Marriage in UK or Thailand? Please advise

[Kennithero]

Hi, My Thai fiancée and I are wondering where best to get married, in Thailand or the United Kingdom.  Ideally, we should both appreciate the legal right to live and work in both countries.  We have lived together in TH for very nearly four years.  We were declined our first six-month, multi-entry UK Visit Visa, despite using an OISC-approved agent in the UK, as the officer did not believe she was a tourist or that she would return home to TH.  We were successful the second time, visited UK, she didn't work & we returned home to TH before her visa expiry.  I am considering a spouse visa in TH.  We would like her ultimately to have a UK passport.  Many thanks

[rasg]

Very dependent on where you want to get married. You can do either.

 

From a cost point of view it is cheaper to marry in Thailand and legally all you need to do is go to an amphur, complete the paperwork and you are legally married. Cost peanuts. If you go the village wedding route much bigger bucks and you will probably have to pay sin sot.

 

A settlement visa to the UK is the next step. You need to show you have an income of £18600 pa, your GF will need an English language test, £150. You can take the easier test, CEFR A1 until October (18th, if I remember). After that date it's a B2. A TB test at IOM in Bangkok. 3300 baht. The visa lasts for 33 months in the UK. You also have to pay the NHS surcharge (£600) on top of the cost of the visa. Then Further leave to remain, (FLR) towarsd the end of the Settlement visa , then ILR after 5 years. You then have to wait a little to apply for a UK passport.

 

You need deeper pockets to get married in the UK. Settlement (M) Fiancé visa lasts for six months. Same thing with the language test, TB test, proof of income etc. It's about £1250. You have to get married in that time and apply for FLR towards the end of that visa. Around £800+ for the visa, plus £500 for the NHS surcharge. It lasts for 30 months. The FLR again, then ILR after five years.

 

We got marrried in the UK in June and we are going the second route.

 

 

 

 

[Kennithero]

Thank you rasg. Congratulations on your wedding.

Does it have to be the local Amphoe where she has her name on a tabien baan?


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[khwaibah]

7 minutes ago, Kennithero said:

Thank you rasg. Congratulations on your wedding.

Does it have to be the local Amphoe where she has her name on a tabien baan?


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No. You can get married at any amphur in Thailand. She will need her house book and Thai ID. You will need a letter from your embassy which needs to be translated and sent to the MFA for verification. If either of you are devorced you will need the the orginal divorce decree. 

[Eclipse]

Nope. It can be anywhere.

You will need a document from your Embassy confirming your eligibility to marry.

This will need to be translated and stamped at Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bangkok.

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/information-for-british-nationals-intending-to-marry-in-thailand

[Kennithero]

Does she need an original tabien baan? Do I need the original letter from the UK family court notifying me of my decree absolute to get the eligibility document?


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[brewsterbudgen]

Of course you can also marry in the UK with your fiancee getting a UK Marriage Visitor visa, as long as you only plan to marry and then return to Thailand (i.e. not settle in the UK).  You have to be 'resident' in the UK for about 9 days after arrival, then give Notice to Marry at a Registry and then wait about 2 weeks before the actual wedding ceremony.  The price depends on the scale of the wedding, but we're doing it (next week!)for £50 all in!

[Kennithero]

Congratulations!


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[Mapguy]

8 hours ago, khwaibah said:

 

No. You can get married at any amphur in Thailand. She will need her house book and Thai ID. You will need a letter from your embassy which needs to be translated and sent to the MFA for verification. If either of you are devorced you will need the the orginal divorce decree. 

If to be married in Thhailand, whatever amphur you choose in which to get married (and it is simple) once you have both her and YOUR necessary authorization especially eligibility to marry documentation)  will, if I understand the system correctly, means that any further action, such as a divorce or modification of any prenuptial agreement) MUST be done at the same amphur.  That might be  quite inconvenient.  Up to you.

 

Otherwise,  If you are serious about setting things up correctly, then you should ask both a sollicitor in the UK and a lawyer in Thailand to advise.  There is much more to consider than where to marry, of course.

[Kennithero]

Thank you


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[khwaibah]

30 minutes ago, Mapguy said:

If to be married in Thhailand, whatever amphur you choose in which to get married (and it is simple) once you have both her and YOUR necessary authorization especially eligibility to marry documentation)  will, if I understand the system correctly, means that any further action, such as a divorce or modification of any prenuptial agreement) MUST be done at the same amphur.  That might be  quite inconvenient.  Up to you.

 

Otherwise,  If you are serious about setting things up correctly, then you should ask both a sollicitor in the UK and a lawyer in Thailand to advise.  There is much more to consider than where to marry, of course.

 

  You need your original  KR 3, thats your Thai marriage certificate which are serialized and two are issued at time of marriage. You can get a divorce at any amphur in Thailand not just the one you were married in.

[TCA]

OP, you mentioned "we should both appreciate the legal right to live and work in both countries".  You haven't categorically said you're moving to the UK. So at the risk of stating the obvious, if you're not planning on settling in the UK, then a spouse visa isn't of much use to you. Are you planning on moving permanently to the UK?  

[Kennithero]

Hi TCA, tbh it is more in the way of "insurance", with ageing parents & in case we want to relocate there for better-paying careers


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[TCA]

That's why I asked. If your application for a settlement visa was successful and you're subsequently not actually living in the UK (or at least spending more time outside the UK than in it), then it would be unlikely that your next visa application for further leave to remain would be granted and you'd be back to where you started.

[Kennithero]

Good advice, thanks


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[Mapguy]

3 hours ago, khwaibah said:

 

  You need your original  KR 3, thats your Thai marriage certificate which are serialized and two are issued at time of marriage. You can get a divorce at any amphur in Thailand not just the one you were married in.

Well, that could be handy, if true.  In the meantime, remember, if you have a valid prenup, it is on file with the original marriage.  That might pose a problem.  Sometimes the devil is in the details.

[khwaibah]

7 hours ago, Mapguy said:

Well, that could be handy, if true.  In the meantime, remember, if you have a valid prenup, it is on file with the original marriage.  That might pose a problem.  Sometimes the devil is in the details.

 

Its true. I personally know of 3 individuals who have been married 3 times and divorced 3 times, like eating peanuts, all marriages at deferent amphur and all divorces at a different amphor. That is the way it is set up in Thailand. The only change I have seen over time is that some amphurs are now requiring a certified copy of you passport from your embassy and also certified by MFA due to the dubious acts by some forginors.