Miss Or Mrs. After Divorce

[Sojourner]

My girlfriend recently went to City Hall to change her Thai passport from her married name to her family name so as to match her new ID card. I was surprised to see that even though she's back to her maiden name, it is still prefixed by Mrs. I would have thought it would have gone back to Miss or Ms. Is this standard procedure in Thailand?

[roietjimmy]

My girlfriend recently went to City Hall to change her Thai passport from her married name to her family name so as to match her new ID card. I was surprised to see that even though she's back to her maiden name, it is still prefixed by Mrs. I would have thought it would have gone back to Miss or Ms. Is this standard procedure in Thailand?

It seems to be. I have seen 4 or 5 passports where the lady is divorced but still have Mrs. attached. A case of getting rid of the husband but not the label!

[Thanyaburi Mac]

My girlfriend recently went to City Hall to change her Thai passport from her married name to her family name so as to match her new ID card. I was surprised to see that even though she's back to her maiden name, it is still prefixed by Mrs. I would have thought it would have gone back to Miss or Ms. Is this standard procedure in Thailand?

My wife got divorced back in 1992, changed her last name back to the family name, but her ID card still says "nang," or mrs, rather than "no so," or "nang sao," miss.

She's now on her third passport, all say "Mrs."  

The house registration, tambien ban, also says "nang," or mrs.

So, family name change OK, marriage or prior marriage status, no change.

Ask your GF if her ID card says "nang" or "no so."

Mac

[roietjimmy]

Mac has hit the nail on the head. The ID card name/title is what is used in the passport. According to the wifey, the ID card title is not changed even when there is a name change. Once a Nang always a Nang!

[Sojourner]

Thanks guys. Yes, she's still a "nang" on her ID card. I was worried because we will soon be applying for an Australian visa and didn't need any hitches.

[KhaoNiaw]

Once a Nang always a Nang!

That's it - once it's been done, there's no going back.

It is not quite the same as the official Miss/Mrs marital status we're used to in western terms. It fits more closely to the informal perceptions of marriage here. For example, to get a passport, my wife had to change her status because we had a child, even though we weren't legally married at the time.

It's a bit like not being able to reclaim one's virginity!!

[keemapoot]

Yes, this is true and somewhat weird. They will use the Mrs. label even with the maiden name. Service providers will also use this in English. For example, if a previously married woman buys an airline ticket, but has changed her name back to her maiden name, the ticket will say Mrs. "Maiden Name."

This must have caused more than its share of strangeness and questions when a new foreign boyfriend goes with such a woman traveling.