke:

"Thai nationals cannot be prohibited from marrying older foreigners abroad, however Thai embassies will warn them of the possibility that Thailand will not recognize the marriage if they return to Thailand"

In most cases a woman is better off being married in a foreign country, and being considered single in Thailand. For instance a woman who marries in America and who does not register the marriage will be considered married by America, but is "single" as a status in Thailand.

Unless the law has changed a woman legally (as considered by Thailand) married "will lose a few of her legal rights, and some privileges regarding land ownership will be restricted."

"Thai men do not lose any rights if they are married to a foreigner and the marriage is registered in Thailand."

Note: This is true as of 2008, see a lawyer to see if the law has changed

"She can still buy a house or land, but the foreign husband will have to sign a declaration at the land office that the money used to purchase the land is all hers. In case of a divorce, or her death, the foreign husband will have no claim to the house or land."

This is an odd and unfortunate set of rules. A Thai male can will the property (or it's sale value--I'm not sure) to his spouse. A Thai female who is considered married cannot.

Note 2: The italic quotes are taken from the book "Thai Law for Foreigners," by Benjawan Poomsan Becker, 2008, Paiboon Publishing.

Unless Thailand forbids women from leaving, which would be draconian, this law would change little and certainly not stop males aged over 50 from marrying women, they will simply go to a nearby country.

This is a knee-jerk reaction to Cambodia's problem with Korean men marrying young Cambodian women and then mistreating them. While a certain amount of husbands mistreating wives (and wives mistreating husbands) (for instance having the family try to kill them with an ancient musket, and failing that, beating the poor guy to death with a club and then feeding the remains to the Royal tigers) there seems no evidence that what has occurred between Korean men and their mistreated Cambodian wives is occurring in Thailand with foreigners marrying Thai women.

ใจเย็น, ใจเย็น…

Edited April 1, 2011 by jsflynn603

[condobrit001]

Let's take it one step further and ban all single men over 50 from even visiting Thailand. These pathetic people are here for one thing only - GET RID OF THEM!

[boggle]

Your only as old as the woman you feel!

[cowboydog]

Finally at last some protection for old timers coming to Thailand !!

I view this as positive pro farang move - thank you Ministry of Inferior

[kevc]

Isn't this Aprils Fools Day ?. wheres the source for the story nice one.

[JAS21]

Strange timing....just before the elections....would have thought that the government would want all the north east votes that they could get!!!

[Suradit]

3 Things:

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

If they're simple-minded, how would you describe the clever farangs they seem to be able to take to the cleaners so easily? ... if one is to believe the seemingly endless tales of woe & the gnashing of teeth that fill message boards such as this?

[zorbek]

prohibiting 50+ farangs to marry thai ladies ? I think this a thai-chinese governments deal to "book" thai ladies for chinese men as the single child policy is becoming to be a serious threat in mainland china . I think that such an iniquitous law-if passed-will not apply to the powerful neighbours . Poor Thailand, so far from Buddha and so close to China

[samran]

They just made my day, sorry teelak no can do. The problem isn't the old guys marring younger women its the young guys who cannot get a visa ant other way talk about a burden.

It is just another example of shooting from the hip, or engaging the mouth before the brain can work..

You said it buddy, though I think you'll find you need to learn to engage the brain a bit more before shooting from the him.

If you do have a brain that is!

[erre191]

Finally a sensible law to protect the thousands of male, naive,foreign clowns roaming Thailand for "love"! Well done. Why not apply to any age and prohibit any marriage between Thais and foreigners. Wonder what is coming next?

[JUDAS]

The word for today is, gullible.

[boggle]

prohibiting 50+ farangs to marry thai ladies ? I think this a thai-chinese governments deal to "book" thai ladies for chinese men as the single child policy is becoming to be a serious threat in mainland china . I think that such an iniquitous law-if passed-will not apply to the powerful neighbours . Poor Thailand, so far from Buddha and so close to China

Very very possible. Those bloody elites!!!!

[bridge]

Here is my question.

Where is this story sourced from??? Seems the only source on the internet is Thai Visa.

What day is it today????

[SPIKECM]

Rather Orwellian to use a sliding scale to work out the suitability of human relationships don't you think?

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.

[mark45y]

This is great news.

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

Good work thailand!!!!

I have always planned on getting married at 85 years of age to a woman 35 years younger than I. Until then I'll just live with the 18 year old twins.

[anon467367354]

well the law doesn't affect me in any way. I guess if I want a "little" fun I can marry a young Thai boy.

[samran]

The word for today is, gullible.

For these TV posters, I think that work applies every day.

You gotta wonder why they hate Thailand so much, and now I know. Fall for anything.

Gawd knows how they made it through life. I really dispair that people can be so stupid.