Affirmation of Freedom to Marry

[ettcuk]

I'm a British/UK citizen planning to register my marriage in Thailand at some point soon - this year or early next year. I think I understand everything that's required of me to do this. However, one thing I'm not sure of is this:

The affirmation of Freedom to Marry document is valid for 3 months from the day I sign it at the British embassy. According to the embassy's FAQ, this means I must register my marriage within 3 months of that date. However, does "registration" mean the date I hand over all the documents to the district office for them to do their checks or the day I actually return to the district office to officially register the marriage? I ask, as the checking process can take up to a month (the district office apparently send the documents back to the foreigner's embassy, even though everything has already been certified and legalised - seems like typical bureaucracy) and there can sometimes be a lengthy queue of 10-15 couples or more waiting to get married. So, that 3-month period could pass quickly.

If it's the date we hand over all the documents to the district office, that'd make more sense to me.

Does anyone have any experience of this? Many thanks in advance.

[NoDisplayName]

51 minutes ago, ettcuk said:

I ask, as the checking process can take up to a month (the district office apparently send the documents back to the foreigner's embassy, even though everything has already been certified and legalised

District office?  Do you mean the local amphur where you apply for the marriage certificate?  That is, getting married in Thailand, not registering a marriage performed in another country.  If so, there is no check done. 

 

Just last month, honey-bunny and I (currently residing in Bangkok) went to the amphur in Korat where we plan to move to soon, handed over the legalized documents, and walked out married half an hour later, 20 baht poorer.

Edited September 26, 2022 by NoDisplayName

[ettcuk]

A district office is the local amphur office, yes. The local governmental office where any marriage in a given district/amphur would be registered, a long with many other personal admin related things.

I've heard different things. One that if one of the couple is Thai, no check will be done, but if both are foreign, further checks are done. But, then, when enquiring with a friend who's a civil servant in Bangkok, a colleague of his who recently registered a marriage between a Japanese person and Thai person (in Bangkok) said the documents were sent to the Japanese embassy for further checks. It took 3 weeks. Apparently, that's the standard procedure there.

So, perhaps it varies between offices or regions. I was going to do it in Bangkok, but maybe in Chiang Mai province might be better. Or maybe it's just a lottery!