Thai "legal" marriage

[seesaw]

my american farang friend want's to marry his Thai girlfriend and take her back to the USA. if he marries her here in Thailand, will it be easier for him to get her a visa to travel back with him to USA?? he want's to marry her "legally" (on paper) . where can he do this? (at the moment he is in Chiang -Mai.) what documentation do they need? he has never been married before. does he need to show any proof? if so how? can they just simply go to a marriage registry office or whatever and marry? if he is able to take her back to the USA, he intends to re-marry in USA as well. any help please!?

[wolf5370]

Think you posted this in the wrong Topic, should have been in Thai visas, residency and Work permits. George move it if you please.

Seesaw, do a search - or scan through - that Topic and you will find a wealth of answers.

Cheers,

[lopburi3]

It will require many months of waiting whatever he does and the visa/immigration process is not fast.  He should be prepared for up to a year apart if he gets married here and has to leave.  The other option is to apply for a finance visa for her and get married in the US after this is approved.  This is usually a little faster; but will still be many months.  I would suggest this method as it will give them both time to think about the marriage before doing it.

To get married here he must obtain paperwork (proof) from US Embassy first.  That then must be translated into Thai and registered at the Thai Foreign Ministry.  After that is done they can take paper and id's to a District Office to register marriage.  This marriage would then be legal in both Thailand and the USA.

[seesaw]

thanks wolf (hey!!! is that really u in the photo!! u look great!)  and  thanks "lopburi, but what u told me , puzzles me. i have heard of Farangs marrying thai ladies quite simply in ONE day. they just go to marriage registry office, fill in a simple form , both sign, and bingo, they are married. any other views?? i'm probably wrong (as usual) but this is what i was told by a guy that married his thai girlfriend. all she took was her "Thai ID.. card and he, his passport!!!whole process apparantly took about half an hour.

[Thetyim]

Lopburi is, as usual, completely accurate and described exactly what I had to do to get married here.

My advice to your friend is to get married here only and forget the US one.

The odds are heavily against a success and a US divorce will be very expensive.

Try and persuade him to be prudent.

[lopburi3]

MARRIAGE IN THAILAND

Information for American Citizens

A legal marriage in Thailand consists of both parties registering their marriage in person with the local Thai Amphur (Civil Registry Office). The United States does recognize the validity of such a marriage.

A. TO MARRY A THAI CITIZEN YOU MUST FOLLOW THESE STEPS:

1. Complete an affidavit at the American Embassy. The affidavit form, available upon request, includes all of the information required by relevant Thai law. The form must be completed and notarized at the Embassy.

2. Have the completed affidavit translated.

3. Take the affidavit and translation to:

Legalization Division

Department of Consular Affairs

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

3rd Floor, 123 Chaeng Wattana Road

Tung Song Hong, Laksi District, Bangkok

Tel:(02) 575-1057-8, Fax:(02) 575-1054

4. Take the affidavit and supporting documents to a local Amphur and register yourselves as married. The Amphur will also require the following documents:

a) Your American passport;

The Thai citizen's identification card;

c) If either party is under the age of twenty, written

permission from the parents (with Thai translation);

d) If either you or your fiance have been previously married the Amphur will want to see proof that prior marriages have been terminated; either divorce or death certificates. These documents if available, should be translated into Thai prior to presentation at the Amphur.

This is taken directly from US Embassy Bangkok A visa service could do this in one day for a price but most people will spend a few days doing it.  Also most District Offices will want a translator present if foreigner is not a Thai speaker.  Then the long wait for BCIS and visa to be issued.

[exchange1973]

Hi seesaw,

agree with lopburi3!

I'm not american, i'm german, but in the end it's all the same! I married in Thailand and i can tell you there is a lot of paperwork to do!

if you want to marry in Thailand you'll need a certificate from the embassy in bangkok! But to get this sheet of paper the embassy demands another certificate from your civil registry office in your home country (in my case the civil registry office in Berlin/Germany)!

The civil registry office demands from thai-citizen a copy of passport, original certificate of birth, certificate that thai-citizen is unmarried and a registration card. All these documents/certificates have to be legalized by the embassy in thailand! (embassy verifies the documents and send it to your home! When you receive the documents there is a little stamp from the embassy on it!)!

summary (in case of germany/but i think this is also the case for US):

1. Get all the documents of the thai-citizen (mentioned above)

2. Let all these documents legalize by embassy

3. Wait for documents coming to your home! (4 weeks)

3. Add your certificate of birth and a copy of your passport and give it to the civil registry office in your home country

4. Wait for certificate of the civil registry office (1 week)

5. Travel back to thailand and give this certificate, thai citizens passport/ID-Card and your passport to the embassy!

6. Wait for the certificate from embassy (2 days)

7. Give that certificate to the civil registry office in Bangkok/hometown of thai-citizen and marry!

You can see there is a lot of paperwork to do and it really will take several weeks/months!

Hope, that will help a little!

[seesaw]

thankyou all for your help. sorry "lopburi" if i doubted yoy, but you know how it is; one hear's so many conflicting "advice"-never really know what's what!!! thanks again, all of you that replied, regards, seesaw

[wolf5370]

Hi again Seesaw - no its not me, Its the avatr from my website (thought it'd be better than looking at my ugly mug - she blinks too).

Wow, am amazed how things have got worse. I married a Thai girl in Thailand about 5 years ago. I took my birth cert. (an official copy of anyway, but not a photocopy), my Absolute (divorce papers from the UK - stamped but not signed in the UK), 3 months worth of bank statements and my passport. She took her ID Card, house registration paper and her passport (new one that we got - paid for fast service overnight!). We went to a translator/marriage agency and they did the translations and filled out all the form while we drank iced colas. Then we went to the Amphur to register it - a few signatures. And then to the British Embassy to arrange an interview. two weeks later she flew in to Heathrow.

The Embassy can be a bitch - they like to play games like ask her "Who drove here?" and "Who cooked last Thursday?" etc and "How old is your husband's mother?" to try and catch you out.

[lopburi3]

sorry "lopburi" if i doubted yoy,

No problem.  Was my fault for a typo I made on first line:  should have read "he does as the visa" not "and the visa".

[seesaw]

thanks WOLF and all of you, who took the trouble to reply. i now have enough positive info. for "yankee" buddy, thanks

[mrvietnam2001]

If the intention of "your friend" is to return to the US in a relatively short period of time ( 1 year ish), then your friend should apply for a K-1.

Anyone that tells you otherwise doesn't know what they're talking about.

Mr Vietnam