New rules to get married in Thailand

[ThaiLawOnline]

These are not "officially" new rules but we had 2 problems this week with clients and it seems that it might or will be in most places in Thailand.

1. Bring your 2 witnesses.

Very often, the staff of the amphur acted as witnesses and it wasn't a big problem. But since the surrogacy scandal in Thailand, they seem to have new policies.

Wednesday, a client has problem to get married in Nakhon Ratchasima and our staff had to go at the amphur to sign as witnesses. We do that for 8 years, it never happened.

Today, a client had problems to find witnesses in Bangruk, Bangkok. We have tons of clients getting married there and it is also the first time we see that.

Two witnesses is by law. It can be anyone of 20 yo and over. That is not new. What is new seem that the amphur might refuse to act as witnesses themselves.

We believe they might have received instructions from the government but can't prove it.

2. Translator needed.

Again, for the first time ever, TODAY, in Bangkok, the amphur asked a translator to be present.

We must add that this person who wanted to get married has 2 new born and everywhere in Thailand, they are scared about the surrogacy scandal.

So for any foreigner wishing to get married in Thailand, we recommend to bring your 2 witnesses and someone who can translate. We are not saying it will be forever, or ask everywhere, but we deal with these situations often and it seems that apply new policies now.

I hope this will help someone.

[Mario2008]

Thanks for this update. I am sure it will be of help to our members to prepare themselves.

[TheGhostWithin]

I can confirm this. Friends plan to marry in February here in New Zealand through the Thai Embassy; under Thai law rather than New Zealand law. They have been told to bring 2 witnesses with them.

[BangkokWildcat]

I got married last November in Klongsan (Bangkok) and had to bring two witnesses...they insisted on it. Didn't need a translator though and the officials were extremely helpful and friendly.

Also, remaining CALM (in the face of government bureaucracy), polite, respectful and friendly goes such a loooooong way to getting things successfully done here.

[ezzra]

They make you jump trough all those hoops just to get divorced/brake up a few months, or couple of

years later..

[henry15]

I married april 2011 in Sathorn, needed 2 witnesses and somebody who could translate. So nothing new. The rules always have been like that.

Much a do, about nothing

[craigieboy1973]

Do you need a translator if your wife/ girl friends speak English ?

I was told couple of months ago to take 2 witnesses when we go anyway

Thanks

[Richard W]

I can confirm this. Friends plan to marry in February here in New Zealand through the Thai Embassy; under Thai law rather than New Zealand law. They have been told to bring 2 witnesses with them.

Will this marriage be recognised under New Zealand law? I believe that if this were done in Britain, the marriage would not be recognised in Britain. Embassy divorces definitely aren't recognised.

Married should be married - married under one law but not another is storing up trouble.

Do you need a translator if your wife/ girl friends speak English ?

I was told couple of months ago to take 2 witnesses when we go anyway

It makes sense if you don't read legal Thai.

[ggt]

There is one other provision...a form is issued to be signed by a madam on soi X Jomtien massage parlor...after the massage...if you still want to get married...then they know you are for real...and will be forever spoiled...and most likely sneak off from time to time to say hello to the madam and her girls...

[whiteman]

I can confirm this. Friends plan to marry in February here in New Zealand through the Thai Embassy; under Thai law rather than New Zealand law. They have been told to bring 2 witnesses with them.

Will this marriage be recognised under New Zealand law? I believe that if this were done in Britain, the marriage would not be recognised in Britain. Embassy divorces definitely aren't recognised.

Married should be married - married under one law but not another is storing up trouble.

Do you need a translator if your wife/ girl friends speak English ?

I was told couple of months ago to take 2 witnesses when we go anyway

It makes sense if you don't read legal Thai.

May be his freind does not want to have to give his new wife his new zealand house or other assess he has in New Zealand ( smart) will she give her stuff to him in Thailand

[mok199]

thanks....

[northernboy]

Issanlawyers the sponsor of this posting, must know after 8 years of doing marriage registrations know the implementation of rules has more to do with trust, a good reputation and a good professional working relationship of the supplier of the services and the government officers . Or the laziness or greed of some government officials, who feel it is not their duty to service foreign couples as they do the same as for Thai couples.

I talked at length after reading this to the owner of "Legally Married in Thailand", with 20 years personally with this sort of business, says they have not had any problems or delays due to changes in policy or implementation of existing rules. She did say that following rules is always to be expected and prepared for and close communication with government officials, means that trust and no unexpected changes in policies.

She was more excited about, looking forward to the possibility of the British embassy in Thailand preforming Gay Marriages" in their embassy under British law, for gay couples where one is British citizen and the other not.

[VINCENT2012]

these are not new rules .!!! .....i did it in bangkok 10 years ago just like this. witnesses are a legal requirment in thailand like in europe too.

A translator is needed when people have no clue of the language, like many do. in thailand you need to speak thai like in america english or in france french.

also what the hell is that?

We have tons of clients getting married there and it is also the first time we see that.

do in this office marry people now by weight and not massively ?

this lawyer office...is.....like many....like it looks..like it is. ......a real whist of time and a stupid way to spend money.

man wake up!

if you want to get married just go to your district office in charge or amphue where you live and ask what is needed, forget about all these fanny lawyers,

here most of everything can be done by yourself, it looks complicated but it is very very simple.

they ask you a document and you give that document.

finished

[Guitar God]

My impression of the post was that it was someone, who happened to be a lawyer, giving advice about changes in adherence to existing rules to help people avoid annoyance and complications. I doubt many people here hire attorneys to get married. It's not like it was a shameless plug or anything.

I got married here in February at Bangrak and they told us not to bring witnesses.

[Zzon]

Got married last year 2013 had only 1 witness and no translator.... So not what everyone thinks they know!

[PEAP]

I did believe that the "Thai Marriage" at the Amphur is actually only registering an existing relationship eg. Village ceremony?

Mine, some couple of years ago, - - No witness except Office Assistant witnessing signature also Thumb Print. Papers required, Passports, Tabien Bahn, wife's previous divorce Certificate and translation to Thai of my late wife's death Certificate. No fee other than 40Baht for plastic cover for two copies of Thai "Marriage" certificate.

Seems as with other Thai Govt. agencies it is best to check at the actual venue you will be attending. "Local" rules abound.

[berg1666]

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I can confirm this. Friends plan to marry in February here in New Zealand through the Thai Embassy; under Thai law rather than New Zealand law. They have been told to bring 2 witnesses with them.

Will this marriage be recognised under New Zealand law? I believe that if this were done in Britain, the marriage would not be recognised in Britain. Embassy divorces definitely aren't recognised.

Married should be married - married under one law but not another is storing up trouble.

Do you need a translator if your wife/ girl friends speak English ?
I was told couple of months ago to take 2 witnesses when we go anyway

It makes sense if you don't read legal Thai.

May be his freind does not want to have to give his new wife his new zealand house or other assess he has in New Zealand ( smart) will she give her stuff to him in Thailand alt=whistling.gif>

Actually, under NZ law you can only be married under the jurisdiction where the marriage was formalised. I was previously married to a Japanese, we were married in Japan, returned to NZ some years later, she got residency etc. but in the end we separated. When I went to get divorced in NZ I was told I was never actually considered "married" in NZ, so only had to do a divorce in Japan.

[Don Aleman]

RULE NUMBER 1 - DON'T !

[HeijoshinCool]

When I read this OP yesterday, the REPLY button was not present, so I posted a pertinent question in a new topic.

Poster #7 above, asked the same question.

Neither of us have been answered.

[thatswhatuthought]

They make you jump trough all those hoops just to get divorced/brake up a few months, or couple of

years later..

Sounds a bit bias. I've been married 5 years and know many here that have been married a lot longer.

[TheWizardofRnR]

Its all my fault , since I lived here for the last 28 years every time I don't do something as soon as I planned to , they change the rules....

I was suppose to Marry Flower 5 years ago , but went back to Phuket without going to the Bureau of Foreign affairs , last place you need to go before the Amphur. They were supposedly opening an office in Phuket so I figured we could do it there, but the downturn supposedly caused the Govt. to cancel the opening in Phuket and I been to ill to get to Bkk and git it done , now we Live in Naklua and I been trying to get over to BKK to get it done again , just not easy to get around by Wheelchair !

Anyone who is going to Bkk from Pattaya area and has a Vehicle that can hold a wheelchair , please PM me , I could use a lift ! No pun intended !!!

[thatswhatuthought]

The two witness rule has been around for a long time.

[AnotherOneAmerican]

I did believe that the "Thai Marriage" at the Amphur is actually only registering an existing relationship eg. Village ceremony?

Mine, some couple of years ago, - - No witness except Office Assistant witnessing signature also Thumb Print. Papers required, Passports, Tabien Bahn, wife's previous divorce Certificate and translation to Thai of my late wife's death Certificate. No fee other than 40Baht for plastic cover for two copies of Thai "Marriage" certificate.

Seems as with other Thai Govt. agencies it is best to check at the actual venue you will be attending. "Local" rules abound.

You believe wrong.

Amphur wedding is all that counts.

Village wedding is meaningless money wasting,

As a previous poster stated, best to ask Amphur office what they want in advance.

They are happy to tell you in advance.

Officially, you must have two adult witnesses (no rules specified), and both the spouses must understand fully what they are agreeing (some could say wife translating for husband was a conflict of interests)

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

We were married at Bangrak in BKK this past June. At that time at Bangrak, no translator was required and instead of two witnesses, the amphur staff there suggested we instead make a small (very small) donation to a temple that they were fundraising for. We did, and that solved the witnesses issue. Dunno if they've changed things since June.

However, in the months prior, we also went to inquire about marriage at the Phra Kanong amphur office in BKK, and the marriage supervisor there reeled off a long list of (IMHO B.S.) requirements, including the one about needing a translator and needing two witnesses, because the staff there could not do so, the supervisor maintained.

I've never quite been able to figure out what the point of having a translator is when, at least in our situation, my Thai wife speaks better English than most any translator we would have been likely to round up.

At any rate, we skipped Phra Kanong and went with Bangrak instead, and the staff there were quite pleasant and cooperative overall. At least, back in June.

[AnotherOneAmerican]

I've never quite been able to figure out what the point of having a translator is when, at least in our situation, my Thai wife speaks better English than most any translator we would have been likely to round up.

Because the Amphur office believes your future wife might mislead you in some way.

Nothing personal, they just have more experience with Thai/foreigner marriage than you do.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

The real problem here, as should be apparent from the various posts, is that the marriage rules/procedures followed by different Amphur offices around Thailand have ALWAYS varied from place to place.

In the past and up until the present, like so many other things here, the rules are one thing in one place and a different thing in a different place, depending on where you go.

Bangrak has long has the reputation of one of the easier amphurs to deal with for Thai-farang marriages. But IF lately, they've now begun requiring two witnesses, that would be a change of policy for them... but still.... only something a lot of other amphurs already had been requiring previously.

[AnotherOneAmerican]

The rules have always been the same everywhere.

But with all rules and laws, there is plenty of wiggle room.

Some officials interpret rules to be helpful, some to be complete bastards.

Same laws, different enforcement.

[biplanebluey]

I can confirm this. Friends plan to marry in February here in New Zealand through the Thai Embassy; under Thai law rather than New Zealand law. They have been told to bring 2 witnesses with them.

Will this marriage be recognised under New Zealand law? I believe that if this were done in Britain, the marriage would not be recognised in Britain. Embassy divorces definitely aren't recognised.

Married should be married - married under one law but not another is storing up trouble.

Do you need a translator if your wife/ girl friends speak English ?

I was told couple of months ago to take 2 witnesses when we go anyway

It makes sense if you don't read legal Thai.

May be his freind does not want to have to give his new wife his new zealand house or other assess he has in New Zealand ( smart) will she give her stuff to him in Thailand

WRONG---------In NZ if you marry then your wife automatically gets HALF of EVERYTHING upon a divorce

[TheGhostWithin]

WRONG---------In NZ if you marry then your wife automatically gets HALF of EVERYTHING upon a divorce

Which is why the friend is signing Thai documents at the Thai embassy, and not at the nz births deaths and marriages office. Documentation is undertaken in NZ but is the Thai documentation, not the NZ documentation. The nz documentation of acknowledgement would need to also be filed for th marriage to be recognised in NZ as I understand it.

[bigyin]

I got married at Bangrak on Friday so very up to date information. They did ask about witnesses but 100 bhat into a collection fund for a 'temple' solved that problem. They were only interested in the paperwork. One thing I would mention is that they wanted 4 copies of some documents. Never did work out which ones but probably best to have 4 copies of everything although there is a (very small) copy shop next door).