Due to the corona crisis, the patience of couples with a long-distance relationship is being tested quite a bit. Some couples have not seen each other for months because of closed borders, the NOS writes.
Reason for 23-year-old Maud from The Hague to start an action group #LoveIsEssential started. Her boyfriend lives in the US and she in the Netherlands. The aim of her campaign is to have the travel of unmarried partners also labeled as essential travel. So far 150 people have joined.
Maud also sent an urgent letter to Prime Minister Rutte. “I want us to adopt the model of Denmark and Sweden in the Netherlands. Partners may 'enter' there if the relationship has lasted at least three months and you have already seen each other in real life at least once before. You have to be able to prove that”.
European Commissioner Ylva Johansson also writes on Twitter that countries should make an exception to the entry ban for couples with a long-term relationship. Minister Blok of Foreign Affairs has promised to look into the situation.
According to Maud, the main problem is that relationships are judged differently. “You can now only travel to the Netherlands if you are married or have a registered partnership. But in a modern society we can't consider getting married as normal, can we, for the young generation?"
The Netherlands has now reopened its borders to people from a limited number of countries, including Thailand. An entry ban still applies to travelers from other countries. An exception is only made for essential travel and for the time being a reunification of unmarried partners is not included.
Thailand (unfortunately) does not allow unmarried partners for the time being.
Not even if there is a permanent relationship
It is explicitly stated in the link below.
https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1171993-follow-seven-steps-for-a-safe-return-to-thailand/
In Belgium, even married couples are currently not allowed to travel…
Moderator: I think you misunderstood the message. Read it again.
i also want to join .is stuck in belgium me and my thai girlfriend have been a couple for over ten years
I came back to Belgium in January, haven't seen her for almost seven months, only every day via messenger
The same for me, we own property and have been living together for about 7 years. We spend most of the year in Thailand. I will try to see if next month it is not possible to have her come to Belgium for 3 months
Even if you are married, traveling to Thailand is almost impossible. The list of conditions is so endless and virtually insurmountable that people quickly give up. Companies also do not want to mention that you are explicitly insured for pandemics.
Thailand does not give residence cards to people who are married to one of their nationals as we do to partners of European citizens. Here, the married partner of an EU citizen is on the same footing as the national himself.
In Thailand, it still has to comply with the visa requirement every year and in a sense has no advantage whatsoever compared to the ordinary (single) tourist.