Non-Religious Wedding

[pkspeaker]

where can i get more information on getting married in thailand, specifically i would be interested in getting married at a court or city building w/o doing the buddhist ceremony..thx in advance

[Thanyaburi Mac]

FYI, a Buddhist ceremony here does not constitute a legal marriage, some folks do it to keep the relatives happy, many do not.

A legal marriage is only done at a district office, the "amphur."

You didn't state your nationality but the procedure below is pretty much common to all, even tho it's off the U.S. Embssy's www site.

Mac

http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/service/marriage.html

A legal marriage in Thailand consists of both parties registering their marriage in person with the local Thai Amphur (Civil Registry Office). The United States does recognize the validity of such a marriage. For American citizens marrying either Thai citizens or another American citizen, the procedure is the same. For Americans marrying a third-country national, their prospective spouse must also follow a similar procedure with their own embassy.

Procedure

Complete an affidavit at the U.S. Embassy. The affidavit form, available in our office or you may download a copy of the form here (PDF 35KB), includes all of the information required by relevant Thai law. The form must be completed and notarized at the Embassy. The notarial fee is $50 per seal. Make an appointment for a notarial.

Have the notarized affidavit translated. List of translators in the Bangkok area (PDF 50KB).

Take the affidavit and translation to:

Legalization Division

Department of Consular Affairs

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

3rd Floor, 123 Chaeng Wattana Road

Tung Song Hong, Laksi District, Bangkok

Tel: 02-575-1057-8, Fax: 02-575-1054

Take the affidavit and supporting documents to a local Amphur and register yourselves as married. The Amphur will also require the following documents:

Your U.S. passport;

Identification for the other party, such as a Thai citizen's identification card;

If either party is under the age of twenty, written permission from the parents with Thai translation);

If either you or your fiance have been previously married the Amphur will want to see proof that prior marriages have been terminated. Divorce or death certificates should suffice. These documents, if available, should be translated into Thai prior to presentation at the Amphur.

[bostonboy]

i went to the Embassy to get my affidavit of not being married

when I walked there was a bunch of visa services pitching their services at the gate

i blew them of but then decided to listen to this one guy, they had a real nice office across the street

for 4k baht, they took care of everything and we were literally married in 5 hours

where they saved major time was we did not have to go to any of the offices except for the Amphur. They took care of all the other office visits

And at the Amphur we were given a special desk to go to and not have to wait in line

totally worth the 4k baht

i forgot their name but i am sure there are many you can find that offer this service

[ubonjoe]

If you didn't get the affidavit from the embassy your marriage is not legal and that will bite you in the butt someday.

Their is only the embassy for the Affirmation of Permit to Marry. Then go to a translator to have it translated to Thai. They can also get it certified at the MFA for a small additional charge.

After that after that a trip to the Amphoe/Khet for the marriage registration.

Four thousand baht that does not include the embassy fee is very expensive in my opinion.

[7by7]

As said, a legal marriage in Thailand is one which is registered at an ampur. This is recognised as a legal marriage in almost every other country. A ceremonial marriage is not a legal marriage in Thaioland and therefore not recognised as such anywhere else.

Thai law requires a foreigner who wishes to marry in the kingdom, whether marrying a Thai citizen or another foreigner, to sign an affirmation of freedom to marry and have that signature witnessed by a consular official from their embassy.

This document must then be translated into Thai and the translation certified as correct by the Ministry of Foreign affairs before taking it to any ampur where you can register the marriage.

Bostonboy, an agent can go to the MFA for you, but they cannot go to your embassy on your behalf; you must do this yourself so your signature can be witnessed.

If you didn't sign your AFM at your embassy then it is not valid and, as ubonjoe says, you may will have problems in the future as your marriage is not legal in Thailand and therefore not legal anywhere else!

[pkspeaker]

thx for the replies

[bostonboy]

If you didn't get the affidavit from the embassy your marriage is not legal and that will bite you in the butt someday.

Their is only the embassy for the Affirmation of Permit to Marry. Then go to a translator to have it translated to Thai. They can also get it certified at the MFA for a small additional charge.

After that after that a trip to the Amphoe/Khet for the marriage registration.

Four thousand baht that does not include the embassy fee is very expensive in my opinion.

i connected with the visa service after i signed the Affidavit at the US Embassy

for me, them taking care of the rest was well worth the 4k

some people don't mind the legwork, i hate it

i'd rather pay someone to do it

[pkspeaker]

one more ?, can you use the Bangkok Ampur or do you have to goto the woman's village..

[7by7]

Once you have all your paper work sorted you can marry at any ampur in Thailand.

[MaprangHolmes]

If you are marrying a non Thai then you could try the ampur in BangRak (Near to the Silom Road) as they are used to foreigners and most of the people working then can understand English

[7by7]

Many Thais like to marry there, too as Bang Rak means 'village of love.'

[pkspeaker]

What if you wanted to add a prenuptial agreement.. I noticed some other threads talking about a Thai placing a claim on assets in the expats country.. could you insert a prenuptial agreement to be notarized at the same time the affidavit form is notarized at the embassey?

[Mario2008]

if you marry in Thailand, the embassy doesn't have anything to do with the pre-nup.

You simply go to a lawyer to have a pre-nup drawn up in Thai language, if you have assets abroad it is wise to make sure your wife has her own lawyer, so she can't claim that she didn't understand the pre-nup or its consequences as she had proper legal representation. Make sure the pre-nup is also according you the laws of your home country.

When both agree, you take the agreement with you to the amphur and have it entered into the wedding register when you sign the marriage register.

[pkspeaker]

OK, got it, take the prenup to the ampur, not the embassey thx!

[Rogue33]

If I was you, I would do all the marriage procedures in Bangkok, more easy IMO. I did everything in Bangkok in 1 day but I'm not sure if this would be possible for all nationalities (some embassy requires appointment if I'm right) Many people do it in 2-3 days.

These are the procedures we went through during the day :

8am : We left our hotel to go to the Canadian embassy.

9am- Arrive at the embassy and start the process to get an affidavit of freedom to marry. Cost 1 500 bahts.

9:30am- Out of the embassy and take a taxi to the MFA (Ministry of Foreign Affairs).

10:30am- Arrive at the MFA and look to get the affidavit translated. We used the translation shop located on the 1st floor near the main entrance. Got the documents back 30-45 minutes later. Cost 300 bahts.

11am- We went upstairs to bring our documents and requested same day service. 800 bahts if I remember right.

2pm- We got the documents back and walk outside the MFA to take a taxi to the nearest amphur (Leksi or something like that).

2:15pm- We made all the photocopies necessary before heading to the department where they take care of marriage.

3:30pm- We were officially married and soon on our way back to our hotel to enjoy a nice evening together

The procedures are pretty simple and straightforward Just make sure to have all the appropriate documents with you. It can be done in 1 day but maybe better to do it in 2 days if you don't want to fell too rushed.

Best of luck with your marriage.