Getting Married, Should My Thai Wife Change Surname?

[nasajsc]

Getting married in a few weeks, and have a baby due in a few months.

Is it better that the future wife keeps her Thai surname, or change to

my foreign surname? She will have to make a new Thai ID card, and

a new passport. Change her car registration, bills, etc, so a few hassles.

But...

Will it make it easier for me to get and renew my visas to stay here?

Will it make it easier to get an Australian passport for the baby?

Will it be easier for us to travel as a family, me and baby will have Aust

passport, if the wife has my surname, does it make it easier getting visas

even though she has a Thai passport?

Will there be any negative repercussions for her having a western surname?

Many thanks....

[NovaBlue05]

She might lose a competitive advantage with respect to negotiating prices if they think there's a Farang bankrolling the transaction.

[cognos]

i don't know about down unda, but for Canada it is better for her to change her name to yours..for MANY LEGAL reasons.. nothing to do with vanity

signed: I don't say mate at the end, because i ain't a brit or an aussi ( mate)

[Thongkorn]

I Just put my Surname name on the End of my wifes name with her agreement , We did not have to change her passport or any other thing , It seems to work OK for us in the UK.

[kennkate]

I do not know if it is different in OZ. But there is Not One Legal reason for your wife To change her Surname to yours in the UK. Up to you.

[garyh]

No reason at all for Australian side of it, so long as you are married and can prove it the names don't matter one bit. Also would not matter if you are married or not, if the birth certificate says you are the father then thats all that matters. If you are married it will be easier to prove your relationship to get a visa.

Edited January 21, 2010 by garyh

[cdnvic]

i don't know about down unda, but for Canada it is better for her to change her name to yours..for MANY LEGAL reasons.. nothing to do with vanity

signed: I don't say mate at the end, because i ain't a brit or an aussi ( mate)

There is no legal reason that such a thing is needed in Canada. A surname does nothing to your legal status.

[thaiozy]

No reason at all for Australian side of it, so long as you are married and can prove it the names don't matter one bit. Also would not matter if you are married or not, if the birth certificate says you are the father then thats all that matters. If you are married it will be easier to prove your relationship to get a visa.

Yep sure doesn`t matter in auss.

She only has to say it`s yours & you will have to pay until you prove otherwise (maybe 1 year latter & broke)

But to the back to the name, as i think it`s asign of you being together to have the same name, forget all the minor things

OH one more thing different names SO WHO BELONGS TO THE CHILD mum or dad ?

[llso]

My Thai wife and I were married i Thailand in 2003. I am an American. They had recently changed the Thai law , Women's rights or something were she could keep her Thai name. At the time we had a legitimate Thai company with real trading, not a shell. Incidentally Thai marriges in Thailand are recgonized by the U.S. This is a throwback to the Viet Nam war days. When we went to make her a Thai passport they didn't want to use her Thai name. I insisted that the law had changed,and after checking with the supervisor they confirmed I was correct. This made it much easier as all of our documents , Neung seu reap rong(Thai Business paper) Bank accounts, ID card ,etc. did not have to be changed.

As another TV member pointed out it defintely gives your wife an advantage in doing business in Thailand.

The only real proble we encountered was when my wife went to get her Thai Police cetificate for her U.S Visa. Was that they pointed out that she was a Nawng (Miss) not a Nawng Sow ( Misses). We had to go to Passport ofice nad have it changed.

I am not sure what the implications are for an Australian citizen.

Anyway, that,s m y story.

LL

[garyh]

My Thai wife and I were married i Thailand in 2003. I am an American. They had recently changed the Thai law , Women's rights or something were she could keep her Thai name. At the time we had a legitimate Thai company with real trading, not a shell. Incidentally Thai marriges in Thailand are recgonized by the U.S. This is a throwback to the Viet Nam war days. When we went to make her a Thai passport they didn't want to use her Thai name. I insisted that the law had changed,and after checking with the supervisor they confirmed I was correct. This made it much easier as all of our documents , Neung seu reap rong(Thai Business paper) Bank accounts, ID card ,etc. did not have to be changed.

As another TV member pointed out it defintely gives your wife an advantage in doing business in Thailand.

The only real proble we encountered was when my wife went to get her Thai Police cetificate for her U.S Visa. Was that they pointed out that she was a Nawng (Miss) not a Nawng Sow ( Misses). We had to go to Passport ofice nad have it changed.

I am not sure what the implications are for an Australian citizen.

Anyway, that,s m y story.

LL

Thai marriages are also recognized in Australia but that has nothing to do with the Vietnam war. Go to this link as it tells you how to go about registering your marriage in Thailand if you don't know already. http://www.austembassy.or.th/bkok/Consular_P4.html

[beano2274]

My wife just added my surname at the end of her Maiden name. No problems at Banks or anywhere, ID card changed easily.

[dick turpin]

If you are getting married at local amphur then they will issue new ID at same time,

also update tabian baan. Easy exercise to get new passport at Chaeng Wattana.

Advantages ? For starters you will not get such a dirty look when checking in with

your "wife" at a Thai hotel. Less hassle from immigration when travelling to other

countries.

My wife could not wait to change her name to Mrs Falang, particularly for when she

checked into the 5-star hotel she used to work in Bangkok - a real "look at me now"

moment.

[nasajsc]

What about the marriage - did anyone need to do a statutory declaration and then pass it to

the amphur (city hall)? we asked a few married couples here in CM, and no one has done a

statutory declaration, so just wondering?

from ozzie embassy:

• Statutory declarations

Australians married in Thailand must provide a pro-forma statutory declaration. The Thai

Government requires that such declarations be witnessed at the Australian Embassy Bangkok.

They will not accept declarations from Australia. A fee of AUD$20 is payable for this service.

Edited January 22, 2010 by nasajsc

[thaihome]

What about the marriage - did anyone need to do a statutory declaration and then pass it to

the amphur (city hall)? we asked a few married couples here in CM, and no one has done a

statutory declaration, so just wondering?

from ozzie embassy:

• Statutory declarations

Australians married in Thailand must provide a pro-forma statutory declaration. The Thai

Government requires that such declarations be witnessed at the Australian Embassy Bangkok.

They will not accept declarations from Australia. A fee of AUD$20 is payable for this service.

It’s normally called the affirmation of eligibility to marry. And yes, you have to do so at your embassy. It then must be translated into Thai and then certified by the Minister of Foreign Affairs. At that point you can take the documents to the Amphur and register the marriage.

TH

[nasajsc]

It's normally called the affirmation of eligibility to marry. And yes, you have to do so at your embassy. It then must be translated into Thai and then certified by the Minister of Foreign Affairs. At that point you can take the documents to the Amphur and register the marriage.

TH

Thanks TH, is the Minister of Foreign Affairs the Thai Minister, or the Australian Minister at the embassy?

Edited January 22, 2010 by nasajsc

[thaihome]

It's normally called the affirmation of eligibility to marry. And yes, you have to do so at your embassy. It then must be translated into Thai and then certified by the Minister of Foreign Affairs. At that point you can take the documents to the Amphur and register the marriage.

TH

Thanks TH, is the Minister of Foreign Affairs the Thai Minister, or the Australian Minister at the embassy?

It's the legalization dept at the MFA on Chaengwattana Rd.

Perhaps you should think about getting an agent to help you with this.

Back on the thread subject, I disagree with the posters that seem to think having a farang surname hurts thier wives in business or comercial transaction.

The name does not have be changed, but the ID card must be changed to reflect she is married.

TH

[Latindancer]

Does this mean that before marriage here, I do not need to obtain a certificate from the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages in Australia, which states I have never been married ?

I only have to fill in a Statutory Declaration here, that I have never been married ?

Edited January 22, 2010 by Latindancer

[nasajsc]

Does this mean that before marriage here, I do not need to obtain a certificate from the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages in Australia, which statesI have never been married ?

I only have to fill in a Statutory Declaration that I have never been married ?

When I called them in Australia, they said they provided certificates for 5-year periods, and each bit of paper cost X dollars. So you could prove you weren't married in the last 20 years, or 35 years for more dollars. A rip-off, if you ask me. I'm 54.

I didnt bother calling the Dept back in Melbourne, my understanding is that a stat dec is sufficient from the bangkok

embassy, as stated on their website, the hassle is getting it translated into thai and certified, but once all that is

done its off to the city hall in your village to get signed up.

I think if you want to sponsor her for an aussie passport or visa, do the whole immigration stuf, then maybe you need

more docs from back home, but i have no intention of going back to Melb, what with property prices for a small block

of land at $500,000 +, you gotta be a slave your whole life to Westpac or ANZ.

[garyh]

To register your marriage you need to go to the Australian Embassy as per my previous post. So long as you have the relivant documents with you it is not difficult just means you need to spend a day in BKK running around first to the Embassy, then get the translation after that go to the Ministery of Foreign Affairs. Read the link above you need to follow the steps before going to the Amphur.

You don't need to do any of this for the actual wedding many Thais never register their marriage, in my case we got married with the normal ceremony at the wifes house and did the registration a few weeks later.

[FCS2009]

so it's easier at the end to get a visa for my thai wife to travel to europe??

thx

[Arkady]

There is no need to change surname or title from Miss to Mrs. When you get married in Thailand, the official will ask your wife if she wants to change her surname to yours and become Mrs. Keeping the Thai surname is unlikely to lead to any problems getting visas because you need a translation of your marriage cert anyway. Changing to a farang surname is also unlikely to lead to problems. The law prohibiting Thai women married to foreigners from buying land in Thailand was repealed in 1999. So she can choose freely. The official recommended Mrs Arkady to take my surname because she thought it sounded nicer but she decided not to because she didn't want the hassle of changing all her documents and bank accounts.

[hawthorne]

Name changes are so common in Thailand. Many people change the first names for various reasons. They have papers which state these changes and therefor changing the surnames have the same paperwork and testation or authentification leg work. Passports and national IDs inside Thailand are done one day for each. I was shocked at the ease.

Dealing with foreign countries and the change of names or former names is only maintaining this paperwork throughout your life. My wife keeps good files for all of that and beside taking a mountain of paperwork for every residence visa she has to obtain as we move from country to country it really is not a problem.

One thing to consider is having a child that does not carry the same name as both parents. Not a legal issue but a social issue. For you guys to decide. My ex and I have different last names and my daughter never suffered or was affected by this. But many of my friends changed their surnames after becoming of age because of having this dilema.

[hawthorne]

I might have mislead you. If your wife changes her name she may not have to carry a mountain of paperwork with her. Example: My wife has different names on college diploma and transcripts, Nursing license, the two hospitals she worked, marriage papers, passports, property and visa applications. Having so many changes and so many official papers has caused a bit more paperwork than you might have. It depends if you are in the same boat as we or not. It has never caused us any problems though as the Thai system is very good at tracking and having this proof of change. Oh yeah bank accounts, driver licenses, insurances, and National Ids. Some still have three different forms of names but never had any problem.

Mkae the choice based on your personal beliefs.

[splodger]

IF IT AINT BROKE DINNIE FIX IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MARRY FOR WHAT?

SO SHE CAN TAKE EVERYTHING?

[nasajsc]

so it's easier at the end to get a visa for my thai wife to travel to europe??

thx

my feeling is it will be easier, as you, the wife and the kid will have the same surname,

so there should be little question that you are a family when you go to travel to the US

or whatever.

also, i think they will be less likely to demand proof of $ from your wife - i know in Oz

a gf was stopped once and asked to show she has enough $ to stay in Oz for 1 month,

even though we arrived together.

If you come on the same surname, it can be assumed you share your $... maybe

[splodger]

If you are getting married at local amphur then they will issue new ID at same time,

also update tabian baan. Easy exercise to get new passport at Chaeng Wattana.

Advantages ? For starters you will not get such a dirty look when checking in with

your "wife" at a Thai hotel. Less hassle from immigration when travelling to other

countries.

My wife could not wait to change her name to Mrs Falang, particularly for when she

checked into the 5-star hotel she used to work in Bangkok - a real "look at me now"

moment.

1000% right mate.

[frenchFARANGbkk]

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