Marriage Visa Requirements

[sunholidaysun1]

I went to the New Immigration office (Chaeng Wattana Road) last week. I went by Taxi but only after the first 2 didnt know where it was ?

I didnt get my marriage visa because of the following reasons :

1. The letter from my Thai bank stating that I have more than 400k in my account was in English, the bank gave

it to me so I presumed it was ok , Wrong !! It must be in Thai .

2. A copy of the last page of transactions in your bank book is also needed , the letter from the bank is not

enough. They now want to see you have millions .

3. A photo of the WEDDING !?!?!? I did the village sinsot ritual years ago , basically a local village thing ,

a small service is conducted by Joe Bloggs of the village ( him who doesnt have anything else to do on that

day). Its really an engagement to show face , but you all know that already. Lucky we took lots of photos,

actually I didnt but everyone else did . We didnt take any photos on the day we went to the Amphur to do

the real paperwork for the real marriage.

4. If you were married before in your own country and divorced you must produce your divorce Decree Nisi

/absolute , to prove you are divorced and single , even though I am already married under Thai law I still

had to produce proof that I am not married to anyone else from my own country , regardless of being

married here already. The issue here is that you have to do all the paperwork to marry here in the first

place. The freedom to marry form you get from the Embassy , which is then only given to you , stamped with

the official Embassy stamp if you produce your decree nisi. When you have that , it has to be translated

into Thai(written copy) and sent to Bangkok. On return from BKK, you have the Thai seal of approval to

marry a Thai. All that paperwork is then handed in at the Amphur, you sign a couple of docs and hey presto

a certificate is given to you with an official signed documented letter stating your married.

Why all this hassle from the Immigration office is beyond me .I did have my Thai Marriage certificate

and documented letter with me also !!

5. I was also told that when I submit my application for a Marriage visa , it will take 15 days ?????

So basically hand it in , wait 15 days and go back and collect something they could give you in seconds,

however, I was told that there is a clamp down on visa applications for marriage due to many fake

documents/bank statements /decree nisi docs, so now in the 15 days that they have all your details , they

check everything out to make sure its all legitimate . The officer also said that its not 100% guaranteed

that a marriage visa will be issued. After looking through my passport and seeing all the visa's/stamps

in it and the fact I have lived here for six years AND my WIFE (THAI) was with me at the Immigration

office , she said I should be ok ( only should be ?)grrrrrr

I hope this helps those who are about to do the Marriage visa .

[Lite Beer]

When applying for an extension based on marriage the usual under consideration time is 30 days. A big improvement on what it used to be. A few years ago it would have been around 6 months.

[beano2274]

A few comments:

1. Not heard that any documents need to be translated as all the staff understand English to some degree.

2. I have repeatedly said on this forum that Bank books are required, and that they need to be updated a day before going.

3. Wedding photos have always been a requirement. I had photos of the engagement and also the wedding at the Amphur.

4. I accidently gave them a copy of my affirmation and also the Khor Dhor 2.

5. All your documents have to be checked this is why there is a delay.

I gave my docs in for an extension and have to wait till the end of December, no harm in waiting.

[sarahsbloke]

In Chiang Mai

1. My Thai bank gave me the letter in Thai .... I asked for a letter for immigration (100bht from SCB)

2. It says copy of all bank book pages required .... so that is what I gave them

3. They wanted 2 photos, one of us standing outside house, one of us together inside house. (they never asked for any wedding photos)

4. They never asked for anything to do with my divorce or affirmation

5. The decision is made by a central agency in Bangkok, not at the office you applied, they also make a home visit and question neighbors.

I applied 1 month after I was married (or 7 weeks after I met my wife), there were no problems getting the extension.

Edited November 30, 2010 by sarahsbloke

[flyinghigh]

HI Guys , I am going down the marraige road ,in the new year.....I have a decree nisa , letter, is that ok as proof of divorce ,or do i need to apply for a decree abolute?, thanks in advance for any replys

[Lite Beer]

It would be whatever your Embassy requires as proof to issue your affirmation to marry.

[ThaiKiwi]

I did it today with most documents in English without a problem.

I have never been asked for marriage photos and wasn't asked for them today either.

Now the 30 days wait but I have confidence... over 20 years experience with this and don't worry at all these days.