Baby On The Way, When To Marry?

[WOODERSON]

I am currently in a bit of a quandry;

My Thai fiance is due to give birth to our baby in about 6months. She is currently in Thailand and I am working in London. The plan is for the two of them to come to England once our baby is old enough to fly. Due to work current commitments and too short notice to get family and friends organised for the trip we were not intending to get married until sometime early next year which will be after the baby is born.

My concerns are how much of difference will this make in the eyes of the british embassy?? Will she beable to register my name as the father of our child at the time of the birth? If we marry a few months after the baby is born will this make it harder to get visa's for the two of then? How long would this application take to process in relation to us getting married before our child is born and what extra steps are required?

Obviously I want us to be together as soon as possible as a family, any advice on the quickest route would be much appreciated.

[pnustedt]

Do you reckon you could get her to the UK on a visitor visa? If so do so, marry her in the UK asap, why wait? Follow up with a Buddhist "wedding" in LOS - maybe honeymoon.

Keep all evidence of proof of long term relationship and mutual commitment.

If you are serious about your new responsibilities give them a priority.

[manfromoz]

wood,

I just went through the same thing, although under the Australian embassy which is very similiar to the UK set of rules anyway.

Firstly, no matter whether you are married or not you can be put down as the father on the child's birth certificate when it is born in Thailand.

Not much else matters either. When he/she is born you will need to do all of the Thai things for registration, etc and then you go to the british embassy and get a british nationality by birth form and fill that in and then you take that and get a british passport for the child, ie it has dual citizenship and 2 passports which takes care of you taking the child to england, you don't need a visa. Just use the Thai visa when you leave/return to Thailand and the British one in england. none of this requires you to be married and nothing changes if you are or are not.

Will this help your gf/future wife get a visa to the UK? Another forum member is currently testing this and he can let you know how he gets on.

[WOODERSON]

Cheers guys

much appreciated, she actually recently came over on a three week tourist visa, we only found out about the baby right at the end of her stay so didn't have time to weigh everything up and act on it. Is there a quick option for marriage in thailand like a registry office? I'm thinking I could do a flying visit just to get the change of name on her side so all the papers are in place for a settlement visa application and then hold the ceremony early next year as planned. Hopefully the application would have processed in that time and we can go ahead with the move at the earliest possible stage. Does this sound feasable?

[manfromoz]

Any Amphur will marry you in about 30 mins depending on how many people are waiting before you. The time consuming bit comes about getting the stat dec from your embassy stating you can marry the girl. This needs to be translated and then certified by the department of foreign affairs in bangkok.

Once you have the stat dec, you take this, your passport, her id card and house papers (tabian baan) to the amphur, they fill in a form, you sign it and away you go. The cost for this depends where you get it done. If it is her home amphur it is free, if it is not there may be a charge. Mine cost Bt500.

A word of warning, unless you are absolutely certain (and really think about it for a long time) take someone with you who can translate what is going on. This is technically a requirement, but they waive it.

Once the forms are filled in, you sign two versions (1 for you and 1 for the wife) and away you go. Legally married and recognised throughout the world as such.

Good luck

Don't be thinking that a quick wedding will solve your visa issues. The first question will be how long have you been married and when they see it is a short time a whole new set of questions will be introduced.

[bkk_mike]

For a person from the UK - in theory at least - you don't need an embassy permit if you've got a "certificate of non-impediment" from your local registry office in the UK. (the one where you live)

It gets issued 40 days after you've requested it, but is valid proof that you're not married. (at least it was when I got married - rules change... TiT )

If nothing else - it might make it a lot easier to get the embassy permit, and is something you can do in the UK.

The wedding still took two days though. - one day of running around doing all the paperwork, and one day for the monks, rings, wedding ceremony, reception... (But the last posting is possibly suggesting only doing the paperwork day... - and getting married at the last office involved).

As far as the baby is concerned, so long as your name is on the Birth Certificate as the father, it doesn't matter if you're married before or after he's born. Simply the fact that you're the father on the birth certificate, and you have married the mother makes the child a British citizen. (assuming you were born in the UK - i.e. a foreign-born British person doesn't pass on their nationality automatically to a foreign-born child).

For the same reason, if the child is born in Thailand, your grandchildren will only have British nationality automatically if they are, in turn, born in the UK.

[lopburi3]

You could make a fast visit and get married. She would not be able to travel with you back to the UK but you would be able to start the visa process and names would be right on paperwork. It is what I would do. And you could still have ceremony next year.

The procedure is you must have a sworn statement from your Embassy that you are fit to marry so if you divorced will need that paperwork. Check your Embassy for details or give them a call. That paper then must be translated and then registered with the Thai MFA (which makes it an international legal document). That registered copy is then taken to a District Office and you get the marriage certificate upon small payment and if not done in Bang Rak or other District with many foreign marriages they will want someone to translate for you as you must sign a statement (which could be pre nep type material) of relationship. There is no Wat or monk requirement for marriage. It is a civil affair unless the parties want a party and prayers.

There are firms that can do the whole process in a day but they will cost more than DIY. Three or four days should be enough to do it yourself as long as you have whatever the Embassy needs with you.

[caledonia]

Just a pointer, yes you can be added onto the child birth certificate but it is not until you marry the child's mother that the baby can become a british citizen!!

Britain still has pretty old fashioned laws.....pick up any passport form from the post office and it makes that pretty clear. A child is automatically the nationality of it's mother in Britain, but the father has to be married to the mother to pass on his nationality......thats why marriage certificates have to be supplied along with birth certificates. It doesn't matter if you marry after the baby is born though, after the wedding you could then apply for British nationality for the baby. So technically the visa won't be a problem for the baby as ge/she will have a pasport.

I would say try and get over there and get married before the baby is born.....takes away one less visa application!

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Embassies are designed to hamper rather than help ( at least, so it seems )

[dsukhumvit]

I have a British mate who has gone through this whole process and the fact they weren't married before the birth was an additonal headache, both paperwork and financially related.

If its a certainty you're going to marry her anyway, then ahead of the birth would make sense.

None of my British friends have enjoyed the process of trying to help their children become British citizens. it is apparently one huge pain in the arse.

A quick check with a local government agency might well be in order I think.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

I have a British mate who has gone through this whole process and the fact they weren't married before the birth was an additonal headache, both paperwork and financially related.

If its a certainty you're going to marry her anyway, then ahead of the birth would make sense.

None of my British friends have enjoyed the process of trying to help their children become British citizens. it is apparently one huge pain in the arse.

A quick check with a local government agency might well be in order I think.

The United Kingdom Immigration regulations clearly favour those people that are legally wedded.

[WOODERSON]

Lots of good advice to chew on, thanks to everyone involved.

One other thing I was wondering, how long from past experience does the settlement visa application take to process? From reading the uk embassy site 12-15months is mentioned, additionally is it possible to apply for a tourist visa in the mean time i.e. arrange a visit to the uk whilst the settlement application is still in the pipeline somewhere or is this an embassy no no?

[manfromoz]

And I thought the Australian Embassy were pains in the a#se. From what the english posters are saying here, the British embassy is making us look easy.

[Richard W]

Lots of good advice to chew on, thanks to everyone involved.

One other thing I was wondering, how long from past experience does the settlement visa application take to process? From reading the uk embassy site 12-15months is mentioned, additionally is it possible to apply for a tourist visa in the mean time i.e. arrange a visit to the uk whilst the settlement application is still in the pipeline somewhere or is this an embassy no no?

Where did you read 12-15 months? At British Embassy, Bangkok - What happens when I make my application?, it says 12 weeks. As they have already processed a visa application from your wife, the wait should be shorter - 6 weeks?

You can submit a visa application on the basis that you will be married by the time of the interview, thought it is as well to explain that when the application is submitted. Thus you could get married and bring your wife back in one trip. That's what I did - married on the 5th, interview on the 11th, Gatwick on the 17th. This was over 5 years ago, but it can still be done. We didn't book the return flight until after the interview.

[WOODERSON]

Ok Guys,

The trip is booked, head out in a couple of weeks and we take the amphur route in the first instance. This may sound like a silly question but what is the usual attire for such an event? Don't really want to be wearing shorts and a t-shirt on such a special day Do most people wear suits? I have a couple of friends coming out with me, will they beable to attend?

[lopburi3]

Don't really want to be wearing shorts and a t-shirt on such a special day

Good for you. That should apply anytime you visit an official office. Suit is fine but main thing is leather shoes, socks, long trousers and office type shirt. Short sleeve would be fine but not sleeveless. The preceding are my views and may not be shared by everyone.

I always use a safari type suit myself. This is not a ceremony as you will just sit in chairs before the officer who takes you bio data and receive signed marriage document. Usually takes less than an hour. Friends should not be a problem.

[WOODERSON]

Ok,

I'm back, we managed to get everything sorted at the Amphur, my final question now is do I need to register the marriage in the UK. We ran our of time while I was in Bangkok to find out. I believe that this entails a translation of one of the certificates and presentation to the British Embassy. What are the advantages of this? I believe that it isn't an absolute must but rather a choice, will it aid in the application for a settlement visa for my new wife in a few months?

A Happy Man

[WOODERSON]

Another question guys,

I understand that my wifes ability to buy land in Thailand will now be affected, can someone give me a quick rundown of the extent of it?

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Another question guys,

I understand that my wifes ability to buy land in Thailand will now be affected, can someone give me a quick rundown of the extent of it?

Her change of marital status ( even marrying a farang or any foreigner ) is totally unaffected.

[lopburi3]

I understand that my wifes ability to buy land in Thailand will now be affected, can someone give me a quick rundown of the extent of it?

Old news dies hard - this policy was changed years ago. Now the only thing extra is that she must sign a paper that the money belongs to her and you may be asked to sign that you understand you can not inherit the land. She can still buy and sell land as long as she is Thai.

[WOODERSON]

On the flip side are there any advantages for us Farangs in thailand now being married to a thai lady?

[Pink Mist]

Visa advantages, can get "O" type.