Marriage Registration

[Guest Froggy]

Hi Members!

Is there somebody who knows if to register a Marriage in Thailand we need a minimum financial status?

Is it possible that they can refuse to register a Marriage if someone don't have a big salary?

I'm Canadian and just wish to get Married with my girlfriend(Thai citizen) and stay as a Tourist in Thailand for few months!

I'm not looking to apply for a Non-Immigrant Visa based on Marriage!

I realy just wanna know if there's a minimum financial requirement to register a Marriage in Thailand!

Thanks for All!

Froggy

[Indo-Siam]

There is no such financial requirement for registering a marriage. You simply go in to the Amphur or Changwat office, and go through an ID document presentation and form-filling process. At the end, they issue you a pair of certificates, split at the center. These used to be blue on white, but are now a maroon-based floral design on white.

I do not recall if there was an official fee (50 baht?), but I do understand that where my Thai wife and I registered (Mukdahan), it was customary to give the registration official an "envelope" as part of the process. I think we gave 600 baht (in 1999) - but this was completely after the event, and not at all demanded. My impression was - we were making the contribution to make life easier for the next mixed couple who came in.

Good luck!

Indo-Siam

[Khutan]

When I went to the Ampour, the main thing they were interested in was a 5 year achievement award I got from XYZ Australia..... (XYZ of course is that household name computer company).....

He held it up and showed all the other guys at the Ampour. The rest was very simple. You have to have your passport, and a birth Certificate and maybe an employment letter may help.

[Khutan]

Indo-Siam, I just re read your post

I do not recall if there was an official fee (50 baht?), but I do understand that where my Thai wife and I registered (Mukdahan), it was customary to give the registration official an "envelope" as part of the process. I think we gave 600 baht (in 1999) - but this was completely after the event, and not at all demanded. My impression was - we were making the contribution to make life easier for the next mixed couple who came in.

When I did it with my wife I theink the official fee was something like 100 or 200 baht. My wife actually asked about the "invisible hand" and they were almost insulted by it. If fact the guy who wrote the certificate dorve us to the immigration post so I could get my visa updated......

Obviously things are different in southern Surin than at the Ampour you were at.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Present yourself well on the day and the question won't come up.

[Khutan]

Dr Pat, maybe things are different in Kab Choneg, I turned up with no shoes a singlet and some scruffy pants. Mind you the missus was also scruffy.

But then again they are used to dealing with Cambodian refugee's so maybe I looked really smart....

[huski]

My wife actually asked about the "invisible hand" and they were almost insulted by it.

It was the complete opposite for me when i got married in Bangkok, the greedy bitch had her hand out after everything was signed. I felt like I was pulled over by the traffic police.

[Pink Mist]

for a hassle free registration use an agent, this has been covered b4 but if you got the baht do it. read the other posts on this subject for more info and if you want the name of someone PM me

[huski]

It was the complete opposite for me when i got married in Bangkok, the greedy bitch had her hand out after everything was signed. I felt like I was pulled over by the traffic police.

i was referring to my wife...just kidding

[winter]

I am 26,male, Singaporean. my Thai wife registered our marriage in Singapore..do we need to register again in Thailand? Or do we just submit our marriage certificate to them?

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Your Singapore Marriage Certificate is fine here , but get a certified Thai translation of the certificate.

[easymoney]

I don't now about the responses I see here but when I got married eons(10 years ) ago and when my brother little over 3 years ago and as late my many friends as 2 months ago the Ampur requires a document from the Ministry Foriegn Affairs which isses it after you the Farang has given a sworn and nortized statement from your embassy that states all previous marriages settled by a proper authority,financial income statement and two people in your home country who could vouch for you. This is all on one page at US embassy. I don't know on others but this page needed to be translated and sent to ministry ( cost last friend 35.00 US) and in week to ten days receive ministry's certificate then go to ampur.

Remember the amphurs are computerized now and last I was there they caught a girl already married to 4 farangs in four diffent provinces so no new marriage. On US side all passports tied to IRS and tax records and all states marriage and divorce records so no 4 marriages anymore. Indo is correct in the document is a 2 piece affair.

[groovyc]

I don't now about the responses I see here but when I got married eons(10 years ) ago and when my brother little over 3 years ago and as late my many friends as 2 months ago the Ampur requires a document from the Ministry Foriegn Affairs which isses it after you the Farang has given a sworn and nortized statement from your embassy that states all previous marriages settled by a proper authority,financial income statement and two people in your home country who could vouch for you. This is all on one page at US embassy. I don't know on others but this page needed to be translated and sent to ministry ( cost last friend 35.00 US) and in week to ten days receive ministry's certificate then go to ampur.

Same here. In fact I was begining to wonder if I've been taken for a ride, reading all the posts before this one. My story goes something like this:

We contacted the Department of Provincial Administration (which was responsible for registrtions of marriage) to ask for information about the registration procedure, and were told that I needed to get a certain document from the embassy and were directed to the "Consular Affairs Dept, Ministry of Foreign Affairs". They said that I needed a document form my embassy confirming my unmarried status. Further, if I needed to get the original document from my home country (which was the case for me, as the embassy would not issue any document without proof from the local registrar's dept), I was told that the Thai embassy in Sri Lanka (that's my home country) may legalize the document instead of my embassy in Thailand. I did it this way, took it down to the Consular Affairs Dept with a Thai translation. I learned that what they did there was just attest the Thai translation of the document and nothing else.

Then we took all these documents with the translations to the city office (in Prathumthani). But alas, we're told that the document is not in the correct FORMAT. This was the first time we heard about a format, so naturally we ask what it is. We are told they don't have a definite format, but the EMBASSY SHOULD KNOW. We are also shown similar documents submitted by other farangs before and are even given photocopies of 2 of them!!! (I have in my possession two personal documents related to one Englishman and one Indian! Do they have any privacy laws here?). Thanks to these benovelent officials, we were deprived of our right to register our marriage on the day of the ceremony.

I didn't want to take a day off to visit my embassy again hoping that "they would know" this so-called format and pay another $50, then go to a translator and back to the consular affairs....In short, I was pretty much pissed off and went to try a different city office (Muang Nonthaburi). Again, I was told pretty much the same thing, with a stress on my income needing to be on the doc. Next, I contacted the Chatuchak city office, and as they didn't seem to be concerned about a format, I was hopeful and went along with all the docs plus a copy of my THAI tax returns (as I work here, that's the best document to prove my income, and even my embassy would have had to base it on that if it were to spell out my income in a document. PLUS it was in Thai, and issued by the THAI tax department), though of course, the mere necessity to furnish proof of income to register your marriage was well beyond my comprehension. Again, we were refused. "Why couldn't my embassy certify my income?" was the reply. In other words, I had to do a 2-way translation (not to mention certifying it) on a Thai doc issued by the Thai gov to be submitted to the Thai gov, only to get it certified by the Sri Lankan government.

While we were having fun visiting all the nice city ofiices in and around my city, I tried to get in touch with the head office of the dept of prov admin, only to find they didn't answer that phone anymore. yeah, i know you wouldn't believe it! anyway, i managed to find an English page on their website which gave pretty much the same info I was given on the phone before:

Required Documents

1. Identification Cards of both parties.
   
2. The House Registration Certificates of both parties.
   
3. If an alien is registering to be married to a Thai citizen or another alien, he or she is required to submit following documents.
   
   • A copy of their passport.
     
   • A Letter of Certification, issued by an Embassy or Consulate or a Government Organization from their country, regarding the marital status of the person. The Letter must be translated, then certified by the relevant Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
     

(http://www.dopa.go.th/English/servi/marry.htm)

I can't seem to find any word even remotely related to income, or a doc format for that matter! Are these pricks at the city offices just waiting till they are bribed or what??? Am I the only unlucky one or can anyone relate to this?

[lopburi3]

I am not sure why you had to dig up a four year old thread to post this but as long as 15 years ago income was a part of the required Embassy document so not sure why you believe there is something wrong in the district office asking why it is not on your form. Perhaps you should be asking your Embassy why?

[groovyc]

I am not sure why you had to dig up a four year old thread to post this

mm, this was the closest thread I could find. sorry if I shudnt have - just not very experienced in this.

but as long as 15 years ago income was a part of the required Embassy document

are you relating from personal experience? Are you saying its "required" coz you were merely told so at the district office or because it says so somewhere in the law? If its the latter I am interested.

so not sure why you believe there is something wrong in the district office asking why it is not on your form.

well, as I tried to explain (sorry if it got too long and confusing), I believe it is wrong because,

1. The authority governing marriage registrations did not advise me so in the first place.

2. Their homepage (http://www.dopa.go.th/English/servi/marry.htm) does not mention it either.

3. The consular affairs dept did not advise either.

4. The consular affairs dept gave me a different option from going to my embassy in Thailand, i.e. to go to the Thai embassy in Sri Lanka. They attested the document without pointing out any shortcomings (and charged me a fee too!)

5. The consular affairs dept certified the translation (for 800bhat) and again didn't point out anything.

6. Many posts on this thread suggest that it is not a legal requirement (if it was, and was just overlooked, it is equally disturbing) though things may have been different 4 years ago.

Perhaps you should be asking your Embassy why?

As I said, it is not the embassy that made the document. It was made by the local authority from my home town, duely attested by the relevant authorities and by the Thai embassy in Colombo.

[lopburi3]

The procedure is to obtain a document from your Embassy, and there is a specific format/requirement for a number of bits of information - income is one of these - two references in your home country is another - names of parents is another, as well as you not being married. You sign that form at your Embassy and have it translated into Thai. You then take both to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs legalization department and have it registered there. The stamped/registered document is then used for presentation at a District Office to register your marriage. Without this they will not register, as you have found out. it is done a hundred times a day without many problems. Flexibility is a key to a happy life here but in this case it appears you have not met the requirements and it can be corrected rather easily. Believe time spent doing that will be much more productive and rewarding than anger.

[Tywais]

are you relating from personal experience? Are you saying its "required" coz you were merely told so at the district office or because it says so somewhere in the law? If its the latter I am interested.

This is the actual form from the British Embassy web site > Affirmation of Freedom to Marry.pdf and has a place to declare your income.

As for US, I did mine over 10 years ago but just don't remember if it was required on it also, have a copy somewhere.

//edit - this is the form at the US Embassy site > Marriage Affidavit.pdf and includes income.

Comment from the web site: "The affidavit form, available upon request, includes all of the information required by relevant Thai law. "

[groovyc]

The procedure is to obtain a document from your Embassy, ......Believe time spent doing that will be much more productive and rewarding than anger.

Thanks for the valuable advice mate - I particularly agree with you on the last one. I must stress though that the main reason I posted here was to express my frustration at the system, plus the curiosity triggered by the simplicity with which some posts addressed the issue. After all, many threads here are devoted to similar needs of members aren't they.

I guess I don't have what it takes to lead a happy life here eh. thank god I'm not here to stay. I didn't come here to get married, nor did I meet my girlfriend here. I just happened to be here when I wanted to get married, and a decent system was all I hoped for. It sure needs extraordinary levels of flexibility, patience and a lot of free time for doing the same thing over and over, if you were to lead any life here.

The procedure of going to the embassy may be the one most heard of, and may be what you did, but that doesn't necessarily mean it is the only way, does it now? "an Embassy or Consulate or a Government Organization from their country" is acceptable, and I chose the latter as my embassy (like some others) doesn't issue self-sworn affidavits without info from the local authorities concerned.

As for getting it "corrected rather easily", I wouldn't bet on that. I certainly may have a better chance relying on your info than the pathetic authorities', but even if I am 100% sure you didn't miss anything out, I would still need to translate a tax document to English and hope my embassy would issue something similar to what these felas see everyday. (very few of them come from my embassy you know).

thanks again for the tips. at least I learned one lesson: next time you want to get anything done at a Thai gov office and need some info, ask thaivisa rather than the relevant office!

[groovyc]

are you relating from personal experience? Are you saying its "required" coz you were merely told so at the district office or because it says so somewhere in the law? If its the latter I am interested.

This is the actual form from the British Embassy web site > Affirmation of Freedom to Marry.pdf and has a place to declare your income.

As for US, I did mine over 10 years ago but just don't remember if it was required on it also, have a copy somewhere.

//edit - this is the form at the US Embassy site > Marriage Affidavit.pdf and includes income.

Comment from the web site: "The affidavit form, available upon request, includes all of the information required by relevant Thai law. "

Thanks a lot for the info.

[raro]

So from what I understand you just walk into the Ampoer office armed with Passport and ID card and that's it? Sounds almost too easy!

What about last names? Can the man take over the wife's name? Double name?

One more tax question: If both, husband and wife have an income, is this taxed separately or combined and then taxed at a higher rate? I heard different opinions about this.

[jonb]

I got married a few weeks ago in Phuket.

You need a affimation of freedom to marry from your embassy which has a line about income, translated into Thai and legalised.

If you have been married before you also need you devorce papers. Don't know if they need translated as i was never married.

You then go to the amphoer office with a legal representative, Passport and 2 copies, girlfriends ID card and 2 copies.

You are asked a few questions, ie where you met, how long you been together etc.

Issued with 2 certificates, costs 100 baht and had to donate 200 baht to myanmar charity.

Legal representative cost about 2000 baht.

If you get married away from your girlfriends home then she has to return there to change her ID details.

We had to travel to Lom Sak so my wife could change her ID card.

Reference the surname, your girlfriend can either have your family name or keep her's but you have to decide at the amphoer as they put it in the paperwork you receive with the marriage certificate.

[MintyAussie]

The procedure is to obtain a document from your Embassy, and there is a specific format/requirement for a number of bits of information - income is one of these - two references in your home country is another - names of parents is another, as well as you not being married. You sign that form at your Embassy and have it translated into Thai. You then take both to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs legalization department and have it registered there. The stamped/registered document is then used for presentation at a District Office to register your marriage. Without this they will not register, as you have found out. it is done a hundred times a day without many problems. Flexibility is a key to a happy life here but in this case it appears you have not met the requirements and it can be corrected rather easily. Believe time spent doing that will be much more productive and rewarding than anger.

I got married last Monday in Sriracha. Same proceedure as mentioned by lopburi3. Went to Aussie embassy in Bangkok to get the stat dec from them, paid 640baht for that. Then had it translated into Thai for 300b in a friendly office opposite the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Went over to see them, to have it certified, that was 800b I think. Luckily got it all done within one day, as my wife has a very good friend who knows the streets of Bangkok and we drove too.

Went to see the district office in Sriracha, waited around for about 3 hours, my wife showed her papers etc, signed a few forms and we were married. Paid 140b for the marriage certs, plus got a memorandum as well.

So now have to have them all translated into English so that I can register the marriage in Australia and the wife can get an Aussie visa after that.

We didn't have a big party as my wife's family are either dead or she doesn't have contact with them anymore.

[groovyc]

Thanks for all the replies guys. I think I owe it to you all to let you know how it went with me.

A few weeks after I was ranting away here of my frustration with the authorities, my wife (to be) happened to meet a distant relative of hers at a wedding who happened to be the bigshot at the closest city office where we were rejected before. When he heard about our problem, he asked us to come along again with the docs including a copy of my thai tax returns. We went the following week and the job was done with no hassle AT ALL. The officer in charge seemingly could remember us from before, and grunted: "I wouldn't have a problem if you come with my boss of course..I knew you were a good girl, but I have to be strict as many girls marry farang for money, sometimes with multiple farang..." (Obviously, didn't make any sense at any level). And guess what, we didn't pay a satang. (Did we get a fee waiver coz we knew the boss, or have the others been charged with tea money?..) .

She had to choose if she'd keep her maiden name or use mine instead. She chose to take mine for now. (Can change later).

Thus we got married at last. and I kinda learned another "key to a happy life" here - have a lot of important friends/relatives.

[mgjackson69]

I got married a few weeks ago in Phuket.

You need a affimation of freedom to marry from your embassy which has a line about income, translated into Thai and legalised.

If you have been married before you also need you devorce papers. Don't know if they need translated as i was never married.

You then go to the amphoer office with a legal representative, Passport and 2 copies, girlfriends ID card and 2 copies.

You are asked a few questions, ie where you met, how long you been together etc.

Issued with 2 certificates, costs 100 baht and had to donate 200 baht to myanmar charity.

Legal representative cost about 2000 baht.

If you get married away from your girlfriends home then she has to return there to change her ID details.

We had to travel to Lom Sak so my wife could change her ID card.

Reference the surname, your girlfriend can either have your family name or keep her's but you have to decide at the amphoer as they put it in the paperwork you receive with the marriage certificate.

This is about the same as my experience at Bangrak.

I did have my divorce decree, not translated, nobody asked for it. My understanding is that is for the embassy (USA in my case) to support the Affidavit to Marry.

The gal at Bangrak asked a few questions...one was "How many times have you been to Thailand?" She counted up my entry stamps in my passport...26 at that time.

We used a translation/visa place on Wittayu Road, just off of Ploenchit. They did the necessary translations and the legwork out to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Chang Wattana.

As far as your wife's surname...up to you. My wife chose to take my name. Nine months after we "made the paper", she is still working on getting her name changed on various and sundry. Some things are fairly easy (ID and passport), some are impossible (water bill).

[groovyc]

What about last names? Can the man take over the wife's name? Double name?

The concept of the man taking the wife's at marriage name is probably not recognized, so essentially you are asked only about the wife's name at the point of signing the marriage contract. It needs to be stressed that this is just a statement at that point, and needs a separate procedure to get the name actually changed (which has to be done at the city office where the wife's recidency is registered I believe). Any other changes (husbands name changes, wife taking up her maiden name as middle name) needs to be done afterwards, perhaps the same way you would if you were to change your name idependently of your marriage.

One more tax question: If both, husband and wife have an income, is this taxed separately or combined and then taxed at a higher rate? I heard different opinions about this.

this may need to be addressed elsewhere, but as far as I know, you have the option of filing your tax forms together or separately... whichever way suits you best.