Hi,

I've been given the opportunity to relocate to Bangkok from UK to support a company project, and have found a lot of valuable information on these forums. One thing I am struggling with is how things will work with my partner. We are not are not married, however we have lived together for over a year, and we are considered in the UK as in a civil partnership affording us both rights and obligations to each other.

My understanding is that Thailand will not recognise this partnership, and therefore she will not be able to obtain any visa on account of us being married or her being dependent on me (she will not have work on arrival).

While my company will be assisting with my visa, they do not have much experience in this area, and have asked me to look into it. I will be contacting the Thai Embassy for some direction, however, are there any suggestions as to what the best course of action will be. A little more detail:

- She is in her forties and has Personal Assistant / Office Manager Experience, her only language is English

- We know it will be important that she has something to do out there, and so she is open to working / teaching / volunteering. Her generating income is not important as my salary will cover all living for both of us, but not getting bored is important

- If she is working, a flexible work schedule is important as we may have to travel semi-frequently (out of the country)

- We will most likely be living in Bangkok for six months to two years +

- We'll probably be married in the next year or two, but not going to rush it because of this

- We both are eager to learn Thai, and are thinking an ED Visa might be the best approach, but unsure as the best way to go about it. She also has thought about taking higher-level education courses as she has high-school level education plus beauty stylist qualification. If she did this it would probably be down the road after we settled in (~ four months from now)

Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Since not married, she cannot be a depended and will need her own reason to stay.

If she just want to look around first, you have two options. With help of the company (a simple letter from them confirming her status as your partner and that she will be joining you) you could try to get a (multiple)non-O visa form a Thai honorary consulate, such as Hull. This is unsure, so contact them first if they are willing to issue)

Another option is to get a double entry tourist visa for her, that will give her two entries of 60 days and each entry can be extended by 30 days. That will give her time to look around for a job, volunteer work or find a suitable course for an Ed-visa.

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