Marriage Registration For Foreigners

Marriage Registration

Thailand remains one of the most sought after destinations within the region not only for its warm sandy beaches but also for the relative ease at which marriages may be performed, registered and dissolved. This aspect of the Kingdom has, to foreigners, made it an attractive location for them to celebrate their marriage as the laws that will govern their matrimonial union lack the rigidity and stringency commonly found in the marriage laws of most Western countries.

A Thai marriage may be celebrated in either of two ways: a ritual ceremony or through the courts. In either case, the marriage must be registered in order for it to be given legal efficacy. Foreigners may register their marriage by presenting the following documents before the proper office: a copy of their passport along with the arrival card, an affidavit regarding the marital status of the person from his or her respective embassy and a translated copy of affidavits in Thai certified by an approved Foreign Ministry Translator.

The procedure for registering one’s marriage varies according to the person’s nationality. As a rule, a marriage is registered when the both parties accept each other as husband and wife publicly before the Registrar in order to have it recorded by the same. The rules for registering marriages entered into by foreigners differ as they are required to appear in person with their respective passports and arrival card at their Embassy in Thailand in order to complete declarations attesting that he or she is single and free to marry in accordance with Thai Law and such registration shall be effected by a Thai Diplomatic or Consular Officer.

The documents presented for registration along with their respective translations are going to be taken to the Legalization Division of Consular Affairs Department, where the Consular Official’s signature will be authenticated. This step normally takes around 2 days in order to be accomplished. The documents and their translations shall then be submitted to the District Registrar who will register the marriage and issue the marriage certificate in Thai in accordance with and following the procedure led down under Thai Law.

In case the foreign spouse had been previously married, it is important that he or she present his or her divorce certificate with its Thai translation.