Getting Hitched in Thailand

This is a guide covering general information about the requirements and procedure to get married legally in Thailand, it is not meant to be the ultimate guide or any sort of final authority. Why not? The rules and procedure varies from nationality to nationality and are forever changing, so no two nationalities have the exact same requirements and the embassy requirements can change without notice.

What nationalities can marry in Thailand
Mostly all nationalities can marry legally in Thailand as a destination wedding couple, except for Chinese mainlanders, Indians, Vietnamese, Cambodians, and North Korean nationals.

Requirements
All couples must get permission from their local Thai embassy or any official authorized representative, these representatives are normally located within Thailand. Each embassy has different requirements, waiting periods, documentation requirements and fees associated with getting permission to marry in Thailand. So ask a professional or your embassy for details as some requirements may or may not apply to you.

This permission normally takes the form of them signing a sworn affidavit presented by the couple in English.
The affidavit must state the following details at the minimum:
1) Name of the person making the sworn statement as it appears in their passport, passport number , nationality and date and place of issue of the said passport.
2) Sex, date and place of birth
3) Accepted permission to marry in Thailand under their countries law and their is no impediment to do so.
4) Their parents full name and location.
5) Mothers maiden name
6) The name and address of two References in the country of nationality
7) Residence of the person making the sworn statement.
8) Their income and official occupation

The witnessed document must also contain the embassy or consulate location, authorized signature and official stamp.

Who is Eligible to marry
1) They must not have a legal spouse at the time of marriage. The one clause in this is, if the bride is divorced within 310 days of the registry of the new marriage, she must not be pregnant.
Unless she has given birth since the divorce
or
Remarrying the same man
or
By order of the Thai court
or
She presents a pregnancy test showing no pregnancy, issued by a approved Thai hospital
2) Couples who are wishing to legally marry must be over 20 years of age.
or
Have both parents consent. Most registrars will require both parents to be present if either one of the couple is between 17-20 years of age.
or
If a Thai court grants permission if under twenty.
3) They must be sane and not deemed incompetent
4) They must not be near blood related
5) They must not have the same adoptive parents

How long does it take to get legally married?
That depends on your nationality, as some nationalities have a cooling off period, which is often done by demanding a number of days from the submission of application to issuing the needed paper. The longest is the French embassy where the waiting period is a month, another example is the Philippines embassy with their 10 day waiting period. However it’s usually just a day or two for most other embassies. That said the majority of countries embassies have no delay and will with proper proof of eligibility issue or witness the documents on the spot.

Once you have the witnessed and stamped papers in hand (according to the Canadian embassy in Bangkok), it will on your own take about 3-5 working days of running around Bangkok to get legally married in Bangkok. That is after the issuance of the affidavit. That means getting the embassy’s stamped documents translated into Thai language by a certified translator and then certified by the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs and registered in Bangkok.

With the help of a legal marriage expert, this can be done in one full working day after the affidavits are issued by your embassy, which allows you to not waste anymore time valuable vacation time than is absolutely needed.

That being said, many couples having their wedding down south in the beach areas or north to the mountain regions, choose to have professional help and spend just minutes at their embassy with the relaxed service of pre-checking the documents where possible before they even come to Thailand. Upon entering Thailand, you can be driven to the embassy, upon exiting the embassy, you are taken to the airport to fly to the venue. This will allow you to relax and wait for the special day and sometimes even arrange to have the Official government registrar do the finalization of the wedding day without even leaving the venue. So if your seeking a quick, stress free registration, it’s best to contact the experienced Thai legal marriage services listed on this site.

While other couples with limitless time, may enjoy the adventure of navigating the maze of Thai government bureaucracy on their own in Bangkok as part of whole life experience, oddly most Thai Nationals marrying Non Thais citizens prefer to do the stress fee method, that of hiring a professional to assist them. So it is more than a language barrier to consider.

What do I do after I am legally married?
That depends on your and your spouse's nationalities.

That said if you both the same nationality such as being British, Australian, Canadian or American, your embassy advises to get some sort of English translation. But this is not legally required.

The Italian, Russian and the Philippines embassies require you to report back with legalized translation(s), to your embassy in person and officially notify them you actually did get legally married.

It is not possible to register your marriage back home as you’re already legally married. Some countries will require their citizens to report they are married, like the Indonesian government.

What we recommend is even if you’re marrying some one of the same nationality, if you ever think you might immigrate or work overseas, it is best to have the Thai Marriage certificate translated and certified by the Thai Foreign ministry just in case. If you are different nationalities, your immigration offices will instruct what documents you will need and what type of translations you will need for them.

Frequently asked questions and false statements found on the internet about Thai marriages.

Does Thailand have an official wailing period?
No, it does not. However the paperwork takes time to be processed. At present from start to finish, it can not be done in less than two full working days for most nationalities. It used to be legally possible to do it all on the same day but not any more.

We are both British Nationals, do I need to bring my birth certificate?
No, it is not needed. Some countries do require it however the British embassy doesn’t require neither the birth certificate or proof of address for a marriage affidavit.

We are a couple from Indonesia but follow different religions, Can we still marry legally in Thailand?
Yes you can. Even if your both Indonesian however follow different religions, it is still accepted back home as a legal marriage if it is properly registered and documented.

Does Thailand need a blood test?
No a blood test is not required.

Is a Thai ceremony all I need for a legal marriage back home?
No. You need to register all marriages with the Thai registrar office in Thailand to be legally recognized back home. The one exception is a duly preformed Muslim Marriage that is registered with the Muslim center, that document can be legalized by the Thai FM for use back home.

What if my embassy in Thailand will not issue the needed document?
If this is the case, you can not legally marry in Thailand, but you’re welcome to have the wedding ceremony here and register back home.

What if I have no embassy or consulate in Thailand, can I still marry?
Often yes, but it’s best you contact a marriage lawyer or Thailand marriage registration expert to ask how or if it’s possible before booking flights! Yes even a "Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Bride" have been married legally in Thailand, but her sister was detained briefly by Thai Immigration at the Bangkok airport, as they had not heard of the country yet alone seen a passport. She was allowed entry once the supervisor checked the internet and found it on Google.

This article was provided by Somchit Srimoon, Thai wedding specialist of LegallyMarriedinThailand.com
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