Divorce Question

[Russ]

I am a British Citizen who recently divorced my Thai wife at a local government office in Thailand. Fortunately, it all went pretty smoothly and I now have my divorce certificate. Although we only got married in Thailand, I would be grateful if anyone could confirm whether I need to inform the British Embassy of the divorce and if so, what do I need to do? I couldn't find any guidance on their website. Thanks.

[Mossfinn]

Although we only got married in Thailand,

Village ceremony and/or Amphur registered?

Moss

[Henri]

I now have my divorce certificate.....need to inform the British Embassy of the divorce?

Russ

If you didn't registered your marriage at the British Embassy at that time, then there is nothing to inform them about now, since you have your Thai divorce certificate. If I was you I would have this certificate legalized in English.

Henri

[7by7]

Married at an ampur in Thaialnd; legal and recognised in the UK.

Divorced at an ampur in Thailand; legal and recognised in the UK.

You cannot register your marriage at the British embassy; you can only use the embassy to deposit a copy of your Thai marriage certificate with the General Records Office in the UK. Therefore there is no need to inform the embassy of the divorce and no way of doing so other than e-mailing them or writing a letter, which would probaly go straight into the circular file.

Keep your divorce certificate and a certified English translation safe as you will need it if you ever want to prove you are divorced, e.g. if you wish to marry again sometime in the future.

[sumrit]

I am a British Citizen who recently divorced my Thai wife at a local government office in Thailand. Fortunately, it all went pretty smoothly and I now have my divorce certificate. Although we only got married in Thailand, I would be grateful if anyone could confirm whether I need to inform the British Embassy of the divorce and if so, what do I need to do? I couldn't find any guidance on their website. Thanks.

You don't need to inform the British Embassy about the divorce, and it's recognized in the UK. You will need to get a certified English translation of your divorce certificate though for if/when you need to show proof of the divorce in the UK or British Embassy (eg; to remarry).

[Henri]

You cannot register your marriage at the British embassy; you can only use the embassy to deposit a copy of your Thai marriage certificate with the General Records Office in the UK.....

Keep your divorce certificate and a certified English translation safe as you will need it if you ever want to prove you are divorced, e.g. if you wish to marry again sometime in the future.

7by7

I am not a British national, so I didn't know you cannot register your marriage at the British Embassy. I guess they are an exception compared with other European Embassies.

Before I married I had to apply for a Certificate of Capaicity to Contract Marriage at my Embassy. This certificate, not older than 6 months, has to be translated and legalized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bangkok. Next I could marry at any Amphur in Thailand.

After the marriage you will receive a marriage certificate "Kor Ror 3" from the Amphur. Since this certificate is not sufficient to register a marriage in my home country, I had to ask for a copy of "Kor Ror 2" too. Both certificates had to be translated in English and certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bangkok and by my Embassy in Bangkok.

With these documents I can then register my Thai Marriage officially in the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages in my home country as well. Therefore, by having done this, I also have to register my divorce via my Embassy as I told Russ in my reply.

This explains my reply to Russ.

Henri

[Russ]

Thanks for the info guys. I figured that this was the case as the British Embassy website has no guidance on divorce. Although I never registered my marriage at the Embassy, I did obtain a 2-year Spouse visa (long since expired) for her and she did come to the UK for a bit. Hence, I was unsure whether I needed to inform the Embassy of the divorce. I am very happy I don't have to go to the Embassy. Please shot me if you see me there as I do not intend to go through the marriage experience again!

I will now lock away my certificate in a safe place. One question though, in order to obtain an authenticated translation of the certificate in Thailand next time I am over, do I need to bring the original or will a photocopy be sufficient. I don't want to risk losing the certificate!

[CharlieB]

Thanks for the info guys. I figured that this was the case as the British Embassy website has no guidance on divorce. Although I never registered my marriage at the Embassy, I did obtain a 2-year Spouse visa (long since expired) for her and she did come to the UK for a bit. Hence, I was unsure whether I needed to inform the Embassy of the divorce. I am very happy I don't have to go to the Embassy. Please shot me if you see me there as I do not intend to go through the marriage experience again!

I will now lock away my certificate in a safe place. One question though, in order to obtain an authenticated translation of the certificate in Thailand next time I am over, do I need to bring the original or will a photocopy be sufficient. I don't want to risk losing the certificate!

I'd bring the original. It should be ok, if you put it in a tube in your carry-on bag and then keep it in your hotel safe for the period of your stay.

[7by7]

Or you could get it translated in the UK.

Henri, please be sure that no criticism of your good self was intended. Obviously diffrent countries have different rules.

[RubbaJohnny]

As a matter of curiosity did your partner oppose/consent

Did you need to wed a certain period

What did it cost

Did you need a lwayer

what di they cost?

[sumrit]

As a matter of curiosity did your partner oppose/consent

Did you need to wed a certain period

What did it cost

Did you need a lwayer

what di they cost?

To divorce in the Amphur you both have to agree.

You don't need a lawyer, it takes less than an hour, and it's FREE.

[jastheace]

As a matter of curiosity did your partner oppose/consent

Did you need to wed a certain period

What did it cost

Did you need a lwayer

what di they cost?

To divorce in the Amphur you both have to agree.

You don't need a lawyer, it takes less than an hour, and it's FREE.

silly question........if i got divorced,could i still keep my marriage certificate? or would it be taken from me (want to keep it for ease of non-o visas,we have kids together,but only got allowed tv's before we were married.)if i wanted to keep the mc,should i report it lost,and get another one issued in case i have to give it up(i know its a little naughty before some-one comes back with the obvious on that) what sort of payouts or support would i be expected to give ex-mrs.can she cause me a problem thru the uk embassy?

anyone been thru this recently.....any thoughts or ideas.....?

[sumrit]

As a matter of curiosity did your partner oppose/consent

Did you need to wed a certain period

What did it cost

Did you need a lwayer

what di they cost?

To divorce in the Amphur you both have to agree.

You don't need a lawyer, it takes less than an hour, and it's FREE.

silly question........if i got divorced,could i still keep my marriage certificate? or would it be taken from me (want to keep it for ease of non-o visas,we have kids together,but only got allowed tv's before we were married.)if i wanted to keep the mc,should i report it lost,and get another one issued in case i have to give it up(i know its a little naughty before some-one comes back with the obvious on that) what sort of payouts or support would i be expected to give ex-mrs.can she cause me a problem thru the uk embassy?

anyone been thru this recently.....any thoughts or ideas.....?

It's taken from you at the Amphur. If it's 'lost' you must first report it at a police station to get a police report then go to the Amphur where you got married. They won't issue you with a new certificate but what they do is give you a certified copy of your original marriage registration from their records. You then take that with you when you get divorced.