Marriage certificate for dependant visa application

My wife is applying for a volunteer visa and my understanding is that allows me to apply for a "dependant" visa.

In order to apply for the dependant visa I need to prove we're married. Our visa agent says we need a copy of our marriage certificate, stamped as authenticaed in Thailand. She suggested that stamp can be obtained at the consulate of the country we were married in.

Problem is we were married in USA and neither of us are US citizens. The US embassy website says they don't do that sort of thing anyway, and suggests signing an affidavit instead of supplying a marriage certificate. But I can't sign a US affidavit as that is only valid for US citizens.

I would have thought I'd need to sign a Thai affidavit or statutory declaration, as the document is to be used in Thailand. The visa agent said a US affidavit should be fine but that the immigration office would be unlikely to accept a Thai affidavit (she didn't elaborate why).

So according to that advice, since I can't sign a US affidavit I should sign an Australian affidavit or stat dec, since I'm an Australian citizen. I just don't see the logic in that since the marriage wasn't registered in Australia and the document won't be used in Australia.

To be on the safe side I might do both an Australian and Thai stat dec or affidavit so the immigration office can choose which one they want.

Does anyone have any relevant experience with this sort of thing?

What's the procedure for filling out a Thai stat dec or affidavit?

Which would be the more appropriate document? My understanding is a stat dec would be more appropriate for this type of thing because an affidavit is more for evidence in court, but since both the US embassy website and the visa agent said to get an affidavit it seems I should go with that?

Thanks for any help!

If your Wife is applying for a 12 month extension of stay under Rule 2.21

You can apply for a 12 month extension under rule 2.20

Immigration Bureau order 327-2557 (2014) - extension criteria & conditions en.pdf

Unless your wife is able (with the assistance of the volunteer organisation) to qualify for an extension of stay based on volunteering you will not be able to apply for an extension of stay (it is not a visa) based on being her dependent.

My question is about what would be accepted as evidence of marriage for my visa application. e.g. a Thai affidavit, Thai stat dec, Australian affidavit, Australian stat dec, or something else, given that I can't get a stamp on the US marriage certificate.

There is no problem with my wife's volunteer visa, that is all sorted.

My question is about what would be accepted as evidence of marriage for my visa application. e.g. a Thai affidavit, Thai stat dec, Australian affidavit, Australian stat dec, or something else, given that I can't get a stamp on the US marriage certificate.

There is no problem with my wife's volunteer visa, that is all sorted.

Deleted.

The OP only wants info about evidence of marriage which an 'agent' has told him is required for a Dependent visa.

Edited May 17, 201610 yr by johnatong

My question is about what would be accepted as evidence of marriage for my visa application. e.g. a Thai affidavit, Thai stat dec, Australian affidavit, Australian stat dec, or something else, given that I can't get a stamp on the US marriage certificate.

There is no problem with my wife's volunteer visa, that is all sorted.

To obtain a visa at an embassy or consulate you would not need the certification of your marriage certificate. You will need a non-o visa entry prior to applying for the extension.

In order to apply for an extension of stay at immigration you do need it.

Since your marriage certificate from there the US embassy might allow you to do the self certification affidavit. I suggest you contact them about it. Info for notary services is here: http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/service/notarial-services.html

The next option would be a statutory declaration from the Australian embassy.

Immigration will want a document from an embassy not something done by Thai notary.