Thai marriage registration can take a while. As an American getting married in Thailand you will need to follow a process in Thailand to obtain your marriage certificate. It will take a few days to complete so below we have listed how to register your marriage in Thailand. Note that in Thailand you do not have to have a formal marriage ceremony but simply register the marriage at the local Amphur office in Thailand.
Thai Marriage Registration
You will first have to obtain the “Freedom to marry” or Affirmation from your Embassy in Thailand. For Americans this is normally an overnight process and you will need to have the original death certificate of your wife if you have been married before or the original divorce decree as they will not have this in Thailand. These are the documents you will need when you complete the affirmation form at the US Embassy in Thailand. Speak to a lawyer in Thailand for assistance.
Marriage Registration Process
The Affirmation of Freedom to marry which is also called the Statutory Declaration at the US Embassy in Bangkok or the US Consulate in Chiang Mai is where this form is completed. You can get this while you wait but most times you will need to come back the next day for this affidavit. As stated above you will need to have all the original documents from home if you have been married before and this would be either the divorce decree or the death certificate of your late wife. If you had been married to a Thai before and never went back to the US then you can obtain the divorce decree or death certificate from the local Amphur office where you got married in Thailand the first time. Speak if you are an American getting married in Thailand.
Note that if you go on a Friday then you might only get the documents on the Monday so consider your travel arrangements if you are not going to get an attorney do this process for you. Once the affirmation is handed to you it will need to be translated and then certified by the Department of Foreign Affairs. This might take a day to complete depending on how busy they are as well as the traffic in the area. The Department of Foreign Affairs in Laksi can become very bust and it is located on a very busy road. Once it has been translated it now needs to be certified.
With Thai marriage registration, once the document is certified it will need to be registered at the local Amphur office where they will then issue you with a marriage certificate. These come in two versions which they will give you. They will provide a certificate which is fit for a frame and a multiple page marriage certificate. You will need to use both of these if you are going to use them for the US visa application or a Thai marriage visa application.
You will need your passport, passport certification from the Embassy as well as your affirmation and the documents from your Thai fiancée, being her Thai ID card, Tabien Baan and her certified divorce or death certificate if she was divorced or married before. Always take proper legal advice when registering your marriage in Thailand. Thai marriage registration can be done anywhere in Thailand. Note that if you are going to buy property in Thailand after marriage then consider a superficies in Thailand or a usufruct in Thailand. Speak if you are an American getting married in Thailand.