Getting married in Thailand while unemployed (answers from FR people preferred)

[millmann]

Hi everybody

I have the French nationality and I am currently looking for a job in Europe. However, as the procedure about getting married is pretty long, we would like to start as soon as possible for our wedding in order to avoid to lose too much time. I precise that the wedding would be FIRST in Thailand and we will make it recognized by the French embassy in Thailand afterwards (I heard it is easier in this way than the other way).

Thus my question is:

Is it possible to get married in Thailand without being umemployed? I am currently unemployed but my girlfriend is working for the thai government (she's a local government officer in the region of Mahasarakham).

I would preferably get answers from French people because - maybe - it depends on the nationality and the embassy. But I would appreciate of course all answers, whatever the nationality is.

Thanks in advance for all replies

[sunnyjim5]

Getting married in Thailand is easy if you can provide the necessary paperwork.

There is no requirement for employment as a pre - condition for getting married.

A Thai marriage is legal in all Western countries including France.

[millmann]

Thanks for your reply. Thai marriage is legal in France but still need to make it recognized by the French embassy

[Froggybanrai]

Your situation regarding employment is totally irrelevant here both on the thai side and the french side.

As long as you meet the other requirements you may marry as you wish.You should check the embassy in Thailand website:

http://www.ambafrance-th.org/Etat-civil-586

[Froggybanrai]

You will find all you need in the attachment

mariage_sept_2015_fr-th_22092015.pdf

[bark]

No Job !

That will go over very well with her family. The only reason why any Thai Father would want you as a son inlaw; would

be because you can pay him money every month. How are you going to pay the 500,000 bt ; to the family at the wedding ?

[roo860]

No Job !

That will go over very well with her family. The only reason why any Thai Father would want you as a son inlaw; would

be because you can pay him money every month. How are you going to pay the 500,000 bt ; to the family at the wedding ?

Bloody hell, calm down!!

[GOLDBUGGY]

Getting Married and having a job Getting Married is easy to do but finding a job isn't. Especially in Oil & Gas these days. What you might need from your french Embassy is a certificate stating you are able to get marriage. If you have been Divorced in France you will need to prove that and get them to certify it. As to getting a certificate stating you can marry I am not sure how France works. In Canada they don't issue such a certificate and a letter from them stating this was enough for me to get the okay. I was Divorced in Poland so I had to take my Divorce Documents at that embassy to and get them to state that i was. But all in all it was an easy process.

[Tchooptip]

No Job !

That will go over very well with her family. The only reason why any Thai Father would want you as a son inlaw; would

be because you can pay him money every month. How are you going to pay the 500,000 bt ; to the family at the wedding ?

Bloody hell, calm down!!

Probably not easy with a pseudo like bark!

[millmann]

No Job !

That will go over very well with her family. The only reason why any Thai Father would want you as a son inlaw; would

be because you can pay him money every month. How are you going to pay the 500,000 bt ; to the family at the wedding ?

That's exactly the reason why I don't post often on this forum because there is always - at least - one guy, oops sorry, I meant one moron, who is going to judge you when you ask a question.

The question was pretty simple: is it possible to do it or not? And the question wasn't: do you think it is good to do it or not?

Bark, I don't care about what you think. WE are decided to do it and WE have our reasons to do it in this way. By they way, if it is your vision of the wedding (that means wedding = paying the father every month), I seriously suggest to find another wife. The family of my girlfriend and my girlfriend herself NEVER asked me any kind of money. The fact that you mention 500,000 baht instead of 100,000 to 300,000 just confirms that you actually found the wrong wife. You see, I can also judge you, is it nice?

Thanks to the other serious people who answered my question. I had already the link and the pdf. I asked this question because I found another website: http://vivre-en-thailande.com/mariage-franco-thailandais/1391/

And there they say I need to give papers about my current work. Reason why I was doubting about it. But I guess the most important is the link you gave me as it is directly from the French Embassy in Thailand

Another question: in case of divorce, it works like this:

- each keeps what he had before the wedding

- each takes 50% of what has been earned during the wedding?

Am I right? This is what it is applied by default, isn't it?

[mihalis]

Whats a job go to do with getting married.............

[millmann]

Whats a job go to do with getting married.............

Any idea what "difference of culture" means? in some countries polygamy is legal or even lapidation. What is common sense in your country is not necessary in another. My question is reasonnable

Edited March 18, 2016 by millmann

[sunnyjim5]

No Job !

That will go over very well with her family. The only reason why any Thai Father would want you as a son inlaw; would

be because you can pay him money every month. How are you going to pay the 500,000 bt ; to the family at the wedding ?

That's exactly the reason why I don't post often on this forum because there is always - at least - one guy, oops sorry, I meant one moron, who is going to judge you when you ask a question.

The question was pretty simple: is it possible to do it or not? And the question wasn't: do you think it is good to do it or not?

Bark, I don't care about what you think. WE are decided to do it and WE have our reasons to do it in this way. By they way, if it is your vision of the wedding (that means wedding = paying the father every month), I seriously suggest to find another wife. The family of my girlfriend and my girlfriend herself NEVER asked me any kind of money. The fact that you mention 500,000 baht instead of 100,000 to 300,000 just confirms that you actually found the wrong wife. You see, I can also judge you, is it nice?

Thanks to the other serious people who answered my question. I had already the link and the pdf. I asked this question because I found another website: http://vivre-en-thailande.com/mariage-franco-thailandais/1391/

And there they say I need to give papers about my current work. Reason why I was doubting about it. But I guess the most important is the link you gave me as it is directly from the French Embassy in Thailand

Another question: in case of divorce, it works like this:

- each keeps what he had before the wedding

- each takes 50% of what has been earned during the wedding?

Am I right? This is what it is applied by default, isn't it?

That link leads to a Commercial Website !

Trust the information it provides at your own risk.

Suggest you get married before worrying about the detail of divorce !

[millmann]

No Job !

That will go over very well with her family. The only reason why any Thai Father would want you as a son inlaw; would

be because you can pay him money every month. How are you going to pay the 500,000 bt ; to the family at the wedding ?

That's exactly the reason why I don't post often on this forum because there is always - at least - one guy, oops sorry, I meant one moron, who is going to judge you when you ask a question.

The question was pretty simple: is it possible to do it or not? And the question wasn't: do you think it is good to do it or not?

Bark, I don't care about what you think. WE are decided to do it and WE have our reasons to do it in this way. By they way, if it is your vision of the wedding (that means wedding = paying the father every month), I seriously suggest to find another wife. The family of my girlfriend and my girlfriend herself NEVER asked me any kind of money. The fact that you mention 500,000 baht instead of 100,000 to 300,000 just confirms that you actually found the wrong wife. You see, I can also judge you, is it nice?

Thanks to the other serious people who answered my question. I had already the link and the pdf. I asked this question because I found another website: http://vivre-en-thailande.com/mariage-franco-thailandais/1391/

And there they say I need to give papers about my current work. Reason why I was doubting about it. But I guess the most important is the link you gave me as it is directly from the French Embassy in Thailand

Another question: in case of divorce, it works like this:

- each keeps what he had before the wedding

- each takes 50% of what has been earned during the wedding?

Am I right? This is what it is applied by default, isn't it?

That link leads to a Commercial Website !

Trust the information it provides at your own risk.

Suggest you get married before worrying about the detail of divorce !

The wedding contract can be done only before the wedding. Of course I don't want to divorce but that's also part of the papers we have to give to the French embassy if we decide to make a wedding contract

[Thaidream]

You can of course get married without any type of issue. Simply get your affirmation of ability to marry from your embassy . This is a document indicating you are not married at present and no obstacles to marriage. Then you can go to a Thai Amphur (District Office) and register the marriage. As you already know the French Embassy requires you to also register with them.

The information you have on divorce is correct. I must also compliment your English. It is quite good. I wish you and your prospective bride good wishes and a happy marriage. Get that job and save your money. the economy is difficult everywhere.

[millmann]

You can of course get married without any type of issue. Simply get your affirmation of ability to marry from your embassy . This is a document indicating you are not married at present and no obstacles to marriage. Then you can go to a Thai Amphur (District Office) and register the marriage. As you already know the French Embassy requires you to also register with them.

The information you have on divorce is correct. I must also compliment your English. It is quite good. I wish you and your prospective bride good wishes and a happy marriage. Get that job and save your money. the economy is difficult everywhere.

Thanks a lot

[aronp1]

No Job !

That will go over very well with her family. The only reason why any Thai Father would want you as a son inlaw; would

be because you can pay him money every month. How are you going to pay the 500,000 bt ; to the family at the wedding ?

You can't take personal experiences or opinions and pass them off as facts. I don't pay my father in law any money, didn't pay 500,000 baht for a wedding either. I never have been asked for money and a traditional wedding does not make you legally married.You still need to do what everybody else does.

[millmann]

No Job !

That will go over very well with her family. The only reason why any Thai Father would want you as a son inlaw; would

be because you can pay him money every month. How are you going to pay the 500,000 bt ; to the family at the wedding ?

You can't take personal experiences or opinions and pass them off as facts. I don't pay my father in law any money, didn't pay 500,000 baht for a wedding either. I never have been asked for money and a traditional wedding does not make you legally married.You still need to do what everybody else does.

Thanks!

[Liquorice]

millman, may I ask where you intend to live after marriage?

Not sure what you mean about a 'contract' before marriage, I assume you mean a prenuptial agreement.

In Thailand the law states that what you own before marriage remains yours, everything purchased after marriage is 50/50, but be aware a foreigner cannot own or purchase land.

In the case of divorce between two foreigners, a Thai wife could use either the laws of your Country, or Thai law depending on which is more favourable to her and depending on how well she is advised. Prenuptial agreements can therefore not be worth the paper there written on because the law will always dictate the outcome, although they can influence a judgement.

[millmann]

Yes prenuptial agreement indeed, sorry, it's just that I translated directly from French to English without wondering if it could be something else or a typical expression in English, my mistake.

For us we call this a "wedding contract". That's funny because you can also say "marriage contract" but you actually don't really say "wedding contract" (even if I found some results on google using this expression).

Anyway, we will get married in Thailand but we plan to live in Europe. We just get married in Thailand because it is simpler for the administrative paperwork

We don't know yet where exactly as it will mainly depends on the job I will find but - I guess - probably in Germany. In all cases in Europe. We will move back to Thailand later, probably when retired.

[Blue Muton]

No Job !

That will go over very well with her family. The only reason why any Thai Father would want you as a son inlaw; would

be because you can pay him money every month. How are you going to pay the 500,000 bt ; to the family at the wedding ?

You can't take personal experiences or opinions and pass them off as facts. I don't pay my father in law any money, didn't pay 500,000 baht for a wedding either. I never have been asked for money and a traditional wedding does not make you legally married.You still need to do what everybody else does.

Thanks!

Think yourself lucky you didn't have to pay. It cost me a small fortune. Those couple of hours before my MIL gave it back were torture.

[HikeFromLA]

No Job !

That will go over very well with her family. The only reason why any Thai Father would want you as a son inlaw; would

be because you can pay him money every month. How are you going to pay the 500,000 bt ; to the family at the wedding ?

That's exactly the reason why I don't post often on this forum because there is always - at least - one guy, oops sorry, I meant one moron, who is going to judge you when you ask a question.

The question was pretty simple: is it possible to do it or not? And the question wasn't: do you think it is good to do it or not?

Bark, I don't care about what you think. WE are decided to do it and WE have our reasons to do it in this way. By they way, if it is your vision of the wedding (that means wedding = paying the father every month), I seriously suggest to find another wife. The family of my girlfriend and my girlfriend herself NEVER asked me any kind of money. The fact that you mention 500,000 baht instead of 100,000 to 300,000 just confirms that you actually found the wrong wife. You see, I can also judge you, is it nice?

I hope you post OFTEN on this forum, mon amie.

Tres amusante!

[HikeFromLA]

Not sure what you mean about a 'contract' before marriage, I assume you mean a prenuptial agreement.

In Thailand the law states that what you own before marriage remains yours, everything purchased after marriage is 50/50, but be aware a foreigner cannot own or purchase land.

In the case of divorce between two foreigners, a Thai wife could use either the laws of your Country, or Thai law depending on which is more favourable to her and depending on how well she is advised. Prenuptial agreements can therefore not be worth the paper there written on because the law will always dictate the outcome, although they can influence a judgement.

Faz,

Thanks much for your input here. Noone told me this before. Jesus Christ Almighty, I have been weighing marriage O visa as a visa option for long stay here in Thailand. Great God Almighty! Give half my future private jet plane to the leggy sweetheart that cooks and cleans for me?

Jesus. I have dodged a bullet here.

Guess I will do retirement visa or just stay a nomad on tourist visas.

Dont mean to derail the thread, but JESUS I cant believe noone told me that shit before.

I thought I had LEFT Hotel California! WOW. You can check out, but you can never leave...

Faz, come to Old Town Chiang Mai, your drinks are on me.

[GOLDBUGGY]

millman, may I ask where you intend to live after marriage?

Not sure what you mean about a 'contract' before marriage, I assume you mean a prenuptial agreement.

In Thailand the law states that what you own before marriage remains yours, everything purchased after marriage is 50/50, but be aware a foreigner cannot own or purchase land.

In the case of divorce between two foreigners, a Thai wife could use either the laws of your Country, or Thai law depending on which is more favourable to her and depending on how well she is advised. Prenuptial agreements can therefore not be worth the paper there written on because the law will always dictate the outcome, although they can influence a judgement.

Well, that is not exactly how it works, or is suppose to work. True that you can't officially own land in Thailand under normal conditions, but there are ways in which you can have rights to land for your life time. But that is a different topic.

In dealing with land and a divorce the Divorce Law is 50/50. This applies to both partners. So if his wife acquired this land after marriage, and even if he signs papers saying he didn't help her pay for that, he would still be entitled to half the value of this land no matter what. The only exception to this is if this land was passed on to her from inheritance. If an Old Grandmother passes away after marriage, but promised his wife this property after she is gone, it can be considered property prior to marriage.

No, he cannot own this land but the Divorce Court can grant him time to sell it. His wife can be forced to sell it also if this is the only asset they have since marriage. What usually happens is they have more assets than this so some deal is made between the husband and wife for the land. Keep in mind that being able to keep your assets before marriage does not protect you against spousal or child support. Like anywhere, the more assets you have the more support you are expected to pay. But it is still far better getting a Divorce here in Thailand than in the West.

If you buy your Girl Friend a House and Property you might as well kiss that goodbye, as they will consider this as a gift.

[Zendo]

Hello,

I just finished this whole process... that is not so easy and it takes and money to fully finish it all.

But I already tried to do it in France before and that was even more painfull, as we forget to stamp one paper in a certain office in Thailand before leaving so that was too complicated for us.

SO, first you need to ask for a rendez-vous at the French ambassy in Bangkok, it takes minimum 3 month before you can have this appointment (with really nice girls there, but that's another story)

when the day as arrived, go to French Ambassy in BKK and give them all the papers they need, like a birth certificate made less than 3 months earlier, some electric bills or water bills from your house in France, and the papers for your wife.. translated in French of course, and many other papers, just look on dedicated website for this infos.

If you do not have children with your girl yet.. that is more complicated : you'll have to fill a questionnaire and your future spouse too, but not communicate while filling it, it takes around 20/30mn to fiil it properly.

ONCE that is done... you'll have to wait 8 weeks (or less if lucky or non FR resident, already having an expat card).

So, 8 weeks later you'll go again to ambassy or the French Alliance with Consul in Chiang Mai (as I did) because they can send it there, way more easy if your in this area.

When you get the papers you'll have to translate it to french and pay again... for Consul Stamps.

One paper to fill now is the one where you declare how much revenue you have monthly.... just fill it up like you want.. minimum equivalent of 40.000 thb, and this form will be stamped and signed by the Consul so it prooves to Thai goverment that you actually have money to support your wife, because IF NOT you won't be able to marry her, even she's fully loaded with money she cannot support you... MACHO archaic system in place, but you have to follow their rules, so pretend you have a real job, nothing will be ask for this point.

with all your papers you can now go to the communal office and request another paper... in order to get married in a local office on the same day if you want.

the rest of the process is now to send the papers translated to the ambassy again so they can take the change in your profile.

for the Visa this is another issue... you'll also have to show money on bank account or proove of income certified by french ambassy... or go to savannaket to get a non O based on marriage without being aked for any money proof.

GOOD LUCK !

[Zendo]

Your situation regarding employment is totally irrelevant here both on the thai side and the french side.

As long as you meet the other requirements you may marry as you wish.You should check the embassy in Thailand website:

http://www.ambafrance-th.org/Etat-civil-586

This is not true, your situation is under a strict law here in Thailand, in order to be able to get married you need to be able to support your family, for that you need incomes and explain what job you do.

Of course if your marry a rich women, nothing changes, because MAN has to feed the family, women will just go shopping with their money they might thinks.. this is sad but it's the truth !

The french consul signed a paper for me, telling details about myself including my JOB and my monthly incomes, but no proof has to be given for now... not like for retired people : they need to pay an investigation in France to have this new paper signed in order to get their visas.

Edited March 21, 2016 by Zendo

[millmann]

Hello,

I just finished this whole process... that is not so easy and it takes and money to fully finish it all.

But I already tried to do it in France before and that was even more painfull, as we forget to stamp one paper in a certain office in Thailand before leaving so that was too complicated for us.

SO, first you need to ask for a rendez-vous at the French ambassy in Bangkok, it takes minimum 3 month before you can have this appointment (with really nice girls there, but that's another story)

when the day as arrived, go to French Ambassy in BKK and give them all the papers they need, like a birth certificate made less than 3 months earlier, some electric bills or water bills from your house in France, and the papers for your wife.. translated in French of course, and many other papers, just look on dedicated website for this infos.

If you do not have children with your girl yet.. that is more complicated : you'll have to fill a questionnaire and your future spouse too, but not communicate while filling it, it takes around 20/30mn to fiil it properly.

ONCE that is done... you'll have to wait 8 weeks (or less if lucky or non FR resident, already having an expat card).

So, 8 weeks later you'll go again to ambassy or the French Alliance with Consul in Chiang Mai (as I did) because they can send it there, way more easy if your in this area.

When you get the papers you'll have to translate it to french and pay again... for Consul Stamps.

One paper to fill now is the one where you declare how much revenue you have monthly.... just fill it up like you want.. minimum equivalent of 40.000 thb, and this form will be stamped and signed by the Consul so it prooves to Thai goverment that you actually have money to support your wife, because IF NOT you won't be able to marry her, even she's fully loaded with money she cannot support you... MACHO archaic system in place, but you have to follow their rules, so pretend you have a real job, nothing will be ask for this point.

with all your papers you can now go to the communal office and request another paper... in order to get married in a local office on the same day if you want.

the rest of the process is now to send the papers translated to the ambassy again so they can take the change in your profile.

for the Visa this is another issue... you'll also have to show money on bank account or proove of income certified by french ambassy... or go to savannaket to get a non O based on marriage without being aked for any money proof.

GOOD LUCK !

Thanks

[millmann]

Your situation regarding employment is totally irrelevant here both on the thai side and the french side.

As long as you meet the other requirements you may marry as you wish.You should check the embassy in Thailand website:

http://www.ambafrance-th.org/Etat-civil-586

This is not true, your situation is under a strict law here in Thailand, in order to be able to get married you need to be able to support your family, for that you need incomes and explain what job you do.

Of course if your marry a rich women, nothing changes, because MAN has to feed the family, women will just go shopping with their money they might thinks.. this is sad but it's the truth !

The french consul signed a paper for me, telling details about myself including my JOB and my monthly incomes, but no proof has to be given for now... not like for retired people : they need to pay an investigation in France to have this new paper signed in order to get their visas.

And when did you exactly get married? That's maybe the difference. If you got married 10 years ago, it might have changed a lot since

[Zendo]

And when did you exactly get married? That's maybe the difference. If you got married 10 years ago, it might have changed a lot since

It was less than 10 days ago, but Yes I got PACSed 10years + ago ^^

[MobileContent]

Your situation regarding employment is totally irrelevant here both on the thai side and the french side.

As long as you meet the other requirements you may marry as you wish.You should check the embassy in Thailand website:

http://www.ambafrance-th.org/Etat-civil-586

This is not true, your situation is under a strict law here in Thailand, in order to be able to get married you need to be able to support your family, for that you need incomes and explain what job you do.

Of course if your marry a rich women, nothing changes, because MAN has to feed the family, women will just go shopping with their money they might thinks.. this is sad but it's the truth !

The french consul signed a paper for me, telling details about myself including my JOB and my monthly incomes, but no proof has to be given for now... not like for retired people : they need to pay an investigation in France to have this new paper signed in order to get their visas.

You are spot on. The same happened to a Friend of mine who married a Thai woman. In fact they send her even to a French school to learn French before she got her visa to France. Its now 8 month and she is still in Thailand.