Are the Current Requirements of a Thai Marriage Visa Legal?

[Suffinator]

I wonder how many of us expats are married? I should imagine quite a few. For those of you who are you will no doubt feel discriminated against as each year you have to undergo the practice of filing paperwork for your annual visa. On top of that you also have to report your whereabouts to the authorities every 90 days.

So the question is ... Are the current requirements of a Thai Marriage Visa legal? According to an article I have just read it suggests that Thailand is breaking International Human Rights Convention laws; for if a foreigner is unable to provide the visa requirements he or she will be made to leave the Kingdom. Under the Human Rights Convention we are entitled to the 'right to family life'; the current system, as this article suggests could be illegal but is clearly discriminatory; another illegal act.

For you married folks or those thinking about tying the knot this one is worth reading -

Time for Thailand to Change Marriage Visa

[Swiss1960]

There are of course a lot of things we all would like to see changed in the VISA and extension of stay process in Thailand, but basically that is independant of whether you are married or not...

And don't forget the restrictions that other (European) countries put on foreign spouse Visa...

- Knowledge of language that must be proven before a Visa is granted (i.e. Germany)

- Financial security that must be proved before a Visa is granted (i.e. Switzerland)

- Proof of decent family accomodation before a Visa is granted (i.e. Switzerland)

And a lot of European countries will evict foreign spouses based on things like need for social security, criminal record (even of petty crimes) etc. and a lot of cases are heard every year in front of the European / International courts of Humanitarian rights...

Thailand is not alone... most countries try to "protect" themselves from unwanted foreigners... Thailand just does it a little different and maybe more stringent.

[Mario2008]

No, it is not illegal for Thailand to set requirements for entry and stay. Also for persons married to a Thai national. The author seems to be misinformed. Many (western) countries also have (similar and even stricter) requirements one must meet and that is not against any human right treaty.

The author also doesn't know the difference between a visa and an extension of stay.

What is a human rights violation is that there is a difference in the requirements between a foreign woman married to a Thai man and a foreign man married to a Thai woman. That is in international law normally not accepted.

[Mario2008]

As there is now a topic about the article here: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/660224-time-for-thailand-to-change-marriage-visa/

CLOSED.

Further comments in above thread.