On 3/7/2020 at 10:29 AM, john terry1001 said:

Can you please explain what problems people have if they change their surname.

It is more about the problems associated with a name change due to personal circumstances and for some in a higher level of employment the bureaucracy can be quite problematic.

My wife has only recently done it after about 10 years.

17 hours ago, Isaan Alan said:

The IO did not say I needed an updated certificate. She said I needed a letter from the Amphur saying we are still married. Big difference. And she spoke excellent English. So. of course, the Amphur didn't know what I was talking about.  If she said that I needed an updated certificate then I would apologise for being an idiot.

Also do you have to do that every time? Since when does a marriage certificate go out of date? How come I could get the original visa in Savan with my original marriage certificate? A hundred questions. 

And I had my <deleted> wife with me complete with passport, id card and blue book.

 

Yes every year you need to get a certificate (on the same day as you make the extension application). As a previous poster highlighted it is to prove that you have not got divorced.

At my local Amphur they also did not understand when we first asked but a little research indicated two offices close to the IO (Buriram) where we could get the certificate.

Maybe we are lucky with the people running the Main Buriram office and for those with issues there is always the other office by the stadium 

Below are the comments I made on another site concerning my experience in Buriram on Friday :

Went into Buriram yesterday to process my extension at the Main office. Once again Buriram Immigration did a great job and hassle free. I had expected the office to be busy on a Friday afternoon but there was nobody waiting when we arrived. One woman went through all my documents to check I had everything. then passed to  girl who completed the TM 7 and associated docs and then off to the guy who stamped everything, got me to sign the docs and completed the application. All done and dusted in 45 mins.
A couple of things I noted which may be of interest to those about to apply for an extension.
The format of the letter from Kasikorn Bank has changed. This may have been in place for some time and no issue / comment from IO
Due to a cock up in updating my bank book I got a statement from the bank. Statement provided no problem (100B). IO understood the issue and no problem using statement.
Unable to obtain updated KP22 from the Registrars office upstairs and had to nip into town to get a copy. Advised that the computer system (??) has not been working for several weeks at the Main building.
Hats off to Buriram Immigration for a great service and a job well done. I frequently fail to understand the complaining idiots who can not follow simple requirements and complain about visa / extension processes. Like any immigration office the world over if you have all the paperwork and make their job easy your application will be routine.

 

 

13 hours ago, pagan1 said:

I frequently fail to understand the complaining idiots who can not follow simple requirements and complain about visa / extension processes. Like any immigration office the world over if you have all the paperwork and make their job easy your application will be routine.

That is NOT how it is at "every immigration office" in Thailand.  Glad it is that way, for your sake, where you are.  I had it "all" on the first trip, plus the 2nd batch/trip of "unpublished requirements", plus the 3rd batch of batch/trip of yet more "unpublished requirements" - but didn't get my Non-O extension - just a terrified wife from their abusive interrogation.  I have been on a Non-O-ME Visa from Savannahket ever since.  The other option was paying an agent 25K Baht, which I will likely do this year.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,"unpublished requirements,

 

It would be interesting and informative to know / understand what additional information they are requesting. All the lists I have seen over the years just specify 7 or 8 documents are required.

What are they requesting ?

17 hours ago, sandyf said:

It is more about the problems associated with a name change due to personal circumstances and for some in a higher level of employment the bureaucracy can be quite problematic.

My wife has only recently done it after about 10 years.

For  Thai, changing their name (both their given name and/or family name) is a very common process that (almost) everybody is familiar with. I the last fifteen years my wife has changed her family name once (marriage) and given name twice (listening to a local monk for good luck). Yes, she has had to produce her name change certificates at various times (the most recent was for my current extension application) but every official department has recognised and accepted them without question, nobody has ever questioned them. Even the British Embassy accepted them without question when we applied for a UK visa.

 

In the 26 years I've been coming to/living in Thailand I have never met anybody who's had a problem. Perhaps somebody could post on here with a specific problem they've had concerning name change, what the problem was and why it was a problem.

42 minutes ago, john terry1001 said:

In the 26 years I've been coming to/living in Thailand I have never met anybody who's had a problem. Perhaps somebody could post on here with a specific problem they've had concerning name change, what the problem was and why it was a problem.

As you will be well aware, every situation in life carries exceptional circumstances and this is no different, its a personal issue.

If someone has avoided a problem by not changing their name, then there is not going to be a specific problem to post.

As far as the documents are concerned that is very easy as now each time the marriage certificate is requested just attach the name change as the marriage certificate carries a statement that the female has chosen to keep her maiden name.

5 hours ago, john terry1001 said:

For  Thai, changing their name (both their given name and/or family name) is a very common process that (almost) everybody is familiar with. I the last fifteen years my wife has changed her family name once (marriage) and given name twice (listening to a local monk for good luck). Yes, she has had to produce her name change certificates at various times (the most recent was for my current extension application) but every official department has recognised and accepted them without question, nobody has ever questioned them. Even the British Embassy accepted them without question when we applied for a UK visa.

 

In the 26 years I've been coming to/living in Thailand I have never met anybody who's had a problem. Perhaps somebody could post on here with a specific problem they've had concerning name change, what the problem was and why it was a problem.

Ubonjoe can give you the dates, but years ago, if the wife took your farang last name, she couldn't buy property. We married in the US 40 years ago, but she kept her last name just for the convenience of not having to relabel all her documentation, not for the property buying angle. She even kept the "Miss" on her Thai ID, and still does, as she had been advised by her sister that, being married, required in some situations the husband's OK on some matters (believe there's now a "MS" option on Thai IDs, but didn't used to be). Anyway, our marriage situation has never come up -- until now, when I have to explore going the marriage extension route vice retirement due to the O-A retirement requirement for Thai medical insurance.

Two off topic posts meant to deflect the topic have been removed.

3 hours ago, JimGant said:

Ubonjoe can give you the dates, but years ago, if the wife took your farang last name, she couldn't buy property. We married in the US 40 years ago, but she kept her last name just for the convenience of not having to relabel all her documentation, not for the property buying angle. She even kept the "Miss" on her Thai ID, and still does, as she had been advised by her sister that, being married, required in some situations the husband's OK on some matters (believe there's now a "MS" option on Thai IDs, but didn't used to be). Anyway, our marriage situation has never come up -- until now, when I have to explore going the marriage extension route vice retirement due to the O-A retirement requirement for Thai medical insurance.

I'd heard, and was told, about the property ownership thing but that obstacle had definitely been removed by 1995.

 

The 'Ms' option came in at around 2007....give or take a year or so. 

 

As far as i'm aware, the only time a foreign husband was asked to sign anything was to confirm he hadn't bought any property his wife had purchased in her name.

 

I certainly have never been asked to sign/countersign anything my wife was signing.

Edited March 10, 20206 yr by john terry1001