Do Australians MIND that they do not have a vote?

[Canadaguy]

Hey all,

Been a regular site visitor for years and have been to Thailand maybe 20 times over last 10 years. I recently lived in Chiang Mai for about two years but am back in Toronto. I will be going back to marry my fiance later in the year and am trying to get everything lined up as what needs to be done. From what I have read and understand I will go there and have a small ceremony with some family and then to govt office to be wed. I have a ton of paperwork that I have downloaded from immigration Canada Website. I will then proceed to Bangkok to have documents translated and be wed in Canadian Embassy in Bangkok and do whatever esle is necessary. I understand she will need to do police checks and medical and bring her house book and all that stuff. I have alot of questions but I will just start with a few for now. Can I do anything in Chiang Mai before going to Bangkok to speed up the process? i.e. her criminal check or doctor physical or do these things need to be done where specified by Canadian Embassy? Translation of documents? Is it a big deal and expensive or are places a dime a dozen and you can just bargain? How many documents need to be translated? I know that her paperwork is sent to Canadian High commision and my stuff is brought home and done in Toronto but it takes 3 weeks for things to be processed and received and then the waiting game kicks in....I was also interested in how a pre-nump would work if the document is made by my lawyer here and signed in Thailand before we wed is it considered valid. My fiance has a decent job working in hotel management and although her job is good and she owns some land she doesnt have any substantial assets to be granted a tourist visa to come to Canada and thats why we are going this route. We arent to concerned about her waiting a year because she is doing her last year for her BA in business admin so even if visa is granted we will wait until she earns her degree. On another note sadly both her parents passed away in seperate car accidents when she was young and has little family so she said a dowry is not required but she does have an 87 year old Grandma who is alone and has offered to sell us a nice adjacent lot to her land on a golf course for only 100,000 baht. I figure I will give a dowry to her Grandma although she is unaware but I have no clue how much to give without insulting anybody. She has never been married and no kids...She is a great girl and beleive me after spending time in Thailand for years and being in the so called scene there I know whats going on. I have taken Thai language courses and am conversational in Thai.....Anyway Im just wondering how the best way is to tackle all this and get it done right as im having knee surgery in a few months and will be off work for about 6-8 weeks...So in that time I am gonig over to get it all done and wanto make sure I do everythng right....Any help would be appreciated...espec from a Canuck who has been through the process......thanks alot...Mike

[Hawaiian]

Other than your visa processing fees, one of your biggest expenses will be for the medical exam. If Canadian requirements are like the U.S. the medical has to be done at an approved hospital. So no shopping for price there. Translation of documents

may be another.

As for the dowry, I think your idea of purchasing the property is a nice gesture on your part. Since your fiancee is well educated she will probably appreciate your concern for her grandmother. This way you are also providing a little nest egg

for both of them.

I gave my wife a substantial amount of money to see how she well she handles money. She left it in the bank and when

we decided to buy some property she used it to pay for "her share." I found a winner and I think you also have one.

Best of luck. Now you need one of your countrymen to answer what I cannot.