petertucker48 Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 I have a UK passport and living in Thailand with a retirement visa. My GF is Laos and has to return ever 2 months to Laos from Cha Am to renew her Tourist Visa. A round trip of 30 hours + 1 day.A real drag. Could anyone advise on the latest requirements and procedures to getting a marriage certificate here in Thailand. I know about the "Freedom to Marry" document from the British Embassy. I presume the Laos GF would need the same from the Laos Embassy. Plus a lot more pile of documents !!! Plus what is the procedure for marriage in Thailand for two foreign subjects. Hope someone can help. Many Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zolt Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 Subject? Didn't they abolish the monarchy in Laos when the commies took over? I don't know about the marriage, but with the new regulations for overland entries her tourist visa might become 15days only. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mario2008 Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 You both need an affirmation to get married document, so follow the procedure for the both of you. Then you can get married as everyone else at the amphur. Choose one in a big city with a lot of foreigners, as they will know how to deal with the situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryLH Posted December 19, 2008 Share Posted December 19, 2008 Zolt - She's using visas. Not affected by new regs. Probably wouldn't be anyway, as Laos is a member of ASEAN and has special agreements in place. Mario - For Lao citizens there are a lot more hoops to get through. I've been told bey a friend in the same situation that the Lao Embassy won't give her the documents to get married. She has to get them in Laos. OP - Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artabus Posted December 21, 2008 Share Posted December 21, 2008 Just a thought, you'll need to check this out. It is illegal for a Laos woman to have a relationship with a non-Laos male outside of marriage... Now that may only apply if you are within Laos, but then again the authorities might assume in your case that the relationship had also occurred in Laos and could ask for proof that it hadn't... So if it were me, until I had checked that, I would be a little careful about announcing my intentions to marry a non-Lao that I had been living with. Great country Laos, by the way, I really enjoyed my times there and the people. Just not sure whether anyone in authority would think to bring up this piece of legislation, even though it is pretty obviously irrelevant in your case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickyboy Posted December 21, 2008 Share Posted December 21, 2008 Just a thought, you'll need to check this out.It is illegal for a Laos woman to have a relationship with a non-Laos male outside of marriage... Now that may only apply if you are within Laos, but then again the authorities might assume in your case that the relationship had also occurred in Laos and could ask for proof that it hadn't... So if it were me, until I had checked that, I would be a little careful about announcing my intentions to marry a non-Lao that I had been living with. Great country Laos, by the way, I really enjoyed my times there and the people. Just not sure whether anyone in authority would think to bring up this piece of legislation, even though it is pretty obviously irrelevant in your case. i also believe that to be true even if you are wanting a relationship between 2 loas people they have to register with the council there to see if they can thank god for freedom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shotime Posted December 21, 2008 Share Posted December 21, 2008 (edited) "My GF is Laos and has to return ever 2 months to Laos from Cha Am to renew her Tourist Visa. A round trip of 30 hours + 1 day.A real drag." Why so long? It takes that long or you have to leave Thailand for 24 hours? It sounds complicated. Why not move to Laos? Being that you're already on a visa to Thailand, and not a national, could make it difficult to get a Thai visa for her. Have you gone to immigration to ask? I knew a Peter Tucker. He changed his last name when he was still young. I think he changed it to Lipschitz. I wish my situation was reversed. She had to go home for two months and could only stay in Thailand for 30 hours + 1 day. Even that sounds too long. Edited December 21, 2008 by Shotime Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abdulrahman Posted December 21, 2008 Share Posted December 21, 2008 I have a UK passport and living in Thailand with a retirement visa. My GF is Laos and has to return ever 2 months to Laos from Cha Am to renew her Tourist Visa. A round trip of 30 hours + 1 day.A real drag. Could anyone advise on the latest requirements and procedures to getting a marriage certificate here in Thailand. I know about the "Freedom to Marry" document from the British Embassy. I presume the Laos GF would need the same from the Laos Embassy. Plus a lot more pile of documents !!! Plus what is the procedure for marriage in Thailand for two foreign subjects. Hope someone can help. Many Thanks [/quote A suggestion:go together to Lao,take a holiday,find what's necessary for her Freedom to Marry certificate and obtain it;it would possibly mean a visit to her birth place. Then,back to Thailand,the same from your Embassy;or you could marry her in Lao,a traditional Lao marriage is something! I was lucky to participate last year,my wife's nephew. As you are retired,if not bound to Cha Am,I would consider to change your residency in that country. Best luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hellfish Posted January 1, 2009 Share Posted January 1, 2009 I have just tried to do this with my lao g/f in thailand. thai law requires both of you to have an affirmation of freedom to marry, original and a thai translation. to get this for her, you do have to go back to her home village in lao. you need to get it stamped by the village chief and in the district office. we had alot of trouble getting this done because the village chief had never even heard of this document! but we eventually got what we needed. she also needs a copy of her family book, ID card and residence documents. then you have to take this all to the lao embassy and have them stamp it. here we had problems - the embassy in bangkok will only stamp it if she is marrying a thai! this is something i don't understand - if a lao marries a thai its still marrying a non-lao national so it is the same law! do they have a seperate law for marrying a falang?!? so we will now try again in another lao embassy. Also a friend recently told us there is a new regulation in lao - if we get married abroad and regester it a the lao embassy, it still wont be legal in lao. we would still have to apply for the marriage permit there! so i'm thinking maybe it will be easier to do it all in lao! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elektrified Posted January 1, 2009 Share Posted January 1, 2009 Subject? Didn't they abolish the monarchy in Laos when the commies took over?I don't know about the marriage, but with the new regulations for overland entries her tourist visa might become 15days only. I thought it had been abolished as well. Find a Thai G/F and make life much easier! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
technocracy Posted January 2, 2009 Share Posted January 2, 2009 Subject? Didn't they abolish the monarchy in Laos when the commies took over?I don't know about the marriage, but with the new regulations for overland entries her tourist visa might become 15days only. I thought it had been abolished as well. Find a Thai G/F and make life much easier! Yep Thai g/f make life easier don't they! :D :D They are faithful, aren't interested in money, would never arrange revenge attacks ... ... oh hold on minute! Yes the monarchy was removed in the mid 70's As for marriage overseas to Lao Citizen speak with the local Lao embassy for the required paperwork - they should supply it - maybe if you're in Thailand they'll tell you visit Vientiane and get it from the Central Prosecutors Court. I know several people who have married Lao citizens oversea with the minimal of hassles. The most important thing to do is register the marriage at a Lao Embassy so the marriage is then recognised a legal in Laos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
technocracy Posted January 2, 2009 Share Posted January 2, 2009 Oh something as a by thought - another way of skinning this chicken is email the Lao embassy in France or US explain you are from which ever country in Europe or the US and you want to marriage a Lao citizen in your country (a little white lie won't hurt!) and they will email you the necessary forms. The French and US embassy are far more pro-active when dealing with Lao citizens overseas than the Bangkok embassy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
callao Posted January 3, 2009 Share Posted January 3, 2009 Marrying a lao citizen is pretty simple in Laos but it takes alot of time for some reason, every step takes time and one thing has to get done before the next step, easily 6 months on average, a little money thrown in the right direction will speed things up a little, I think the guys signing papers for you pretty much expect you to. best if you have lao people that will help you with the paperwork, alot of it is you being accepted into thier community, so be patient, I know 3 falangs in VTE that have done it, myself included, callao Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khazaddoom Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 I'm in a very similar situation. I've bee4n with my Laos girlfriend in Thailand for 6 years we have a 3yr old daughter. Want to get married but it's proving very difficult. The first thing the village head(in Laos) wants is your Ta bien Ban(proof of residence) I've been living in Asia for ten years renting, I don't have a proof of residence my work permit with my address in it wasn't good enough, so I'm still stuck at the first hurdle. Any news on your progress would be really helpful to me. Good luck. I got quoted 9000b in Savannakhet to get the permission to marry in Thailand form but I still need the proof of residence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnoranger Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Marrying a lao citizen is pretty simple in Laos but it takes alot of time for some reason, every step takes time and one thing has to get done before the next step, easily 6 months on average, a little money thrown in the right direction will speed things up a little, I think the guys signing papers for you pretty much expect you to. best if you have lao people that will help you with the paperwork, alot of it is you being accepted into thier community, so be patient, I know 3 falangs in VTE that have done it, myself included, callao callao -I like what you are saying here...can you tell me more - I have lao girlfriend - and want to marry in Laos. I have support of her family friends and Village Chief and her local community. We are engaged - have given 2 oz of Gold, and in two months will return to give family 30 million kip and get married at Village level - what is the next step to have marrige recognised at Govt level? Or are the some other steps we need to take first? johnoranger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
technocracy Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 callao -I like what you are saying here...can you tell me more - I have lao girlfriend - and want to marry in Laos. I have support of her family friends and Village Chief and her local community. We are engaged - have given 2 oz of Gold, and in two months will return to give family 30 million kip and get married at Village level - what is the next step to have marrige recognised at Govt level? Or are the some other steps we need to take first? johnoranger What have you given 2oz of gold for and more to the point why are you giving the family 30 million kip? Lao does have a traditional Sinsot which is given to the family at the point of marriage . . . . when you say engaged have you been through the full engagement and in the village and with the village chiefs announcing your intent to marry and the arranged sin sot? Or are you just 'engaged' in a western way? We married in Vientiane also and went through the entire process which took just over 6 months inclusive of 2 police interviews. The easiest method is to get someone who'll do all the leg work for you - sure you have to pay them but it gets things done. A friend of my wife is doing all the paper work for her marriage and so far it's taken her nearly 6 months and she is still some way off completing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryLH Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 "but I still need the proof of residence" You say they won't accept the WP as proof of residence. How about the proof of residence letter from Thai immigration or the one from your embassy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
callao Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Marrying a lao citizen is pretty simple in Laos but it takes alot of time for some reason, every step takes time and one thing has to get done before the next step, easily 6 months on average, a little money thrown in the right direction will speed things up a little, I think the guys signing papers for you pretty much expect you to. best if you have lao people that will help you with the paperwork, alot of it is you being accepted into thier community, so be patient, I know 3 falangs in VTE that have done it, myself included, callao callao -I like what you are saying here...can you tell me more - I have lao girlfriend - and want to marry in Laos. I have support of her family friends and Village Chief and her local community. We are engaged - have given 2 oz of Gold, and in two months will return to give family 30 million kip and get married at Village level - what is the next step to have marrige recognised at Govt level? Or are the some other steps we need to take first? johnoranger johnoranger, first thing is that getting married at the village level will do nothing for you legally speaking, just the same as a bosai ceremony, you need to start the paperwork, I'd use some of that 30 M kip to get the ball rolling, I had my sister in law who works in the government offices get all the paperwork for me, she actually pushed everything thru and I just did what she told me so don't really know all the actual steps, I think the first person to get approval from was the village chief, and as I had met him many times over a couple of years I had no problem, but saying that it still took a C note handshake to get him to actually sign, you have to have a meeting with local police as well, get a medical exam, like I said if your GF can find a friend inside the government to help, even if you pay them, it will go alot easier, and whatever you do, don't try to beat the system by refusing to pay, or get around some of the BS they put you throu, it will only hurt you overall, it not like Vegas in Laos no getting married overnight, be patient because its going to take some time and get frustrating as well, and if you need to pay a 100K kip here or there just pay it, my friend got pissed and didn;t want to pay for a step and that just stopped the whole thing until he finally gave in and paid even more but I am very happy with my Lao wife and family, was a good thing for me, one more thing to think about is that once you do start the paperwork it is entirely possible for the police to visit you where you stay and see if you are living together before marrage and thats a no no in Laos, its hard also if you're like me and only able to stay in Laos for a few weeks a year while you;re doing this something doesn't get done on one visit and gets put off till next time so my 6 months actually was more than a year because of me not being there the whole time and the more friends you make in Laos (lao friends) the better things will go, Good Luck, callao Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
callao Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Marrying a lao citizen is pretty simple in Laos but it takes alot of time for some reason, every step takes time and one thing has to get done before the next step, easily 6 months on average, a little money thrown in the right direction will speed things up a little, I think the guys signing papers for you pretty much expect you to. best if you have lao people that will help you with the paperwork, alot of it is you being accepted into thier community, so be patient, I know 3 falangs in VTE that have done it, myself included, callao callao -I like what you are saying here...can you tell me more - I have lao girlfriend - and want to marry in Laos. I have support of her family friends and Village Chief and her local community. We are engaged - have given 2 oz of Gold, and in two months will return to give family 30 million kip and get married at Village level - what is the next step to have marrige recognised at Govt level? Or are the some other steps we need to take first? johnoranger I was thinking maybe you should hold off on the 30 M kip and tell the family you have that for them and will pay AFTER you get the paperwork completed, good insentive to help you along the way, just a thought Callao Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnoranger Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Marrying a lao citizen is pretty simple in Laos but it takes alot of time for some reason, every step takes time and one thing has to get done before the next step, easily 6 months on average, a little money thrown in the right direction will speed things up a little, I think the guys signing papers for you pretty much expect you to. best if you have lao people that will help you with the paperwork, alot of it is you being accepted into thier community, so be patient, I know 3 falangs in VTE that have done it, myself included, callao callao -I like what you are saying here...can you tell me more - I have lao girlfriend - and want to marry in Laos. I have support of her family friends and Village Chief and her local community. We are engaged - have given 2 oz of Gold, and in two months will return to give family 30 million kip and get married at Village level - what is the next step to have marrige recognised at Govt level? Or are the some other steps we need to take first? johnoranger I was thinking maybe you should hold off on the 30 M kip and tell the family you have that for them and will pay AFTER you get the paperwork completed, good insentive to help you along the way, just a thought Callao callo- thanks for your feedback puts some light on things for me - I am going to return to Laos for 3 weeks in a couple of months - and will want to achieve as much as I can in this time - it could be up too 6 months or longer before I can return again - work comitments - I will send message to GF to obtain Freedom to Marry forms and bring any forms that I can from home country - police background checks/ medical reports/ single status proof - is there anything else?? The story is that we meet when I was on holiday in Laos - spent a lot of time togther - faimily & villiage was asking what we were going to do - it came down to get married or dont spend anymore time together...had meeting with family they asked for 30 million kip & 2 oz of gold....two weeks later had meeting with Family /Villaige Cheif / Local Police who recorded events I gave Gold...I advised all parties I would return in 2 - 3 months and bring the 30 million kip then - every one happy to date. I have Lao friends who are willing to help with paper work - although they have not done this before - they have as many questions as me. Any help advice - feedback from you all would be great ....johnoranger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colabamumbai Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Subject? Didn't they abolish the monarchy in Laos when the commies took over? I don't know about the marriage, but with the new regulations for overland entries her tourist visa might become 15days only. My Laotian girlfriend gets 30 days coming thru on her passport at Nong Khai. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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