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Thailand has no common-law marriage. However long a couple has lived together, a marriage exists only once it is registered, under the Civil and Commercial Code (CCC s. 1457); in Thailand, couples register at a district office. A ceremony or children don't change that. An unmarried couple in Thailand still gets some protection: courts can treat property the partners built up together as jointly owned. But a partner is not a statutory heir, and has no statutory right to maintenance from the other (CCC ss. 1457, 1461).
In short
- A marriage exists only once it's registered — not after any number of years together.
- Property built up together during the relationship can count as jointly owned, but only if you can prove your own contribution.
- Foreign partners cannot own land in Thailand, in or out of a relationship.
- A partner does not inherit anything by law. Without a will, there is nothing to claim beyond a proven share of joint property.
- Cohabitation itself gives no spousal basis for a visa, a spouse's tax allowance, or the spousal gift exemption.
A marriage exists only once registered
This is often phrased as asking whether Thailand recognises a common-law marriage. It does not, in any form. Under CCC s. 1457, a couple becomes married only by registering the marriage; in Thailand, couples register at a district office (amphur), and Thai embassies and consulates abroad can also register a marriage. A religious or local ceremony, a shared household, years of life together, and having children together are all real facts about a relationship, but none of them creates a marriage under Thai law.
Same-sex couples can now register a marriage in Thailand, since the Marriage Equality Act took effect on 23 January 2025. An unmarried same-sex couple stands in exactly the same position as any other unmarried couple described in this article.
If you do decide to register, our guide to registering a marriage in Thailand sets out the documents and the steps.
Married or not: what changes
| Married | Not married | |
|---|---|---|
| Property built up during the relationship | Marital property (CCC ss. 1474, 1533), generally split between spouses | Can be treated as jointly owned if a partner proves their contribution; otherwise it stays with whoever's name is on it |
| Inheritance if a partner dies without a will | The spouse is a statutory heir | Not a statutory heir; only a valid will or a proven share of joint property |
| Maintenance | Spouses owe each other support (CCC s. 1461) | No statutory claim |
| Visa | A Thai spouse supports the Non-Immigrant "O" marriage extension; for a foreign same-sex spouse this isn't officially confirmed — check with the Immigration Bureau | Unregistered partnership alone gives no spousal visa basis. The Royal Thai Embassy in London lists spouses in the DTV family category and asks for proof of relationship, such as a marriage certificate; check the applying mission's document requirements |
| Tax allowance for a spouse | A spouse allowance is available for a legally registered spouse with no income (Revenue Department; Revenue Code s. 47(1)(ข)) | Not available |
| Gift tax exemption | Money and other movable property given between registered spouses are exempt up to THB 20 million a year (Revenue Code s. 42(27)); property transfers have separate tax rules. For a same-sex spouse, confirm the exemption with the Revenue Department — official clarification isn't verified | An unregistered partner is not a spouse for this exemption (Revenue Department ruling, 2023) |
| Land | Marriage gives a foreigner no right to Thai land | Cohabitation gives no right to Thai land either |
Property of an unmarried couple: who gets what
Because there is no marriage, there is no marital property (sin somros) to divide. What Thai courts look at instead is ordinary co-ownership. If a couple has built up property together — savings, a car, furnishings, sometimes a condo — a court can find that both partners own it jointly, normally in equal shares, under the general co-ownership rules (CCC ss. 1357, 1361, 1363). This can apply even where the asset is registered in only one partner's name, as Thai courts have recently confirmed (Supreme Court decision No. 97/2569, as reported).
The catch is proof. The partner who claims a share has to show their own contribution — money paid, work put in, or both. Whatever a partner owned before the relationship started, or received later by inheritance or as a gift, stays theirs alone.
Land or a condo in the Thai partner's name
Co-ownership never gives a foreigner a right to Thai land, no matter how the relationship is described. If you paid for land registered in your partner's name, that payment alone gives you no ownership of the land itself. Holding land this way "for" a foreigner is a nominee arrangement, which the Land Code (ss. 86, 113) and the Civil and Commercial Code (s. 150) make illegal.
Protecting a foreign partner when land is registered in the Thai partner's name starts with understanding this limit, not trying to work around it. A condo is different: under the Condominium Act, a foreigner can buy a unit outright, in their own name, within the 49% of a building's total unit floor area that foreigners may own, provided they meet the conditions of s. 19 — including an accepted basis for buying and bank confirmation of the funds brought into Thailand — with no need to put it in anyone else's name.
Inheritance: a partner is not a statutory heir
Thai law lists statutory heirs by class (CCC s. 1629), and an unmarried partner is not on that list. If a partner dies without a will, the other partner inherits nothing by law. The only thing they keep is their own proven share of property the couple built up together — which is a property claim, not an inheritance claim.
The only way for a partner to leave the other something more after death is a valid will that meets the form requirements of the Civil and Commercial Code (ss. 1646, 1655–1663). Our team drafts wills that name a partner clearly and describe what they are meant to receive.
Protecting a partner: will, usufruct, agreements
A few tools can fill the gap left by not being married:
- A will. This is the only way to give a partner anything beyond a proven share of joint property.
- Usufruct. A registered right to use another person's property, which can be an option for protecting a partner — its term and the conditions of registration depend on the specific case, and our lawyers check the details before you register anything.
- A written record or agreement. No Thai law regulates agreements between unmarried partners specifically. A written record of who paid for what helps as evidence if there is ever a dispute, but whether a court would follow an agreed, unequal split between partners has not been tested. It is not a substitute for a will.
If a couple later marries, a prenuptial agreement must be registered at the same time as the marriage (CCC s. 1466); an agreement signed afterwards is not a prenup, and either spouse can revoke it during the marriage or within one year after it ends (CCC s. 1469).
What isn't settled yet
Two questions don't have a clear answer today, and we say so rather than guess:
- Loss-of-support damages. If a partner is killed through someone else's fault, Thai law lets a person the deceased was legally bound to support claim damages (CCC s. 443). Whether an unregistered partner counts has not been settled by the courts, and official guidance hasn't resolved it either.
- Domestic violence protection. The 2007 Domestic Violence Victims Protection Act already covers people living together as partners, registered or not. A bill the Cabinet approved on 25 August 2026 would change the law further, but as of today it is not yet in force.
What to do next
Three options cover most situations: register the marriage if that's what you both want, put a will in place, or start keeping a record of who paid for what in your relationship. None of them is automatic, and none happens by itself.
If you're not sure which applies to you, send us the details — what's registered, in whose name, and what you can document — and we'll explain the options within 24 hours, with the cost agreed before we start on anything. A short consultation is often enough to see where you stand and what, if anything, needs fixing now rather than later.
