My Thai girlfriend and I are planning to get married, then I will apply for a Non-Immigrant O Visa.

Anything we should know in advance if we don't tie the knot inside Thailand itself? Any additional documentation or steps required?

Thanks!

You will need to have the marriage certificate translated to Thai and the translation certified by the the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Then she will then have to go to the Amphoe (district office) and have her marriage entered in their registry. She should get a copy of the family status registration. (Kor Ror.22). At that time they will update her house book and ID card.

As UJ said, no problem but you will have to take some extra steps. (both need a letter from your embassy to confirm that you are not married and yo will have to notify the Thai government that you are married).

In that respect it might be easier if you marry in Thailand. You have to option of going to Thailand on a tourist visa and converting your tourist visa into a non-immigrant visa and get an extension of stay based on marriage. But you would need to show an income of 40,000 baht a month or 400,000 in the bank right away.

As UJ said, no problem but you will have to take some extra steps. (both need a letter from your embassy to confirm that you are not married and yo will have to notify the Thai government that you are married).

The letters from embassy are not needed if you are married already.

They are only needed if you are getting married here. And if one is Thai only one needs the Affirmation of Permit to Marry.

Edited September 7, 200916 yr by ubonjoe

As UJ said, no problem but you will have to take some extra steps. (both need a letter from your embassy to confirm that you are not married and yo will have to notify the Thai government that you are married).

The letters from embassy are not needed if you are married already.

They are only needed if you are getting married here. And if one is Thai only one needs the Affirmation of Permit to Marry.

I meant that if they married in Laos, both of them have to show the Lao government that they can marry with documents from their embassy, while if they marry in Thailand only he has to get documents from his embassy. In addition, when they marry in Thailand there is no need to for legalising the marriage certificate.

(He might want to, if he wants to notify his own government of the marriage)

Just needed a little clarification.

I am not sure what they would need to get married in Laos or if they could even do it.

It would be better to get married here and then go to Vientiane and get a single entry non-o. Then do the extension. Not all immigration offices do the change of visa status.

If the OP will tell us where he is from we might even be able to point him the right direction to get married here.

Edit: OP is from the US. So info can be found here. http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/service/marriage.html

When you read the info you will see that translation has to be certified by the Ministry of Foreign affairs. Most translation companies can get that done for a small additional fee which saves a lot of time. Also I can recommend #5 on the translator list it gives a link to.

Edited September 7, 200916 yr by ubonjoe

Lao marriage regulations have no provision for marriages between two foreign citizens, and the Lao Government will not issue a marriage certificate to two foreigners.

http://laos.usembassy.gov/marriage_in_laos.html

That settles it.

No marriage in Lao so here is little more info that I was trying to put in as an edit to my post. Just imagine that the following is at the end of my previous post.

Also if you don't want to wait around for the translation and certification you can have translation company EMS it to you. Also keep a copy of the document because some immigration offices are asking for that when you apply for first extension.

When you register your marriage ask for copy of marriage registration papers (Kor Ror.3) besides the normal marriage certificate because some immigration offices are asking for that also.

Thanks everybody. Well that nixes tying the knot in Laos.

In followup, it looks like I'm going to have to go to Bangkok to 1) visit the U.S. Embassy, 2) translate the affidavit and 3) take both documents to the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Since I'd be traveling from Udonthani, how many days should I plan on staying in Bangkok to get this all done? I'd love to finish in a single day, but somehow I don't think that is going to happen. What experiences have you all had and what recommendations can you give to help me speed up the process?

I don't feel comfortable (being a newby in Thailand) travelling alone and hope that my fiancée can accompany me, however that would be a burdon on her to take several days off work.

In followup, it looks like I'm going to have to go to Bangkok to 1) visit the U.S. Embassy, 2) translate the affidavit and 3) take both documents to the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Since I'd be traveling from Udonthani, how many days should I plan on staying in Bangkok to get this all done? I'd love to finish in a single day, but somehow I don't think that is going to happen. What experiences have you all had and what recommendations can you give to help me speed up the process?

I don't feel comfortable (being a newby in Thailand) travelling alone and hope that my fiancée can accompany me, however that would be a burdon on her to take several days off work.

It depends on the embassy and how long it will take them to issue the letter. Others can give you a better estimate of that.

The translation and legalisation process can all be done in one day. Most transaltion agecies will offer to do the legalisation for you and send the documents to your home. (Legalisation costs about 800 baht, translation about 400).

The wait at the Thai ministry of Foreign Affairs is about 3 to 4 hours if you do it yourself.

Make an online appointment with Embassy. Should not take more than 20 minutes to fill out form/pay/receive. Then visit a translation service. They may offer express service for the MFA stamp but if not just get translated and visit MFA to do yourself. They have one or two hour service at an extra fee I believe. It will be a busy day but many people do it. Travel from Udon/Bangkok is easy by air/train/bus and no language problem so I would not be concerned about travel alone.

First question is your fiancée Thai or Lao?

You can get married in a Buddhist ceremony in Laos.

Then go back to Thailand and register the marriage in the local Amphur.

You need to bring affiliation to get married from your embassy translated to Thai and stamped by MFA.

She has to bring ID card and house paper.

Two witness. (In my case the witness was employees in the Amphur)

Lopburi3

That's a nice map of the Chaeng Wattana area.

Where would immigration be on that map?

Terry

Lopburi3

That's a nice map of the Chaeng Wattana area.

Where would immigration be on that map?

Terry

Behind the consulair affairs department.

Edit:

see PDF attachment here: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Immigration-...at-t295058.html

Front entrance is down Soi 7 which is just East of the MFA offices.