Question about registering UK marriage

[bobl]

British citizen (m) Thai citizen (f). We finally got round to getting married, while she was last in the UK on a standard visitor visa (we required Home Office permission because she wasn't on a fiancée visa but that wasn't a problem).

 

So far so good. We're legally married in the UK at least.

 

Now we have come to Thailand, and she wants to register the marriage here.

 

Everyone we've spoken to so far is giving us different information as to how this is achieved - most seem to think it's the same procedure as if we we're trying to get married in Thailand (including needing a 'single' certificate which of course is impossible because I'm no longer single).

 

All we are trying to do is register, in Thailand, the fact that we are already married.

 

I believe we only need a translated to Thai copy of the UK wedding certificate with some kind of stamp on it, and have been advised to visit the British Council in Chiang Mai (although I'm fairly sure they meant to say British Consul).

 

Any pointers in the right direction would be appreciated.

 

confused dot com

[bobl]

Answering my own question since after sifting through the available information, 99% of which relates to getting married not already being married, I went down the rabbit hole of bureaucracy on gov dot uk to eventually find the answer.

 

For anyone else getting married overseas then expecting to legalise it here when you arrive, it's easy but requires specific steps *before* you enter Thailand.

 

In UK

1. Have your marriage certificate and passport copy apostled in the UK

2. Have the Royal Thai Embassy in the UK 'certify' the apostled documents.

 

In Thailand

3. Have the documents translated to Thai by a certified service

4. Have MFA check and legalise them

 

You can now take the (by my count) quadruple-certified document to the ampheur to register the marriage and obtain change of name etc.

Edited January 25 by bobl
Spelling

[lungbing]

apostled?  Anything to do with Mathew, Mark, Luke and John?

[OJAS]

Yep, the cumbersome legalisation process referred to by the OP is spelt out in all its resplendent glory in the following link:

 

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5b173648e5274a190383bc14/Legalisation_info_June_2018.pdf

 

What, when the cumbersomely bureaucratic procedures which have been inflicted on us over the past 10 years or so in the areas of passport renewal and proving that we are still in the land of the living for State Pension purposes - with the cessation of the Embassy's income confirmation service some years ago also thrown in for good measure - it would IMHO not be unreasonable to conclude that the British government as a whole is consciously determined to make our lives as expat retirees here in LOS just as difficult as they humanly can be - with the eager and willing support of its Thai counterpart, of course.

 

[brewsterbudgen]

Possibly a more up-to-date link here:

 

https://www.gov.uk/get-document-legalised/apply-for-legalisation

 

Definitely easier to do if you're in the UK, but apparently can now be done online.