Australian Migration

[RueFang]

Hi. I'm in the process of checking out the Australian Migration Visa for my Thai husband. I've just come across something that says that a marriage certificate is not enough evidence of marriage...

What to Provide with your Spouse Visa Application

When you lodge your application, you must provide: a certified copy of the registry extract showing details of your marriage.

Note: the department does not consider the decorative marriage certificate as acceptable evidence of marriage. You will need to contact the relevant registering authority in Australia or overseas to request a registery extract.

<deleted>? This is Thailand and we got married in an office that had never married a farang to a Thai before, I don't think it's likely they're going to have any clue what to do about this.

For those that have completed this process, is this for real or will the certificate do? We're currently staying in Bangkok so that's another reason I'm not so keen to have to go 800km back to the registry office. Please help, advise or give me your stories of Aussie migration (or point me to a good link!). Thanks so much in advance

In addition - who do I get to certify copies of everything?

Edited April 19, 2008 by RueFang

[oxymoron]

Hi. I'm in the process of checking out the Australian Migration Visa for my Thai husband. I've just come across something that says that a marriage certificate is not enough evidence of marriage...

What to Provide with your Spouse Visa Application

When you lodge your application, you must provide: a certified copy of the registry extract showing details of your marriage.

Note: the department does not consider the decorative marriage certificate as acceptable evidence of marriage. You will need to contact the relevant registering authority in Australia or overseas to request a registery extract.

<deleted>? This is Thailand and we got married in an office that had never married a farang to a Thai before, I don't think it's likely they're going to have any clue what to do about this.

For those that have completed this process, is this for real or will the certificate do? We're currently staying in Bangkok so that's another reason I'm not so keen to have to go 800km back to the registry office. Please help, advise or give me your stories of Aussie migration (or point me to a good link!). Thanks so much in advance

In addition - who do I get to certify copies of everything?

RF I think you may be getting uptight over a communication problem in what the Australian Legal system calls a Marriage Cert and what other countries see.

I found this out in Oz after 2x 20year marriages that the paper (Certificate) issued First time by a Priest and second by a marriage celebrant was only worth toilet paper ( a fact very few Australians are aware of) when sorting out something in Thailand for my Thai wife.

In Australia you must go to the Registrar of Hatched Dispatched and currently incarcerated, pay your $70 and get a registration of marriage document. This has the date and location the marriage was registered. eg Registered on xx date at Perth WA Australia and a file registration number.

So if your Thai Marriage Certificate was provided by the Amphur and it is the same as my TW got 25+ years ago it will state registered at Amphur Office ,District of, in the province of, on date xx, Thailand, and is fully acceptable to the Australian Government as was hers and her registered divorce at the same Amphur.

As you are in Bangkok why not just ask the embassy before you submit the application.

[jstumbo]

When we got married in the US, we received a very nice color "Marriage Certificate" that looked like an award certificate. This is just for show and you get to keep it. You then file a much less formal looking one with the courthouse. If you need to show that you are married, you need to have a certified copy from the courthouse. Anyone could make a nice looking certificate. It is the certified copy from the courthouse that shows it was filed with the courthouse and is valid.

I imagine they are looking for a similar thing in Australia.

[sibeymai]

Hello RueFang,

don't get uptight....they're talking about the certificate, which looks fancy and pretty, and the record from the amphur's marriage register, which looks much more official and less pretty. 2 different documents. You should have received 2 copies of each document at the amphur office, one set for each of you and your partner.

[RueFang]

Thanks for your replies... yes, unfortunately I'm quite the uptight one today with all these mountains of paperwork and surprises popping up everywhere! We only got the two prurdy wedding certificates, nothing else, so that is interesting re the other official one. Our registration was a very amusing occasion in the Amphur, lots of people were flustered over a farang (woman!) marrying in their office! I'll do as suggested and just ask if it's required before submission. I've got photos of both weddings (Amphur and Ceremony) to add to it so that should back it up at least.

Thanks again and if anyone has any other hints please feel free to share

[fishhooks]

It's really not too much of a hassle, just a bit more on the time-line and and some more Baht to pay out.

What the Embassy wants to see is the english translated Thai MFA verification of the marriage. I imagine there must have been in the past cases of forgeries of Wedding Certs.

The Embassy is not satisfied with what took place at the Amphur, again I imagine through past experiences.

The Thai MFA is in Chaeng Wattana and opposite is several translation agencies.

The whole episode only took us a few hours in February. (Or was it January? yes there is a truckload of things to do)

Edited April 19, 2008 by fishhooks

[CbrLad]

RF I think you may be getting uptight over a communication problem in what the Australian Legal system calls a Marriage Cert and what other countries see.

I found this out in Oz after 2x 20year marriages that the paper (Certificate) issued First time by a Priest and second by a marriage celebrant was only worth toilet paper ( a fact very few Australians are aware of) when sorting out something in Thailand for my Thai wife.

In Australia you must go to the Registrar of Hatched Dispatched and currently incarcerated, pay your $70 and get a registration of marriage document. This has the date and location the marriage was registered. eg Registered on xx date at Perth WA Australia and a file registration number.

So if your Thai Marriage Certificate was provided by the Amphur and it is the same as my TW got 25+ years ago it will state registered at Amphur Office ,District of, in the province of, on date xx, Thailand, and is fully acceptable to the Australian Government as was hers and her registered divorce at the same Amphur.

As you are in Bangkok why not just ask the embassy before you submit the application.

The interesting thing is the decorative document I received from the person who married me and my wife (in the ACT Australia) says on the back that it is legal proof the two people named have had their marriage solemnised under Australian law. It goes on futher to say is it isn't conclusive proof of ID, but I wouldn't have thought you couldn't use a marriage certificate as proof of ID in anyway, except of course to changes one's name after marriage.

So as evidence of marriage it is as good as one from the registry office but why Embassies don't accept it is beyond me, but it is the case.

Edited April 20, 2008 by CbrLad

[scyriacus]

many thai certificates should be handled with the utmost caution (like rolex & armani). they can be downloaded from the net. i know quite a few thais "married", but 'not registered in bangkok' (as they say). they all have fancy certificates and touching photos.

Edited April 20, 2008 by scyriacus

[bloody tiger]

G'day RueFang,

Firstly, congrats on your marriage, hope you have a long and successful union.

The two pieces of paper you should have received are:

KOR ROR 2 : Tabian Somorot or mariiage registration certificate...2 copies

KOR ROR 3 : Wedding certificate 2 copies which you have.

If you did not recieve the KOR ROR 2, i would strongly suggest returning to the amphur and requesting an extract. This will be required for many situations in future dealings in Thailand, which may not be the present plan, but always handy for the future.

once you have the KOR ROR 2, you will need to have it translated into english and then you will need to have that translation approved by the Thai ministry of Foriegn Affairs in BKK.

Good Luck, the australian consulate can be a right pain in the keyster

[Jimbob1]

I have just gone through all this crap and was successful ... thank Buddha

Hang in there and do the hard yards ... get the Marriage Certificate issued from the Amphur and have it translated and that should be proof enough.

Millions of photo's and make your application "Personal" ... as when it hits the desk of some paper cruncher have them see it as a person and not just a number.

Good luck, Jim

[Nignoy]

One of the biggest hurdles I found with the Australian Migration Authorities was trying to find an official who could READ Nignoy

[RueFang]

Thanks so much for the continuing replies, they are very much appreciated.

Bloody Tiger, we were only issued with the Kor Ror 3 wedding certs. Does anyone have a scanned picture of the Kor Ror 2?

Jimbob, congratulations on your successful application! What a relief for you. My husband has been to Australia twice on a tourist visa and the translated marriage cert was enough for that, so I'm hoping it's also enough for the migration one. I gather this is all you had in your application? How long did your app take to get approved from the date of submission?

Is it better to apply directly to the Australian Embassy by appointment or to the VFS Visa Application Centre?

[sometimewoodworker]

Bloody Tiger, we were only issued with the Kor Ror 3 wedding certs. Does anyone have a scanned picture of the Kor Ror 2?

I dont have mine scanned however we were issued with 2 (or 3) of them by the Laksi Regestration office (spitting distance from the MoFA) and have the certified translations and they are what is needed as it is the "Marriage Registration"

on the back are 5 signatures Male party, Female party, Witness 1, Witness2, and Registrar. As far as I remember they are photo copies of the Registration held in the Ampur that have then been stamped in red and blue as certified correct copies

[Boo]

Rue I've dug mine out & will scan & email you tonight ok. You probably did get the Kor Ror 2 but hubby may have put it away for safe keeping (or worst case, the mil has it!!!!)

[RueFang]

Thanks Boo, you rock

Sorry if I'm being thick, but for clarification, do you get all the paperwork/photocopies/translations certified at MFA or can a doctor or policeman or someone certify for you?

[sibeymai]

Official certification is done at the MFA at Chaeng Wattana. They have an express service, in am, out pm, or normal service about 2 days. From memory normal service is about 300bt a page and the express service a bit more.

Doctors and police can't do the official translation.

Edited April 22, 2008 by sibeymai

[RueFang]

Doctors and police can't do the official translation.

Thanks Sibeymai I was just wondering if you got it translated somewhere (there's a million translating offices in my street) then get them all certified at MFA. Have to get the Thai ID card, house book, etc translated... do they really charge 300 baht for the iddy biddy ID card translation?!! Guess it wouldn't hurt to go ask myself but for information purposes for the forum you see

[sbk]

You need to make sure you get it translated at a registered translator. all those years ago, when we got married we were given a list of approved translation places from the Embassy.

[sezzo]

I just went through the whole process in Feb this year. We got all our translations done on the ground floor of the CC building where the Visa Application Service is located in. As you enter you veer around the back and to the left from the front door. Its near the 7/11 store. They cost 300 baht for small items and 500 baht for large documents. We took our translation straight up to the VAS office and the girl who was processing our application verified them as true and correct. From what I am led to believe the MFA verification is only required when translating from english to thai for "our" visa process when getting a visa to stay in Thailand.

We only submitted a translated copy of the wedding certificate which was issued at the amphur. No problems there at all and our visa was approved within a week.

Good luck and prepare your application well

[RueFang]

Wow Sezzo, your visa was approved in a week! Was that a migration or tourist visa? Very fast service anyway and congratulations.

Another drama that has come up is that in order to get the police check done for the visa, my husband requires the slip of paper from the army to say that he went into the ballot and either served his 2 years or didn't have to serve. Unfortunately he lost the paper in the tsunami so had to return back home (800+km!) and due to this, that and the other have had to substantially line some official's pocket to get the paper. This country is just so unbelievable sometimes (more often then not )

So, now we also have the Kor Sor 2 wedding thing, the army thing and I'm hoping we haven't forgotten anything else because it's a long long way to go back again if we have!!

Edited April 26, 2008 by RueFang

[sezzo]

Wow Sezzo, your visa was approved in a week! Was that a migration or tourist visa? Very fast service anyway and congratulations.

Another drama that has come up is that in order to get the police check done for the visa, my husband requires the slip of paper from the army to say that he went into the ballot and either served his 2 years or didn't have to serve. Unfortunately he lost the paper in the tsunami so had to return back home (800+km!) and due to this, that and the other have had to substantially line some official's pocket to get the paper. This country is just so unbelievable sometimes (more often then not )

So, now we also have the Kor Sor 2 wedding thing, the army thing and I'm hoping we haven't forgotten anything else because it's a long long way to go back again if we have!!

Ours was a spouse visa (migration). Keep perservering at the process.

[laidback]

When we got married in the US, we received a very nice color "Marriage Certificate" that looked like an award certificate. This is just for show and you get to keep it. You then file a much less formal looking one with the courthouse. If you need to show that you are married, you need to have a certified copy from the courthouse. Anyone could make a nice looking certificate. It is the certified copy from the courthouse that shows it was filed with the courthouse and is valid.

I imagine they are looking for a similar thing in Australia.

Must have a embossed stamp on the certificate.