Marrying A Thai With No Job

[Thaigift]

I asked this question about a month ago but I have some new questions regarding this subject. I am copy/pasting the question but I am asking some new questions:

I am 27 and she is 27. We met in America while I was studying at College/University and she was doing an Au Pair program there. Before meeting, we both had plans on coming back to Thailand. Me after I graduated and her after her Au Pair program was over. It was just completely coincidental that we met and had these plans!

We moved here in October of 2007. We have lived together here for the past two years. In that time frame, her mom has dropped the hint a few times that she would like us to get married. The thought of us living together while not being married kind of upsets her! Here is the thing though...I have not had a job or proof of income since coming here in 2007. I saved up USD 25K before I left America and I have been living off of the sale of stock and interest that the accounts have made since then. We would both like to get married, but I just don't think that the government will let us!

Since I wrote this and posted this question, I have done some more research. I took a look at the marriage affidavit at the U.S. Embassy website and it states that, " My occupation is _________ and my income is _________$US per month."

My questions are:

1) What do I write down in both blank spaces? I don't have an occupation and I don't have an income. I'm 27 so they might find this kind of suspicious.

2) Can the embassy deny me permission to marry because I cannot prove proof of income to support my wife?

Thank you in advance for all those who help. I know that a lot of people like to joke around on here and while I am a joker myself, I would only appreciate real answers!

Edited April 22, 2010 by Thaigift

[sarahsbloke]

You can write anything you like on the affirmation of freedom to marry, it is not a legal document.

How about writing occupation share portfolio manager income 25kUSD

Not entirely untrue, you have 25kUSD and you trade shares

Edited April 22, 2010 by sarahsbloke

[maxman71]

Here is a serious reply: unless you are filthy rich, you have no business hanging out in a foreign country without a job and thinking of getting married, especially if its your potential future mother in law making the suggestion. Wake up, dude.

[DragonQuest]

Marrying a thai with no job? roflmao

[Thaigift]

Thanks max and dragon for the answers. A lot of help. I didn't mention that once we are married we are moving back to America so we can work and come back to Thailand to start a business. The choices that i make does not concern you. I asked a serious question and i would only appreciate real answers.

Edited April 22, 2010 by Thaigift

[Thongkorn]

what sort of visa do you have

[Thaigift]

I had a non immigrant type "b" visa when I first came here and it expired in 2008. Since then we have traveled for about 4 months together on and off through Vietnam, China, Nepal, Singapore and Malaysia. In between the visas received from those countries and returning back to the States twice, I have been staying in Thailand on tourist visas. I am currently on a tourist visa. While we wait for her visa to process to get back to the states, which I understand takes about 8 months, I am going to get an education visa starting next month.

[cheguevara]

What are you going to do when the $25,000 run out?

[cheguevara]

Okay, well you can get married, that's not the problem. You don't need an Embassy letter in order to get married. You can get married on a tourist visa, as far as I'm aware. You only need to provide to Immigration that you have an income if you want a 1-year visa extension. If you don't meet those requirements, you can still get married and simply apply for a non-immigrant O visa at a Thai Embassy like Penang and then come into Thailand for 3 months each time. You could even apply for a multiple-entry, that way you just need to do a border run to Cambodia, Laos or Myanmar every 3 months.

[zombie]

I got married to a Thai national three years ago, and had to provide an affirmation of freedom to marry, and then sign some documents at the district office. I used

the affirmation to marry example on the British Embassy website as a template, and amongst other things, it mentioned income. I gave the necessary info , got it notarized at the embassy, and translated, and verified at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I never saw it as a means of preventing jobless foreigners from getting married, just as a procedural requirement. They are just asking for information, not setting out requirements (except that you be free to marry).

[Nio]

Lets see

You have been here 2 years so you were 25 when you came here

You just finished school

So as a student you made all this money? I don't buy it because if you were that smart, you would not be over here not working for 2 years

Why did you have to come to Thailand for 2 years with no work? Sounds to me like a smart guy with no plan at all?

So 2 years later mom wants you to get married, but hey man you already shagged up with her for years so what is the hurry now?

You could have married for $25 in the USA with a Justice of the Peace and had a marriage that is recognized in Thailand

That makes the most sense and a smart financial wizard would have done this

Sounds like you have been backpacking around to skirt around the VISA issue and now are out of money and stranded on what to do

Granted in your situation and hers right now, I would be surprised if she gets issued a VISA this time due to your circumstances of no house, job or financial support for her

When you fill out that affidavit that you are making money while living in Thailand expect some red flags to go up for lack of work permit and non tax payment

Education visa means education no work, no work no income

So anything you prove or sign may be used against you

I have to agree with the other poster, with no income or job getting married is the last thing you should be doing

Better wait and see if she gets a USA VISA before getting married here, that many change your plans if she is denied

If does get a VISA, I am sure mom and dad will be happy to have a couple of 28 year old newlyweds under their roof until you find a job

[Nio]

PS

How much Sin Sot are you paying mom so she can save her face in her village and not suffer the embarassment of a farang son in law with no job?

[bjoe97]

Here is a serious reply: unless you are filthy rich, you have no business hanging out in a foreign country without a job and thinking of getting married, especially if its your potential future mother in law making the suggestion. Wake up, dude.

NONSENSE! if you love this girl, are prepared to honor and treat her well, do the good/right thing good things will happen to you

do not give up

the power of love is the most powerful force on earth

[sushimann]

Hi there,

The procedure for getting married in Thailand is fairly straight forward; I got married in Bangkok in 2006. Though, you should know, marrying a Thai citizen does not automatically entitle you to residency in Thailand. Neither my wife nor I are Thai; however, I think you will find the following information helpful.

Here are the necessary steps you must take to register a marriage in Thailand.

1. Before you can even approach the district administrative office (where you will eventually register your marriage), you must first obtain a document from your embassy that verifies that you are legally entitled to marry, i.e. you're not currently married to someone else. Most embassies in Bangkok have a template of this document on file; thus it's only a matter of making an appointment with them and paying the administrative fees.
   
2. The next step is getting the document from Step 1 translated into Thai and notarized by an authorized notary. This step usually costs about 1500-2000 Baht per document, and can take anywhere from 1 day to a week - depending on how much you're willing to pay the notary agent.
   
3. You must now go to the Thai Foreign Affairs office ( I forgot the exact name and address of the office; but someone at the embassy should be able to help you with that; likewise, the notary agent should also know where the office is) and get the document(s) verified. This is very important. If you fail to take this step, then the people at the local Thai district administrative office will not accept your documents.
   
4. Now you can get married. Take the document(s), along with your passport, down to the local district administrative office (we used the one in Phra Nakhon, which is near the Khao San Road area). The process takes about 30-40 minutes and costs about 500 Baht, with a surcharge of about 20 Baht for extra copies of the marriage certificate.
   

Important post-marriage paperwork:

1. After you get married, you must go back to your embassy and register your marriage with them. This is an important step to take; if you fail to do this, your spouse will not be able to apply for a visa to return to your home country.
   

From start to finish, the whole process took us about 1 month. Though, I'm sure it is possible to get this done faster if you bust your ass, and don't drink as much beer during the day as we did .

Good luck, and I hope this information is helpful.

Edited April 22, 2010 by sushimann

[AZBill]

Here is a serious reply: unless you are filthy rich, you have no business hanging out in a foreign country without a job and thinking of getting married, especially if its your potential future mother in law making the suggestion. Wake up, dude.

I agree. Believe me that money will not last you long without some kind of income, and your teeruk will get very restless if you have no money prospects. Just like in the west, financial problems will strain your relationship with her. She expects you to take care of her and probably her family to some extent. You are seriously underfunded to do that with only $25K. You may be better off spending a little for a fiance visa and take her back to your home so you can earn a living. Do the Thai ceremony for the family but get the license and legally marry her back home. After you make a little more money you can always go back to Thailand or visit enough to keep her happy.

[Totsagan]

Have your GF apply for a fiancee visa (formerly K-9 visa) now while you're in Thailand.

The fiancee visa will be approved much faster than if you marry her in Thailand, and then apply for a spouse visa.

Once the fiancee visa is approved and your GF goes stateside, you'll have 90 days to marry.

If you do the Thai wedding for the family and village , don't inform the embassy, they'll make you apply for a spousal visa.

Don't worry about money. When you both get stateside, you can get your new wife a job as a nanny, and she can support you both while you pursue your graduate degree

What did you get your university degree for, something useful like philosophy?

[zombie]

Just asked my wife about this, and she said they want to see some income on the form. How about writing down your last job for occupation, and your last income

for salary? You could also ask your girlfriend to call the district office for advice on this. The embassy isn't giving you permission to marry, they are just assisting

you by providing a document the Thai government requires.

[whatchamacallit]

PS

How much Sin Sot are you paying mom so she can save her face in her village and not suffer the embarassment of a farang son in law with no job?

What make you think he is marrying a village girl? I don't think there are many village parents (from Isaan?) who can afford to send their daughter to study in the US?

Now how much sin sot did you pay to marry your village wife?

[lopburi3]

There is some very bad information in this thread.

1. You must have a letter from Embassy to obtain a registered marriage here. And that letter is a legal document with your signature and notarized by Embassy and registered as an international legal document with the MFA. Do not lie.

2. Travel of a married couple to the US using a tourist visa will be a problem if certain return to Thailand is not proven. The same requirements of return and now it is complicated by obvious connection to and American making it appear to be a plan to bypass normal immigrant visa procedures.

3. Obtaining an immigrant visa requires income for US spouse. Perhaps parents can help there but will take some time.

4. The Embassy does not deny you permission to marry (you do not need there permission) but most District Offices will be checking the Embassy paper closely.

[lopburi3]

One post removed. Please try to help new posters - we were all in that position once.

[tripplejjj]

@Thaigift,

Since I wrote this and posted this question, I have done some more research. I took a look at the marriage affidavit at the U.S. Embassy website and it states that, " My occupation is _________ and my income is _________$US per month."

My questions are:

1) What do I write down in both blank spaces? I don't have an occupation and I don't have an income. I'm 27 so they might find this kind of suspicious.

2) Can the embassy deny me permission to marry because I cannot prove proof of income to support my wife?

1) not employed / $0 (It is easier to always state the truth, then explain (if asked) that you have savings and will get a job later.)

2) The embassy doesn't deny you permission to marry. All they do is verify that you are not currently married. The purpose of this LEGAL document is for the Thai government (MFA) to allow you to marry. The Thai government (MFA) does not have access to your records in the US so they rely on the US Embassy to do record checks.

Edited April 23, 2010 by tripplejjj

[jazzbo]

OK then... to be helpful: There is no problem to your getting married to a Thai citizen here or in the USA. After you are married and get the run of whatever "friendly" visas you might obtain for visiting your wife here in Thailand, you will able to obtain an extension of stay based on marriage to a Thai citizen for as many months as you are able to show an income of 40K Baht per month (or 400K Baht in the bank) which based upon your original $US 25K will be about 20 months however that nest egg has probably dwindled.

With no offense to the OP there seems to be a new category of question that goes: I do not meet any of the requirements for an extended stay in the Kingdom of Thailand. What should I do?

[sarahsbloke]

The embassy doesn't deny you permission to marry. All they do is verify that you are not currently married. The purpose of this LEGAL document is for the Thai government (MFA) to allow you to marry. The Thai government (MFA) does not have access to your records in the US so they rely on the US Embassy to do record checks.

I'm sorry but this is just wrong, no checks of any sort are made by anyone, the British Consulate even put a big stamp on the completed form, stating it has not been checked in any way. I am pretty sure that the US Embassy makes no checks either. When you get married in the UK no checks are made so see if you are already married, does that happen in the US?

This is just a way for the Thai authorities to tax foreigners. There is no legal standing for this document in any country in the world.

The legal document is the marriage certificate.

PS

Occupation, as far as I know you can claim many legitimate occupations, if you are self-employed and have savings, just employ yourself to do anything you like.

This week I am paying myself to design rockets, so my occupation this week is rocket scientist.

Next week I plan on paying myself to dissect a few animals so my occupation will be animal vivisectionist.

The week after I will pay myself to teach my wife to swim,so I can claim to be a swimming instructor.

Reality and the truth are really very flexible concepts.

"Unemployed" or "not employed" is not an occupation and therefore should never be used on any forms asking for your occupation, "unemployed" is is a state of being where you are seeking employment and unable to find it ........ it doesn't apply to many of us in Thailand.

Edited April 23, 2010 by sarahsbloke

[Mario2008]

May embassy will check it, although it is a limited check as they can only confirm about being marreid in my own country. Other countries also check it. it just depends on your country if they are able to check it.

[lopburi3]

That document is legal and by signing it you say it is true. The reason for it being registered with the MFA is that is the procedure for foreign documents to have legal standing. You do not lie on official documents.

[crev]

I am 27 and she is 27. We met in America while I was studying at College/University and she was doing an Au Pair program there. Before meeting, we both had plans on coming back to Thailand. Me after I graduated and her after her Au Pair program was over.

Are you American and your GF is Thai? And you already been to Thailand before you two have met?

[ericthai]

As stated you can get married in Thailand, The US Embassy does not have to give you permission, but as stated you will need the letter from the US embassy stating you are free to marry. meaning you have never been married or have been married and legally divorced etc.

Now your plan is to get married and move back to the USA? this might be a problem in getting a visa for her. For her to get a visa you need to show that you can support her, which means that you must show that you make at least I believe it is now $19,000 USD per year. You can use money in your saving account to help reach this amount, but dont think they will allow you to use the $25K in the bank to qualify, not sure about that. Your problem will be that you have no tax returns to show any earned income for the past few years. The cost for the visa is $455 to Homeland security in the USA and the I believe it is 4000 baht here in Thailand for the visa application.

The only other thing would be to have someone else sponsor her maybe you father, mother, brother, but not sure if they allow a relative to provide 100% of the financial support for her. It does take less time for a Fiancé visa than if you are already married. Fiancé visa is about 8-9 months and if you are already married it takes close to 1 year. It is allot of paper work and you need to show proof of a real relationship, pictures, emails, visits to each other etc.

Good luck.

PS: Too bad you did not decide to get married while in the USA, would have been much easier and the cost would have been allot less.

[Ayutthaya69]

Here is a serious reply: unless you are filthy rich, you have no business hanging out in a foreign country without a job and thinking of getting married, especially if its your potential future mother in law making the suggestion. Wake up, dude.

NONSENSE! if you love this girl, are prepared to honor and treat her well, do the good/right thing good things will happen to you

do not give up

the power of love is the most powerful force on earth

shee dont need a farang loll shee need a Bank for take care Papa Mama what ever its the true thats why i dont wont Married in Thailand you married the girl n the familly 2

[purushanti]

That document is legal and by signing it you say it is true. The reason for it being registered with the MFA is that is the procedure for foreign documents to have legal standing. You do not lie on official documents.

I would second Lopburi's advice about being honest. Aside from ethics/morality, it is extremely important to be truthful no matter what country's official document you are signing, especially the two governments in question here. There can be serious repercussions. Good luck!

[sarahsbloke]

There can be serious repercussions.

Like what?

(and remember I don't say lie, just use the truth in a constructive way)

Edited April 23, 2010 by sarahsbloke