Marriage in Thailand: who and where?

[KhaoYai]

38 minutes ago, ncc1701d said:

Thanks to you and the other comments providing help. This “right to marry” info from the embassy.... if I don’t live in Thailand, does this paperwork still have to come from my countries embassy in Thailand or can I get it from my country of domicile?
 

and regarding the translation validity of 3 months - does that apply to the “right to marry” documents as well or just the translation?

I believe it must be done in Thailand - at least that's the UK rules as I remember. It states on the UK website that you can't get it in Thailand.

 

This is where a lot of people come unstuck - the time waiting for the MFA certification can cause problems. If you are marrying on a 2 week holiday - do the Affirmation as soon as you arrive and plan your marriage registration towards the end.

 

I'm not aware of your nationality but appointments for Affirmations at the UK Consular section in Bangkok are made online and can get booked up - plan carefully.

[Brunolem]

1 hour ago, ncc1701d said:

Thanks to you and the other comments providing help. This “right to marry” info from the embassy.... if I don’t live in Thailand, does this paperwork still have to come from my countries embassy in Thailand or can I get it from my country of domicile?
 

and regarding the translation validity of 3 months - does that apply to the “right to marry” documents as well or just the translation?

I am just out from my embassy in Bangkok, and I got confirmation that the validity is 6 months, not 3, starting the day the certificate was issued, and not translated. 

[saengd]

How long does it take to get the translation done and then certified my MoFA, does anyone have first hand experience?

[SteveK]

43 minutes ago, saengd said:

How long does it take to get the translation done and then certified my MoFA, does anyone have first hand experience?

It can take all day. I got an agent to do mine for about 6000 baht, which meant I had an extra day's holiday in BKK and everything got posted to my home address. EZPZ.

Edited November 14, 2019 by SteveK

[saengd]

2 minutes ago, SteveK said:

It can take all day. I got an agent to do mine for about 6000 baht, which meant I had an extra day's holiday in BKK and everything got posted to my home address. EZPZ.

Thanks, two questions:

 

Where did you find the agent from and how, presumably in Bangkok?

 

Somebody has said that you can take the affirmation to marry and get it translated and then take it to City Hall where you live to get it stamped, presumably an office of MoFA or similar, dunno, details are sketchy. Anyone ever heard of this?

[lopburi3]

2 minutes ago, saengd said:

Somebody has said that you can take the affirmation to marry and get it translated and then take it to City Hall where you live to get it stamped, presumably an office of MoFA or similar, dunno, details are sketchy. Anyone ever heard of this?

You have it translated and then registered at MFA in Bangkok making it an official document that can then be presented to a District Office to record the marriage.  

[SteveK]

The agent we used approached us whilst getting a coffee, pretty random but she was fantastic.

[Lacessit]

On 11/13/2019 at 10:18 AM, Brunolem said:

Actually we have been married, in front of the Buddha, for 20 years already... including the ceremony with the family and all the village... and the money of course... 

 

Now, we are concerned only with the second part of your comment, the registration issue. 

 

Why only now? 

 

Because I recently retired, and I am quite older than my wife, thus being officially married will entitle her to a share of my pension once I meet my maker. 

 

This is the only reason... 

 

Very responsible of you, and I applaud your desire to take care of her. Just ignore the various negative posters who will flock to this thread like bees to honey.

[Jaggg88]

On 11/13/2019 at 1:34 AM, lopburi3 said:

Official marriage is registered at a District Office and that can be anywhere.  First step is for you to obtain the required paperwork from your Embassy (you are free to marry document).  That then has to be translated into Thai (District Office does not do other languages) and registered with MFA (making it an official translated document).  Once that is obtained you can look for a District Office to register the marriage.

As you have to do this in Bangkok most people choose to marry there as well and the Amphoe is well versed on the procedures. You can return home for the celebrations. Chok dee.

[lopburi3]

7 hours ago, Jaggg88 said:

As you have to do this in Bangkok most people choose to marry there as well and the Amphoe is well versed on the procedures. You can return home for the celebrations. Chok dee.

Bangkok is a city of province size - there are 50 khets (administrative areas) so some are experienced with foreigners and some not so much.

[transam]

14 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

Bangkok is a city of province size - there are 50 khets (administrative areas) so some are experienced with foreigners and some not so much.

If one uses an "agent" it is painless, all sorted regarding venues......????

[Brunolem]

14 hours ago, saengd said:

Thanks, two questions:

 

Where did you find the agent from and how, presumably in Bangkok?

 

Somebody has said that you can take the affirmation to marry and get it translated and then take it to City Hall where you live to get it stamped, presumably an office of MoFA or similar, dunno, details are sketchy. Anyone ever heard of this?

It's a bit more complicated than that. 

 

The foreigner's documents have to be translated in Thai by a translator approved by his embassy (the embassy provides a list). 

 

Once this is done, the translations, attached to the original documents, have to be stamped by his embassy. 

 

Then, they have to be stamped by the mofa. 

 

If you live outside Bangkok, the mofa has offices in the provinces... they are the same offices that issue the Thai passports. 

 

Once this is done, the documents can finally be brought to the amphoe in order to proceed with the marriage. 

 

And this is not the end, because after that there is more paperwork, in order to have the marriage validated by your embassy/country. 

[saengd]

9 minutes ago, Brunolem said:

It's a bit more complicated than that. 

 

The foreigner's documents have to be translated in Thai by a translator approved by his embassy (the embassy provides a list). 

 

Once this is done, the translations, attached to the original documents, have to be stamped by his embassy. 

 

Then, they have to be stamped by the mofa. 

 

If you live outside Bangkok, the mofa has offices in the provinces... they are the same offices that issue the Thai passports. 

 

Once this is done, the documents can finally be brought to the amphoe in order to proceed with the marriage. 

 

And this is not the end, because after that there is more paperwork, in order to have the marriage validated by your embassy/country. 

Which embassy are you talking about, there's no mention of that process at the UK Embassy, specifically the use of only certain translators nor the stamp of approval of the translation. See details of the UK process here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/796783/DIVORCED_Application_pack_-_getting_married_in_Thailand.pdf

Edited November 15, 2019 by saengd

[saengd]

The thread shown below seems to confirm that MoFA offices exist throughout Thailand and that there's no need to go to Bangkok to do the MoFA part.

 

 

[lopburi3]

32 minutes ago, Brunolem said:

It's a bit more complicated than that. 

 

The foreigner's documents have to be translated in Thai by a translator approved by his embassy (the embassy provides a list). 

 

Once this is done, the translations, attached to the original documents, have to be stamped by his embassy. 

 

Then, they have to be stamped by the mofa. 

 

If you live outside Bangkok, the mofa has offices in the provinces... they are the same offices that issue the Thai passports. 

 

Once this is done, the documents can finally be brought to the amphoe in order to proceed with the marriage. 

 

And this is not the end, because after that there is more paperwork, in order to have the marriage validated by your embassy/country. 

The translator has nothing to do with Embassy - approval is by MFA.  There is no return to Embassy after translation that I have ever hear of - it goes directly to MFA.  A Thai marriage is legal in most countries - there is no requirement to register with your embassy in most cases.

[westsail]

My wife is from Sisaket, too.  We registered our marriage at the district office in Amphoe Kathu, Phuket where we live.  Later we had a traditional Buddhist wedding at her parents home in the village in Sisaket

[Brunolem]

2 hours ago, saengd said:

Which embassy are you talking about, there's no mention of that process at the UK Embassy, specifically the use of only certain translators nor the stamp of approval of the translation. See details of the UK process here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/796783/DIVORCED_Application_pack_-_getting_married_in_Thailand.pdf

My information is from the French embassy, but I was told that the double stamp (embassy + mofa) was required by the Thai authorities. 

 

Now, obviously, the French embassy may be wrong... 

 

As for the translator, it is surprising that an embassy would accept translations done by anyone, since they have no way of checking if they are reliable or not. 

 

There are some subtleties that only very experienced translators will notice and act upon. 

 

For example, the first name of my wife's mother was spelled in full on one document, and only as a nickname on another document. 

 

Both approved translators which I had contacted quickly noticed the discrepancy, and asked us for a letter from the amphoe stating that it was the same person. 

 

I highly doubt that a translator who is not very experienced with marriage formalities would notice such a detail... 

[Brunolem]

2 hours ago, saengd said:

The thread shown below seems to confirm that MoFA offices exist throughout Thailand and that there's no need to go to Bangkok to do the MoFA part.

 

 

They do. 

 

As I said above, the office issuing the Thai passports, in a given province, is part of the mofa and can thus stamp your documents. 

[Brunolem]

2 hours ago, lopburi3 said:

The translator has nothing to do with Embassy - approval is by MFA.  There is no return to Embassy after translation that I have ever hear of - it goes directly to MFA.  A Thai marriage is legal in most countries - there is no requirement to register with your embassy in most cases.

There is no requirement to register the marriage with your embassy. 

 

Yet, assuming that you pass away before your wife, things will be way much easier for her if the marriage has already been registered in your country, rather than if she shows up alone with Thai documents in hand. 

 

And I am not even mentioning the retirement pension, which she will get automatically only if the marriage has been duly registered by the social security system... otherwise good luck to her... 

 

 

[lopburi3]

9 minutes ago, Brunolem said:

There is no requirement to register the marriage with your embassy. 

 

Yet, assuming that you pass away before your wife, things will be way much easier for her if the marriage has already been registered in your country, rather than if she shows up alone with Thai documents in hand. 

 

And I am not even mentioning the retirement pension, which she will get automatically only if the marriage has been duly registered by the social security system... otherwise good luck to her... 

 

 

Pensions will normally require Thai marriage certificate copy/translation/registration at MFA be presented as proof of marriage.  For my federal pension survivorship above was required - nothing to do with Embassy.

 

Translation of the Embassy fit to marry document is for MFA to record and stamp so that they can be presented to a District Office in Thai.  It is up to MFA if translation is accepted or not and they have lists of approved translation services which your Embassy seems to provide.  If your Embassy also requires viewing/stamping of the Thai translation it appears to be their call - not something required by Thailand.

[Brunolem]

46 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

If your Embassy also requires viewing/stamping of the Thai translation it appears to be their call - not something required by Thailand.

There seems to be contradictory information regarding this issue. 

 

Attached is an excerpt of the to do list from a marriage agent in Bangkok. 

 

The requirement for the embassy stamp is clearly stated. 

 

Having said that, things may vary from one country to another. 

 

In France, once we marry, the authorities (in this case the embassy) issue a "livret de famille" (family book) with the names of the spouses and their children, if any. 

 

This book opens all the administrative doors, including those of social security, and makes it rather easy for the surviving Thai spouse to go through the formalities, rather than having to rely on the mofa... 

[saengd]

Just back from MoFA offices in CM who confirm you can elect to use whichever MoFA office you want to use, no need to use Bangkok if not close. They also confirm the choice of translator is down to you, they will not recommend one but suggest you use one that will fix errors free of charge.

[lopburi3]

7 minutes ago, Brunolem said:

That means the original freedom to marry document needs to be signed by the Consular Officer and stamped with official national seal - it is than translated into Thai and stamped suthenticated by MFA.

[Brunolem]

2 hours ago, lopburi3 said:

That means the original freedom to marry document needs to be signed by the Consular Officer and stamped with official national seal - it is than translated into Thai and stamped suthenticated by MFA.

Not exactly. 

 

This means that you have to bring the original document, together with its translation, in order to have them both stamped at your embassy. 

 

Then, you bring the same documents to the mofa for another round of stamps. 

 

Both documents, the original and the translation, are thus stamped twice. 

 

This is also valid for the copy of your passport. 

 

 

[lopburi3]

13 minutes ago, Brunolem said:

Not exactly. 

 

This means that you have to bring the original document, together with its translation, in order to have them both stamped at your embassy. 

 

Then, you bring the same documents to the mofa for another round of stamps. 

 

Both documents, the original and the translation, are thus stamped twice. 

 

This is also valid for the copy of your passport. 

 

 

As said can not speak for your Embassy but for mine there was no such need (perhaps because MFA can speak English but not French?) - nor was there any need for a passport copy (that is a new requirement sometimes now it seems).  

[KhaoYai]

23 hours ago, Brunolem said:

I am just out from my embassy in Bangkok, and I got confirmation that the validity is 6 months, not 3, starting the day the certificate was issued, and not translated. 

Not according to tha application pack from the British Embassy which I would suspect is done accoring to Thai requirements:

 

'3.How long is the affirmation valid for?3 months from the date of issue. We cannot issue an affirmation if you plan to register your marriage more than 3 months in advance of the date you attend the embassy'

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/796785/Affirmation_Guidance_and_FAQs.pdf

 

Quite a lot of similar Thai documents have a validity of 3 months so I would suggest that the validity of 3 months from the UK is there because that's what Thailand will accept.

Edited November 15, 2019 by KhaoYai

[Just Weird]

On 11/13/2019 at 8:56 AM, Skallywag said:

The Buddhist ceremony is very important and a tradition to all Thais I have known.  The marriage is almost always in the village - baan where the parents live or she grew up....You can always "register" at an amphoe sometime later. 

...and, after the party, you are both still, legally, unmarried! 

 

The district office procedure is not just to "register" what went on at the village celebration, it's the only way to get married legally!

 

Edited November 15, 2019 by Just Weird

[KhaoYai]

22 hours ago, SteveK said:

It can take all day. I got an agent to do mine for about 6000 baht, which meant I had an extra day's holiday in BKK and everything got posted to my home address. EZPZ.

All day?  The MFA service takes 2 to 3 days. It is possible that an agent who 'knows someone' may get it done by the next day but the same day service ended years ago.

 

Admittedly it was 4 years ago but I paid nothing like 6000 baht. I used one of the translation services in Phloen Chit - close to several major embassies. Can't remember the name but there are several in that area - I think the address is Mahattan Plaza - its on the left hand side (going towards Siam), not to far from Phloen Chit BTS station.

[Just Weird]

On 11/13/2019 at 10:25 AM, Brunolem said:

Sisaket is a province, divided in a number of amphoes, each of them having its own administration. 

Sisaket is also a town that is the capital town of Sisaket province.

[saengd]

2 minutes ago, KhaoYai said:

All day?  The MFA service takes 2 to 3 days. It is possible that an agent who 'knows someone' may get it done by the next day but the same day service ended years ago.

 

Admittedly it was 4 years ago but I paid nothing like 6000 baht. I used one of the translation services in Phloen Chit - close to several major embassies. Can't remember the name but there are several in that area - I think the address is Mahattan Plaza - its on the left hand side (going towards Siam), not to far from Phloen Chit BTS station.

As said, the MoFA in Chiang Mai has a same day service, bring in the document before 9:30am and pay double, doubtless other MoFA offices do the same.