Thai marriage scam probe finds most foreigners used fake names

[Time Traveller]

Fake name, fake marriage to women that were not even aware - what makes them think it's for immigration purposes? .

Any immigration officer that is not dead could figure out something is wrong.....Every married person I've seen in Thailand gets grilled again and again by immigration about the legitimacy of the marriage.

For this scam to work the Thai Immigration staff must be involved with it.

What's the benefit from a fake marriage in Thailand? Nothing I can think of

[hgma]

foreigners.......oh dear that lot again.

Can't be trusted, always looking for a way to *(&%(&% our system.

Thai4Thai only?

[Lupatria]

"The Immigration Police Command 4 (Nakhon Ratchasima) that initially probed the case has urged their Udon Thani-based counterparts to check any foreigners who may be involved."

So how will that work then?

They have no idea who was involved because false names were used.

Will they just hassle every foreigner on the grounds they are foreign and therefore may be involved?

That should be fun.

They may adopt the idea from Surathani than we will see guarded farrang ghettos and nightly curfews

[climbertrev1]

If fake name was used, how was visa issued to a real name?

This whole story is very odd. All foreigners have passports and visas to prove their identity. The only way you can use a fake name is to have a passport in a fake name.

I can only conclude that the entire newspaper report is a fake.

[eddiekho]

agreed.....!!!

[phanangpete]

Its too big to fail, anything that they discover a wrong doing in and announce it ,then realise, a lot of heads are going to roll (Thai) , they brush it under the carpet .

[AnotherOneAmerican]

When I got married I needed to send a form to my tax office in Sweden, got back document that stated that I was single and free to marry. I went to my embassy and showed I had enough income from abroad and they wrote a new document.

Went to translate that and took it to Chaeng wattana to certify it with their stamps.

Went to the amper with two of my wife's friends from work as witnesses.

I even had to fill in all the forms at the amper in Thai or find a certified translator. So it took awhile (I can't say I writ fast by hand in Thai in this computer age...)

So how does one go about to make these marriage certificates the illegal way? Seems like there is quite much work needed? I would assume the reason the consulate in Savannakhet is so relaxed is because they know people with a marriage certificate already have proven their income to the amper office(?) (cause they are still very hard on retirement visas from what I've heard when it comes to showing your funds).

very perplexing. Might be just me who don't really get it, but seems like the corruption is higher up in the chain.

It's very easy to explain,

The Thai authorities don't check any of the information or paperwork you provide.

It's all a pointless paperchase.

[ParadiseLost]

If I recall correctly, the 600 marriages did not involve caucasians, but primarily Indians and alike.

No need for white farangs to be concerned, we all do it the legal way. This was a back-handed route for other nationalities which exclude caucasians.

The comments refer only to the 600 cases discovered, and do not apply to all who are married, or we'd all be down there knocking on the door proving innocence.

Edit: having said that, the OP could have made it a bit clearer, and included the original commentd and statements, because we all know Thais associate the word 'foreigner' primarily with caucasian farang. A bit unfair, me thinks.

Spot on, many posters are not reading this in the correct context.

Even then, the article could be more accurate still, if it stated that "corrupt immigration officials registered marriages of unsuspecting Thai women to foreigners under false names, in order to facilitate fake visa extensions", and "a huge amount of money was earned by the criminal immigration officer(s)."

[banglassie]

When I got married I needed to send a form to my tax office in Sweden, got back document that stated that I was single and free to marry. I went to my embassy and showed I had enough income from abroad and they wrote a new document.

Went to translate that and took it to Chaeng wattana to certify it with their stamps.

Went to the amper with two of my wife's friends from work as witnesses.

I even had to fill in all the forms at the amper in Thai or find a certified translator. So it took awhile (I can't say I writ fast by hand in Thai in this computer age...)

So how does one go about to make these marriage certificates the illegal way? Seems like there is quite much work needed? I would assume the reason the consulate in Savannakhet is so relaxed is because they know people with a marriage certificate already have proven their income to the amper office(?) (cause they are still very hard on retirement visas from what I've heard when it comes to showing your funds).

very perplexing. Might be just me who don't really get it, but seems like the corruption is higher up in the chain.

It's very easy to explain,

The Thai authorities don't check any of the information or paperwork you provide.

It's all a pointless paperchase.

Really? Any base for this assumption? Or is it ust a word of mouth kind of thing?

My experience is completely different, and they did very much check the paperwork and information, as well as asked some questions (not in a unfriendly manner, could be of curiosity as well, but my instinct told me it was more than so).

Then I guess it may differ from amper (ket for us) office to office, some seem to be used to international marriages, some seem a bit more scared to do something wrong.

They even told me that there where many that tried to do fae marriages, and that they apologized for the extra time it all took (since the 2 witlessness had to be back at Crown property bureau about 1,5 hours ago already).

Pointless I can agree with, but I don't think it would work so well if I came with a fake document from my embassy that I had made my own certified stamp for... Just got a gut feeling that wouldn't work.. However, if the people are in on it, and the 20 baht fee we payed (for 2 copies, except for that all was free) at Phra Nakhon Ket office became something like 20.000, then sure, I think many smaller amper offices might not have too much problem with fixing the paper work.

But my gut feeling tells me it's not quite as simple as you made it sound like. Cause they sure checked mine, and after reading a few reports here it seems I got away fairly easy and had it all done without any problems or any fees whatsoever.

[ksamuiguy]

It was fairly easy 25 years ago, especially in obscure Amphors offices.

Now with computers, many things coming to light!

[kirkieb]

Ive been married legally for nearly 4 years of which we lived in Oz for 12 months and now I apply every year here and just got told my Marriage Visa is not acceptable, regardless the fact I have a mortgage paying off two cars and we still married and living together. No wonder only two steps removed from dragging their knuckles. Is bloody hard to know if I can live here or not via the legal channels how proud they must be

[outsider]

Hmm... interesting. A crime is a crime but I have to ask... how does it feel now that you are scammed?

[paz]

Looks to me more and more that those fake names then applied for a Thai-id card.

To become Thai you need to be married to a Thai woman. The names have to be fakes otherwise they can be tracked back to their home country.

After that just pay a million Baht and you are Thai.

Very wrong. To "become Thai" is not enough to be married and no one million bath is needed.

[paz]

Ive been married legally for nearly 4 years of which we lived in Oz for 12 months and now I apply every year here and just got told my Marriage Visa is not acceptable,

Not acceptable for what? There is a visa forum where you can post your situation.

[DiscoTex]

I have an american mate can't go his embassy to get marriage affidavit stamped because of x wife/child support they'll revoke his passport. Any ideas? Fake marriage certificate? Needs his marriage visa. Good guy, got roped into really bad deal the way he tells it.

[cooked]

There are agencies that will do this for a fee in collusion with Thai officials.

In March a Thai Immigration officer told me that he had arrested over 20 people on false marriage extensions this year already. He mentioned the words Uganda, Ghana, and a few other places in that region. He was explaining why they are visiting people applying for a marriage extension more frequently.

[Bluespunk]

I have an american mate can't go his embassy to get marriage affidavit stamped because of x wife/child support they'll revoke his passport. Any ideas? Fake marriage certificate? Needs his marriage visa. Good guy, got roped into really bad deal the way he tells it.

One idea might be to pay his child support.

In fact it's the only solution.

If he really is a good guy, that is

[taony]

I have an american mate can't go his embassy to get marriage affidavit stamped because of x wife/child support they'll revoke his passport. Any ideas? Fake marriage certificate? Needs his marriage visa. Good guy, got roped into really bad deal the way he tells it.

One idea might be to pay his child support.

In fact it's the only solution.

If he really is a good guy, that is

Child support in the US has nothing to do with supporting a child. Don't make assumptions about the guy.

[Bluespunk]

I have an american mate can't go his embassy to get marriage affidavit stamped because of x wife/child support they'll revoke his passport. Any ideas? Fake marriage certificate? Needs his marriage visa. Good guy, got roped into really bad deal the way he tells it.

One idea might be to pay his child support.

In fact it's the only solution.

If he really is a good guy, that is

Child support in the US has nothing to do with supporting a child. Don't make assumptions about the guy.

Sorry but I am going to make assumptions about someone avoiding child support.

Edited April 24, 2016 by Bluespunk

[JAG]

I have an american mate can't go his embassy to get marriage affidavit stamped because of x wife/child support they'll revoke his passport. Any ideas? Fake marriage certificate? Needs his marriage visa. Good guy, got roped into really bad deal the way he tells it.

One idea might be to pay his child support.

In fact it's the only solution.

If he really is a good guy, that is

Child support in the US has nothing to do with supporting a child. Don't make assumptions about the guy.

Well you ( and the OP) seem to have made the assumption that he is a good bloke, despite not paying his child support!

[Felt 35]

................"for use for immigration purposes, has found that most foreigners involved used fake names........."

How does that work then? If the foreigners were using false names for immigration purposes does that mean they were using the same false names for counterfeit passports?

Am I missing something or is this a much larger problem far removed from extensions through marriage that I first thought?

could it be......overstay bad people, new privacy form to be filled out by bad foreigners and bad foreigners using fake names, repeat this many enough times to the masses and you get extreme N..........

[ravip]

With all these BS and sick buffaloes here in this country, yet folks from paradise are yearning to come and settle here.

WHY?

Obviously their paradise has to be a living hell?

Is there no other better country? To say the least, a pathetic situation.

DOH!

[taony]

I have an american mate can't go his embassy to get marriage affidavit stamped because of x wife/child support they'll revoke his passport. Any ideas? Fake marriage certificate? Needs his marriage visa. Good guy, got roped into really bad deal the way he tells it.

One idea might be to pay his child support.

In fact it's the only solution.

If he really is a good guy, that is

Child support in the US has nothing to do with supporting a child. Don't make assumptions about the guy.

Well you ( and the OP) seem to have made the assumption that he is a good bloke, despite not paying his child support!

I'm not making any assumptions at all. The only information I have is the OP, and he knows the bloke. I won't add in my own backstory.

[dominique355]

Is it possible that all kind of horror stories about the ugly cheating lying criminal farangs are fabricated in order to prepare for this new immigration paper with questions about bank accounts, social media, hang-outs etc?

No, I am just paranoid. But then again, even paranoids have enemies.

[dominique355]

With all these BS and sick buffaloes here in this country, yet folks from paradise are yearning to come and settle here.

WHY?

Obviously their paradise has to be a living hell?

Is there no other better country? To say the least, a pathetic situation.

DOH!

Our paradise is getting destroyed piece by piece by the present regime.

Already Thais are leaving the country "en masse", mostly educated ones. Does that concern anyone?

[kimamey]

"The Immigration Police Command 4 (Nakhon Ratchasima) that initially probed the case has urged their Udon Thani-based counterparts to check any foreigners who may be involved."

So how will that work then?

They have no idea who was involved because false names were used.

Will they just hassle every foreigner on the grounds they are foreign and therefore may be involved?

That should be fun.

I suspect your phrases "no idea" and "hassle every foreigner" might be the relevant ones here.

Maybe I'm missing something here but it seems a bit one-sided. I don't think foreigners can just use fake names. Foreigners and Thai officials might be able to use fake names because that's the only way I can see it working. Of course it's much better to push the blame on foreigners.

[Felt 35]

With all these BS and sick buffaloes here in this country, yet folks from paradise are yearning to come and settle here.

WHY?

Obviously their paradise has to be a living hell?

Is there no other better country? To say the least, a pathetic situation.

DOH!

If your message was directed to me, my reply is that I have nothing against stricter rules concerning residence visas or tourist visas and has a total understanding of that the country need a database of those who live here. From there to bombard the locals with news about foreigners overstaying, use fake names to marry etc., on a daily basis, and in a very broad and generalized way, is like "the wave" and can make a huge amount of the population think that all foreigners are, yes simply bad people, which will over time have a huge impact on us who sit and write on this forum today and few will probably feel “at home” in the long run.

[starky]

Living in Udon and being married to a Thai I find the marriage extension thing just way too many hoops to jump through. Can't speak for others experiences but I find it easier just to go to Savannakhet every year for a multiple entry visa. Even then obviously I need to show the wife's housebook , ID, my passport and they always ask for the original of our marriage certificate and Savannakhet is renown for being "easy". If I,wanted to get the extension of stay, after I get my single entry I need to show my letter of residence or housebook, all the above Id's again my bank book with the appropriate seasoned amount in it, then all the other hoops to be jumped through. Pictures of me and the wife in the bedroom (not joking), outside, in front of the house, provide a hand drawn map, then the police come round and only then you can start the joy of the 90 day reporting process and if you want to leave you get to pay for your re-entry permits as well. <deleted> all that for a laugh. So it's either a dodgy farang who has somehow managed to get a visa, bank book, passport etc etc all in a fake name or its someone in immigration who is making a fortune just providing bodgy names and these so mystery fake named falang just don't exist at all. Hmmmm I wonder which could it be???

[lemonjelly]

I think they mean "using fake/ stolen passports to get marriage visas"

Edited April 24, 2016 by lemonjelly

[lkv]

I think they mean "using fake/ stolen passports to get marriage visas"

It means exactly what the title says: most foreigners that married a Thai national used a fake identity, which confirms the rumour that most foreigners are criminals.

The other ones were the overstayers.

Next. Retirement probe.

Edited April 24, 2016 by lkv