Well, in your city of residence, it wouldn't surprise me if the police demand a bribe in order to reach the correct conclusion.
However, I presume you're asking what officially should happen. I look forward to hearing the answer.
Well, in your city of residence, it wouldn't surprise me if the police demand a bribe in order to reach the correct conclusion.
I could be wrong but I seriously doubt these house inspections you're referring to would ever come into play.Gaybutton wrote: ↑Tue Apr 02, 2024 9:33 pm
......I'm not resistant to it, but there are aspects of it I don't like. For me, the main dislike is if it is a gay marriage, sooner or later the police will show up to make sure you are living together, both sets of clothes are there, and other things that will satisfy them that you are truly married and it's a genuine marriage rather than a marriage in name only for whatever reasons.
I've read about it several times, most recently in Barry Kenyon's article - https://www.gaybuttonthai.com/viewtopic ... 45#p113045
That part about the immigration police visit is the part that irks me. As I said, I've read essentially the same several times from several sources. And again, to the best of my knowledge no such immigration police visits take place for heterosexual marriages, so at least to me, this is highly discriminatory.Barry Kenyon wrote: ↑Thu Mar 28, 2024 2:54 pm Longstay gay foreigners will be able to apply for the one year spouse visa which currently requires 400,000 baht in the bank or the equivalent in foreign income, plus other documentation and an immigration police visit to confirm residence and relationship.
I haven't seen anything saying that. How do you know?
Dodger is correct. Rather than posting controversial speculation about what you think might happen with the police, immigration or otherwise, a bit of research would have let you know that this has been done for many years for Thai’s married to foreigners. It is nothing new and is not done as an incentive to collect bribes. As Dodger pointed out, it is done for those who are here on marriage visa’s wishing to extend.
Ok, now I know that. Did your research tell you what happens if the police find something wrong? Is it a one-time check or do such checks occur periodically?DragonMaster wrote: ↑Wed Apr 03, 2024 11:11 am a bit of research would have let you know that this has been done for many years for Thai’s married to foreigners.
I think the short answer to your question is; Yes.
I think you're right about whether those inspections actually take place mainly because there are many valid reasons why married couples might not be occupying the same residence. For example, one spouse works in a different city and is only home occasionally. Another example might be the Thai spouse might have to go to the hometown to take care of a long-term problem such as a sick relative and the farang spouse remains in his primary residence.
As mentioned the "home visit" is something that is done and has been for heterosexual foreigners basing their permission to stay in Thailand on the basis of marriage. And "yes" it is primarily to prevent "in name" marriages, for those that want to stay in Thailand and can't meet the 800k/65k monthly rule for retirees, but can qualify using the 400k/40k monthly rule for marriage extension. Another reason for a fake marriage is to allow someone under the age of 50 to get annual extensions. Although retirees can use a combo method (income + money in bank), it cannot be used for marriage extensions. For them, it is one or the other. Another possible plus is if married to a Thai, you can get a work permit and be employed whereas retirees are prohibited from working. The home visit also often includes the Immigration Officers interviewing neighbors to verify the couple are living together as would be expected for a married couple.Gaybutton wrote: ↑Wed Apr 03, 2024 12:11 pm And if, as you say, this has been done for many years, my next question is WHY? To prevent in-name-only marriages making it possible for expats to keep 400,000 in a Thai bank account rather the 800,000? What does whether the couple is occupying the same residence have to do with the legal validity of their marriage?