Marriage Registration

[Tim1980]

Hi I have one question regarding marriage registration in Thailand, I am married to a Thai and am trying to register my marriage but unfortunately am not able to do yet as I needed to produce one letter from my home country notoriazed by my embassy in bangkok. My problem is that my Country won't issue such letter if I don't go to get the same in person. I am not able to go in person anytime soon so my question is that if theres any chances of registering without that letter... has anyone done this ...

advice please

Tim

[FiftyTwo]

they don't care when.

but will treat you as not married, until.

So no marriage extension.

[kikoman]

That is a requirement in Thailand they demand documentation that you are in fact free to marry in Thailand . I was divorced and needed to submit a copy of my divorce, along with a notarized copy of the Thai translation of my divorce, another time consuming process. I know there are translation services in Bangkok that will do all the legwork for you, and it is not inexpensive.

Good Luck

Your Welcome- Tim

Cheers

[Tim1980]

Thank you kikoman

[7by7]

they don't care when.

but will treat you as not married, until.

So no marriage extension.

Indeed.

Even a Thai couple are not legally married until they have registered the marriage at an ampur.

For a foreigner to do so they must have an affirmation of freedom to marry.

This must be signed in person at your embassy and witnessed by a consular official at the embassy and then translated and the translation authenticated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Whilst a translation agency can go to the MFA for you; you do have to go to your embassy in person so the consular official can witness you signing the AFM.

Although if your country has a consulate elsewhere in Thailand, I believe that you can sign your AFM there.

[FiftyTwo]

they don't care when.

but will treat you as not married, until.

So no marriage extension.

Indeed.

Even a Thai couple are not legally married until they have registered the marriage at an ampur.

For a foreigner to do so they must have an affirmation of freedom to marry.

This must be signed in person at your embassy and witnessed by a consular official at the embassy and then translated and the translation authenticated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Whilst a translation agency can go to the MFA for you; you do have to go to your embassy in person so the consular official can witness you signing the AFM.

Although if your country has a consulate elsewhere in Thailand, I believe that you can sign your AFM there.

The OP is claiming "already married" so I was thinking already married in his home country and just wanting to register the foreign marriage document locally.

[Tim1980]

Thanks to all, well am married here in Thailand and trying I register but I will need letter from my home country and to get that I will have to go home, they don't issue unless I go in person

[7by7]

So you had a ceremonial wedding but haven't registered it at an ampur?

It seems very odd that your country is saying that you need to go home to obtain your AFM. Most countries will do this at the embassy or a consulate in Thailand.

Where are you from?

If married before you will need your divorce certificate or the death certificate of your previous spouse, whichever is appropriate. Is this the document they say you need to obtain from home? If so, surely you can arrange for it to be sent to you?

[7by7]

It seems very odd that your country is saying that you need to go home to obtain your AFM. Most countries will do this at the embassy or a consulate in Thailand.

On further reflection, I'm not even sure if you can obtain an AFM in your home country.

Certainly the British embassy say that it is not possible to obtain one in the UK and that it must be done at the embassy in Bangkok or the consulate in Chiang Mai.

I am assuming that this is a Thai requirement, not a British one; but I may be wrong.

[kikoman]

Tim 1980,

I believe 7by7 is correct all you need is proof you were not already married and are free to marry in Thailand, If you have never been married I believe you can make a notarized statement by your embassy staff, that the statement you made is true" or if your are divorced or widowed, then you must submit your certified divorce or death certificate to the embassy along with the Thai certified translation.

Which in most countries you can request a certified copy from your local record department for a nominal fee, by mail'

Cheers

[7by7]

Indeed, kikoman.

Whilst anyone who has been married before will have either a divorce or a death certificate to show that the marriage is over, it is, of course, impossible to produce a document showing that you have never been married.

Other than a sworn statement to that effect, which if one has never married before is what the AFM is.

As can be seen from this example from the British embassy.

d) I am single and have not previously been married (or) I am widowed (or) I am divorced *
(* Please choose only the one that applies to you and attach appropriate certificate - originals only)

[Tim1980]

I checked with my embassy but they said they would need that letter from home, what they do here is just a proof that the document is legitimate may be it defers from country to country and reading all the answers it's all pointing me to go home to get one

May be look for someone here who can handle this without having to go home as it's costing me a lot to go and come

[7by7]

I'm still confused.

Are they saying that you need to sign the AFM in front of a government official in your home country?

Or simply that you obtain it from home and then sign it in front of an official at your embassy?

Again; what is your home country?

[Mario2008]

Some embassies need official documents that can only obtained in the home country. (I also had to get documents from my old city hall, but could apply for them online and pay online).

Your nationality will help giving you a more precise answer as to your option.

You cannot get married without the letter from your embassy.

[Tim1980]

Finally I got the answer from my embassy in Bangkok, thanks to all for answering... Thaivisa.com and the members in here are all very helpful. Thanks.

Merry Christmas & happy new year to all of you in here, God bless

[7by7]

If you were to post what your nationality is and what documents your embassy required from your home country, it would help your fellow countrymen in the same position.

[FiftyTwo]

Also your OP is a bit confusing, you aren't married.

You title should be "getting married in Thailand".

The village wedding, isn't a wedding, and is meaningless to governments worldwide.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

The U.S. consulate here appears to have a two step/two document process for those previously but no longer married.

The first document is the regular affirmation of freedom to marry, which they will notarize for $50. That document alone seems to suffice for those who have never been previously married. And a Thai translation of that needs to be taken to the MFA and later the Amphur office.

But then there's also a second document that basically is an affidavit of divorce, indicating you were previously married and then divorced on such and such date and location. They'll also notarize that document for another $50. But I see no indication the U.S. Consulate requires a copy of one's original divorce papers in order to execute that affidavit.

But what's not clear to me is, if a previously divorced person has both of those Consulate notarized/MFA certified documents in hand, will the Thai Amphur office (or anyone else in the process) ALSO need to see a Thai translated version of your original home country divorce certificate?

Or will the notarized/certified affidavits alone suffice???

Read down on the page under the section: Affidavit that you are legally free to marry

http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/service/notarial-services.html

[wym]

I had to get my divorce affidavit translated.

[thailiketoo]

Interesting thread and we never did find out what document he needed,

[evadgib]

I'm guessing Divorce Absolute, although most can organize this online.

[wym]

Correction - I got a copy of my divorce decree from back home, took a few phone calls and a friend bringing in a check, and that's what I had to get translated along with my "freedom to marry" affidavit.

Note these are to satisfy whatever local (e.g. khaet) office where you're registering your Thai marriage, and since there are thousands of potential ones it's quite likely their requirements will vary, you may well find a friendly civil servant willing to be flexible in the right circumstances.

Certainly worth "jurisdiction shopping" a bit when weighed up against the cost of actually going home for a bit of paper, makes absolutely no difference where you actually tie the knot in Thailand.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I think the process also varies by consulate. I'm not sure that all the other countries have a secondary document, divorce affidavit, the same as the U.S.

But my question was.... if I've already got BOTH the freedom to marry and divorce affidavits notarized by the U.S. consulate and certified by the MFA, will the Thai Amphur offices still want to see a translated version of my original divorce papers from back home?

[wym]

I think the process also varies by consulate. I'm not sure that all the other countries have a secondary document, divorce affidavit, the same as the U.S.

But my question was.... if I've already got BOTH the freedom to marry and divorce affidavits notarized by the U.S. consulate and certified by the MFA, will the Thai Amphur offices still want to see a translated version of my original divorce papers from back home?

Since I only had the f2m and the court papers, I'd say no, wouldn't the only reason for the divorce affidavit be a substitute for those that can't get the original paperwork?

[thailiketoo]

I think the process also varies by consulate. I'm not sure that all the other countries have a secondary document, divorce affidavit, the same as the U.S.

But my question was.... if I've already got BOTH the freedom to marry and divorce affidavits notarized by the U.S. consulate and certified by the MFA, will the Thai Amphur offices still want to see a translated version of my original divorce papers from back home?

Since I only had the f2m and the court papers, I'd say no, wouldn't the only reason for the divorce affidavit be a substitute for those that can't get the original paperwork?

What are the court papers?

[wym]

official divorce decree

[thailiketoo]

official divorce decree

Are you saying you registered your Thai marriage with a US divorce decree at the Amphur in Thailand?

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I guess I'll check at the Amphur office where we intend to register...since no one here thus far has offered any first-hand experience on the issue.

The reason it's noteworthy is -- both the freedom to marry affidavit and the divorce affidavit -- at least in their U.S. consulate versions -- are simple one-page, fill-in-the-blanks documents and both easily translated.

But the actual court papers from my divorce in the U.S. years ago -- which I have here -- are relatively long and complicated in terms of the ability to have them translated into Thai.

Mine was a simple, no-fuss, no muss, divorce. But there's a relatively complex two-page court form and then a longer judgment filing -- both of which would be a real pain to try to have translated.

Surely there are folks here who were previously married and divorced in their home country before later registering to marry here. Anyone who's gone thru that process would have to know the answer of what was required by the Amphur office.

And specifically, whether the Consulate divorce affidavit (and freedom to marry affidavit) was enough, or did the Amphur also want to see translated versions of one's actual divorce court papers?

[wym]

I've said several times not sure what isn't clear.

In order to register my marriage at the khaet office, I had to show them both the original and official translation of both the freedom to marry from the consulate and the divorce decree from the court back home.

There was no need for any divorce affidavit, in fact no one brought that up at all, as I said I imagine that's a substitute for the actual divorce decree document for those that can't easily get ahold of them.

In your case since you have done the affidavit I imagine you don't need the divorce decree.

Why not just give it a shot, if they say no you just go back the next day, not a big deal. . .

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

As I said before, it's not clear to me that all or many countries consulates' do/offer the second document/divorce affidavit.

You haven't indicated whether your country's consulate offered/does them. But it's pretty clear you didn't have one when arriving at the Amphur office.

So the question remains, when someone has BOTH the freedom to marry AND the divorce affidavits, will the Amphur offices still want to see versions of one's divorce court papers from back home, or the affidavits alone will suffice?

Your "imagining" they wouldn't, based on your own case where you didn't have any consulate divorce affidavit, isn't quite a factual resolution.