Hi,

I've been asked if it is possible to change the Thai translation of my surname as used in my Affirmation to Marry/wedding certificates and then subsequently updated in the wife's house registration and bank books (she wasn't with me when it was first translated).

Alternatively, Is it possible for my wife & any future children to get their surname changed to a slightly different (apparently more elegant) spelling or would you envisage administrative problems at amphur/banks/immigration etc or would individual proof of ID/documentation suffice?

I'm ambivalent but do have an aversion to going through the original rigmarole...but with the intermittent badgering since we married I thought I'd also raise it in the interests of an easier life!

A Thai person cannot have a foreign name, the exception is in case of being married to a foreigner. So it would have to be exactly your name, also when traveling problems might arise with differences in names.

The only way to do it, if possible, woud be to chage the your official spelling in Thai of your name. Ask at the local amphur or have the misses contact Department of Provincial Administration (DOPA): www.dopa.go.th