Marriage registration

[Druidian]

Is it better to do it yourself since the process seems to be straightforward or it's better to pay 10k Bhat and have an agency do it for you? I'm asking since Thailand is a country of wonders. ????

[stoner]

if you can afford it and want to save the headache i say yes get an agent.

 

the process seems to be straight forward. key word here is seems to be. 

 

looks can be deceptive. 

[riclag]

Have your wife find out the requirements from the Amphor that your gonna eventually register at. Some provinces have different requirements!

Your gonna need to have some documents  translated into Thai such as

as a declaration from your local city govt about your marital status.

 

You need to get a Affidavit regarding the marital status of the person from the respective embassy.

Translated copy of affidavits to Thai certified by an approved Foreign Ministry Translator

https://www.thaiembassy.com/family/marriage-in-thailand

 

 

 

Edited July 18, 2022 by riclag

[patman30]

just do it yourself
it is simple enough
unless your time is worth more than 10k for a few hours

[ubonjoe]

Not visa or extension related. Moved to the Marriage and Divorce forum.

[bbko]

I did all my marriage paperwork myself, not really hard, IMO the only "hard part" was having to travel from Pattaya-BKK several times to my embassy and the MFA (which is now even easier with a 2nd location and/or their mail-in service).

If you're in BKK it should be super easy.

[DUNROAMIN]

From my experience best to get an agent, hassle free. They organise everything for you. You get Thai marriage certificate (decorative A4) and translated copy to english.  12,000 - 14000B.

[NorthernRyland]

13 hours ago, Druidian said:

Is it better to do it yourself since the process seems to be straightforward or it's better to pay 10k Bhat and have an agency do it for you? I'm asking since Thailand is a country of wonders. ????

Do it yourself. You need your wife and a witness to accompany you anyways so you don't really get much having an agent do it for you. Paper work wasn't too crazy but you may need to spend some time finding an amphur who accepts marriages to non-Thais  and setup an appointment.

[Eaglekott]

I recently got Married and got help from a friend that has being doing this many times and knew the staff at their Amphur so she knew what they needed. Some staff at the Amphur was witness for free. We easy and hassle free, she also took care of all translations and certification of documents and even got a translation of the certificate back to English. We gave her 10,000 plust govt fees for the work, Was well worth it. 

 

I got quoted 30,000 plus govt fees form some agencies when I was looking around. 

[brianthainess]

All I needed was the 'free to marry affidavit' from my embassy translated, then back home to my local Amphur with a witness in tow, and got married. (free).

I don't understand how an agent can help, you and your wife have to attend your embassy. a lot of translation places around but some take a day or two, think i paid around 500b. in Nanna.

[Eaglekott]

25 minutes ago, brianthainess said:

I don't understand how an agent can help, you and your wife have to attend your embassy. a lot of translation places around but some take a day or two,

They prepare all the documents so you do not have to, Only have to visit your embassy with your wife and bring the papers the agent has prepared for you. Done in a few minutes, Then they translate the documents into Thai, They certify them somewhere and put post stamps and certification stamps that the transitions is correct and verified. They get the documents needed for your wife that she is in a state that she can get married, (Certification that she is divorced if any) They fix the needed witnesses and book time at the Amphur, and sit and wait in cue line for you so your time at the Amphur is down to a minimum. After they translate the original Thai marriage certificate to english so you can register your marriage in your home country easy.

 

A lot of going back and forth with paperwork you do not have to do if hire an agency. But of cause if you have some days to spend in cues and travel back and forth to get your papers in order you can do it by your self very easy. 

Edited July 19, 2022 by Eaglekott
spelling correction

[bbko]

24 minutes ago, brianthainess said:

All I needed was the 'free to marry affidavit' from my embassy translated, then back home to my local Amphur with a witness in tow, and got married. (free).

I don't understand how an agent can help, you and your wife have to attend your embassy. a lot of translation places around but some take a day or two, think i paid around 500b. in Nanna.

Didn't you have to go back and register your marriage with your embassy?

[Eaglekott]

4 minutes ago, bbko said:

Didn't you have to go back and register your marriage with your embassy?

For me my Embassy in Thailand do not register the marriage with a Thai citizen. I had to send a certified translation and a copy of our original Marriage certificate validated by two signatures to my government. They registered it in a week. I guess different Embassies does this differently.

[brianthainess]

2 hours ago, bbko said:

Didn't you have to go back and register your marriage with your embassy?

No we stay here in Thailand there is not reason for me to register it with my embassy.

[brianthainess]

2 hours ago, Eaglekott said:

They prepare all the documents so you do not have to, Only have to visit your embassy with your wife and bring the papers the agent has prepared for you. Done in a few minutes, Then they translate the documents into Thai, They certify them somewhere and put post stamps and certification stamps that the transitions is correct and verified. They get the documents needed for your wife that she is in a state that she can get married, (Certification that she is divorced if any) They fix the needed witnesses and book time at the Amphur, and sit and wait in cue line for you so your time at the Amphur is down to a minimum. After they translate the original Thai marriage certificate to english so you can register your marriage in your home country easy.

 

A lot of going back and forth with paperwork you do not have to do if hire an agency. But of cause if you have some days to spend in cues and travel back and forth to get your papers in order you can do it by your self very easy. 

We both just filled out a 'form' at the embassy. we had already checked what we both needed before we went, no queues. or even cues 

[ddotmark]

I am curious about the Affidavit from the Embassy. I am American and have been divorced for 15 years. Do I have to prove I am divorced to the US Embassy? I do not have the divorce papers. They were destroyed in a flood. When you are at the Embassy do you just swear that you are divorced…or do you have to have divorce documents…or is there an informational database the US Embassy can query to confirm my divorce?

Edited July 19, 2022 by ddotmark

[bbko]

1 hour ago, ddotmark said:

I am curious about the Affidavit from the Embassy. I am American and have been divorced for 15 years. Do I have to prove I am divorced to the US Embassy? I do not have the divorce papers. They were destroyed in a flood. When you are at the Embassy do you just swear that you are divorced…or do you have to have divorce documents…or is there an informational database the US Embassy can query to confirm my divorce?

I was previously divorced and only had to swear that I'm divorced/currently legal to marry at the US Embassy/BKK.

 

Now if later you want to get your Thai wife a green card to live in the US, the USCIS asks for divorce paperwork.

[Eaglekott]

18 hours ago, brianthainess said:

We both just filled out a 'form' at the embassy. we had already checked what we both needed before we went, no queues. or even cues 

Interesting you just need to fill in a form, I needed fill in one form and bring several other documents so they could prepare the certificate, I needed for instance Document stated I was not married, I needed a Personal record stating my nationality, Proof of Income, A reference letter written and signed from 2 people in my home country that knows me and is not relatives. We needed copies of both of our Passports, i think there were some more papers also needed I don't recall. All prepared by our Agent. After my embassy had gone through the documents they could create the needed certificate for the Amphur.

 

If you are from UK the list is similar, For Australians they need a CNI and to get that there is a similar check list to go through.

 

With "we had already checked what we both needed before we went," Maybe you mean that you had prepared all needed documents by your self before going to the embassy? 

[Eaglekott]

15 hours ago, bbko said:

I was previously divorced and only had to swear that I'm divorced/currently legal to marry at the US Embassy/BKK.

 

Now if later you want to get your Thai wife a green card to live in the US, the USCIS asks for divorce paperwork.

Some Amphurs accept a self sworn statement, but most require a notarized marriage/divorce affidavit from the Embassy. This is why it can be good to use an agent. They register your marriage at an Amphur they know, so they know exact what document that Amphur require, and they also know many staff at the Amphur making the process more easy.

[Eaglekott]

16 hours ago, ddotmark said:

I am curious about the Affidavit from the Embassy. I am American and have been divorced for 15 years. Do I have to prove I am divorced to the US Embassy? I do not have the divorce papers. They were destroyed in a flood. When you are at the Embassy do you just swear that you are divorced…or do you have to have divorce documents…or is there an informational database the US Embassy can query to confirm my divorce?

From the US Embassy home page:

 

2. Most Amphurs require you obtain a notarized marriage/divorce affidavit from the U.S. Embassy Bangkok, or Consulate General Chiang Mai.

Note: An affidavit is a self-sworn statement, NOT a guarantee or certification of single status. Ensure you are prepared to provide proof of divorce, death, etc., to an Amphur should they require it.

 

https://th.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/local-resources-of-u-s-citizens/getting-married-in-thailand/

[MicroB]

I'm considering using an agent for a Thai marriage, and reading these replies, it seems worth it. The Agent I am speaking to is coming from my fiance as a recommendation of friend of a friend's daughter, which probablyh means I will now have to use this agent and no other. After initially quoting a ridiculously low 2500 Bht, they came back with 25,000 " we take care of eveything, you not worry". Is this fair, and is there scope to knock a bit off (ie. get my own quotes to see if they will come down a bit), or is pricing fairly rigid?

[thaibeachlovers]

On 7/19/2022 at 1:31 PM, NorthernRyland said:

Do it yourself. You need your wife and a witness to accompany you anyways so you don't really get much having an agent do it for you. Paper work wasn't too crazy but you may need to spend some time finding an amphur who accepts marriages to non-Thais  and setup an appointment.

I never ever heard that an amphur would refuse to marry a Thai national to her chosen beloved.

[NorthernRyland]

1 minute ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I never ever heard that an amphur would refuse to marry a Thai national to her chosen beloved.

We were denied by two in our local area in Chiang Mai (San Sai and Mae Rim). They can do what ever they want I think.

[thaibeachlovers]

On 4/14/2023 at 5:00 PM, MicroB said:

I'm considering using an agent for a Thai marriage, and reading these replies, it seems worth it. The Agent I am speaking to is coming from my fiance as a recommendation of friend of a friend's daughter, which probablyh means I will now have to use this agent and no other. After initially quoting a ridiculously low 2500 Bht, they came back with 25,000 " we take care of eveything, you not worry". Is this fair, and is there scope to knock a bit off (ie. get my own quotes to see if they will come down a bit), or is pricing fairly rigid?

Methinks they are laughing fit to bust about anyone agreeing to pay 25,000 baht for something anyone can do themselves at a fraction of that cost. It's a hassle but not really difficult to get the paperwork sorted. If I could do it anyone can.

 

However if the cost of the paperwork has increased dramatically in the past 10 years ( to about 20,000 baht ) it might be worth paying the extra 5,000 baht.

[thaibeachlovers]

3 minutes ago, NorthernRyland said:

We were denied by two in our local area in Chiang Mai (San Sai and Mae Rim). They can do what ever they want I think.

I stand corrected. I just never thought that would happen. I guess Thailand has changed a lot since I left ( before covid ).

To be truthful, I'm boggled about that.

 

If the closest office refused perhaps the wife to be contributing to the Santa fund might change their minds. I'm a great believer in letting the wife to be sorting any problems, rather than trying to do it ourselves. After all, she wants to get married, does she not?

[thaibeachlovers]

On 7/20/2022 at 3:45 PM, Eaglekott said:

When you are at the Embassy do you just swear that you are divorced…or do you have to have divorce documents…or is there an informational database the US Embassy can query to confirm my divorce?

I'm not American, but at my embassy they did not require any documents or proof I was unmarried. As they pointed out, all they were doing was witnessing that I was claiming to be single ( and getting paid well to do so ). The document itself did not prove anything.

[NorthernRyland]

3 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

If the closest office refused perhaps the wife to be contributing to the Santa fund might change their minds. I'm a great believer in letting the wife to be sorting any problems, rather than trying to do it ourselves. After all, she wants to get married, does she not?

nah screw them, we got married in Samoeng and it was fast and painless. Doing that in CM would have been a pain in the ass, just like doing anything in CM these days.

 

However we did have our landlord talk to them first so maybe a favor was called in? I don't get this nonsense since it's supposed to be their job but who knows what goes through these peoples minds.

[thaibeachlovers]

18 minutes ago, NorthernRyland said:

nah screw them, we got married in Samoeng and it was fast and painless. Doing that in CM would have been a pain in the ass, just like doing anything in CM these days.

 

However we did have our landlord talk to them first so maybe a favor was called in? I don't get this nonsense since it's supposed to be their job but who knows what goes through these peoples minds.

I had no problem getting married in Pattaya and divorced in Lamphun, but you are correct in that I never had any idea of what motivated the bureaucrats that did make things difficult, other than perhaps they hated farangs.

[NorthernRyland]

3 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I had no problem getting married in Pattaya and divorced in Lamphun, but you are correct in that I never had any idea of what motivated the bureaucrats that did make things difficult, other than perhaps they hated farangs.

I bet they're just lazy or don't know the protocol so they say no. Tiny little tyrants.

[midnightrambler]

On 7/19/2022 at 12:33 AM, Eaglekott said:

I recently got Married and got help from a friend that has being doing this many times and knew the staff at their Amphur so she knew what they needed. Some staff at the Amphur was witness for free. We easy and hassle free, she also took care of all translations and certification of documents and even got a translation of the certificate back to English. We gave her 10,000 plust govt fees for the work, Was well worth it. 

 

I got quoted 30,000 plus govt fees form some agencies when I was looking around. 

can you please help connect me with your contact? thanks so much!