Legalising UK marriage certificate

[John19780]

Hi, i am applying for the one year visa based on marriage. We got married in England and have a UK certificate. I have now been told that i need to legalise this. The British Embassy in Bangkok say they no longer offer this service. Do I need to send my marriage certifacte back to England? Has anyone been theough this process? Cheers.

[ubonjoe]

It has to be done in the UK. Info for doing it is here. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/461071/Legalising_a_signature_or_seal_final_Sept_15.pdf

I assume you mean an extension of stay based upon marriage (it is not a visa) to a Thai applied for at immigration.

After legalization is done it has to translated to Thai and the translation certified by the Department of Consular Affairs. Then you would need to register your foreign marriage at an Amphoe and obtain a Kor Ror 22 foreign marriage registry that immigration requires.

[John19780]

Ok, thanks for your response. It’s for a non o visa, based on marriage.

[ubonjoe]

2 minutes ago, John19780 said:

Ok, thanks for your response. It’s for a non o visa, based on marriage.

It is not required to apply for a non-o visa at an embassy or consulate. They will accept your marriage certificate without it being legalized or translated.

It is only required to register your marriage at an Amphoe to get a Kor Ror 22 that immigration requires to apply for a non immigrant visa or extension of stay.

[John19780]

Again thanks. I feel stupid now, but i am very confused. Ok, i have my intial 3 month visa, it expires in one month,  if i apply for one year extension this is part of the same visa, right? If i send my certificate by courier to the uk and use their online service, will they stamp everything and return it to my Thai address? Then i  have to get an official translation, can this be done outside BKK?  i live in Korat. Sorry for all the questions, but this is turning out to be more complicated than expected.

[ubonjoe]

3 minutes ago, John19780 said:

Again thanks. I feel stupid now, but i am very confused. Ok, i have my intial 3 month visa, it expires in one month,  if i apply for one year extension this is part of the same visa, right?

You will be extending the 90 day entry from you non-o visa. Your 90 day permit to stay is extended not your visa.

6 minutes ago, John19780 said:

f i send my certificate by courier to the uk and use their online service, will they stamp everything and return it to my Thai address? Then i  have to get an official translation, can this be done outside BKK?  i live in Korat. Sorry for all the questions, but this is turning out to be more complicated than expected.

You can send the marriage certificate to the legalization office. If you pay for the courier for it to be sent to the Thai embassy in London for them to do their legalization of it they will do that as part of step one. You have to arrange with the embassy to do step 2 by paying their fee for the legalization and the fee to send it to you here. All that is mentioned in file I posted a link to.

What many people have done is send the marriage certificate to a friend or family member in the UK for them to handle payments and mailing of it within the UK and then back to you. Much easier and possibley quicker if done that way.

You should be able to get the translation done in Korat. The certification part can be done by EMS to the Consular Affairs Department in Bangkok. Their may be a translation service in Korat that can handle the certification for you.

You may be getting short on time to get it done before your current 90 day entry ends. You can apply for a 60 day extension at immigration to visit you wife and then do the one year extension near the end of it.

 

[John19780]

Joe, thanks so much. Your name was recommended to me, i am glad you answered.

[cliveshep]

What Ubonjoe says is what I had to do. On line order an Apostille copy of marriage certificate, I advise you to get an Apostille copy of your birth certificate at the same time as you'll need that if you want a yellow house book later if your local District office are like mine. 

 

Send the copies to a friend or family member in the UK. They must send the Apostille Marriage Certificate with a reply paid Registered Post envelope and a UK Postal Order or Cash to the Royal Thai Embassy for Legalisation. They don't do cheques!  The Embassy is in Queen's Gate, Kensington, London. The fee is £10 per document.

http://www.thaiembassy.org/london/en/services/81905-Legalisation.html

Then your friend can send the docs to you via Royal Mail registered post.

 

You do not need to send your Marriage Certificate to the UK, they obtain copies and legalise them, price is £13.99 per document but it does take a couple of weeks and you don't have that time from the sounds of it. We got caught out the same way and had to extend the visa first.

Apostille: 

https://www.ukofficialrecords.co.uk/apostille_certificates/legalisation/apostilles-for-marriage-certificate.asp

 

Good luck.

 

Edited January 24, 2018 by cliveshep

[John19780]

Thanks Clive. Are you absolutely sure i do not need to send from this end? The info i have is 30 pounds per document. I am not questioning you but i am hearing two different things. Do you have a link for the online Apostille? Again, thank you.

[ubonjoe]

1 hour ago, cliveshep said:

https://www.ukofficialrecords.co.uk/apostille_certificates/legalisation/apostilles-for-marriage-certificate.asp

That is not a official website. I got suspicious as soon as I saw it was not  gov.uk site.

Warning is here. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/dont-be-fooled-by-unofficial-certificate-websites

 

[Mattd]

Official government site for this: https://www.gov.uk/get-document-legalised

[John19780]

4 minutes ago, Mattd said:

Official government site for this: https://www.gov.uk/get-document-legalised

Yes, thanks. The question is do i send my certificate, or do they use computer records.

[Mattd]

7 minutes ago, John19780 said:

Yes, thanks. The question is do i send my certificate, or do they use computer records.

To use the government service, then I 'think' that you must send the original to them, I've never done it, so not sure TBH, however, if you start the application it does mention documents sent and returned by post / courier.

It also mentions that a PRINTED PDF copy can be legalised if it meets certain criteria.

[John19780]

Ok, cheers. I will start to sort it out now.

[cliveshep]

Sorry for giving the wrong site, well done Ubonjoe to spot it. There are Agencies that offer the service expensively too.

 

I already said - do NOT send your original document, they procure a copy from the UK General Register Office and stick the Apostille onto that. However that now appears not to be offered as part of a one-stop service.

 

In fact I'm quite useless it seems.

 

You can however order copies from here and then get them sent for Apostille. Cost is £9.25 per document.

 

https://www.gov.uk/order-copy-birth-death-marriage-certificate

Edited January 25, 2018 by cliveshep

[Tanoshi]

Your original marriage certificate should first be sent to the British Home office for certification.

It is then sent to the Thai Embassy for legalisation.

 

Get the legalised document translated into Thai, then have the translation legalised by the Consular section of the Ministry of Foreign affairs in Bangkok. You'll then have a legalised Marriage certificate and a legalised translation to cover any eventualities in Thailand.

There are many agents in the UK who can complete the certification and legalisation in the UK on your behalf.

 

You can apply for a 60 day extension of your permission to stay from your 90 day Non Imm O Visa at your local Immigration office to buy some time.

[brewsterbudgen]

Your original marriage certificate should first be sent to the British Home office for certification.
It is then sent to the Thai Embassy for legalisation.
 
Get the legalised document translated into Thai, then have the translation legalised by the Consular section of the Ministry of Foreign affairs in Bangkok. You'll then have a legalised Marriage certificate and a legalised translation to cover any eventualities in Thailand.
There are many agents in the UK who can complete the certification and legalisation in the UK on your behalf.
 
You can apply for a 60 day extension of your permission to stay from your 90 day Non Imm O Visa at your local Immigration office to buy some time.

It's a separate Legalisation Office based in Milton Keynes. The original hand-written certificate doesn't need to be sent, just one of the legal copies that you can order after the wedding. If you enclose the Thai Embassy form, £10 postal order and pre-paid envelope, the Legalisation Office will forward it on to the Thai Embassy in London. The Embassy then need a pre-paid self-addressed envelope to send the certificate back to you.

I did all this last year. It's definitely worth getting it all done by someone in the UK and then getting the certificate sent to you in Thailand.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[John19780]

8 hours ago, cliveshep said:

Sorry for giving the wrong site, well done Ubonjoe to spot it. There are Agencies that offer the service expensively too.

 

I already said - do NOT send your original document, they procure a copy from the UK General Register Office and stick the Apostille onto that. However that now appears not to be offered as part of a one-stop service.

 

 

In fact I'm quite useless it seems.

 

You can however order copies from here and then get them sent for Apostille. Cost is £9.25 per document.

 

https://www.gov.uk/order-copy-birth-death-marriage-certificate

Not your fault mate, the goal posts are forever moving in the Visa world. I appreciate you taking the time to post.

 

[John19780]

7 hours ago, Tanoshi said:

Your original marriage certificate should first be sent to the British Home office for certification.

It is then sent to the Thai Embassy for legalisation.

 

Get the legalised document translated into Thai, then have the translation legalised by the Consular section of the Ministry of Foreign affairs in Bangkok. You'll then have a legalised Marriage certificate and a legalised translation to cover any eventualities in Thailand.

There are many agents in the UK who can complete the certification and legalisation in the UK on your behalf.

 

You can apply for a 60 day extension of your permission to stay from your 90 day Non Imm O Visa at your local Immigration office to buy some time.

Cheers mate, after the 60 day extension will i be able to extend again for one year, Or will i uave to start the Visa process again?

[ubonjoe]

17 minutes ago, John19780 said:

Cheers mate, after the 60 day extension will i be able to extend again for one year, Or will i uave to start the Visa process again?

You can apply for the one year extension near the end of the 60 day extension.

[John19780]

6 hours ago, brewsterbudgen said:

It's a separate Legalisation Office based in Milton Keynes. The original hand-written certificate doesn't need to be sent, just one of the legal copies that you can order after the wedding. If you enclose the Thai Embassy form, £10 postal order and pre-paid envelope, the Legalisation Office will forward it on to the Thai Embassy in London. The Embassy then need a pre-paid self-addressed envelope to send the certificate back to you.

I did all this last year. It's definitely worth getting it all done by someone in the UK and then getting the certificate sent to you in Thailand.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

Thanks for the response, yes indeed, it’s easier with a person in the Uk.

[AWT1968]

One further question: We got our UK marriage certificate legalised in December 2016 (the Thai Embassy certified the document on 22nd December), however we didn't actually need to register our marriage in Thailand last year.  We will need to do it this year.  Will the Ministry of Foreign Affairs accept a document that was legalised over 12 months previously? 

[ubonjoe]

17 minutes ago, AWT1968 said:

One further question: We got our UK marriage certificate legalised in December 2016 (the Thai Embassy certified the document on 22nd December), however we didn't actually need to register our marriage in Thailand last year.  We will need to do it this year.  Will the Ministry of Foreign Affairs accept a document that was legalised over 12 months previously? 

Legalization of a document never expires.

The Department of Consular Affairs of the MFA only certifies the translation of the marriage certificate that the Amphoe requires to register your marriage.

[Tanoshi]

58 minutes ago, AWT1968 said:

One further question: We got our UK marriage certificate legalised in December 2016 (the Thai Embassy certified the document on 22nd December), however we didn't actually need to register our marriage in Thailand last year.  We will need to do it this year.  Will the Ministry of Foreign Affairs accept a document that was legalised over 12 months previously? 

You need to get your legalised UK Marriage certificate translated into Thai.

 

As Joe then states:

39 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

The Department of Consular Affairs of the MFA only certifies the translation of the marriage certificate that the Amphoe requires to register your marriage.

 

[Tanoshi]

2 hours ago, John19780 said:

Cheers mate, after the 60 day extension will i be able to extend again for one year, Or will i uave to start the Visa process again?

Yes.

 

From memory last time I did this (I was the 'someone' in the UK) it took about 8 working days from sending to receiving the legalised certificate back. I then posted it Royal Mail International track and sign and my mate signed for it 2 days later.

 

Perhaps Brewster can tell us how long it took to complete the process last year.

[brewsterbudgen]

Yes.
 
From memory last time I did this (I was the 'someone' in the UK) it took about 8 working days from sending to receiving the legalised certificate back. I then posted it Royal Mail International track and sign and my mate signed for it 2 days later.
 
Perhaps Brewster can tell us how long it took to complete the process last year.

Yes. Mine took around 2 weeks in total.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[John19780]

30 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

Yes.

 

From memory last time I did this (I was the 'someone' in the UK) it took about 8 working days from sending to receiving the legalised certificate back. I then posted it Royal Mail International track and sign and my mate signed for it 2 days later.

 

Perhaps Brewster can tell us how long it took to complete the process last year.

That’s good news. Thanks mate.

[AWT1968]

On ‎25‎/‎01‎/‎2018 at 12:13 PM, Tanoshi said:

You need to get your legalised UK Marriage certificate translated into Thai.

 

As Joe then states:

 

Thank you both for your replies, appreciated.