Thai getting married in foreign country

[Gregjam]

An interesting situation that I could not find an appropriate thread which refers. If a Thai woman marries a foreigner while in the foreign country and subsequently her passport expires how does she go about getting a new passport in her married name. Is it a case of keep the old name until first return to Thailand and then change family card, get new ID card and then chase amended passport or can this all be done from abroad. With the current passport mess here it is unlikely a Thai living abroad would want to get stranded here waiting for a passport while also avoiding any issues over dual nationality. Anyone had experience of this or have any ideas. There was a thread about the legality of marriage but it did not fully relate to this real situation.

[Big Boy]

Simply go to the Thai Embassy with the marriage certificate, where they will change the name (stamp in the passport). It was never a problem for my wife.

The ID card will be sorted on the next visit to Thailand.

[caller]

And also, should the need arise, a Thai can fly home with an expired passport.

[Gregjam]

It worked for me too many years ago but the current website says in the section about renewing an expired passport:

If the applicant has changed or wishes to change his/her surname after marriage or divorce, the applicant is required to bring evidence of marriage or divorce in order to apply for an amendment of his/her personal data at the District Registration Office in THAILAND prior to applying for a new Electronic Passport in London.

This reads as if the change (to the family card) must be done here before a new passport can be issued in the new name. The passport has expired so one wonders if the renewal and change can take place at the same time.

Also, with the current situation regarding a Thai getting a passport would you risk coming here only to get stuck as you cannot go abroad as you don't have a passport.

[Big Boy]

With the current passport mess here it is unlikely a Thai living abroad would want to get stranded here waiting for a passport while also avoiding any issues over dual nationality.

I still think the dual nationality thing is a myth (like the bogeyman) used to scare people. My son obtained his First Thai Passport just over a month ago. He was interviewed, and asked to show his UK Passport as part of the process. OK, it may not be part of the constitution, but its widely accepted.

[Frank La Rue]

It is interesting in a psychological sense.

My wife married me at her age of 35 and there was never any thought in her mind of taking my family name as we married, it had to do with identity.

As for me, I transferred to the UK on an openended assignment with my employer in 1991 to the UK. After 4 years a I got an unexpected call from Ernst & Young which handled these things for us, if I wanted to become a UK citicen. My intuitive reaction was "No Way! . - I am Norwegian and I'll stick to it!"

National identify is a strong thing, not to be underestimated

[hhfarang]

We married in the U.S.A. and my wife subsequently became a citizen so now holds a U.S. passport in her married name. She kept her Thai Passport and Id card in her maiden name as we have never registered the marriage here, and that has never caused any problems. She had to renew her Thai passport once while living in the U.S. and just sent it with forms I got off the internet to the Thai Embassy in Washington D.C. Three or four weeks later her new Thai passport showed up in the mail.

[Frank La Rue]

We married in the U.S.A. and my wife subsequently became a citizen so now holds a U.S. passport in her married name. She kept her Thai Passport and Id card in her maiden name as we have never registered the marriage here, and that has never caused any problems. She had to renew her Thai passport once while living in the U.S. and just sent it with forms I got off the internet to the Thai Embassy in Washington D.C. Three or four weeks later her new Thai passport showed up in the mail.

I note above that you have not registered your marriage in Thailand
My wife and I registered our marriage in my country so she could get permanent residency here.

We had the marriage ceremony in Kanchanaburi with her family (very beautiful and enjoyable event btw) but never registered the marriage in Thailand.
Our assumption has been untill I read your post that, when we move to Thailand for good we will register the marriage as it will help me to get a residency permit and avoid the visa run every 3 months. Have I misunderstood something here? .

[hhfarang]

I note above that you have not registered your marriage in Thailand
My wife and I registered our marriage in my country so she could get permanent residency here.

We had the marriage ceremony in Kanchanaburi with her family (very beautiful and enjoyable event btw) but never registered the marriage in Thailand.
Our assumption has been untill I read your post that, when we move to Thailand for good we will register the marriage as it will help me to get a residency permit and avoid the visa run every 3 months. Have I misunderstood something here?

My understanding is that a "residency permit" is very hard to obtain and only for the few who have lived her a long time, have enough cash, can speak Thai, etc. I think what you mean is a long term visa to live here. There are several types of those including relating to being married to a Thai, but I went for the non immigrant O-A for reason of retirement. This one comes with higher financial requirements than a "marriage" visa, but seems to be easier to obtain and maintain if you qualify as some have told me you have to jump through hoops at immigration to keep a marriage visa.

Anyway you can get an annual visa through marriage or retirement, but I chose retirement because you never know what the future might bring, and do you really want your visa to depend on your Thai wife?

For an OA visa for reasons of retirement I applied in my home country at a Thai consulate before coming. I had to have a cursory physical looking for a few specific communicable diseases, a criminal report from my local police station, a stack of forms filled in, the fee, and proof that I had the finances to support myself while living here. You have to be at least 50 years old. To renew each year the financial requirements are proof of a 65k baht overseas income or 800,000 baht in a Thai bank (or some combination thereof). I've been living here ten years with only one trip outside Thailand so there is minimal hassle involved in an OA "retirement" visa.

We did not register our marriage here because years ago Thai women who married foreigners lost some of their rights (like voting and owning land). I think this is no longer true, but you never know what the Thai government will do as they seem to change rules for anything on a whim, so we've never registered the marriage here even though we did have the religious ceremony for her family 3 months before we had the "real" one in the US.

[Frank La Rue]

I note above that you have not registered your marriage in Thailand
My wife and I registered our marriage in my country so she could get permanent residency here.

We had the marriage ceremony in Kanchanaburi with her family (very beautiful and enjoyable event btw) but never registered the marriage in Thailand.
Our assumption has been untill I read your post that, when we move to Thailand for good we will register the marriage as it will help me to get a residency permit and avoid the visa run every 3 months. Have I misunderstood something here?

My understanding is that a "residency permit" is very hard to obtain and only for the few who have lived her a long time, have enough cash, can speak Thai, etc. I think what you mean is a long term visa to live here. .

Yes, I mean a long term Visa. Your answer is most helpful, thank you.

It seems there is no particular advantage to registering the marriage in order to obtain Visa. It was only an assumption made by me in my own mind, without having checked.

[hhfarang]

It seems there is no particular advantage to registering the marriage in order to obtain Visa.

The only advantage I know of is financial as the requirements for a "marriage" visa are lower than a "retirement" visa. Other than that the requirements are similar, but more paperwork for a "marriage" visa.

[Frank La Rue]

It seems there is no particular advantage to registering the marriage in order to obtain Visa.

The only advantage I know of is financial as the requirements for a "marriage" visa are lower than a "retirement" visa. Other than that the requirements are similar, but more paperwork for a "marriage" visa.

I shall be both, Retired AND Married.

As for financial requirements I presume that means cash balance in the Bank and/or documentable monthly income stream. How to prove the latter to a local thai government clerk is probably a challenge, even if you get papers translated into Thai by authorized translator.

I suspect the local government official can only be convinced by an amount of Baht from the Kungsri or Thai Farmers Bank statement, with a fraction thereof going into his pockets?

[lomuamart]

We don't get visas from Imm here in HH. They're annual extensions of stay.
Monthly income is evidenced by a letter from your Embassy.
If you've got further, specific questions on visas or extensions, please open a new thread.