Us Marriage Affidavit

[Likeki]

Greetings members much wiser than me,

It is my understanding that there are no required documents to complete a "Marriage Affidavit" I now live on the East Coast but I was divorced in Hawaii. I was planning on going through the trouble of getting a certified copy of my divorce decree from Hawaii to show I was legally divorced. Conversations with others that have got the Affidavit said dont bother they dont ask for anything. It seems weird to me that I would not need to prove I was divorced. Can anyone who has recently completed the Affidavit please share thier expierience with me. Not sure if I am going to the Embassy BKK or CM yet.

Thanks,

[oooooo]

a friend of mine, british citizen, had got married in NY about 15 years ago. got divorced 9 years later. and then came to thailand and wanted to marry a thai national.

when applying for the "freedom to marry certificate" with the brit embassy he was told that he would have to supply an original, officially stamped and signed divorce decree from the NY registrar.

this clearly shows that the divorce decree must be issued in the state where the marriage was registered. and u most probably will have to produce duplicates to complete the "Marriage Affidavit"

further clarification may be provided by the US embassy here in BKK. if they're not out playing golf.

good luck

[Ken]

I was never asked for "proof" of divorce when getting the affidavit. And I was just at the US embassy yesterday getting pages added to my passport and an income certification. While I was there, several people came in and got their "free to marry" affidvits and I never heard one of them being asked for any "proof of divorce.

[Ken]

a friend of mine, british citizen, had got married in NY about 15 years ago. got divorced 9 years later. and then came to thailand and wanted to marry a thai national.

when applying for the "freedom to marry certificate" with the brit embassy he was told that he would have to supply an original, officially stamped and signed divorce decree from the NY registrar.

this clearly shows that the divorce decree must be issued in the state where the marriage was registered. and u most probably will have to produce duplicates to complete the "Marriage Affidavit"

further clarification may be provided by the US embassy here in BKK. if they're not out playing golf.

good luck

I don't know how or where you acquire your information, but.....nonsense. I was married to my first Thai wife in the State of Florida. I got divorced 4 years ago from her and I was in Tennessee.

[Likeki]

Thanks.....maybe I can just convienently forget that I was previously married and bypass the extra useless paperwork.

[lopburi3]

As I recall you are signing a statement under oath that you have never been married. Do not lie!

[Khun Bob]

If you get married outside of the UK and dont register your arriage when in the UK, how will the Embassy know ? Of course if you have gone back to the UK with your wife, it may be on the records, but in different parts of the world, divorce is done in different ways, so it may be possible to produce 'evidence' of the divorce, even if not officially done, but sufficient to satisfy the UK embassy.

This is a theory. Anyone with actual experience of the UK embassy in bkk, please do post...

a friend of mine, british citizen, had got married in NY about 15 years ago. got divorced 9 years later. and then came to thailand and wanted to marry a thai national.

when applying for the "freedom to marry certificate" with the brit embassy he was told that he would have to supply an original, officially stamped and signed divorce decree from the NY registrar.

this clearly shows that the divorce decree must be issued in the state where the marriage was registered. and u most probably will have to produce duplicates to complete the "Marriage Affidavit"

further clarification may be provided by the US embassy here in BKK. if they're not out playing golf.

good luck

[Khun Bob]

Bump - comments anyone ?

If you get married outside of the UK and dont register your arriage when in the UK, how will the Embassy know ? Of course if you have gone back to the UK with your wife, it may be on the records, but in different parts of the world, divorce is done in different ways, so it may be possible to produce 'evidence' of the divorce, even if not officially done, but sufficient to satisfy the UK embassy.

This is a theory. Anyone with actual experience of the UK embassy in bkk, please do post...

a friend of mine, british citizen, had got married in NY about 15 years ago. got divorced 9 years later. and then came to thailand and wanted to marry a thai national.

when applying for the "freedom to marry certificate" with the brit embassy he was told that he would have to supply an original, officially stamped and signed divorce decree from the NY registrar.

this clearly shows that the divorce decree must be issued in the state where the marriage was registered. and u most probably will have to produce duplicates to complete the "Marriage Affidavit"

further clarification may be provided by the US embassy here in BKK. if they're not out playing golf.

good luck

[ronw]

If you get married outside of the UK and dont register your arriage when in the UK, how will the Embassy know ? Of course if you have gone back to the UK with your wife, it may be on the records, but in different parts of the world, divorce is done in different ways, so it may be possible to produce 'evidence' of the divorce, even if not officially done, but sufficient to satisfy the UK embassy.

This is a theory. Anyone with actual experience of the UK embassy in bkk, please do post...

a friend of mine, british citizen, had got married in NY about 15 years ago. got divorced 9 years later. and then came to thailand and wanted to marry a thai national.

when applying for the "freedom to marry certificate" with the brit embassy he was told that he would have to supply an original, officially stamped and signed divorce decree from the NY registrar.

this clearly shows that the divorce decree must be issued in the state where the marriage was registered. and u most probably will have to produce duplicates to complete the "Marriage Affidavit"

further clarification may be provided by the US embassy here in BKK. if they're not out playing golf.

good luck

I married and divorced in the UK.and when wanting to marry here,had to produce the ORIGINAL decree absolute and show to the British Embassy before getting a "free to marry"certificate...

Luckily I had it here, so did not need to send to the UK for it....which saved a bit of time.....and a lot of hassle!

[Sojourner]

Greetings members much wiser than me,

It is my understanding that there are no required documents to complete a "Marriage Affidavit" I now live on the East Coast but I was divorced in Hawaii. I was planning on going through the trouble of getting a certified copy of my divorce decree from Hawaii to show I was legally divorced. Conversations with others that have got the Affidavit said dont bother they dont ask for anything. It seems weird to me that I would not need to prove I was divorced. Can anyone who has recently completed the Affidavit please share thier expierience with me. Not sure if I am going to the Embassy BKK or CM yet.

Thanks,

If I understand your post, you plan on marrying a Thai National. That being the case the Amphur wants a Marriage Affidavit stating you are free to marry before they will marry you. By the way that needs to be translated into Thai and certified correct. If you state on the affidavit you have been legally divorced, which is your case, you will need to show the Amphur the divorce decree. I don't know if the Amphur wants to see a certified copy or not, sorry. Regarding the US embassy or consulate, they don't care if you've been married a dozen times and never got divorced from any of your old wives. They are asking you if the info you wrote on the form is correct or not under oath. If you lie, you are perjuring yourself to the US government. Think about that.

[Ken]

If I understand your post, you plan on marrying a Thai National. That being the case the Amphur wants a Marriage Affidavit stating you are free to marry before they will marry you. By the way that needs to be translated into Thai and certified correct. If you state on the affidavit you have been legally divorced, which is your case, you will need to show the Amphur the divorce decree. I don't know if the Amphur wants to see a certified copy or not, sorry. Regarding the US embassy or consulate, they don't care if you've been married a dozen times and never got divorced from any of your old wives. They are asking you if the info you wrote on the form is correct or not under oath. If you lie, you are perjuring yourself to the US government. Think about that.

Don't know about other Amphur's but the Amphur where I live did NOT ask to see the divorce decree.

[65Craig]

Last week I filled out my Affidavit for Marriage here at the US Consolate in Chiang Mai. On the very simple one page affidavit there are 3 boxes: Single, Divorced, and Widowed. Basically you check which one applies to you. There is no need for proof at the affidavit process. But you do have to swear under oath that all the information you wrote is correct. This took me about half an hour. 5 minutes to fill out, 24 minute wait, and 1 minute oath of truth and stamp. The cost was $30 or the baht equivalent.

Once the affidavit is stamped by your Consolate or Embassy, you go to get the affidavit translated into Thai. Once the affidavit is translated, you are to take the Translated Affidavit, Copy of Passport and a 200 Baht fee to the Legalization Division, Department of Consular Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bangkok and have it certified.

The address is: 123 Changwattana Road, Thungsonghong, Laksi, Bangkok 10210. Tel: 02-57510578

Since I'm in Chiang Mai, I was able to supply a letter of power of attorney authorizing another person (for me my translation service place) to submit and receive documents on your behalf is acceptable.

Once this is complete you should take the affidavit and supportive documents to the Local Amphur and register yourself as married. Here's where you will need your divorce papers. At the US Consolate they have a paper that states the supportive documents are as follows:

a. Your Valid American Passport

b. A ceritified copy of termination of your previous marriages, if any (divorce decree or death certificate) with Thai Translation.

c. If either party is under the age of 20 years old, a parents presence or writtien permission (with Thai translation if necessary) is required.

So bascially, if you clicked divorced on your affidavit, I'm assuming you will have to prove to the Amphur that you are divorced. I'm not divorced, so I'm not sure if they will actually require the documents or not once you go. Assuming they would though. Plus, it's better to have it done in the event they do.

Anyway, hope that helps.

Congrats!!!

[Ken]

Last week I filled out my Affidavit for Marriage here at the US Consolate in Chiang Mai. On the very simple one page affidavit there are 3 boxes: Single, Divorced, and Widowed. Basically you check which one applies to you. There is no need for proof at the affidavit process. But you do have to swear under oath that all the information you wrote is correct. This took me about half an hour. 5 minutes to fill out, 24 minute wait, and 1 minute oath of truth and stamp. The cost was $30 or the baht equivalent.

Once the affidavit is stamped by your Consolate or Embassy, you go to get the affidavit translated into Thai. Once the affidavit is translated, you are to take the Translated Affidavit, Copy of Passport and a 200 Baht fee to the Legalization Division, Department of Consular Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bangkok and have it certified.

The address is: 123 Changwattana Road, Thungsonghong, Laksi, Bangkok 10210. Tel: 02-57510578

Since I'm in Chiang Mai, I was able to supply a letter of power of attorney authorizing another person (for me my translation service place) to submit and receive documents on your behalf is acceptable.

Once this is complete you should take the affidavit and supportive documents to the Local Amphur and register yourself as married. Here's where you will need your divorce papers. At the US Consolate they have a paper that states the supportive documents are as follows:

a. Your Valid American Passport

b. A ceritified copy of termination of your previous marriages, if any (divorce decree or death certificate) with Thai Translation.

c. If either party is under the age of 20 years old, a parents presence or writtien permission (with Thai translation if necessary) is required.

So bascially, if you clicked divorced on your affidavit, I'm assuming you will have to prove to the Amphur that you are divorced. I'm not divorced, so I'm not sure if they will actually require the documents or not once you go. Assuming they would though. Plus, it's better to have it done in the event they do.

Anyway, hope that helps.

Congrats!!!

I checked the "divorced" on the affidavit and essentially had to make two affidavits, one of them being "free to marry" and the oher "divorce" info. The US Embassy did not require any supportive documents showing the divorce decree. And I say again the Amhur did NOT ask to see the divorce decree. The translated "certified", "authenticated" documents were all that was asked for.

[old wanderer]

There are other simpler ways to go about this. I have been married 5 times. The last time was to my Thai wife 10 years ago, who I brought to the USA on a K1 visa. A few years ago we also got married in her village.

We wished to get the marriage certified in the Ampur, and it was simpler to just take the USA marriage certificate, get a paper from the Los Angeles consulate office ($15.00), and take it to the Ampur, do the name change on the Thai ID card, than trying to do all the other paperwork.

I did have to have certified copies of all the divorce decrees when I applied for the K1 visa.

Interesting enough, 8 years ago, we took everything to the cosulate and they did a adendum to her Thai passport saying she was married and her new last name on page 2. When we wanted to renew the passport, they went back to the single name, as it had to agree with her Thai id card...Then did the adendum for the married name so all the names on the Green card, airline ticket, and passport were the same. Hence the need to change the ID card at the Ampur.

[lopburi3]

You were already married - that US marriage certificate is fully legal here, there and everywhere. Just as a Thai registered marriage is fully legal in the USA. You don't get married again each time you cross a border.

[Khun Bob]

So it seems that getting a freedom to marry cert is easy for americans, but for brits they are a bit tighter - do the brit embassy ask for divorce papers all the time ? What if you say you havent been married before - will they ask then ?

[nightshot]

So it seems that getting a freedom to marry cert is easy for americans, but for brits they are a bit tighter - do the brit embassy ask for divorce papers all the time ? What if you say you havent been married before - will they ask then ?

good question!!!! I need to know do you need an afidavit at all since i am single and never been married anywhere.Bit of a hassle to go bkk for 3-4 days for it,so just wondered if it is necessary?Any answers motly welcomed

nightshot

[lopburi3]

Required.

[nightshot]

thanks for that,bit of a hassle and in-laws will be a bit peeved but always best to know,will now plan trip to bkk,many thanks