Should she change her ID card

[Karlo]

I have just married a Thai and she is telling me she needs to change her ID card to her new married western name. Is it law that she has to have an iID card in her new married name. What are the pros and cons of changing her ID card to a western surname please reply if you have direct experiences in this.

[TobiasML]

That depends what you have agreed during your marriage. If you agreed she is using your name, than she has received a name change certificate and has to change her name as it is a legal requirement. Same in any other country I know of.

In case you have not registered for a name change, then she does not have to change her id.

[thedemon]

I'm not sure that it was ever a requirement for a woman to take her husbands family name but it did used to be a requirement for a married woman to change from Ms. to Mrs.

However that is no longer the case.

When I got married 20 years ago it was completely my wife's decision whether or not to take my western name. She chose to take my surname and make her previous surname a middle name.

Years ago there may have been some cons for a Thai woman taking a western surname e.g. dealing with the land dept. However nowadays it doesn't make any difference. I am not aware of my wife encountering any extra hassles because of it.

Edited April 22, 2016 by thedemon

[Morakot]

Is it law that she has to have an iID card in her new married name

As Tobias said, it depends what you did when you had your marriage registered. If she now has a different name that would require a change of ID card.

What are the pros and cons of changing her ID card to a western surname please reply if you have direct experiences in this.

No real pros or cons! Unless your wife is a person of high societal status who operates in the machination of power, having a non-Thai surname name is by at large not an issue so ever. Surnames are not so important anyway in Thai society as they are in many European or Northamerican cultures.

Edited April 22, 2016 by Morakot

[Karlo]

She did in fact want to adopt my surname, as when she completes her PhD studies we might consider relocating to a more affluent country in Asia such as Singapore. But we will see what happens here with the political situation and we see if Thailand dies start to pull itself out of the dark ages.

[mgjackson69]

My wife and I married 9 years ago. She made the decision to take my surname.

The *only* difficulty was in getting the power bill changed. It is paid via withdrawal from her bank account, and for some reason the Provincial Electric Authority had trouble changing the name on her account.

It took three trips to the bank and I think 5 or 6 to the PEA office. Fortunately, both are on the same road, within 1/2 KM of each other, and about 1 KM from our house.

[bow]

Sorry, I am not sure if this is helpful or not.

My wife took my Swedish surname when we married.

If you write our surname - in the Thai alphabet - considering the pronunciation and not the spelling - our surname looks like a Thai name.

Consequently, there have been no problems. People think that it is a Thai name.

[Maybole]

My wife of over 30 years still uses her own name in Thailand, including her ID and passport. She uses my surname in Scotland and on her UK passport.

2 years ago we registered our marriage in Chiangmai using our marriage certificate from Scotland as proof. At the time she enquired as to changing her name and title on her ID and passport and was told that it was not necessary.

As an aside, in Scotland it is still common to see a recent gravestone bearing different names, eg. "James Maclachlan and also his spouse, Janet MacWhirter"

[jerojero]

Like many countries it's not legal requirement for a married women to change her name. Totally optional.

[The Fat Controller]

Just spoken to my wife, it all depends what you put on your wedding registration document at the amphur when you married.

There is an option for the newly married lady to continue using her maiden name and this causes absolutely no problems.

Wife says if she put that she would use your translated surname, then a new ID is required.

[henry15]

When I asked my deceases wife,if she would take my surname, she simply answared. Why??? You are not my father, and she was correct.

My present wife family name is an respected one, therefore she keeps it.

[Farang99]

I'm not sure that it was ever a requirement for a woman to take her husbands family name but it did used to be a requirement for a married woman to change from Ms. to Mrs.

However that is no longer the case.

When I got married 20 years ago it was completely my wife's decision whether or not to take my western name. She chose to take my surname and make her previous surname a middle name.

Years ago there may have been some cons for a Thai woman taking a western surname e.g. dealing with the land dept. However nowadays it doesn't make any difference. I am not aware of my wife encountering any extra hassles because of it.

Is your wife's western surname spelled in English or Thai on her ID card?

[juehoe]

We have decided, that my Thai wife keeps her Thai name. This helps to avoid «Farang prices». Many things are easier, too. There is another thing, when you plan to live in your country of origin. When living in Thailand, keeping the Thai name is the better option.

You have only to change ID card and passport, if your spouse officially took your family name. I know many couples, where the Thai spouse has 2 passports or ID cards (one for the country of the husband and keep the original name and documents in Thailand).

Edited April 27, 2016 by juehoe

[akentryan]

My wife took my name and used my name for a green card and citizenship in the USA. Got a new Thai ID card using my name. Never had any problems aywhere. Proabably helped by her being a lawyer in Thailand. I would imagine the USA stuff was made easier by her havng my name..

[Kabula]

This question should be directed to a competent, licensed Attorney specializing in Marital/divorce cases.

All facts and future plans from both parties should be conveyed for proper evaluation.

[TKDfella]

I'm not sure that it was ever a requirement for a woman to take her husbands family name but it did used to be a requirement for a married woman to change from Ms. to Mrs.

However that is no longer the case.

When I got married 20 years ago it was completely my wife's decision whether or not to take my western name. She chose to take my surname and make her previous surname a middle name.

Years ago there may have been some cons for a Thai woman taking a western surname e.g. dealing with the land dept. However nowadays it doesn't make any difference. I am not aware of my wife encountering any extra hassles because of it.

Yes, I too married a Thai about 21 years ago and she changed her surname to mine and had to have new ID. Now I don't know if it's relevant here or not; We lived in her bungalow (that is owned by her) and the land certificate had an addition made to reflecting this surname change. That is to say the land certificate wasn't made void and a new one issued, just an entry on the old one. But a few years later she wanted wanted to buy another property, which she did, but it had to be in her maiden name not her married name. Apparently she could only own one residence in her married name. Don't know how this stands today as we are now divorced.

[TJR4ASR]

The hotel's should stop wanting to keep her id.drives me crazy when they think my wife is a hooker

[csabo]

I'm not sure that it was ever a requirement for a woman to take her husbands family name but it did used to be a requirement for a married woman to change from Ms. to Mrs.

However that is no longer the case.

When I got married 20 years ago it was completely my wife's decision whether or not to take my western name. She chose to take my surname and make her previous surname a middle name.

Years ago there may have been some cons for a Thai woman taking a western surname e.g. dealing with the land dept. However nowadays it doesn't make any difference. I am not aware of my wife encountering any extra hassles because of it.

Yes, I too married a Thai about 21 years ago and she changed her surname to mine and had to have new ID. Now I don't know if it's relevant here or not; We lived in her bungalow (that is owned by her) and the land certificate had an addition made to reflecting this surname change. That is to say the land certificate wasn't made void and a new one issued, just an entry on the old one. But a few years later she wanted wanted to buy another property, which she did, but it had to be in her maiden name not her married name. Apparently she could only own one residence in her married name. Don't know how this stands today as we are now divorced.

Thank's for that info

[DrDave]

We were married 9 years ago, in the US. Bottom line is that she uses my surname in the US, and her Thai surname in Thailand.

When we were married, we did not immediately change my wife's surname to mine. Her original Social Security card was issued with her Thai surname, but 6 months later, we did a name change to make her middle name her Thai surname, and add my surname (e.g. FirstName ThaiSurname MySurname).

Her US driving license and US passport have been issued with the name as above (my surname).

Her Thai driving license, Thai ID and Thai passport all bear only her Thai surname. Each of these has been renewed at least once since we've been married, with no problems at all.

Last year, we registered our US marriage at the local amphoe, with my wife keeping her Thai surname, so no change was required to any of her Thai credentials.

My Thai sister-in-law has a Western surname, and has experienced some difficulties in Thailand due to her name. Our "dual name" approach has caused zero problems for us.

[mgjackson69]

The hotel's should stop wanting to keep her id.drives me crazy when they think my wife is a hooker

That happens...it is fun to call them out on it though.

A couple of years ago I was flying out of BKK for work. The flight ended up cancelled and the airline put the passengers up at Novatel. My wife had brought me down to the airport as always, so she stayed overnight with me.

The officious bitch working the check-in took my credentials, voucher, boarding card and got things set up. As my wife was not flying, she had none. The lady said, "I will keep this." I told her to make a copy if she wants, but she is not keeping it. She got huffy, finally I said, "Look, before I call for your manager and you embarrass yourself more, take a look at the name on my passport.....now take a look at the name on my wife's ID." To reinforce my point I showed her my Thai drivers license as well.

As soon as she saw the same surname she knew she screwed up. Of course, there was no apology, and she was pretty pissy after that. No worries, we were about finished dealing with her anyway.

[mgjackson69]

This question should be directed to a competent, licensed Attorney specializing in Marital/divorce cases.

All facts and future plans from both parties should be conveyed for proper evaluation.

I suppose it would not hurt, but really, there is no need to consult an attorney. It is just a name.

[Karlo]

We were married 9 years ago, in the US. Bottom line is that she uses my surname in the US, and her Thai surname in Thailand.

When we were married, we did not immediately change my wife's surname to mine. Her original Social Security card was issued with her Thai surname, but 6 months later, we did a name change to make her middle name her Thai surname, and add my surname (e.g. FirstName ThaiSurname MySurname).

Her US driving license and US passport have been issued with the name as above (my surname).

Her Thai driving license, Thai ID and Thai passport all bear only her Thai surname. Each of these has been

renewed at least once since we've been married, with no problems at all.

Last year, we registered our US marriage at the local amphoe, with my wife keeping her Thai surname, so no change was required to any of her Thai credentials.

My Thai sister-in-law has a Western surname, and has experienced some difficulties in Thailand due to her name. Our "dual name" approach has caused zero problems for us.

What are the problems your sister-in-law experienced

Edited April 27, 2016 by Karlo

[lassebasse]

She should change the Ms to Mrs on the ID since this gives you some protection for you when she cannot do things that requires her husbands permission, like buying/selling land or getting a bankloan.

[hoffy66]

At the amphur where i got married, my wife had to ask me if she could use my surname, in front of the person making the documents.

[DrDave]

<snip>

My Thai sister-in-law has a Western surname, and has experienced some difficulties in Thailand due to her name. Our "dual name" approach has caused zero problems for us.

What are the problems your sister-in-law experienced

Sister-in-law and my wife jointly owned some land. The local land office would not allow sister-in-law to sell her interest in the land to my wife and transfer the title to be solely in my wife's name.

Crazy, but true - they said she had to change her name back to a Thai name before she would be allowed to sell. She was single (divorced) and had the paperwork to prove it, but they weren't interested. No doubt they were just making up their own rules to make it difficult for her.This was in a very rural area.

[DrDave]

She should change the Ms to Mrs on the ID since this gives you some protection for you when she cannot do things that requires her husbands permission, like buying/selling land or getting a bankloan.

Sounds a bit like Sharia law. It doesn't work that way in my home country, nor do I have any desire to subject my wife to that kind of discrimination in Thailand.

[Baerboxer]

She did in fact want to adopt my surname, as when she completes her PhD studies we might consider relocating to a more affluent country in Asia such as Singapore. But we will see what happens here with the political situation and we see if Thailand dies start to pull itself out of the dark ages.

Lot of different experiences here, which is not surprising as every office and officer will have their own interpretation.

When we married 13 years ago my wife had to go to her local civil office to change her ID card her new name, and also to the passport office to have the name on the passport changed - by insertion of a certificate confirming the change.

Although Western women these days seem to like retaining their single surname for "business and professional use" (yawn) or use both family names in some double barrel context with a hyphen (Smith-Jones) which of course once also conveyed upper class status in Britain, I wouldn't recommend it here.

If your wife doesn't change her name, you will create unnecessary issues when applying for bank accounts, visas, proof of addresses, utilities etc etc. Keep things simple and easy and remember most application processes are automated with clerical work outsourced to low income countries. No one is interested in anything that doesn't tick the right boxes or requires human intervention, judgement and common sense. Don't make a rod for your own back.

You'll find having the same surname, the use of Mrs, and a marriage certificate that confirms that is very helpful if you intended moving to other countries even your own.

[dao16]

I never heard of it being a requirement. My wife changed her name to mine about 10 years ago and it was just something we did for international travel. It took a few minutes at the Ampeu while we registered our marriage.

Benefits--If she makes a passport, it will be with your name, and other governments will recognize you more easily as a couple. Good for visas and getting into places that look on Thais as being suspect.

Drawbacks--Thais will immediately know that your wife is a "mia falang" and the crappy ones might try to take advantage, ie charge more for something.

Anyway, it has been a net gain for us and we haven't really had any negatives come from it.

Good luck.

Add-on edit: Your wife will always be able to prove her maiden name with her Tabien Bahn, so that isn't a problem either (or, at least, it hasn't been for us thus far).

Edited April 27, 2016 by dao16

[richard_smith237]

No drawbacks... it may make travel easier and simpler.

It perhaps easier for Children with parents who have the same surname.

Otherwise have ere really is no difference.

Some have eluded to the possibility of being overcharged if the Wife has a Western surname... rubbish. People here take advantage of everything and anything, if someones Wife is more likely to be overcharged because of her surname, she's going to be overcharged because she's not that switched on.

One issue: The time and effort it takes to change: : Name Change certification, Passport, Change ID, Driving Licence, Medical Insurance, Bills (phone, electricity, Internet), Name of Car ownership, Bank accounts and Credit Cards, Frequent flyer memberships.... etc etc... Its a lot of work !

[claffey]

It makes much more sense to have the same surname if you are married to a person from a different country. It's much easier and causes less questions when applying for visas etc. I've been traveling around the world with my wife for nearly ten years and we've never had any issues and I think part of this is down to us having the same name.

(actually we had a problem in Heathrow once when our plane was diverted there. Obviously my wife didn't have a visa for a country that we weren't going to when the plane left the runway but try explaining that to an immigration nobody in Heathrow! Actually I may have pointed out to them that obviously we were married as we had the same surname so it proved crucial in this instance too...)