Recording Marriage

[happylarry]

I was thinking of recording my marriage with the British Embassy until I read that they keep the original marriage certificate for good.

Now, before going to all the expense and trouble, I am wondering what the benefits are, if any.

I know that my Thai wife can claim a pension when she comes of that age, so does she need me to do it for that reason?

Thanks for your thoughts.

[the scouser]

There is no requirement to record your marriage with the British authorities. The only perceptible benefit is that if you are ever in the UK and need an original copy of the certificate, you'd be able to get one from the General Register Office, rather than having to go back to the amphur in Thailand.

Scouse.

[thaihome]

They should have given you 2 originals (one each) at the amphur, so you could give one to the Embassy for what sounds like safe keeping

TH

[happylarry]

Thanks scouser, thats what I suspected but just wanted confirming.

Are you really sure about the safe keeping TH....didnt you read the news a couple of months ago about the government losing the cd's with hundreds of thousands of names and info.

However we did get two certificates, yes, but if there is no benefit in doing it then I dont think I will bother. Thanks anyway mate.

[vinny]

See also Can I register my overseas marriage in England and Wales?

[happylarry]

Thanks Vinny....I had already checked that but although it gives all the info about how to do it, it doesnt say why...and now I know...because there are no benefits for me, as I dont intend living in the UK again.

Cheers everyone

[Maestro]

...I was thinking of recording my marriage with the British Embassy until I read that they keep the original marriage certificate for good.

I understand that the amphur office issues two originals of the marriage certificate so that each spouse may have his/her own original. Your wife should keep her original, and you are free to do with yours as you please.

If you choose to “record” your marriage at the British embassy, according to the website of the British embassy all that happens is that your original marriage certificate gets deposited in a place called the General Register Office (GRO) in the United Kingdom. You might as well get a safety deposit box at your bank and put it there, together with other important documents or valuables.

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Maestro

[Wrong Turn]

Thanks Vinny....I had already checked that but although it gives all the info about how to do it, it doesnt say why...and now I know...because there are no benefits for me, as I dont intend living in the UK again.

Cheers everyone

I stand to be corrected, but if a foreigner (Farang) registers a Farang-Thai marriage their home embassy, it's recorded.

So, if you ever leave LOS without your spouse, separate, or get a divorce, go through the legal process of getting a divorce in Thailand and register the divorce at your embassy.

Otherwise, you could return to the UK and be unable to marry again, because you still, are legally/technically married.

This is why one of my friends has not registered his marriage to his Thai wife at the Canadian embassy.

[Maestro]

I think that “record” and “register” are not quite the correct terms.

So we know that for a fee the British embassy will arrange for your original Thai marriage certificate to be deposited with a government office in the UK, where you can at any time obtain a certified copy if you need it, presumably again for a fee.

An entirely different thing is if you simply inform your embassy about the fact that you are now married and give them a photocopy of your marriage certificate. If you do this, presumably the embassy will keep this information on record. Generally speaking, if you stay in Thailand long-time, not just for a tourist visit, it is always a good idea to register yourself with the embassy and keep them updated about changes. The embassy should be given information whom to contact in an emergency, and I guess you would want to put your wife on the list of persons to be contacted.

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Maestro

[lungbing]

If you do chose to record your marriage at the British Embassy the original wedding certificate is stored at the GRO (General Record Office). In future if you require it you can get a copy of that certificate. And so could I! Because your wedding will be indexed and made available to the general public.

The indices to all births, marriages and deaths in England and Wales back to the middle of 1837 are stored on open shelves at the GRO. (Scotland is different of course.) They are great fun to search when tracing your family tree. And a copy of any one of the millions of certificates is available for a few quid. The indices are stored in large books in quarters per year. ie all marriages for Jan Feb and March are in one book, April May June, in another, July Aug and Sept in the third and the fourth book per year covers October November and December weddings, all are indexed alphabetically on surname. So each wedding has two entries in the indices, one per groom's surname and one per bride's surname, but with a common reference by which you order a copy of the certificate. Births are in another quarterly set per year as are deaths.

The entries in earlier books are in beautiful handwriting, the later ones in print. Volunteers are starting to get these computerised and available on the net. If you are interested in tracing your family tree then google FreeBMD

I would recommend that you inform your pension provider that you are married and ask what documents they require to prove the fact. Some pensions/ widows pensions change depending whether you are married before or after you start to draw it.

Other than your descendants being able to trace your marriage from the UK there are no benefits to recording your marriage at the Embassy. And if you obtained a copy from your UK deposited certificate I'm not sure how a Thai official would react with details written on a UK certificate. Because I suspect you'd get a hand-written copy with the details written in on a blank UK wedding certificate, rather than literally a copy of your original. But that's only a suspicion.

[happylarry]

Thanks Maestro...I had already filled in the embassy questionnaire and registered it with them a couple of years ago. I also updated it with my wife's name after the wedding.

And thanks to you LB....I have already informed my company pension providers who have confirmed that on my demise my wife will receive half of my pension for the rest of her life. (what a lucky girl..aye?)

I think I have done all the important stuff but just wanted confirmation that the topic here was a waste of time.

cheers all

[Peter Bysouth]

They should have given you 2 originals (one each) at the amphur, so you could give one to the Embassy for what sounds like safe keeping

TH

Safe keeping I supplied original to pension people in Newcastle they confirmed they received 4 Oct 2007 returned they say on 9 Oct 2007 I have not received back yet. I spoke by telephone to the person dealing with my pension claim on 11dec 2007 the day before it became due and he promised as the papers and not arrived back they would put a note on file to register all mail to me ( they rang me why ?) .They now say get a copy with receipt and the will pay. Their email below.

Received 15 Jan2008

In regards to your missing marriage certificate and translation, if you have still not received these, then they may unfortunately lost in the post. We can reimburse you for a replacement, if you get a replacement with receipt and then send the receipt to us. It is now noted on your file that all correspondence is to be sent by registered post.

Yet I received a letter posted 4 Jan 2008 not registered from them. The postmark was from France who is running the British civil service, at one time our civil servants were the envy of the world. Maybe this was when they could read and write and were 10th generation British not immigrants who have to be employed to be politically correct and obey the race relations acts, that stops home grown intelligent stock from being employed. Rule Britannia is now a racist cause.