New Zealand same-sex marriage bounty only for the rich?

Gay couples from Thailand say they were grilled by suspicious immigration officials who even asked for photographs of their jewelry

01 September 2013 | By Sudeshna Sarkar

Gay Thailand

When Asian countries in the neighborhood cheered New Zealand allowing same-sex marriages from 19 August, they did not see the fine print.
Two harassed gay couples from Thailand have just discovered that, to their chagrin.
If you are Asian and want to marry your same-sex partner in New Zealand, you have to be from the richest Asian nations to be able to enjoy a visa-free, hassle-free trip.
The New Zealand government, which is seeking to drum up tourist numbers and wean visitors away from bigger neighbor Australia, offers visa-free stays to nationals from 58 countries.
But only seven of the privileged economies are in Asia: Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Though one of the fastest growing economies in the world, Thailand is not on that list. Nor are Thai visitors free from intrusive questions asked by immigration officials, including details of their personal jewelry.
The first two gay couples from Southeast Asia hoping to tie the knot in New Zealand had to endure ordeals while trying to obtain their visa, the New Zealand Herald (TNZ) reported.
Both cases featured young Thai men and their considerably older American partners.
The couples had to ‘battle to get visitor permits from immigration officials who appear to have been suspicious about their 30-year age gaps’, TNZ reported.
At first, they were refused visas because immigration officials reportedly doubted whether they had ‘genuine intentions’ to marry.
The harassed pairs told the daily they had to ‘produce "reams of information" including bank accounts, property records, photographic proof of their relationship and support letters’.
Kai Kingsley, a 66-year-old American artist, who is planning to marry Thai Jakthon Phaengtho, 36, in Auckland on 16 September, said they had to even ‘provide photos of their jewelry to help prove their financial backing’.
They were first handed over visas saying the document was given ‘for the express purpose of registering same-sex marriage’.
When they took their complaint to the media, immigration officials apologized and said it was an error that would not be repeated.
The other couple, Phuket hotelier Robert Burns, 68, and his partner Jatuporn Namvised, 32, said they were asked to provide innumerable details: ‘It was as if we were asking to immigrate forever.’
Thailand is one of the most gay-friendly countries in Asia and gay rights activists are trying to press for a law that would legalize same-sex marriages.
MPs and LGBT activists are campaigning to collect 10,000 signatures so that their petition can be tabled in parliament.