Changes To The Marriage Procedure

[MangoKorat]

I'm not sure which forum to post this in but no doubt the moderators will move it if necessary.

 

There have been some additional changes to the prodedure for a foreigner to register a marriage to a Thai national recently.  Many years ago, you could do the whole procedure in one day - including the Affirmation of Marital Status if you timed it right. It was hard going but do-able - I did it.  Over the years things have tightened up - notably a few years back when some nice Indian gentlemen started providing fake MFA documents and affirmations. An Amphur manager was fired for accepting fake documents which resulted in some Amphurs simply refusing to conduct foreign marriage registrations for a while as their managers stated that they had no way of knowing which documents were real and which were fake.

 

That settled down but it resulted in most Amphurs requiring appointments as only the manager can handle foreign marriages. Then the MFA 'streamlined' and 'digitised' their part of the service resulting in an average wait time of between 2 and 5 working days and also requiring an appointment booking online.

 

I recently helped a friend through the procedure and discovered some further changes on the last hurdle - the Amphur. He had his Affirmation booked and attended that collecting both his marital status document and passport certification as we left.  I then took him to a translation service that I knew and recommended he let them take care of the MFA legalisation.  At that point I learned about the MFA changes - its been a while since I went through the procedure. To me, 'streamlining' and 'digitising' usually makes a procedure faster and easier - not at the MFA it seems.

 

Anyway it was 5 days until the translation agency sent his documents back and last week I got a frantic phone call from him to say that he and his intended had booked an appointment at the Amphur, arrived for it only to be told that their documents had to be checked and they would have to come back later - 1 to 2 months later!  My mate was only here for 16 days. A phone call to a lawyer friend who said she was aware of these recent changes, resulted in the couple being sent to a different Amphur in the same district who agreed to do the 'checks' in 1 week. They said they normally take 2 to 3 weeks.

 

An important point impacted by these changes is that the Affirmation of Marital Status document must contain the month in which the marriage registration will take place. Bear that in mind - you need to find out how long the Amphur you choose will take to 'check' your documents.  Quite what they are checking when its all stamped by the MFA, I know not.  If they want to check the authenticity of the MFA legalisation then surely a phone call would sort that out?  Unless you book a faster service (see down), if you arrive on say the 15th of the month and are staying for 2 weeks, you are unlikely to complete your marriage process.

 

People intending to get married should note that you have to state which province you will register your marriage in when you do the Affirmation/Passport Certification and it will be stated on the document. So, if at the last minute, you discover that your chosen Amphur is going to take too long, don't think you can zoom back down to Bangkok and get things done.  Unless you've already stated Bangkok, you can't.  The registration can be carried out at any Amphur in the province stated but not in a different province.

 

Quite a lot of foreign men marry a Thai national but don't live in Thailand full time - I used to visit for 2 weeks at a time when I was married.  If you do the same, you're going to have a hard time getting everything done in 2 weeks.

 

The full procedure is:

 

Book and attend your Embassy for an Affirmation of Marital Status and Passport Certification.

Book your MFA appointment to coincide with your completed translations (prior to arriving in country - there may be a wait).

Take the above documents to a translation agency - normally ready the same day if you early enough.

Take the translations to the MFA for legalisation - I recommend letting the translation agency do that (for a fee).

Visit your chosen Amphur for the first step in the marriage regsitration process.

Second visit - they will tell you when and you're done.

 

As stated earlier, you also may need to book your appointment at the Amphur so once you have an idea of how long your translations etc. are going to take - get your intended to book that too. You also need to have 2 witnesses with you at the Amphur (they are supposed to have known you for 2 years) and a translator if you don't speak Thai. A witness can also be the translator.

 

As with everything Thai - check with each agency/organisation to find out exactly what documents they require to carry out each process - they can differ.

 

There may be some light at the end of the tunnel though - I spoke to the translation agency and they told me they can get the MFA legalisation done in 2 days and the marriage registration in 1 day but only in Bangkok.  That comes at a cost and I can't say if its reliable or not.  I won't name the agency as I think than most Bangkok translation agencies will be able to offer the same but if anyone has problems - PM me and I'll put you in touch.

 

No doubt some smart Alec will come along and say that the above is a load of rubbish, they just got married in 1 day at their Amphur. This is what just happened to my mate last week and my lawyer confirmed that she was aware of these recent changes.

 

Fot those that don't know - an Amphur is a district registry/administration office. The registration process for a marriage is just that, there is no ceremony. As a foreigner, the manager will explain what your comittments are and check that you are not under any form of duress. Its a cold and clinical process that many Thai's do in their work clothes. Thai's place far more importance on the ceremonial wedding but that has no legal status. More and more Thai's are choosing to skip the ceremony (due to cost) and simply register their marriage.  Just don't expect the registration process to be anything like it is in your home country. However, the (still) normal process for Thai's is ceremony then registration later. Thai wedding ceremonies can last 3 days but 1 is the norm.

[angryguy]

Thats nuts. We got our marriage registered in 2017, i remember it being easy and taking a day

[MangoKorat]

6 minutes ago, angryguy said:

Thats nuts. We got our marriage registered in 2017, i remember it being easy and taking a day

It is and it did.

 

Bangkok Amphur managers will be very happy about these changes. So will their bank manager.