JT65 Posted March 6, 2006 Share Posted March 6, 2006 Hi All I was recently married in a Temple marriage and now wish to register the marriage so it is legal in Thailand. My wife and I live in Chiang Mai and have been told that as an Australian I need to visit my Embassy in Bangkok to get a letter or Statutory Declaration from them. This then needs to be translated and taken to some Government Office in Bangkok where another form is issued which we can then take to her local Tambon and register her marriage. My question is this; Does my wife need to go to Bangkok to sign anything in person . We have called the Oz embassy who did not know the answer and then called the number they gave us for the Thai Goveernment Office who gave us two different answers. The thing is she is 5 months Pregnant and not real keen on travelling to Bangkok to do it. I was hoping I could do all the paperwork on my own. Any replies appreciated. JT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rinrada Posted March 6, 2006 Share Posted March 6, 2006 In a word if you have only had a temple wedding (and not signed the big book )you are still not legally married. Gota hit the old registry office to make it official......BOTH of You. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JT65 Posted March 6, 2006 Author Share Posted March 6, 2006 In a word if you have only had a temple wedding (and not signed the big book )you are still not legally married.Gota hit the old registry office to make it official......BOTH of You. I understand we both need to sign the big book but my question is this: The paper which we take from the Oz Embassy to be translated and then take to the big Government Office in Bangkok, does that need both of us? From my understanding we sign the " Big Book" at her local Tambon once we get the correct paperwork from Bangkok? Im hoping she does not need to travel to Bangkok. Thankyou for your prompt reply Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rinrada Posted March 6, 2006 Share Posted March 6, 2006 Sounds like the bit of paper you are after is the "Freedom to Marry"form which you pick up from your Embassy saying that you are...etc...etc. Been best man at a couple of weddings in Bangers and sure enough the guys did precisely that...(UK Emb)..basically it says that to all intensive purposes you dont have another wife stashed away and even if you had you have been fully divorced and as said.. Free to Marry. The guys i knew just got it translated locally into Thai and presented it to the lassie in the Registry Office....10 minutes later it was down to Cabbages and Condoms for the "do".....ding dong and all that.... Going back a few years now but believe that you may have to get it stamped now at the Govt Office at Laski Plaza ...just probably to say ...that its been stamped Ask you embassy when you talk to them... Femail partners (thai) had nothing to do with all this so would assume still the same....good luck... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khutan Posted March 6, 2006 Share Posted March 6, 2006 To make life easier, most large translation services will go and do all the work for you. It costs a few thousand, but they do the running around, particularly to get the form from ChengWhattana. Myself and Mrs Khutan took a blended approach, got all the paperwork except for the final registration done by some translation office, took that form to the Ampour in Surin. 200B and 20 minutes later we did it all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rigger Posted March 6, 2006 Share Posted March 6, 2006 Hi AllI was recently married in a Temple marriage and now wish to register the marriage so it is legal in Thailand. My wife and I live in Chiang Mai and have been told that as an Australian I need to visit my Embassy in Bangkok to get a letter or Statutory Declaration from them. This then needs to be translated and taken to some Government Office in Bangkok where another form is issued which we can then take to her local Tambon and register her marriage. My question is this; Does my wife need to go to Bangkok to sign anything in person . We have called the Oz embassy who did not know the answer and then called the number they gave us for the Thai Goveernment Office who gave us two different answers. The thing is she is 5 months Pregnant and not real keen on travelling to Bangkok to do it. I was hoping I could do all the paperwork on my own. Any replies appreciated. JT No your wife doesnt need to go to Bangkok I got the form from the Aussie embassy took it back to Nongbualamphu filled it out handed it to a translation shop in Udon they sent it to Bangkok got all the stamps and sent it back within three days. And the rest is in the local tambon office easy money Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimdog Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 As a foreigner, you will need permission to marry from the Ministry of foreign affairs. As Khutan suggested, the easiest option is to go to one of the larger translation services. They have all the correct forms at hand, and also will be able to certify that the translations are correct. This has to be stamped by your embassy. If you have been married before then they will probably want to see your final divorce papers. Once you have the embassy stamp, then this is taken to the Ministry of foreign affairs, who will also stamp the papers giving you permission to visit an Amphur to legally get married. The whole process can be done in a day, but would allow a couple of days to be safe. From what I remember there is no reason for your wife to be to accompany you, as the forms just state that you have permission to marry, and are not tied to you marrying a particular person. Hope this helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niloc Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 I am in EXACTLY the same position as you. I eMailed the Australian Consulate in BKK and they promptly mailed me back with : <Quote> You will have to have a stat dec witnessed at the Embassy as you are an Australian citizen and this is a Thai requirement. Your fiance does not need to be present for this, however you need to fill in her name and date of birth on the stat dec. FYI the cost for witnessing a stat dec is THB580 at today's exchange rate (note this changes with fluctuating dollar) in cash please. Office hours are Mon-Fri 0830-1630. I unfortunately cannot provide advice about whether your fiance needs to be present for the other services such as authorizing at the Thai Foreign Ministry or at the Amphur. You would need to check with the Thai authorities on these issues. <End Quote> We live in Pai so its two days down to BKK and two days back, from other information received here I am going to take a punt and go down in a couple of weeks on my own. You will need your wife's name, her ID number and her Date of Birth. Get in touch with me and we will attack on a united front!! Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JT65 Posted March 7, 2006 Author Share Posted March 7, 2006 I am in EXACTLY the same position as you. I eMailed the Australian Consulate in BKK and they promptly mailed me back with :<Quote> You will have to have a stat dec witnessed at the Embassy as you are an Australian citizen and this is a Thai requirement. Your fiance does not need to be present for this, however you need to fill in her name and date of birth on the stat dec. FYI the cost for witnessing a stat dec is THB580 at today's exchange rate (note this changes with fluctuating dollar) in cash please. Office hours are Mon-Fri 0830-1630. I unfortunately cannot provide advice about whether your fiance needs to be present for the other services such as authorizing at the Thai Foreign Ministry or at the Amphur. You would need to check with the Thai authorities on these issues. <End Quote> We live in Pai so its two days down to BKK and two days back, from other information received here I am going to take a punt and go down in a couple of weeks on my own. You will need your wife's name, her ID number and her Date of Birth. Get in touch with me and we will attack on a united front!! Colin Thanks to everyone for their helpfull replies. I will be going down maybe early next week. I live in Chiang Mai and will be driving. If you are interested please let me know. One further question? Does anyone know if it is easy in Kualar Lumpar to get a Non Immigrant O Multiple Entry Visa? Cheers JT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinny Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 I'm wondering if you can do everything in Chiang Mai. Why don't you ask Mr. Michael Joseph Walther, the Honorary Consul at the Consulate of Australia , Chiang Mai. His details are: 236 ChiangMai-Doysakit Road, Sansai, Chiang Mai, 50210 Tel : 0-5349-2480, 0-5349-2426 E-mail: [email protected] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lopburi3 Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 After you have a legal marriage KL should be ok for the visa from recent reports. Although one recent visitor to Penang only got a single entry on a first visa trip - he was advised multi would be available later. Nothing seems to be 100% in the visa world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klongmaster Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 NO. Your wife does not need to come to Bkk I have just done this myself and went alone (I'm one of your antipodean neighbours)...there's nothing for her to sign I wrote a report on the dos & dont's you can find it here http://tinyurl.com/ml2ut Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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