Marriage Registration
A Betrothal Ceremony is not legally required in order for a Thai marriage to be solemnized but merely acts as an agreement in which a promise to marry is made by the two consenting parties. In order for the betrothal agreement to count as valid, a man must provide a form of engagement property to the woman as evidence of the agreement.
Upon this arrangement, damages claims may be filed in the advent of any form of breach of the betrothal agreement. Care must be taken to ensure marriage registration corresponds to specific guidelines for persons of various nationalities. Allow our legal team to help you through the process.
Registering a marriage between a Thai and a foreigner can be severe and burdensome, like any other special occasion, marriage takes a lot of preparation. If you are planning to get married in Thailand, you need to be familiarized with several processes and legalities it entails. Securing legal assistance from a local attorney is the best way to ensure that your marriage carries weight in Thailand and abroad, and guarantee compliance with Thai laws.
1. Qualifications
a. Both partners should not be less than 17 years of age
b. Both should not be an insane person or adjudged incompetent
c. Both should not be in blood relations in the direct ascendant or descendant line
d. Both should not be brother or sister of full or half blood
e. Both should not have the same adoptive parents
f. Both should not have a spouse at the time of marriage
g. A widowed can remarry only after the expiry of 310 days from termination of the previous marriage, but before such period if:
i. A child has been born during such a period
ii. The divorced couple remarry
iii. A certificate issued by a qualified doctor states that the woman is not pregnant
iv. An order of the Court allowing the woman to remarry
2. Required Documents
For Thai Nationals:
- ID card
- House Registration Certificate
- Proof of Divorce
- Single Certificate
For foreigners:
- Passport
- Visa
- House Registration Certificate
- Proof of Divorce
- Affirmation of Freedom to Marry from the Embassy
- Thai Translated copy of Affirmation of Freedom to Marry, certified and approved by Foreign Ministry Translator
- Police Clearance Certificate
3. Marriage Registered
A marriage can take place on a declaration made by both parties by giving consent to take each other as husband and wife publicly before the registrar at the district office.
Each of the parties is given a Certificate of Marriage after the union is formally registered since the certificate is in Thai, the foreign party will need to have the Certificate translated into English before the same can be used for reporting to his home state. After the translation is done, the document must be brought to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Certification.
Related Practice Areas
Child Adoption
The process of adoption in Thailand effectively enables the legal transfer of responsibility for a child from its biological parents to the adoptive parents.
Child Custody
Thailand child custody issue always arises when spouses having children decide to file for a divorce, or when spouses decide to live separately. Additionally, the child custody is often an issue for an unmarried couple who has children born out of marriage.
Thailand Divorce
In cases where one or both married individuals have decided to file for a divorce in Thailand, we make sure that proceedings are as smooth as possible.