I plan to marry my Thai gf soon. I would be interested in reading experiences from others who have gone through the process?
How easy was it to get the required documents etc...
As far as the dowry is concerned, they family just said - up to you.
Thanks in advance
Mart
Marriage to a Thai
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Mart,
It's all been covered. I will summarise.
You need an elligibility to marry statement from your embassy to ensure that you are not intending to become a bigamist. You will need to produce original divorce papers (to the emabassy) if you have been married before.
Your fiancee needs her ID card (definitely) and updated Tabien Ban (I think).
You then need to book in at a registry office and go through the ceremony. I cannot remember the cost but very little to Western standards.
You will both get a marriage certificate. As far as I am aware any other form of wedding in Thailand has no legal status whatsoever although I believe that in some of the poor rural areas it is possible to get a registry office official to come to a wedding ceremony and do the necessary paper work on the day. I would not recommend this method though.
As for dowries, strictly speaking they are payable from the family of the groom to the family of the bride in a tradtional Thai marriage. This would involve two people who were being married for the first time only.
A dowry is only claimed once in a lady's life.
It seems that in some occasions the family will expect payment if they believe you to be much better off than they are.
Depending on the family and your commitment to the marriage a five figure sum (Baht) sounds apppropriate.
It's all been covered. I will summarise.
You need an elligibility to marry statement from your embassy to ensure that you are not intending to become a bigamist. You will need to produce original divorce papers (to the emabassy) if you have been married before.
Your fiancee needs her ID card (definitely) and updated Tabien Ban (I think).
You then need to book in at a registry office and go through the ceremony. I cannot remember the cost but very little to Western standards.
You will both get a marriage certificate. As far as I am aware any other form of wedding in Thailand has no legal status whatsoever although I believe that in some of the poor rural areas it is possible to get a registry office official to come to a wedding ceremony and do the necessary paper work on the day. I would not recommend this method though.
As for dowries, strictly speaking they are payable from the family of the groom to the family of the bride in a tradtional Thai marriage. This would involve two people who were being married for the first time only.
A dowry is only claimed once in a lady's life.
It seems that in some occasions the family will expect payment if they believe you to be much better off than they are.
Depending on the family and your commitment to the marriage a five figure sum (Baht) sounds apppropriate.
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The only thing I'll add to the above is that you must get the "Affirmation to Marry" certificate certified by The Ministry of Foreign Affairs for an Amphur Office to recognise it.
That's assuming your a Brit. If not, the proceedure will probably be similar. The authentication by the MFA is the key. Then after your Amphur wedding, it's recognised pretty much all over the world.
As far as easy is concerned, my Affirmation was prepared by The British Embassy the next day for, I think 2,450 B. I walked down to Ploenchit and had that paper translated into Thai in about 30mins for 300B, or thereabouts.
Jump on the skytrain from Ploenchit and go to the end of the line - Mo Chit, jump in a taxi from there and ask for the office. One form to fill in and you can pay 300 to get the authentication in 48hrs, or 800 within 2 hours.
It's really as simple as that.
As far as "registry office"/ Amphur Office is concerned, you can go anywhere. It dosn't matter what district your future wife comes from, although she may want to have a say in it and then it might be a good idea to book ahead.
Mine took 30 mins here in HH and just "give a tip" of a couple of hundred Baht to the staff for them to be witnesses.
That's assuming your a Brit. If not, the proceedure will probably be similar. The authentication by the MFA is the key. Then after your Amphur wedding, it's recognised pretty much all over the world.
As far as easy is concerned, my Affirmation was prepared by The British Embassy the next day for, I think 2,450 B. I walked down to Ploenchit and had that paper translated into Thai in about 30mins for 300B, or thereabouts.
Jump on the skytrain from Ploenchit and go to the end of the line - Mo Chit, jump in a taxi from there and ask for the office. One form to fill in and you can pay 300 to get the authentication in 48hrs, or 800 within 2 hours.
It's really as simple as that.
As far as "registry office"/ Amphur Office is concerned, you can go anywhere. It dosn't matter what district your future wife comes from, although she may want to have a say in it and then it might be a good idea to book ahead.
Mine took 30 mins here in HH and just "give a tip" of a couple of hundred Baht to the staff for them to be witnesses.
Just to add, that if you don't want all the hassle of running across town, assuming you are staying near the UK embassy, the translation services next to Ploenchit station will arrange a next day collection of the translated and stamped (by the Thai Ministry) affirmations for 1800 baht (express translation services). Thats what I paid a month ago.
We did the buddhist ceremony at the wifes village before registering the marriage at the local Amphur.
We did the buddhist ceremony at the wifes village before registering the marriage at the local Amphur.
The sequence of registering first with the Amphur, or a Buddhist ceremony, dosn't matter - other than in the eyes of your future wife and family.
Legally, it's the former that counts. Simple as that.
I did things the other way around from Caller, but at the end of the day it dosn't matter legally.
Unless you bowl up at The British Embassy with a bit of string tied around your wrist and expect them to acknowledge that you're married, without a certificate. Believe me, there are idiots who do so assume.
Legally, it's the former that counts. Simple as that.
I did things the other way around from Caller, but at the end of the day it dosn't matter legally.
Unless you bowl up at The British Embassy with a bit of string tied around your wrist and expect them to acknowledge that you're married, without a certificate. Believe me, there are idiots who do so assume.
As previous posters have mentioned, it doesn't matter which order you do things in. I got all the documents together and then went to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as Lomu mentioned, to get the documents ratified. I then left them there, telling them that I would be back in five days to collect. In the meantime I went up country for the ceremony. When I came back all was ready and we took all the documents to Khet Prakanong Registry Office in BKK to register the marriage. That took about an hour.
It is actually a lot easier than it all sounds - but watch out for the predatory khatoey on the front desk at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs!
It is actually a lot easier than it all sounds - but watch out for the predatory khatoey on the front desk at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs!
You need an Affirmation of Freedom to Marry, which you can put together yourself. Assuming that things are still the same, here is the text from mine, just fill in the blanks. NB - your situation may differ from mine with regard to previous marital status & dependents so contact the Embassy via their web site to ask about the wording. That's where I got all the wording for what you see below:Mart wrote: What, apart from your passport did you have to present to the British embassy?
Mart
AFFIRMATION OF FREEDOM TO MARRY
I, Mr. ..............., holder of British passport number ..................
issued at United Kingdom Passport Agency ......(place).......
on .....(date)........ do solemnly and sincerely affirm that:-
a) I am eligible to marry a Thai national according to Thai law.
b) I am of British nationality and I was born on ........(date).......
in .....(place)......., United Kingdom.
c) I am single and have not previously been married
d) I have no dependents
e) My occupation is .............. and I have an income of £.............
(gross) per month as proof of which I attach an employer’s
letter.
f) I propose the following people for reference purposes if it is
necessary to verify the above details.
1. Name: .......................
Address: ....................
2. Name: .....................
Address: ..................
g) My permanent address is:-
...................
...................
...................
...................
I confirm that all the above is true and correct
Affirmed at the British Embassy )
Consular Section, Bangkok this )
………… day of ……..…. . ) …………………………………………..
Before me:……………………………
(The embassy stamps here)