Do Your Affirmation Of Freedom To Marry In 24 Hrs!

[olddog]

(Not sure if this is the right forum - please move if better somewhere else)

As a Brit, I'd been pretty scared by the bureaucratic hoops you have to leap through in order to marry a Thai woman - basically, getting an authorised Freedom To Marry document you present at your local registry office. I know of agents who charge between six and fifteen (!!) thousand baht to take the whole process off your hands, but I managed to do the whole thing myself in a day for around three thousand baht, so I hope the following advice is useful:

1 You and your partner both do not have to do this together. They only want to talk to you. This isn't exactly clear from the information on the web.

2 Stay in a hotel close to the Embassy (on Wireless Road) - I stayed in Street One Lodge on Soi 1, about five minute's walk away, but there are others. there are also translators on Soi 1, which you pass on the way to the Embassy.

3 Here's a timesaving trick: the afternoon before (when you check in to your hotel), take a second copy of your printed-out but as yet unsigned Affirmation of Freedom To Marry (downloadable for retyping from the Embassy website) - ie the form as far as you can complete it - to a translator and get them to translate it, telling them you'll be back with the stamp (which they also have to translate). They'll be working on this while the Embassy is processing it. BUT - GET IT RIGHT - otherwise you'll have wasted your translation fee.

4 Get to the Embassy before everyone else, when it opens. Go early, be first in line. Accepting your application and payment will take about ten minutes. They'll tell you it will be ready by 1pm (and it will), so go and eat something.

5 Be back at the Embassy early (they shut for lunch) so you can be first in line. Pick up your stamped and signed Affirmation and walk it back to the translator. Mine completed it in front of me in about two minutes. get a photocopy of your passport (business end and relevant visa) while you're here - saves time later).

6 Flag down a cab and tell him you want to go to CHAENG WATTANA, KHONG SUN. Don't bother with "Ministry of Foreign Affairs" or the street number - they'll mean nothing. Chaeng Wattana is the mega-highway out in the burbs, which everybody knows, and Khong Sun is the name of the building that houses the MFA. This is a long trip and will cost you about 200 baht. A cab is the best way to go.

7 At the MFA, don't be worried by the millions of people and apparent confusion - start at the information desk and follow the instructions. You'll go from desk to window to office to desk to window, and get it all done (even if it's busy, like it was when I went) by about 3pm. Pay the double fee (800 baht) to get it done on the same day, unless you love the place so much you want to come back the next day (and remember that 400 baht cab ride).

8 Give them an hour while you eat in the cafe, then go back and wait. Mine was ready at just past 4pm.

And there you have it! No agent necessary, and if you wanted to, only one night in BKK.

And I have to say that everybody I had to deal with - both at the Embassy and the MFA - were charming.

Since I hope that I won't have to do this again, it would be a shame if my experience wasn't of value to someone else.

Edited November 25, 2010 by olddog

[redfish44]

Although this thread has a better heading, as i had to search for ages to get the relevant info, this topic has been covered in detail on the thread:

http://www.thaivisa....rry-in-bangkok/

which also has very good dircections and how to get there via skytrain + taxi (a lot quicker than taxi from downtown and nowhere near 400 baht).

I took a copy of the address in thai and a thai friend (who was just curious about it all and had a free day) and I had no problem finding it from the skytrain station.

I also added in the above thread that it is easy and possible to get the translation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (as the translation service I contacted in Bangkok told me to do this).

For the translation you can go to the small newsagent next to the 7-11 on the ground floor, just inside the main entrance, next to the escalators. It costs 500B.

They say it takes 2 hours, but I went back to check after 1 hour 20 minutes and they were done, they just wanted to check the Thai spelling of my fiance name, and 45 seconds later I had my document.

They do hundreds of these a day from all countries, so would highly recomend them.

the rest of my post on exactly what we did, which stairs and windows etc is here:

http://www.thaivisa...._1#entry3997022

I got it done in one day after sleeping in.

Cost for me to get Confirmation of freedom to marry:

500 baht - embassy statutory declaration, 20 minutes (including 5 minutes waiting at empty window for staff to arrive, 5 minutes filling out form (3 of these minutes trying to remember a referee address to put on as reference as bag left at gate with security), 3 minutes wakling to-from gate)

500 baht - translation, 1 hour 20 minutes

800 baht express service - 20 minutes, plus processing time of 1 hour 45 minutes

Total: 1800 baht, 3 hour 45 minutes plus travel time and costs (skytrain + 2 taxis)

Other paperwork required:

Confirmation of address from Immigration office - free (after realising in horror the old guy had retired and the new scary lady said no and yelled at me until I burst into tears, then just did it all in 2 minutes for me any way)

Marriage at amphur:

20 baht , 10 minutes including when groom went out for smoke break after signing forms.

**edited for typos**

Edited November 25, 2010 by redfish44

[sbk]

moving to Visas to Thailand forum

[princejohnjay]

What about a foreigner getting married to a foreigner here in Thailand?? Any advise? Please help with any clue at all...

Thanks!

[granuaile]

If only they would allow two women to marry.

[lopburi3]

Foreigners get married exactly the same as Thai. But both will have to have letters/translation/MFA registered papers.

[olddog]

I didn't want this to turn into a competition! I just genuinely couldn't find the info (you admit to having trouble yourself) - but some of what you say needs comment:

"Cost for me to get Confirmation of freedom to marry:

500 baht - embassy statutory declaration" - when was this? Check the website - the fee is 2725 baht now at the UK Embassy.

My cab fare was 200 baht each way - about what you'd pay for Suwannabhumibol. Chaeng Wattana is not as close to the Skytrain as you make out. It's not worth arguing about, either way!

Edited November 26, 2010 by olddog

[redfish44]

I am not from the UK.

Aus embassy only costs 500B (in September 2010) and took minutes once an actual person appreared. They do it on the spot.

Any Aussies reading this make sure you take 2 references names and addresses with you inside on a pice of paper and your thai to be spouses ID card number details. Take a pen too. I had left all of this at the gate in my handbag due to crazy security policy.

You can either download the form (email the embassy and they can email to you, or they have a bunch in the waiting area on the table to fill out while you are waiting for the staff.

Australians do not need appointments to visit embassy staff as I was last informed via email, jsut have to wait a bit until someone is free.

Any queries, just email the embassy, they are pretty good via email for all sorts of stuff.

Got my directions from the other thread that described everything ages back. Met my thai friend at the BTS station as we came from different sides of the city.

[thecatman]

Thanks for posting this old dog...will come in handy for me in the New Year!!