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Getting Married in Thailand – DIY in One Day!

**Post update: Dec 2016: Since first writing this post a number of changes have taken place.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) is no longer offering the legalisation express service for foreign translated documents. They now require 3 days to process your documents.

Additionally, some district offices (amphur) are now putting a maximum limit on the amount of couples they marry in one day; some also require you to make an appointment.

This means that you should now plan for 4-5 days to get this process completed.

I strongly suggest reading through the latest comments from other readers at the end of the post to get the latest updates.

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Whether you're a foreign national marrying a Thai national, or a foreign couple coming to Thailand to get married, you'll need to jump through three hoops before you can legally register your marriage.

The marriage will only be recognised under the law of your home country if it is valid under Thai law. In other words, simply having a ceremony in Thailand doesn't mean you are legally married.

getting married in thailand

It is very possible to complete the process of getting the correct documentation together in one day, and that's the goal of this post. However, I advise leaving a two-day window aside to complete the process just in case you run into a problem.

Remember, if you are both foreign nationals, you will need to consider this process for two.

Should I Hire an Agent?

This post focusses on completing the process yourself without an agent. Personally, I prefer to handle things myself, having complete control over efficiency and organisation. Also consider that having an agent doesn't eliminate the first step of the process, and costs considerably more. Quotes range from 2,000-5000+ Baht for the agent's fee. Expect to pay around 4,500 for the actual process itself.

Okay, let's get started:

Step 1: Going to the Embassy for Affirmation

To complete this process in one day, as we are intending to do so, you need to be up early. Wake at 7am and aim to be at the embassy as close to 8am as possible.

You must first go to your embassy to obtain an Affirmation of Freedom to Marry in Thailand. You will need your passport, and if you've been married before, make sure you have documentation to prove that any previous marriages have been dissolved/terminated (an appropriate death certificate or divorce certificate).

Certificates issued in a third country outside UK and Thailand must be certified by its respective Embassy in Thailand. This certificate, if not in English, must be accompanied by an English translation. Only the original evidence or an official certified copy will be accepted – photocopies will not be accepted under any circumstances.

NOTE: Also take a photocopy of your passport with you when you leave the house. You will need this for Step 3. 

You should print the affirmation form out from the embassy website before you go, and fill in the relevant sections. Depending on your native country, you probably won't need to make an appointment with the embassy, but check prior to planning this process.

IMPORTANT: A change in this process means British nationals DO need to make an appointment to get an affirmation. The consular accepts appointments 08:00 – 11:00 on Monday – Friday.

The cost depends on the embassy, but will be around the 3,500 Baht mark. It's 2,860  Baht at the British embassy. Yes, it's an expensive stamp. we provide this service to British nationals only.

**Do not get there 10 minutes before closing. You won't be seen and you certainly won't make the one day deadline we're on. Get there as close to opening time as you can and get it done quickly. This will leave you in good stead to complete steps 2 & 3 in the same day.

Step 2: Translation: English to Thai

If it is still before 9.30am then you are on schedule.

You now need that affirmation translated into Thai. This will cost between 200-500 Baht depending on where you go. Now, here you have two choices. The majority of embassies are in and around Wireless Road. If you walk to the top of Wireless (back toward Pleon Chit BTS station) and up over the bridge onto the other side of the road, you'll be outside a language school called Language Express. Go past the school and turn right. Along this side road you'll find a number of reputable translation services.

**Don't dilly dally, choose a translation centre quickly and make it clear you are on a deadline. You need to be out of here by 10.15am. They should be able to do this within 45 minutes, but if not, let them know you can pay a little extra.

Alternatively, get in a taxi and go straight to Chang Wattana to the Department of Consular Affairs. This might be preferable because the traffic will be dying down just after rush hour. This journey will cost around 150 Baht. Do take the tollway (60 Baht) if the driver suggests it.

You can get a translation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, although it may cost more because the touts will be aware you have no choice but to pay to have your documents authenticated there.

You must reach Chang Wattana by 11.15am, because the same-day express service is only available to applicants who apply before 12 noon (UPDATE: Express service not currently available). 

Address:

Tell the taxi you want to go to, “Chang Wattana pass-a-bort off-ice!”

Show him the address in Thai: สำนักงานหนังสือเดินทาง ถนนแจ้งวัฒนะ เขตหลักสี่

If you have a smartphone with a decent size screen, show him on this Google Map.

The  Legalisation Division
Department of Consular Affairs
123 Chaeng Wattana Road,
Laksi District, Bangkok 10210

Tel : +66 (0) 2 575 1056–59,  0 2981 7171
Fax : +66 (0) 2 575 1054
(08:30 – 15:30 hrs)

Step 3: Thai Consular Affairs Authentication

You are almost there. If you need a translation for any of your documents, get one downstairs as you go in. You will be approached as soon as you enter by touts for the translation services, so do a bit of bartering starting at 200 Baht. But again, don't dilly dally, get it done with the company offering the fastest service and move on.

Once you have the translation, go to the 3rd floor – up the escalator, turn right and up the stairs. Go to the desk straight ahead of you and give in your affirmation, translation and photocopy of your passport to the lady at the desk. Tell her you want the Express Service. She will give you a form to fill out and sign. Do this at the desk so you don't lose your place in the queue.

Now proceed through the white door over on the other side of the room; the lady will direct you. Here you will get your documents checked by someone who looks very official. Once you get the okay, you will be asked to take a seat and wait to be called. Keep your eye on the queuing system, you can't afford to slip up now.

Once called, you will pay 800 Baht for the express service and you will be given a time to collect your authenticated documents. It could be one hour it could be four. It all depends on how busy they are.

Once you get these documents back you have completed the process. Keep everything safely together in the envelope given to you by the embassy back in Step 1. This is what you will present to the Amphur office (government office) of your choice when you go to register your marriage after the ceremony. Of course, you can register your marriage before the ceremony, it's up to you.

What Marriage Documents to Take to the Registrar

When you go to register your marriage at the government office, you will need to take the following documents:

  1. Your passport – 2 copies
  2. Your visa – copy this too
  3. Your fiancee's ID card (for Thai nationals only) – 2 copies
  4. The Letter of Affirmation of Freedom to Marry (the original & the certified translation, plus copies of both)
  5. Your fiancee's Tabien Baan (house log) (Thai nationals only) – 2  copies
  6. You will also need two witnesses. The Amphur can provide these but if you have two volunteers it's easier.

One Last Thing !

You may also wish to obtain a sworn translation of your marriage certificate into your native language so that it can be used as a legal document back home.

Congratulations! I wish you a long, happy, marriage.

Comments Sort by : newest | oldest

  2. Hi, I recently visited Phom Penh with my soon to be wife to obtain her freedom to marry document. They will not issue this doc in Bangkok, Cambodian Embassy. We have now got the document stamped and approved. We are now in Bangkok but finding it difficult to get this Cambodian doc translated. Can anyone PLEASE advice on a translation service that will do this document for us? It is the only thing holding us up at the moment and very, frustrating.

    Reply

    • Have you Googled thoroughly? There must be a Cambodian translator in Thailand because there are lots of workers living there who would need such a service.

      Look around the Pleon Chit area near the BTS station (by Language Express). There are lots of translation services there. Pop in to each and ask; I’m sure someone will know someone who can do it.

      Reply

    • \hi, \i am in the same position as you, did your soon to be wife have any difficulty getting the freedom to marry document in Phom Penh?, was it issued by cambodian ministry of Foreign affairs in Phom Penh ? Thanks in Advance for your response. and kindest regards

      Reply

  3. Hi,

    I am Belgian citizen, I sent email to my embassy but I cannot join them to know about the status of my file.
    I wait their agreement to get “Affirmation of Freedom to Marry in Thailand”
    Marriage is planed in 2 month, do I have to stress or delay to obtain such paper is long process ?

    Kind regards

    Reply

  4. Hello Guys, I’m seeking advice here. I wish to apply Marriage Cert and i am from Singapore.

    Where can i hired translator? We live in Phuket, does we need to go Phuket Amphur or any Amphur in Bangkok will do?

    Reply

    • You need to go to Bangkok to obtain your freedom to marry document. Please follow the steps in the post. You can get the document translated for around 400 Baht in Bangkok. There are lots of places next to Pleon Chit station (BTS). You can marry in an Amphur in Phuket if you like.

      Reply

  5. Hello,

    I’m in contact a lady from Thailand and we have planned to meet in Paris and travel to Ireland. She told me that she has to renew her passport and obtain a visa for France & Ireland. She expect me to send the money to pay the cost but I found the price extremely expensive – she is asking for 8500 Bath that is about €230 – for both Ireland and France visas plus her Passport renewal cost .
    In one of the post on your website – it says 1000 Bath for a Thai passport – I found hard to believe it cost so much for a Visa for France & Ireland.

    It would great if you could advise before I send the money or not.
    Thanks
    Franky

    Reply

    • The UK visit visa is £112 alone. The French one is around £60. Plus the Thai passport £20. So she is absolutely spot on and isn’t even asking for money to do all the photocopying and the cost of taking taxis to the MFA and VFS.

      Reply

  6. Hi, I am an Australian holding a 1 year Retirement Visa and I have been married to a Thai National and we were married in Thailand and we were divorced in Thailand for which I have a Thai divorce certificate. Do I need to go to my embassy to obtain a freedom to marry certificate or will my Thai divorce certificate do

    Reply

  7. We went to register our marriag at prakhanong in Bangkok and the guy checked our documents. He then told us we need a translator with us to translate to English because even though I can speak Thai I cannot write it. He then picked up the phone and walked away without handing back our most important documents (passport, work permit, ID card etc) so I had to reach over his desk to get them. He was extremely rude. On the way out he also put his phone down and said I also needed a medical certificate and that was a complete waste of a morning. Rules are different for everyone with the look of it. I’ve been living in Thailand with my Thai fiancé for 13 years. I have a company and work permit here and this is how you are treated.

    Reply

    • That’s quite unusual for someone to be so rude, but perhaps because there is not an English translation of the documentation available and you can’t read Thai, from a legal standpoint you do not know what you are signing for. No idea why you would need a medical certificate. 1. Put in a formal complaint to his boss. 2. Go to another amphur.

      Reply

  8. Hi

    Does anyone know how long it takes to get all your documents back? As it says the express service is currently not available above,also can you call them to prior to make an appointment or do you just turn up and queue

    Reply

  10. Hey. Can anyone give me some advice…….So, we’ve put our papers into the Ministry of foreign affairs and should get them back on Monday.

    Any advice about which Amphur to use? We’re thinking Lak Si as it’s near the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Also, how much does the actual wedding part at the Amphur cost? We have no witnesses and someone told me today you actually need a translator with you??

    After we’re married and we take our legalised marriage papers back to the Ministry, will they translate them there or do we need to translate them then take them to be authenticated? How much does this part cost? How long does it take?

    Also, this might might sound silly, but could i just take 2 motorbike taxis to the Amphur and then get them to be our witnesses (and translator if necessary)?? Sounds stupid but if they’re gonna be there anyway…..

    Thanks a lot for all the Info in this page from the author and the comments, it’s an extremely great help!!

    Reply

    • Hi Alan, if you read back through the comments some people have left advice on what Amphurs to use. I seem to remember Laksi being one, but you have to book an appointment as they only marry 8 couples a day now, I think. This is the case with most I believe. Marriage registration is free, but some Amphurs may charge; I know that Bangrak has always charged by way of a “wedding package” for foreign nationals that includes a photo, etc. I married at Huay Kwang amphur and did not have to pay.

      In answer to your witness question: Technically you could take 2 motorbike taxi men, but finding 2 that are willing may be problematic. Some may not be keen to put their name to any legal process. They must also have a Thai ID card.

      Reply

    • Hi. Me and my partner registered our marriage at amphur Lak Si. You would be needing the translator only to fill up the papers since it is in Thai but i guess if you dont have it, the amphur will help you with it. I spoke with the head officer Khun Chunticha they could provide everything for you including the witnesses for 3k but for us, i brought one of my Thai colleague as a witness. She helped us with the translation and all and we paid 1,030 baht to be exact.

      Reply

  11. Hi I’m rfugee in uk I’m going next month in Thailand to marry my girlfriend she is from Pakistan and we bot are Muslim. Witch is they best way to get legally married in Thailand because we are Muslim….!
    Thanks

    Reply

  12. I am an American Citizen currently living with my fiance in Nakhon Si Thammarat Thailand and we want to get Married as soon as possible, have been engaged since May of 2016 and have not been able to decide if we want to marry in the U.S. or Thailand but now have decided to get married in Thailand. Do we need to go to the embassy in Bangkok or is there a closer place to get the affirmation papers done?

    Reply

  13. Myself and my now wife just went through this process successfully. I am a UK citizen living in Saudi Arabia and she is an Indonesian citizen living in Indonesia. It took 5 working days and went smoothly because we hired an agent. I strongly recommend you hire an agent. So much can go wrong if you do not.

    Reply

  14. Hi TY

    Both me & my fiance is looking for an option to get married in Thailand but not wanting to register it in Malaysia (our home country) due to family issue.

    We both are Malaysians and muslims.

    But i want to have proper & legal marriage in Thai (i’m afraid of being the scam marriage victim) 🙂

    Are the above steps applies for Muslim marriage as well and will anyone from Malaysia would be able to find out about our marriage if we follow these steps?

    Hope to hear from you soon.

    Reply

  16. Hi i am a singaporean going to marry my thai girlfriend. I alr have the documents ready to file affidavit at singapore embassy.

    However, on this post it seems there are more things to have. Singapore embassy stated that i need 4 things:

    1) employment letter
    2) letter from singapore ministry of manpower stating my thai gf has no work permit in sg before
    3) registry of marriage singapore cert search result of no recorded marriage
    4) certificate of clearenace stating that i have no criminal record in singapore

    So i have gotten all of them alr and am planning to marry my thai gf next month. So am i equipped with all documents to file my affidavit yet?

    Thank you:)

    Reply

    • As per Steve’s comment below: You may also need a translation of your passport, and this needs to be stamped by your embassy. Though I assume your documents are in English? You then have what you need to get the authentication at the MFA, but don’t forget that to marry at the Amphur you will need the things listed in the “What Marriage Documents to Take to the Registrar” section.

      Reply

  17. My girlfriend is Philippine and stay in Thailand for just over 12 months off an on but not as a resident just as tourist she lives in hong kong I’m Australian but she needs a single status certificate from Thailand so she can come to Australia so we can marry. How do we get the single status certificate and can it be done on line or through an agent.

    Reply

    • I dont think that she can get that single certificate in Thailand. She needs to get it from the Philippines. I am a filipina and all my documents i got it all back from the Philippines and just let the Philippines embassy here in Thailand authenticate it.

      Reply

  19. Hi,
    I would like to know if it is an appointment for oath affirmation or witnessing a signature that I need to arrange at the UK embassy in Bangkok? And also do I need to book two appointments if we are both from UK?
    Due to marry the 22nd July and arriving on the 16th

    Any help would be great
    Thanks

    Reply

  20. Hi,
    Please could you tell me, it is an appointment for oath affirmations or witnessing a signature that I need to make at the British embassy in Bangkok? And will I need two appointments if we are both from UK

    Any help would be great
    Thanks

    Reply

  22. Hi I would like to marry my thai girlfriend. I am getting a divorce soon. After my divorce, how long do I have to wait until I can marry her in Thailand? Or if I marry her in my native country, is the marriage vaild in Thailand?

    Reply

  23. I have a question……is it possible, after i get our Certificates translated, for me to do the process of getting the marriage license at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on my own, without my partner? Because of work commitments it would be easier if she could come to meet me after this process for the marriage at the amphur.

    Thanks for all the great info!

    Reply

  25. Hi,
    with a little help from lady luck, my partner of eleven years and I will be getting married in Thailand next month. We only require one document which she has gone to get. The affirmation of freedom to marry document can be obtained from the Chief of Commune, is this correct?
    Can he sign this document to make it legal? Or can we just get the document and get it signed by the embassy where we live in Ho Chi Minh City or in Bangkok where we are getting married.

    The Cambodian embassy in Bangkok would not issue the Affirmation to Marry document so that is why she has gone to Cambodia to get it.

    What I really need to know is, can be obtained from the Chief of Commune? and
    Can the Chief of Commune sign the document to make it legal?

    I just need to know about this document.
    Can we take the blank doc, complete it and get it signed or stamped in Thailand.

    Any help would be very much appreciated.

    Reply

      • With regards to Philippines. You have to get your certiicate of no marriage from Manilla and also a marriage license from the embassy in BKK so it could be similar. I’m also in the same boat in that i’m living in HCMC with my partner. We recently visited BKK to get married but ran into these problems with the Philippines embassy so we need to go back in a couple of weeks. You also need o give 10 days notice, where they stick the future husband and wife’s pictures up in the embssy, before they’ll give the license. I think it’s to give people time to give reason why you can’t legally marry.

        Reply

      • Hi, we now have the affirmation of freedom to marry from the Cambodian embassy for my girlfriend, and I just need to get mine from the British Embassy in Bangkok. We have all other documents and passports. Is there anything else? So we now need to get everything translated. Could anyone offer a good service and cost?

        Reply

      • They don’t issue the affirmation to marry from the Cambodian Embassy in Bangkok because of new Cambodian laws protecting girls against trafficking. But we did get the affirmation to marry doc from the chief of commune or the head police guy, from where my partner lived in Cambodia.
        So we have the affirmation to marry docs, passports, visas, birth certificates, house book, just need to get everything translated.

        Thanks

        Reply

  26. Hello, I have just called the Bangrak Government office and the staff mentioned I will need my (British) passport certified (get a stamp) and translated into Thai. Have you heard of this process? Or has anyone gone through this process before?

    Reply

    • I’m going to tag on to this in hopes that this may get bumped up a bit and others can read. Tried registering a marriage in Udon Thani and they had requested a translated passport as well. I am assuming the Ministry of Foriegn affairs will need to certify this as well in Changwatana?

      Is anyone aware if this a new request from all of the offices now? or has anyone recently had their marriage certified in Bangkok and had no issues?

      Cheers, Oldmanstan

      Reply

  27. Hi, this is really useful information and a great guide – thank you! Can I ask whether I need to apply for a specific visa to get married in Thailand? Or can I do this on a standard visit visa?

    Reply

  29. Good Morning, Read through this guide and thoroughly appreciate all the information provided. I tried going through most of the comments here as well.

    Question that you or perhaps a commenting member may know. When booking an appointment the UK embassy in Bangkok asks for the following is needed alongside the affirmation document: Proof of identity (which I assume passport alone is fine ), and Proof of address. I could not find anything anything in the comments or here about the proof of address, is this your address abroad or where you’re currently staying in Thailand?

    As a secondary question, have you heard anything else about the 60b post option with the MFA? I see one comment by someone a few months back suggesting as much and I am hoping this is still the case.

    thanks in advance!

    Reply

    • There are some answers to this from a year or more ago but you’ll be digging for some time! Ideally proof of address is your country of residence. If you live in the UK then use that address. If you are retired and living in Thailand, working in Thailand or a permanent resident then you could use your address in Thailand.

      I’m not sure if the postal service is still available. I would assume so, since many people come from all over Thailand to the Bangkok MFA who wouldn’t be able to return on another day to collect the documents.

      Reply

        • That’s the preference, if you have one. There have been a couple of people in the comments section previously who haven’t had a UK address because they reside in Thailand, don’t own a property in the UK, and are no listed as living at anyone else’s property.

          Reply

  33. This is more of a visa process question. Do you know if it is possible to enter on a 30 day tourist visa and then convert to non-immigrant type O visa after tying the knot with the girlfriend and registering the marriage?

    Reply

    • Hi, no. You will need to leave the country and do that outside of Thailand. You can get a non-immigrant O multiple entry from the UK, but currently in neighbouring Laos they are only issuing single entry.

      Reply

  34. Hi,
    I am planning on marrying my Cambodian girlfriend in Thailand. I am English and we have been together for eleven years now. I have all my documents apart from the “affirmation of freedom to marry document” I can get mine in Bangkok but can my partner get her document from the Cambodian Embassy in Bangkok? I mean you can get this document online so could we do that as it would be much easier.

    We both live in Vietnam at the moment. She has a full passport, house book, and her birth certificate, so I believe that this document is all we need now to complete the marriage.
    Any advice would be very much appreciated.
    Best Regards

    Reply

    • I’m nearly an identical situation, apart from my girlfriend is Filipino. She had to get her Certificate of no Marriage from Philippines, unfortunately, but it just depends on the Embassy of each country. So contacting the Cambodian embassy would be your best bet

      Reply

  35. can i ask a question ,me and my thai girlfriend will be marrying later in the year ,is it possible to marry first,the ceremony,then obtain my affirmation of marital status ,translation,legalise the affirmation of marriage ,and register marriage in 6 months time,i know the marriage is only official when registered,regards Ian

    Reply

  37. Hi, we are looking to travel to Thailand and get married was planning on going to Bangkok British embassy first, staying in Bangkok for 4days then heading to Phuket to a resort to be married a few days later is this achievable? Will the resort then just sort out someone to marry us and we just hand over paperwork? Do are 2 witnesses need to come to Bangkok or can they just meet us at resort in Phuket? Sorry I just have no idea thanks.

    Reply

    • No, you would need to book a resort where they have a wedding package. They would then give you the option within that package to pay to have the paperwork done on site or at a local district office. They would provide the witnesses within the package. If you marry in a district office in Bangkok you will need to provide your own witnesses, though some will provide them for a fee. Witnesses must be Thai nationals with ID cards.

      Reply

    • You mean you got it from your home country? The rule stipulates that it must be from the embassy in Thailand. Though for those from countries which have no embassy in Thailand this would obviously not apply.

      Reply

  40. We are going may to bk to get married. We need to go doing the Dutch and Vietnamese Ambasade or consulate. What’s the best place (area) to stay in bk near we need to go?? Any recommendations for a hotel. 1000-1500 bath a night

    Reply

  41. I received my single statement from the Netherlands with is international. So I need only a translation from English to Thai Wright??

    My gf is born and living in Vietnam she also need a single statement but I am not sure it’s in English. So they might request to translate from Vietnamese to Engels and after Thai?

    First we need to make an appointment on the Dutch and Vietnam consulate to legalize this document or after the translation?

    we need 2 withnesses, how and where can we hire them ?

    Thanks a lot!!!!

    Reply

    • You need to get your freedom to marry certificate from the Dutch Embassy in Bangkok, or at least have the one you got from Holland leagalised by the Dutch embassy in Bangkok. Your GF needs to call the Vietnamese embassy and ask about the process. I remember some people posting in this comments section before regarding requirements for Vietnamese people and I think there are some differences. Both of your freedom to marry certificates will need to be translated to Thai. Regarding the witnesses, please read back through comments from the last 3 months to see recent experiences. Some district offices will supply them for a fee. I can’t remember which, you will have to read the comments 🙂

      Reply

  43. i will be in bkk in april this year ,and hope to marry my thai girlfriend later in the year ,can i just get step one ,affirmation of freedom to marry document obtained ,and translated ,step two ,and carry out step 3 at a later date ,if i do not have time,on this visit.
    is there a time limit to use these papers.
    i will be staying laksi area which is helpful
    thanks Ian

    Reply

        • We were quoted 15k THB. This did not include UK embassy fee (4-5k ) and the final transaltion/seal of the marriage certificate which was another 1.5k THB.

          The arrangement was to meet the agent at the embassy then after that process was done they would take the Affirmation from you , translate it, check it and take it to the MFA and collect for you a few days later.
          You only meet the agent again in 4 days for the marriage. i think they take you in a car.
          These leaves you free for 4 days to do what you want but it is a lot of money.

          Reply

  45. We have all documents ready from Embassy and Thai office. Questions or advise:
    1. Agency asking 20k THB for support for translation(s) and at Registar office. Seems high to me??
    2. We have two witnesses signed on document for my Embassy. Are the witnesses required on day of marriage registration at Registar office?

    Reply

  46. Just delt with the MFA today so will share the most current info. When you go to the MFA you need the following:

    -Affirmation of marital status from your Embassy
    -Translation of affirmation into Thai
    -Copy of your Passport
    -Copy of your visa
    -Copy of Thai ID card (front and back of the card on a single paper)
    -All the copies need to be signed and dated.

    They no longer offer express so it will take 3 days for them to finish your paperwork. For 60 extra baht you can have the documents mailed to you instead of having to come back and pick them up.

    Total price I paid was 460baht.

    Reply

    • Brandon,

      if we were to drop affirmation off at MFA around 11am on a Monday is it still possible to pick up on the Wednesday morning?

      An agent we are considering is saying it is impossible and only avaiable after 1pm wednesday and so can only be married at Amphur on Thursday.

      Regards
      Rich

      Reply

      • If you do it all yourself, yes it is possible (if there’s no mistake on translation) you should get it back by 10am on Wednesday. I think the agent said 1pm because they need to pick it up from the MFA and bring it back to their office for you to collect. I dropped mine off at the MFA by 11am on Thursday and was told to come back and pick up on Monday 10am.

        Reply

        • Is is frustrating the 2 agent(s) say it not possible to collect document from MFA on Wednesday morning.

          We found out we cannot get married on the following Thursday to Monday because of Songkran holiday and it would have to be the following Tuesday where we wil have left Bangkok and be back in Pattaya.

          Reply

          • I am not sure where they coming from, I did everything myself (with wife) without agency first week of February. Dropped of Thursday morning and got it back on Monday morning (pretty sure it was 9.45am ish) unless the MFA recently changed the collection time.

            Have you considered getting married in Pattaya?

            Reply

            • Not really heard of anyone getting married in Pattaya. Everyone mentions Bangkok.

              Ive read stories of local Amphurs outside of Bangkok not wanting to marry Farang/Thai or requiring additional documents or Farang witnesses.

              Cheers
              Rich

              Reply

    • Hi Brandon, Really useful to know. I don’t suppose there would be the option to pay extra for the postage so they could airmail it to Samui? This would mean we could do it ourselves and not wait around in Bangkok. However, I need it to not take weeks to get there 🙂

      Reply

    • Hi! So you can just visit the embassy in one day and ask them to forward the completed paperwork once done? Did this work out ok? I am only visiting BKK to go to the embassy and won’t be getting married til 2 weeks later so not sure whether to forward the documents to the hotel or come back and collect them

      Reply

  47. Just to share my recent experience getting married in Thailand last month. The whole process took four working days for us, however if there’s no correction on your translation (affirmation of marital status) it could be done in three working days. Hope it helps you guys.
    First, I was booked to get affirmation from my embassy on Thursday morning. We got there about 9am and was out about 9.45am. Make sure you have a soft copy of your affirmation in your email, we were asked to correct some details so it was handy a file with you. Then we took a BTS and got off at Mo-Chit Station (best way to avoid traffic) then took a taxi to the MFA. We decided to use translation service from the one opposite to the MFA, it’s called Songthai Translation Service. Took about 20mins to translate my affirmation and we then submitted the documents to the MFA 3rd floor by 11am. We were told to come back on Monday about 10am. For your information, the MFA still provide express service for some type of documents but not for affirmation of marital status, this can only be done by normal service. There’s nothing else we could do from this point until Monday morning. We were at the MFA a bit early on Monday morning and were told there’s some corrections on the translation!! We were asked to resubmit the revised translation by 2pm so the approved translation would be ready from 3pm the same day (if there’s no further mistakes). It was so frustrating, we went to the same translation centre we used, so they corrected the translation for free. We then resubmitted the revised version to the MFA at 10.15am, however we still had to wait till 3pm to collect the document. Resubmitting document early doesn’t speed up the collection time, as long as you resubmit before 2pm everyone will get the documents back at the same time (from 3pm). Anyway they said the document would be ready at 3pm, but we actually got it at 3.40pm!! We meant to get married on Monday but had to postpone due to this. We planned ahead really well on Tuesday, we went to Lak Si district just before 8am and we were the first queue to get married. Really recommend to get married here as it’s close to the MFA so you can get your marriage certificate translated to English (if needed for future use) and stamped quickly, also staff there are quite familiar in getting married for foreigners. We finished at Lak Si district about 8.50 and my wife jumped on a motorcycle taxi (still teasing her until now that she was the shortest-ever bride running away from the groom lol) to the same translation service. She got the translation in 20mins then run to the MFA and submitted the document at 9.26am (just in time for the express service). Please note marriage certificate translation from Thai to English can be stamped with express service, submit document by 9.30am and collect at 2.30pm the same day (the fees is double of the normal service, but save you from coming back to the MFA again). We got the document back at the same day and that’s the whole process done! Feel free to ask any questions and good luck!!
    Ps. I have seen people recommended using translation service at 2nd floor of the MFA. People got an impression that it must ALWAYS be reliable as it is located inside the MFA, however I have spoken to a woman (when I was waiting to collect my document) she said she used the 2nd floor people and there’s some mistake on her translation too. I guess it’s a bit of your luck. But I wouldn’t recommend using those folks walking round and trying to approach you, SOME of them look pretty dodgy and heard they charge a fortune.

    Reply

  48. I want to marry in Thailand but I’m divorced in Canada but my fiancée Filipino is married but seParated for long time can he get affirmation to marry in the Philippine embassy’s? So that we both can marry at Bangkok Thailand?

    Reply

  49. We have been looking into doing this ourselves ( 2x UK) but our wedding planner offered to do it for us, get the documents shipped to Samui and then translated back to English afterwards. This sounded great until he told us it’s 26500 THB to do this. I think this is a lot as I know local agencies in Bangkok do it for 9000 THB and I know this is a lot compared to doing it yourself. So my question – is it worth it? The day we arrive is a Thai holiday so we already have an extra day in Bangkok and would like to leave as soon as possible so if there are recommended cheaper agencies to use plesae give us a recommendation.
    Thanks

    Reply

    • Hmmmm, bear in mind that you still have to get your affirmations from the British embassy anyway, so you will have to go to Bangkok. I’d say negotiate the price. 520 quid is a lot for a process that is essentially free for them, albeit greasing a few palms along the way with 1,000 Baht notes. The fact is you want to enjoy your holiday on Samui and not have to traipse around BKK for a few days with the possibility of running into a delay. I’d negotiate it down to 15k. Say you have had other quotes and are considering using someone else. At the end of the day, it’s expensive but you get to lie on a beach while they do the leg work.

      Reply

  51. We Will go april to Thailand to get married. My Gf is Vietnamese i am from The netherlands. Can we do iT in 5 working days? And anyone experience if it’s recognized in Vietnam ?

    Do I need to make an appointment for the Dutch Ambasade?

    Tnx.

    Reply

      • Hello, I just wondered if it must be the same tourist visa that you were on when you obtained you affirmation of marital status? I will only be in Bangkok for a week and if anything goes wrong and I run out of time to get the marriage registered, could I return the following month on a new tourist visa, and use the same affirmation to register the marriage at the district office?

        Many thanks!

        Reply

    • That’s cutting it fine, but possible. Is your appointment early? Can you make it to the MFA by lunchtime? I’m pretty sure if you can apply at the MFA on Monday too then you can get the docs back by Wed and be off to Phuket by Thurs.

      Reply

  54. Hello, im wanting to get married quickly to my fiancé in april.
    Were both foreigners, uk and phillipino.
    I’ve be looking into it with a company called siam legal, and they seem to think the process will take 2.5 weeks!
    The phillipino embassy takes 10-11 days to process her papers alone.
    Is this post legit and what I’ve been getting told by this company is lies??

    Reply

    • If you search through the comments you will find some from situations similar to yours. If I remember correctly I think it does take longer for Filipino nationals. Once you have the freedom to marry certificate from your fiancé’s embassy the process can be done in approximately 3 days, judging by recent experiences posted here.

      Reply

        • I think the time they have quoted you includes waiting for the Filipino embassy. Once you get the affirmation from them you can do the process in 3 days. So they may be correct, because if the embassy takes 10-14 days, plus the 3 for processing at the MFA, it may well be 2-2.5 weeks. Getting an affirmation of freedom to marry from the British embassy only takes 1 day once you have your appointment, so that’s the big difference here. They can’t hurry the Filipino embassy up, as they have a unique process. I’d call the Filipino embassy to check on the rules.

          Reply

  57. When we got married we were given a certificate with a flowery border and another document with more details such as the witness names which my wife says is called the kor-ror-song. Is this an important document and does it need to be submitted/translated for (UK) visa applications?

    Many thanks

    Steve

    Reply

  58. Finished everything at Lak Si office this morning, it took around 90 minutes. They provided 2 witnesses (the lady officer who speaks some English and her boss, who we haven’t even seen), paid 500 THB each (seems to be quite transparent). We arranged witnesses with the guy who checked our documentation before we actually proceeded to the officer. Have your receipts (MFA and embassy). Embassy stamp on passport copies was not needed (front page, visa page, Thailand entry stamp).

    Reply

  59. Hi there, we went to Bang Rak this morning and they told us we had to have 2 witnesses that were either family or friends. They would not allow us to use another couple there as witnesses. They said they needed to be family or friends because they would ask them questions about us.

    We then headed to Lak Si right after that to try our luck there. Fortunately, they allowed us to marry at Lak Si. We had to pay 1000 baht for them to provide the 2 witnesses (500 baht each), which was much better than the alternative of being refused.

    The entire process there took maybe an hour if that. They also had a copy service right next door in the same building if you forgot to bring any copies.

    Hope this helps others. Thanks for keeping the comment section open and updated.

    Reply

  61. Hi, I’m out of luck with the amphurs, I have all the papers and have followed all the steps but they don’t seem to want to allow us to marry. We tried first at his home town amphur in Khon Kaen, they claimed we needed an additional stamp on the translated document. We went back to chaen wattana, got that extra stamp (even though they said it wasn’t needed) and then went to another amphur in Sathorn, they said my embassy also needed to put stampa on additional copies of my passport. So we went to Bang rak and they claim my paper of freedom to marry needs to have the date I last lived in sweden on it. I’m not up to starting over the whole proccess again when I already have all the papers. Can someone please recommend me an amphur that will get us married, I’m so exhausted from this and don’t wanna end up doing everything again just to see that they need even additional information again..

    Reply

  63. Hi,

    Just wanted to post a huge thanks to this website and the author of the webpage.

    Myself (British) and my British partner were married on Wednesday 18th Jan at Lak Si district office.

    We started the process on Monday 16th with an 8am appointment at the British Embassy and the process was finished by about midday on Wednesday 18th.

    We didn’t use an agent as we like to do our own thing and fancied the challenge!

    Some tips:

    You will need to get photocopies of the Thailand stamp in your passport for the process (there is a cheap photocopying service at the Department of Consular Affairs).

    Use the translation guy downstairs in the Department of Consular Affairs (if there are any problems with the translations then it is easy to chase up and quicker) we paid about 350 baht per document.

    The Department of Consular Affairs had our sworn translations back after 2 days (there are signs telling you of the time scales but I think these sometimes change).

    We used Lak Si district office as it is the closes to the Department of Consular Affairs and we had no problems, the lady there was very helpful and spoke excellent English. We did had to pay 3000 baht here (this may have been for witnesses so you may save if you bring your own).

    Taxi drivers had a tendency of wanting to drop you at the wrong end of the government complex when going to the Department of Consular Affairs so be aware!

    We used the Sky Train to get us to the nearest station (Mo Chit) and then taxis to and from the Department of Consular Affairs. This tended to work out a bit cheaper as you can avoid the tolls and traffic for most of the journey.

    If anyone has any questions I will try to help!

    Reply

  65. Hello, Im thinking to do civil marriage in Thai. My fiancee is from Slovakia and Im Indonesian. Do you think I can ask for affirmation letter in Indonesia before actually flying to Thailand?
    Do you have any recommendation for agent that can help us regarding this civil marriage.

    Reply

  66. Thanks for recommending Nida people. She is great. Very professional and she is helping me. My appointment at embassy is at 930am Monday and she will have my docs ready for Thursday. She’s already doing translation as we speak. Very fair price I think.

    Reply

  67. Hi all. I have an appointment at the British Embassy on 30th Jan atb0930 am. I’ve never been married before or have kids and my fiancée is Thai. If I get out quick and get document translated at MFA, do you think I could get that be 31st? Can I then take that document to an Amphur in Phuket (where we are flying to at 1635 on 1st Febryary). Appreciate all your help

    Reply

    • I do not think it is possible on your own and maybe not even with an agent. We used an agent. I gave her the documents from the US Embassy at 8:15 on a Monday morning. She submitted the papers and got them back Wednesday afternoon. We met her at the Amphur on Thursday. She had done all the translations prior to my visit to Thailand. We were leaving Thailand on Friday so everything had to work out perfectly and it did. Read the other posts of other people’s problems and dealing with “political” issues.

      Reply

  68. Hi everyone. I am British and planning to get married with a Thai lady in the beginning of Feb. Have a few questions here, hope you all can help.
    – To get affirmation of marital status from British Embassy, it says on the website I only need proof of identity and proof of address. But if I have 1 daughter from previous relationship (we never got married though) do I need any additional documents for this? and do I need to show my daughter’s birth certificate?
    – In the affirmation of marital status form, I need to fill in my Thai gf address, however she works and lives in UK. What address should I fill in? her registered Thai address (as in her blue book) or her current UK address?
    – Has anyone got married at Lak Si district? any tips for me?
    Appreciate your help!

    Reply

          • Saw your previous comments and you’re British, so I got a few questions here if you don’t mind. I’ve got an appointment with the British Embassy at 9am on 2nd Feb, is it possible to turn up earlier than that? hoping to get the affirmation as early as possible and went straight to MFA (will get document translated there). Also, what documents did you need at the embassy? on the website it says just proof of identity, proof of address and typed affirmation of marital status (unsigned) but I read it online somewhere and it says I need a Thai registered address book of my partner so I’m a bit confused.

            Reply

            • My appointment was at 0830 i arrived about 0805 and was seen straight away at the embassy all i needed was my passport and affirmation i had filled it out as shown on the template but the woman behind the counter added extra info and re-typed. I had it translated over the rd my wife checked it and then we went to the MFA where she filled it all in and handed it in this was a tuesday told to come back on the thursday at 11 we arrived on the thursday about 0930 and it was ready then straight to Lak si. The whole time my wife had several copies of my passport,visa page,her id card,her tabian baan also things like her birth certificate also her freedom to marry from her home district signed by local leader as well as our daughters birth certificates and all originals in her words everything just incase. Hope this helps.

              Reply

                • The info from you is really helpful! thanks a lot!! do you remember the name of translator you recently used? and how did you get MFA from the embassy? BTS then Taxi? it’s kinda rush hour and I know traffic is mental in Bangkok

                  Reply

                  • Sorry i cant remember the name of the translator iv always just arranged it with 1 of the touts across the rd then walked back to their office like i said never had a problem. Getting to the MFA i just jumped straight in a taxi and took the tollway no matter the cost its cheap compared to the uk.

                    Reply

    • WE went through the process for our daughter’s marriage – both UK citizens – and found that using an Agent was by far the most stress-free way of doing it. We used Kuhn Nida, Professional Visa Service Ltd, Mahathun Plaza, Sukhumvit. We gave her the affidavits well in advance of our visit to the British Embassy, and she had them both translated. She picked up a mistake in one of them, so we were able to correct it BEFORE we had the affidavits sworn, which saved a huge problem. We collected the documents three days later, and she had already sent scanned copies to the Amphur which saved yet more time. All we had to do was turn up on the day. Quite brilliant, and well worth the money.

      Reply

  69. Been through this process in early January… it’s hard work And a lot of running around. After obtaining my affirmation from the British embassy, had it translated and the next morning arrived at the MFA to discover the express service is no longer available even though it states it is available if you submit before 9.30AM. So I really want to make this clear as this seems to be the hold up for many people…. yes there are signs everywhere saying they do express but they do not offer this anymore. Dropped it off Wednesday 8AM and went to collect Friday 8AM, they wasn’t happy with a few words on the translation so had to go get edited at one of the translation services in building and submit again by midday and then was ready to collect the approved MFA stamped document by 3PM.

    We done a fair bit of ringing around to find an amphur as there was lots of talk on here about witnesses and copies of translated passports etc etc. I would recommend people to go Bangrak District Office. We took are own whitnesses just to be safe but people was there using other people in the que to be their whitnesses.
    No translation of passport needed just all your paperwork from the MFA, Thai house register copy and copies of passport and Thai I.D card. They only accept 8 foreign marriages per day so make sure you arrive before 7.45 as they don’t accept bookings.
    Took about 4/5 hours of sitting around but got there in the end.
    I hope this will clear a few questions up as the whole process is a complete nightmare.

    Reply

    • Hi would u be able to do the affirmation, translation and take it to mfa to be stamped and get it back in February but then amphur to register the marriage in April. This is cos I have spare few days in February but would be nice to register marriage in April when my parents are there

      Reply

    • We have been to 3 offices today and called a few. All are refusing to marry us without a certified translator present as I am not fluent in Thai. My Thai fiancee is not allowed to translate for me. They are also requiring another document for the MFA certifying that the translations they certified were, in fact, certified by them. We questioned the logic of this and were told there are a lot of counterfeit MFA certifications out there. Aperently if you use a small to so your translation and all you have a fair chance of getting a fake. So back to the MFA we go and we need to Google translator services too. More fees..yay

      Reply

      • Have you tried the Lak si office yet? We were able to get married there today, I think we were first in line around 8:30am and it took us less than an hour. Such a nice surprise after having myriad problems (incorrect translations, waiting around all day, etc) at MFA. There is an English speaker and they made the process quite friendly.

        Reply

        • Hi Will. If you don’t mind me asking, how long did it take to get you the affirmation back from the MFA? can you recommend where to get the document translated or where you don’t recommend to go? so there’s no hassle of incorrect translations. I was thinking to go to Lak Si too. Do you need an appointment for that? or just walk in?
          Thanks

          Reply

          • We put our paperwork in on Tuesday in the morning around 11am. Since it was later than the “express time” which some say is available and some say not, we had to come back 2 days later on Thursday. We came early on Thursday and one of the papers was done–for the groom–but they said our translation was incorrect. We made the rookie mistake of paying too much for the translation and doing it way too far from the Chang Wattana MFA building. So we gave it to an agent milling about who had helped me with standing in the correct line, and he got it re-translated for 300 baht. My paperwork still wasn’t done at 11am; it took until around 12:30pm to be given back, only to discover they had found even more mistakes in my document. The same agent re-translated this document for 400 baht. If the documents are re-submitted before 2pm, they can be picked up again with the stamps between 3-5pm. They said 3 but we had to wait until 5pm for one. So, in essence, we spent the entire day at the building. At least there is a good cafeteria and coffee, and watching the agents and all the couples is like a soap opera. But I could find better things to do than sit around there all day.

            I think the best thing to do is to get your document translated right at Chang Wattana. They didn’t find any mistakes in our document the 2nd time around. Also, I think the agents seem to have a good relationship with the bureaucrats. Our agent has been working there for 20 years. I don’t think he speaks English. But I think with some miming, you could get your point across ok. He works hard. We just went through the agent, but there are also translation services on the 2nd floor (right below the 3rd floor where you go to get your documents stamped).

            For Lak Si, we didn’t have an appointment. Just get there early, that seems to be the best. I think we may have paid 1000 baht for “witnesses” although that was not explained at all by the worker, who was very friendly, by the way. It was quick and unlike all our other experiences. Every other thing we have tried to accomplish quickly was just not possible. So the process ended up taking a long time. If you need the agent’s info, let me know. But you can find people to help smooth the process right on the 3rd floor; they sit in the middle of the room near the table for filling out documents. Good luck!

            Reply

  71. I went to the British consul with the affirmation hand written the lady behind the counter helpfully came out front and used one the comps and typed it for me on jan 17th. My wife daughter and i then went to translator across the rd payed 300 bht waited 20 mins then to chaeng wattana spent about 10 mins in there told to return around 11 on the 19th. Returned on 19th about 930 was in Lak Si office by 10 wife filled all paperwork when asked by man if we had wittnesses said no could u please help us he gave her 2 envelopes she asked how much shevshould put in he said 500 bht each 1000 total we were finished by 1145 . We found the whole process quite easy she is thai and who knows if the presence of our daughter helped.

    Reply

  72. My girlfriend is Vietnamese and I am American. We jumped through all of the loopholes in Vietnam to get the required local single status paperwork. Upon reaching the Vietnamese Consulate in Bangkok, they refused to grant her a single status certificate despite the fact that we already received one from her local region. We were told that Vietnam is no longer allowing Vietnamese to marry in Thailand if one of the couple does not have a status in Thailand.. i.e. work visa. They simply will not authenticate your local office single status document for the Thai officials.

    Reply

    • I married a Vietnamese woman last month but the ONLY way to accomplish it is to hire an agent. I contacted several agents until I was able to find one who was able to help. We used Nada (her contact info on the Line app is Thaivisa. She was totally professional, took care of filing all of the paperwork and everything worked out without any problems. I was worried at first before I hired her, but she reassured me saying she has a 100% success rate.

      Reply

  73. Hi,

    Thanks for thehelpfull blog, reading though comments i seem to be gettng mixed messages. could you clarify are the MFa offering express service for foreingers at all, if so is it time restricted to 8:30-9:30?

    for uk / us embessays will we be given our affirmations on the same day or is there a 24 hour wait?

    Do we also need translated passports?

    Secondly, do we need to get our certificate & translation legalised at mfa also? (im uk, she usa)

    Thanks again for all the info 🙂

    Reply

  76. I am British and my girlfriend is Thai.
    Today we completed the British Embassy bit at 0800, did the translation near Phoem Chit, decided to travel to Dept of Consular Affairs (DCA) by BTS to Mo Chit then taxi the rest of the way. My Thai GF gave the driver the address exactly, however, the taxi took us by a fast (very fast) but by no means most direct route, then as we were approaching DCA the taxi turned left taking us to the far end of the Government Complex (1-2km) dropping us off at the back entrance. Cost on the meter 145 baht, (plus road toll which we refused to pay. The taxi driver didn’t argue, he just sped off at great speed). We were told that many taxis do this to farang. We had to get a bus back to the main entrance on Chaeng Wattana. Total time from Mo Chit – 45 mins. We still managed to arrive around 11.15 despite the taxi shenanigans. After we submitted our docs, we returned to Mo Chit station using bus no 52, journey time 35 min, and the fare was a pittance. Readers can choose the best options for them.

    Transportation aside, my GF had to submit a copy of her ID card at the DCA to start the ball rolling. We were told 2 days, i.e. submitted docs on Wednesday (around 11.45), collect Friday from 10am.

    I hope this is useful.

    Reply

  77. Hello, I am in the process of legalizing my marriage with my fiance here in Bangkok. We dropped our translations and original documents off yesterday at Chang Wattana yesterday morning and we were told to come back about the same time on Thursday, around 10am. We are going to try to go a bit earlier and see if the paperwork might be done. Everything is taking longer than planned for; my fiance is Indonesian and he had to wait a whole day to get the right to marry paperwork from his embassy. Then the translation place we picked was slow, as well. I just hope they did a good job.

    I am confused about once we are finished at the Amphur. On my paperwork from my embassy (USA), they mention we must go back to Chang Wattana to authenticate the marriage license. When I asked there, at first they said that was not necessary but when I showed them my list of steps from the embassy, then they said it *was* necessary. I think that means they don’t know for sure.

    We plan to live in Korea, neither of our home countries, at least for a while. Is there a reason we would need to authenticate the license at Chang Wattana after receiving it at the Amphur? Thank you so much.

    Reply

    • As far as I know, in all cases, the freedom to marry documents are legalized (once translated) at CW, then you go to the amphur, get married, and that’s it. I’ve never heard of having to get a marriage certificate authenticated at CW. You might want to get it translated to English though if you are living in different countries.

      Reply

      • How much did you pay at the Amphur to get your marriage license? We spent 3000 baht today at the Lak Si Amphur. I am curious if it is the same for everyone, especially with all the talk of whether witnesses are required or not. (We didn’t bring any).

        Reply

    • We were married last month in Bangkok and due to time restraints and other issues used an agent. At the Amphur you will receive 2 original Certificates of Marriage and 2 original Registrations of marriage in Thai. The agent had it translated into English for us. Since we intend to do immigration proceedings in the U.S., there is a requirement for a certified copy of our marriage certificate. After discussing this with the agent, we had the agent take one of the sets of the originals back to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the agent obtained 3 additional certified copies for us with the Thailand seal stamped on the documents and signature of the ministry of foreign affairs. This is a 3 business day process and the agent mailed me the second original and the certified copies by DHL courier. I am now comfortable with what I have to show immigration. The first page of the Certificate of Marriage is in English certified as a correct translation and has the Ministry of Foreign Affairs seal. The back of the English page has the Ministry seal and a signed numbered document memo indicating “Seen at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs”. Behind that is affixed the copy of the Certificate of Marriage in Thai and the back of that has the Ministry seal, signature and states Certified True Copy. Similarly we have the Registration of Marriage certified. It may not have been necessary to go through all these steps, but when it comes to immigration, we do not want any chance that the document from the Amphur would not be accepted.

      Reply

  78. So we’re just waiting with crossed fingers that the fma accept the translation of the affirmation, dropped it off Wednesday first thing and going back friday. They said the express service isn’t available because I have a translation, seems it is available for Thai only marriages. The latest debacle is finding an ampur, we went to prakanong this morning who said we need to book a week in advance, and also have English speaking witnesses. This doesn’t really work as I have to head home before then! The mrs has called 3 other ampurs to see what the score is and been told varying degrees of nonsense including needing a translated copy of my passport which also needs verifying at the fma, needing a family member to be a witness and having to submit docs and go back a few days later to see if they’re happy.

    Can anyone advise of an amphur that will register the marriage without having to jump through 1000s of hoops??

    All in all its an utter shambles but at least consistent with the rest of the country. My advice to non thai couples looking to marry here is either register the marriage at home or go to bali instead! I’d also suggest thailand life think about revising the content of the article as its become outdated and gives a false indication of what is involved. Cheers!

    Reply

    • The article is being updated regularly. The post starts with the latest updates reflecting the latest rules.

      The problems started in the last quarter of 2016 when rules began to change regarding the express service, affirmation acceptance and booking appointments for an amphur. And the goal posts keep being moved.

      I have personally been in touch with the British Embassy (when the MFA stopped taking British affirmations because of the disclaimer issue, which is now resolved), and with senior management at Chaeng Wattana immigration regarding conflicting information. But it seems that management changes and miscommunication is preventing a consistent process between the embassies, immigration, and the district offices.

      Even Thai people are experiencing problems because they now have to book in advance at an amphur. You could try Bangrak, or, if you wade through the comments on here, there was a guy a while back who mentioned one where he had no problems at all; I think it was Sathorn but I can’t be sure.

      I feel really bad for people facing such a convoluted service but all I can do is keep the comments here open and hope people like yourself keep reporting back with up to date information to help others.

      Reply

      • Thanks for the reply. Just a suggestion, no offence intended 🙂

        The issue we’re having is the inconsistency at district offices, the majority say they want a certified translation of my passport but others don’t. Will update again shortly, I expect the problem will magicly disappear with a few baht introduced to proceedings…

        Reply

        • None taken 🙂 I feel your frustration. Hopefully you’ll find an Amphur that will do it, albeit with a bribe! By the way, did you receive a notification that told you I had replied to your comment? Some people are emailing in to say they aren’t receiving notifications so I’m trying to identify the issue. Thanks

          Reply

          • It all went remarkably smoothly in the end, arrived at mfa 9am ish and had the legalized papers within 15 minutes. Short stop downstairs to copy everything and then got a taxi to lak si district office which is less than 5 minutes away. Greeted by a very helpful chap at the desk who asked if we had an appointment which was a no. Gave us 2 forms to fill in in thai along with an envelope for the bung (1500thb for witnesses and no appointment). Waited in the registration section for an hour ish before being called to a lady called Banyong who spent another hour checking signatures and scanning papers, all very friendly. Paid another 800 for a gold folder and we were out by 12.00, happily married!

            Three other couples were also there with agents so seems like lak si is the place to go! Dont listen to what they say on the phone, just get every thing ready and go see them face to face armed with a few notes!

            Thanks to Thailand life and all the contributors for the invaluable info, off on honeymoon now, to pattaya…

            Ps no I haven’t had any notifications of your replies

            Reply

            • Great news! Wow though, it seems corruption has even made its way into the marriage process now. I’ve never heard of bungs to get an appointment before. When I got married it was just grab a ticket, take a seat and wait your turn. Cost us 20 Baht if I remember correctly.

              Thanks for reporting back, it’s really helpful for others.

              I need to fix this notification issue. Onto it this weekend.

              Reply

            • Glad it went well for you. We used an agent because of severe time restraints. I went to the US Embassy on Monday. The agent took care of submitting all of the documents and met us at the Amphur on Thursday afternoon. Everything went smoothly. Even through we paid for the services, if you have time constraints or issues which we had or are worried about the political system, we felt it was better to use an agent. We used Nada (line app Thaivisa). She was totally professional, and responsive, answering all of our many texts and calls.

              Reply

        • I can advise, when I went to my embassy to get my declaration, they also said I should get my passport done as some amphur outside of Bangkok do require it…

          However at my local amphur, they didnt need it after all.

          Better to be prepared though!

          Reply

  79. Hi, any idea what to do in case when my country doesn’t have embassy in Thailand? I am Lithuanian national living in UK. Lithuania doesn’t have embassy in Thailand and UK embassy issues gives an Affirmation of Freedom to Marry only to british citizens. I could get it in Lithuanian embassy in uk before travelling to marry in Thailand. But will an Affirmation of Freedom to Marry issued in embassy outside Thailand be valid for Thai authorities?

    Reply

  80. I have just been told by staff at Amphoe Udon Thani that I need to bring a translation of my passport. A translation of an internationally recognisable legal passport? Even immigration doesn’t require that. What needs to be translated, even the simplest staff member can see if a passport is valid or not and other documents including the Affirmation of marital status is translated into Thai with all relevant personal information. I am completely baffled by the mountains of paper and unnecessary bureaucracy here.

    Reply

  81. I thought I should add to this, I went to certify the documents this morning.

    There is no express service, they said it was cancelled, although there are signs around with express written on them.

    They said come back in 4 days to collect, or can have posted to us.

    They also required a copy of my girlfriends ID card, which we did not have prepared…

    Reply

    • The Thai MFA and sometimes the Amphur Office will hesitate to take an affidavit that is more than 30 days old.

      So for both instances – the authorization at the MFA and marrying at an amphur – I wouldn’t risk going over 30 days.

      Reply

    • I have just returned from Amphoe Udon Thani who accept an Affirmation of Marital Status as a valid document for six months from the date of issue. However, as there is no uniformity in Thailand you should ask at your local authority what their interpretation of the rules is.

      Reply

  83. Hi everyone.

    Having almost finished the process now, I will let you know how things have gone so far.

    Had my appointment with British Embassy on Monday 19th. In and out within 30 minutes, and translation near Phloenchit BTS took another 40 mins. From then I would have been ready to submit.

    We then headed to Kazakhstan Embassy (no appointment required) with the letter issued already in Kazakhstan which has 3 month validity. It took them 24 hours to provide us with the affirmation in English (usually takes 48 but we persuaded them to do it quicker), and then by midday Tuesday we asked for translation which would be ready next morning (2 pages and more complex than UK Affirmation). We gave them a copy of the UK translation so they could replicate the names / addresses.

    Wednesday morning 8.30am we collected the Kazakhstan translation and headed to the MFA. At 9am they informed us that we could not use the express service as this is only for legalisation of Thai documents. For foreign language documents with Thai translation, these still take 3 days, so they told us we could collect on Friday. We said we will be coming back January 4th instead which was no issue.

    Took a taxi 5 minutes to Laksi district office, and met the very helpful Chonticha, who guided us through the process. We gave her copies of our affirmations, translations and passport copy (and entry stamp / visa page) and she helped us complete the forms.
    We asked to book appointment when we come back to Thailand on January 4th, which was no problem even though my letter said December. I think as long as you go within a month of the document date it should be no issue. She said we now have an appointment, but no time specified and I think you can still just come without appointment as when we arrived she asked if we wanted to register straight away.

    All in all pretty painless. Looking forward to return on Jan 4th, collect documents and then head to Laksi for the registration.

    Hope this is helpful. Good luck!

    Reply

    • Thank you for the update Rowan. So it seems there is some confusion between staff over the express service. The other day someone reported that they were told the express service is available for all. Anyway, I will update my post to reflect this. All the best!

      Reply

      • No problem.

        Yes it’s strange regarding express service, guess it could still be changing every week as nothing seems to be written down.

        Can I ask, for translation of Marriage Certificate back into English, can I get a ‘Sworn Translation’ from the shops near Phloenchit?

        I read some countries require the translation to be again stamped by the MFA. Assume the UK isn’t one of them? I’ll have to check regarding Kazakhstan.

        Thanks

        Reply

  84. Well after nearly a month I finally managed to get married today. Admittedly did not have time to do this full time but a real hassle. Starting from the British Embassy and get the affirmation, then getting the translation which the DFA accepted and my local office rejected. Did it again at translator downstairs at the DFA and my fiancé collected it, and the DFA rejected it for the 2nd time. Something about the type of document I had – passport or Thai ID card, – so had to wait a few hours therefor them to do it again – then took it back to the local office on Friday, and they checked through it and said it should be ok. Went this morning after making an appointment and after an hour of checking the documents again, through and through, over and over, reprint, reprint, again, managed to get through it. Gave the lady a 200 baht tip for coffee for being helpful because it appeared to be her superior who was holding it up. Expect for it to be batted back a few times and try not to get upset. A couple of trips to your local office should try and smooth things over. I was divorced before to Thai woman and my name had to match exactly what was written on that document (even if wrong). The silent letters in your name could be sticking points and will insist for in to be spelt a certain way even if the transliteration cannot be done exactly. Even Smith can be a problem with them translating it as Smit or Smit(h) – silent h and then someone No, it has been done wrong, no silent h. Expect a big of screwing around. If you are in a rush, you need to try and get some of this sorted out before you come. Get a translator on it now to smooth things out and go over the document. Even take it to them before going to the DFA and see if they are OK with it. If that is the case it may be hassle free. First Embassy, then local office – check documents and translation, now DFA, authentication, back to local office and hopefully (fingers crossed they will do it for you) Then have a party. Hoorah.

    Reply

  85. HI TheThailandLife,

    U SAID **Post update: Dec 2016: This Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is offering the legalisation express service again, but only for those who apply between 8.30-9.30. Pick up time is 14.30-16.30, the same day.

    DOES THIS APPLY TO EXPRESS SERVICE FOR AFFIRMATION? OR WHAT?

    Reply

    • Once you get your affirmation of freedom to marry from your embassy and have it translated to Thai, it needs legalising by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They have now started the express one day service for this again, which they had previously stopped offering.

      Reply

  86. I was just at chaeng wattana today and did the legalisation step. They do have express service still but only between 8.30-9.30 (pick up 14.30-16.30 the same day) if you come later there is a 3 day wait (however we were recommended to come back in 4 days “to be sure”). For this step you also need a copy of the latest stamps in your passport. If your partner is thai they cannot use their thai passport (super weird?!) but only their thai ID card and you need to aslo provide a copy of this. The price was 400 bath for normal service.

    Reply

  87. I see a few people are having issues with poor translations and getting rejected by the MFA.

    This is strange. I have never heard of so many cases.

    Please make sure you visit a reputable and fully licensed translation company. Note that in Thailand there are standard translations issued for all names of people (common) and places. Reputable translators have access to the books that document these translations and reference them to translate documents.

    At a very minimum, if your name is not one they have come across before, they will make sure it is spelt consistently throughout the document.

    Simple names like John, Mark, Paul, Peter, etc., should never cause a problem.

    Reply

  88. I got rejected yesterday because of my name which has been translated wrong or so they think. I have another document which has been translated in Thai and they put “Mark” as “Mak” (in Thai). Some might write it as Ma(r)k – silent r, or some may say just Mak and leave out the r entirely, or some may put an modifier about the a to make it sound more like “Mark”. So it seems the biggest problem is with the name, they even got my Thai fiance’s name wrong. So going back to DFA to do it again. Translation then authentication and then back to the registry office. Nigh impossible to do this process in under a week even if you are at it full time 7 days a week. Over New year many offices closed – 1st and 2nd of Jan closed for sure plus also the 31st of December. Do not expect to get too much done then. Put your address in the UK or overseas, and then your Thai fiancé’s address here and which she needs the Tabien. A trip to the registry office in advance to get them to go through some of the paper work would help. They have to go through it and can advise you also before the translation. Might help to get through it.

    Reply

  89. John Smith translated to Thai becomes Jo(h)n Smit or if you like Jon Smich or maybe Jo(h)n Smit(h). Names is silent and if you have any document in Thai with any other name or someone else has translated it in a way that Thais think is wrong, it will be rejected. Amazing that with many sounds in English which cannot be translated directly to Thai why they bother trying to translate your name in the first place. Thai does not have a V, Z, TH, or SH. so if your name have any of those sounds you can be guaranteed for some confusion. or rejection based on someone saying it has been translated wrong and send you packing to get it done again. Sheriton Schaffer might have some problems which would be translated into S(h)eritOn S(h)AffeR. Verity will become Weritee, Shaun Zock will become Sawn Sock.  Have a nice stay. Enjoy the beach. Happiness with a smile.

    Reply

  90. The paper work is a real hassle and if not exactly perfect will reject it. The first translation was rejected with numerous errors. I can read a bit of Thai and appears to have been done in a bit of rush. Names on there were not the same as my divorce certificate, and so that was rejected. Also they screwed up my fiancé’s name – could not even get that right and translated it without looking at her ID and so that does not match exactly. If your name is John Smith for instance there is no “th” in Thai and so the exact transliteration of Smith could become an issue with some doing it one way and others doing it another way and so variations of Smith. You could also have different variation of John – such as Jo(h)n or Jon – h becomes silent. A real hassle. Welcome to Thailand. It is nigh impossible to do it in 3 days. Embassy one day. Translation one day. DFA at least 3 days depending on the day, and then collection and if no problems back to the registrar, and they may decide to marry you. Best to give your documents to them in advance for them to check which the documents are at the DFA and see if they spot any mistakes and which they will go through with a fin tooth comb to see if anything does not match which will have you running from pillar to post. The registrar office I found quite helpful but they sometimes want a translator, do not know why if you GF can speak a little bit of English, but it is the way it is done. You should bring 2 significant others family members to try and smooth things over. I am sure in the provinces it could be less hassle but just a guess.
    I used the translator at the DFA in the end and they still got it wrong also. A real pain. Give yourself a solid 2 weeks after the Embassy to be sure, and be prepared for someone to bat something back to you to say it has been done wrong which will have you starting the whole procedure all over again.

    Reply

    • Hi Klevi, if there is no Albanian embassy in Bangkok, you should contact the embassy in your home country for their advice. They will know what the procedure is for Albanian nationals getting married in Thailand.

      Reply

  93. As I didn’t get a reply I am trying again to get information…….

    Hi, My partner and I are getting married in Bangkok over Christmas and New Year. I can only take 10 days off work and arrive on 23rd Dec, go back to UK on 2nd Jan.

    I have the appointment booked with the British Embassy on 28th (Earliest opportunity it seems as its closed over the few days before Christmas and opens again a few days later). I have 3 clear days to get all this sorted. I read here that the 1 day authentication at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is no longer offered. This puts me in a bit of a problem as I need to have the whole process done and dusted in 3 days (I know this does not sound very romantic but time pressures of work etc. mean I can only come over for the dates specified). I will come back for a much more extended break to be with my family after my current contract finishes but we need this marriage sorted out over the time allotted to me over Christmas this year).

    Is this a possibility? Or am I in trouble. I can possible extend my trip a day or 2 longer but I need to know ASAP so I can extend the flight and let my work know of the extra dates needed.

    Reply

    • Hi Jim,

      If you can visit the British Embassy early enough, get a translation and then get over to the MFA by lunchtime to hand in your freedom to marry document then it’s possible you could pick it up the next day. It depends how busy they are though. Someone recently noted in the comments that it took 48 hours to process.

      Now bear in mind that you need to book an appointment to get married an a district office. You used to be able to just walk in but now you need an appointment. So here’s what I would do.

      1. Call the MFA and ask what their current processing times are.
      2. Pre-book your marriage registration appointment for the third day with a district office. Make sure you organise your witnesses too. Please read through the comments below on recent experiences regarding witnesses. I think some amphurs (district offices) offer a witness service for a fee, but other require two independent Thai witnesses with Thai ID cards.

      P.S. Make sure your wife has all her relevant documents too.

      Reply

    • Try and do as much of the leg work over there. And get it translated prior to that time. Then get your wife to be to go to the Ampur District Office to see if they raise any objections with your name. They are quite helpful but I saw them even rejecting some Thais, so kind of difficult for everyone. The DFA will not take your phone call I doubt, and if they do will not offer commitment. I was at the registry office and was rejected due to my name being translated wrong (or so they think). So it means going back to the translator at the DFA and doing it again. Another week added to the process.

      Reply

  94. Hi! Firstly, another big thank you to The Thailand Life for a fantastic source of information.

    My partner and I (both non-thai) are visiting Bangkok for 3 full days on 19-21 December, and hope to get married during this time. However I have only been able to secure a British Embassy appointment on the 20th (have emailed asking if they can bring it forward to 19th) which means that given there is now no express service, it seems pretty unlikely that we can complete the Registration at the Khet/Amphur on the second day after collecting the documents from the MFA (even with the full 3 days sounds like there could be problems).

    My question is, as we live in Yangon, it is quite easy for us to pop back to Bangkok at a later date. Once we have all of the authenticated documents / translations / copies, how long do we have to take them to the Amphur/Khet to complete the marriage registration? If we come back 2 weeks / 1 month / 4 months later, will these documents still be valid, or will we have to start the process all over again?

    If we go to one of the Bangkok Khet on the 21st to submit the documents, is it possible they will let us come back at a later date to complete the registration?

    Much appreciate any advice anyone can offer. I have looked around a fair bit but hard to find an answer to this specific question.

    Thanks!

    Reply

    • Hi Rowan, there isn’t an official time limit on the affidavit, but it is up to the officer at the MFA whether they accept it. The US embassy has said: “The Thai MFA and sometimes the Amphur Office will hesitate to take an affidavit that is more than 30 days old”.

      So for both instances – the authorization at the MFA and marrying at an amphur – I wouldn’t risk going over 30 days.

      Reply

      • Thanks so much for the quick reply!

        A quick follow up question. If I was to submit the forms at the MFA on December 20th, and then by end December 21st when I leave they are not ready, is it likely I would be able to collect them upon returning to Thailand on January 3rd/4th? Would they keep the forms for that long or do you have to collect them within a few days?

        And I am wondering, if I had December written on the affirmation (obtained on 20th December) but went to Lak Si on January 4th, 2 weeks later, would they have an issue with the fact that the affirmation stated December? Any idea.

        Really appreciate your advice, this would all be pure guesswork (and nigh impossible) otherwise.

        Reply

        • I think that can work. I don’t see why not. You could call them and ask. That would be your best bet. I have never heard of a restriction time on collecting documents, but I would assume they have a 30-day window.

          Reply

        • Think it is fine. I was down there the other day and you can collect when you want. Just tell them you will be away on holiday and they understand. But it is not them but the district office which has the right to reject it. Mine was approved by the MFA only to be rejected by the local Ampur office. Have to go back and do it again.

          Reply

  95. Thanks for the information. has been quite useful. I would not use the translators at the Thai Consular Affairs. For one thing it takes too long. I was there yesterday and they told me that it would take 3 days. Better get it done before, also for them to check the mistakes. I stay in Ramkamhaeng and did it down there. I have to collect authentication on Monday.

    You also have to book with the British Embassy. make sure you do that in advance – all done online – make sure you do that before you come. it took me over a month to see the British Embassy. they were quite helpful, and changed it.

    Printed it out there again on their computer inside the Embassy, for small errors. that cost 2250 Baht.

    You cannot laminate that as well. Make sure you take Thai signed copy ID of your wife to Thai Consular Affairs for Authentication. That may take up to 3 days to process. Not sure if they have the express service but they told me no, I have to collect it Monday.

    I did translation at the Best Center – Ramkamhaeng 43/1 which took a day for them to do and got it back a day later. Costs me 300 Baht for one page. Worth it I thought and quite professional. See if you have anywhere around you, and give to them in advance.

    Reply

  97. Hi, My partner and I are getting married in Bangkok over Christmas and New Year. I can only take 10 days off work and arrive on 23rd Dec, go back to UK on 2nd Jan.

    I have the appointment booked with the British Embassy on 28th (Earliest opportunity it seems as its closed over the few days before Christmas and opens again a few days later). I have 3 clear days to get all this sorted. I read here that the 1 day authentication at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is no longer offered. This puts me in a bit of a problem as I need to have the whole process done and dusted in 3 days (I know this does not sound very romantic but time pressures of work etc. mean I can only come over for the dates specified). I will come back for a much more extended break to be with my family after my current contract finishes but we need this marriage sorted out over the time allotted to me over Christmas this year).

    Is this a possibility? Or am I in trouble. I can possible extend my trip a day or 2 longer but I need to know ASAP so I can extend the flight and let my work know of the extra dates needed.

    Reply

  98. First off, thanks for setting up this website, very helpful.
    I’ll just leave my experience so it might benefit others.
    I did not get married yet so I’m not aware of any of the issues such as 1 month waiting periods.

    I am from Holland and my fiancé is from Canada. On Friday, we had an appointment at the Dutch embassy at 8.30 (since last week you need an appointment and make sure to bring all the paperwork they ask for; passport, birth certificate, proof of unmarried status). Took a bit over an hour to get out. Went to the Canadian embassy, great help, in and out in about 10min. Just needed a passport. You also need an appointment here btw although no one seemed to care we had none.
    Took a taxi to the ministry of foreign affairs. Took about 30min and 300 bath. At this point its around 10.50. Got approached by one of the touts. Take my advice here and please don’t use them. Take the escalator upstairs and you’ll see a translation booth, use that. The tout first off forgot to sign the document and it was a pain to find him again cause they don’t have a fixed working place. We submitted the paperwork around noon, indeed no express service. So we got back on Tuesday, and the documents were translated incorrectly. So we had to go find this guy again. Then we had to resubmit everything but we did get same day service.
    All in all a bit stressful cause no one seems to be able to string a full English sentence together and we had a flight to catch. The people at the ministry of foreign affairs were helpful though.

    My best advice, find a good translation service. Since there is no express service, you don’t have to submit it before noon. The Canadian embassy has a few recommended on their website that are close to most embassies so it shouldn’t take much longer than getting it translated at the MFA.
    For any Dutch people reading this, please take all the required paperwork. We Dutch seem to be the world champions in bureaucracy..

    Reply

  99. Hi,
    Thanks for the great info on this page. I would first like to point out to everyone that saying bad things about Thailand because you got ripped off by an agent is poor form. You SHOULD be aware that no matter where you go in the world, there will ALWAYS be someone looking to take your money and rip you off. If you are not aware of this then get with the program. It happens in every country and you just need to know not to fall into their traps.
    I am planning to get wed in Thailand also. I am from UK and my partner of ten years from Cambodia we are both in Vietnam at the moment with our daughter. My partner and my daughter both have full passports. They also have their blue book or house book and my daughter has her birth cert. We also know that we will need a doc from our embassy saying we have not been married before. So we have all our documents needed.
    I have several friends in Bangkok as I have been there many times. So I am asking them if they can get me and my partner to and from the embassy/gov offices and get our documents translated. I am obviously avoiding agents but trying to get everything sorted out before so the whole process will run smoothly.
    My question is will my daughter need any documents for her mum and me to get married? And is there anything I am missing out here? Will my partner need a birth certificate? She does have a full passport and her house book already.

    Any feedback or advice would be much appreciated.

    Have a great day.
    Julian

    Reply

    • You don’t need any additional documents for your daughter for you to get married in Thailand. Once you have your affirmations from your respective embassies, then the translations, and the MFA legalise the documents, you are good to go. But I don’t know if this will be the case with the Cambodian embassy. To get the affirmation from the embassy, they may ask to see some other documents relating to your daughter. So check on that first. I have no idea of their requirements.

      Reply

      • Hi,
        Thanks that’s great news. Can you just tell me what the MFA stands for?
        And what do we have to get translated? Everything including copies of passports?
        So then we take everything to the MFA to legalize all the documents and that’s it? Once they are legalized we are done and married with many happy days ahead:) ?

        Reply

        • Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

          You only need the affirmations from your embassies translated to Thai. You will also need copies of your passports.

          But no, once legalized, you then need to book an appointment at a local district office (known as an amphur) to be issued with your marriage certificate.

          See the last section of the post: What Marriage Documents to Take to the Registrar

          All the best!

          Reply

  100. October 2016. If your a foreigner thinking of getting married in Thailand, do yourself a favour. DON’T.

    Get married in a country that welcomes foreigners like Bali. We saw all the tourist booklets about Thailand and thought wow… this would be an amazing place to get married. Wrong. We spent over $5,000 in this racist country and got in return a marriage process from HELL.

    Twice we had to cancel our pre-booked wedding ceremony and I had a bride in tears. The Thai bureaucrats don’t care and probably enjoyed laughing at the white foreigners. Basically the military junta staged a coup d’état against the democratically elected government and have since changed all the marriage procedure rules making it almost impossible for Westerners to get married in their country.

    Getting married in one day is impossible. There is now only one Khet in the whole of Thailand that does not make foreigners wait one month before they will marry them. It feels like they want to get rid of foreigners i.e. Westerners. I hated this poo-hole country and never felt so unwelcome in a place in my life.

    By contrast we spent our honeymoon in Cambodia and it was amazing. The people were so welcoming. The food was great. We really loved this country and its people. Thank you so much Cambodia.

    Reply

    • I will add this. This is the best advice I can give. If you for some reason cannot avoid getting married in Thailand. If during the marriage process a nightmare scenario eventuates. Go to see Conchita in the Marriage Section of Khet Lak Si. She is obviously a pro democracy supporter and a mid range departmental head official. She salvaged our wedding and you can trust the information she provides. Cheers.

      Reply

      • Hi Groom, what was the reason your ceremony had to be rescheduled? The way I understand it, its separate from going to the Amphur office. Or am I misunderstanding?
        The way our wedding organizer brought it was, the ceremony is nothing legal, its just a party. The Amphur is the legal part of the wedding.
        Thanks a lot for any advice
        Tim

        Reply

    • Sorry to hear about your bad experience. This year has unfortunately turned up a bunch of problems for foreigner trying to get married in Thailand, not least the issue regarding the legal disclaimer on the affidavit for British nationals. Then there’s the having to book appointments at local district offices to register the marriage, and the witnesses thing whereby some people are being asked to use two witnesses from their own country.

      Much of the confusion is coming from operational changes, whereby new management make rash decisions without understanding the implications. Fortunately, with hindsight, these decisions are usually rolled back fairly quickly

      It makes no sense to intentionally make getting married difficult, because foreign marriages are a solid source of income for the tourism industry.

      Reply

      • Hi, thanks for the great info and the sense of humour. Loved the detailed timing, it felt like the amazing race…. you wrote lately in the post ”issue regarding the legal disclaimer on the affidavit for British nationals”, can you please explain what this means and what are the consequences?

        Thanks

        Reply

  101. Hi Thailand Life.
    You are ace for setting up this website. When I stumbled across it I was so excited I tried to hurdle my ironing board! This information is so helpful. I think all the users on here should buy you a beer.

    I have for the last 10 weeks been trying to phone the British Embassy in England, they either have poor staffing levels or they are sat around dunking biscuits in tea because they do not answer the phone!

    We are getting married in Phuket end of Jan 2017. We are both Bristish Nationals. We are paying a registrar to come to our wedding to marry us in Phuket. I understand that we need to go to Bangkok first and complete your Steps 1&2. What I am confused about is whether we need to take Step 3 as the registrar is coming to marry us on the beach. Just to be clear we don’t want to be married in Bangkok inadvertently by misunderstanding the process.

    Thank you so much.

    Reply

    • I cannot be held responsible for any ironing board hurdling related accidents 🙂

      So, the registrar will be from the local district office. She/he will issue the certificate there. So no need to use a district office in Bangkok. You may have to pick up your certificate from the office the next day, or they may deliver it to you. Confirm this beforehand. All the best!

      Reply

  102. Hi thanks for the article.

    I am from the UK in Bangkok and only here until the 19th. I had someone helping me with the marriage but now it is turning into a nightmare. Both myself and my partner are form the UK.

    I have the affidavits and they are at the translation shop apparently waiting to go to thai consular of affairs.

    However the agent has apparently been told by the district office that they have to wait for 1 month after receiving the application before they can marry us because they have to contact our embassy.!!!

    We only have 3 days now to do this. Both

    Reply

    • That has never been a rule, and it can’t have just suddenly changed. This would be ridiculous. Are you sure the agent isn’t trying to pull a fast one just to get more cash? I’d get the affidavits and go to the MFA yourself. You don’t need the agent.

      Reply

      • Yeah i think so. they are also trying to charge me 4000 thb for the authentification from the thai consul.

        Unfortunately they had collected my affidavits off me and taken them to the MFA before i knew any of this was happening.

        First they made out that I could not receive them back before next week (when we would be leaving) and now they mysteriously appeared today!

        It is very dodgy. I haven’t paid them anything yet and wont before I am married tomorrow. So fingers crossed.

        I will update tomorrow

        Reply

  103. Many thanks for all the information , I am planning to marry a Thai National later this month. I am Australian and it is easy to get the form from my Embassy to allow me to marry. I am concerned that the express service may not be available from the Thai Consular Affairs. Please can you tell me how many days it may take to get documents back from Thai Consular Affairs ?

    Reply

  104. Thanks for the information you guys took time to write for us.I’m from Cameroon and my fiancee is from the US. I have a certain preoccupation, my country doesn’t have any representative here in Thailand. Is the certificate that proves that I’m single made in my country enough?

    Reply

    • I think so. I mean there is no other way you can get around this if there is no Cameroonian embassy in Thailand. But you should check with another embassy to make sure. It may be that you have to get the document from the closest embassy (nearest country).

      Reply

  105. Witness – Hi I’m looking to get married to my Thai partner in Bangkok in Decmber and have taken on an agent as I just don’t have time to stay in Bangkok to sort everything out. The agent is now telling me that my witnesses been to be British citizens living in Britain. Can anyone tell me if this is true. I realize that the affirmation requires the names of two witnesses but I’m a little confused as I’ve ready may blogs about witnesses being provided at the wedding. If all else fails anyone fancy being a witness in Bangkok on the 20th December.

    Reply

  106. thank you for the very informative blog.
    Is it possible for me to get just the Affirmation of Freedom to Marry in 2 days.

    I am a malaysia citizen, i had obtained my single status declaration letter from our Malaysia Registration Office, and certified by Ministry of Foreign Affair in Malaysia.

    based on the blog and my correspond withe Malaysia Embassy Officers as below.

    My question will be on the Translation Office and Ministry of Foreign Affair in Bangkok.

    1. Translation Office – How long would they take to translate the Affirmation of Freedom to Marry and how much would it cost?

    2. Ministry of Foreign Affair – since the express service is no longer available, how long would it take actually?

    Reply

    • 1. It can take 2 hours or 1 day. It depends on how busy they are. If you pay for an express service, you could get it done within an hour. Not all companies offer this though.

      2. 24-48 hours. Please see the comments of others for recent updates.

      Reply

    • I am now at South Sathon 3, near Embassy malaysia.after obtained the sample of affirmation of marry from embassy. today will be using the service of translation. Embassy mentioned that i must put the 2 witness name is malaysia citizen. which is very troublesome.

      Reply

  107. First of all, I would like to thank the writer for this very informative blog!

    I am a Filipina with an Arab partner and I am a Muslim revert. We have learned it is easier to get married in Thailand. I’ve been online searching for information and recently contacted an agent who offered to process required documents which costs a lot (THB26,000 for processing, THB5,000 for Muslim marriage ceremony, and THB2,000 for document translation to English/Arabic). As the writer mentioned, hiring an agent doesn’t eliminate the first step which is acquiring a CLCCM (Certificate of Legal Capacity to Contract Marriage) from the Philippine Embassy.

    I have seen others asking about staying in Thailand for 10 days before being allowed to marry. Yes, it takes 10 calendar days clearing period before the Philippine Embassy releases the CLCCM for marriage banns purposes. Here is the link to get more information.

    I also have confusions regarding the Marriage Ceremony, when does it happen? Can we get wed after we acquire the CLCCM or after the Thai Consular Affairs Authentication of our documents?

    Lastly, we both have limited number of days we can stay in Thailand as we want to spend more time with my family in the Philippines before going back to the Middle East. We want to get wed on Valentine’s Day February 14, 2017. I’m planning to book our flights on January 31, 2017 to give a 10 day allowance for CLCCM clearing period, plus additional 3 days for other document processing. So I am wondering if any Filipino had recently been married in Thailand or anyone of you here who has the latest information, please let me know if the number of days I set will be enough.

    I appreciate your help.
    Thank you very much!

    Reply

  108. Hi,

    I have read so much information online and think I now have a decent understanding but I just need some help for the marriage side of things

    I will be arriving in Phuket on the 22nd November and will be there until the 14th December – I will by flying out to Bangkok at some point for 5 days to try and get everything sorted:

    I have filled in the template affidavit to marry from the UK Gov website and will bring this with me but I am unsure where I need to take this? Is it the MoFA office or the British embassy office to get it translated and signed?

    I am hoping I can get it all done pretty quickly as we will be applying for a Spouse visa for her to come live in the UK with her intended travel date as March 2017 (I have read that two days seems to be possible from the comments below)

    Thanks for any help as it will be greatly appreciated

    Reply

      • Hi , Dominic , after you fill the affirmation letter then made an appointment to the embassy ( choose what day you can go and time ) then go embassy and give them that form and it takes a about 45 mins or less than that , and then take all paper that the embassy give u back to the MFA and translate there its 400 baht , wait around 30 mins for your paper to be translater then go upstairs at MFA get a queue then pay another 400 baht for little stamp this step takes you about 2 days 🙁 after you get all documents from MFA you directly go to Lak sri District and all u need is just the documents that MFA gave you back also u dont have to bring witness coz the officer there will do it for you but they ask me to put in the envolop for 1000 baht 🙁 i had no choice so i had to give them but i didnt mind accually also they asked for translator aswell I said i dont have translator but in fact I work as an english translator at hospital so they said okay I can be the translator 🙂
        I did everything done today !! Thanks godddd , have been stress all week 🙂

        Good luck
        Nan

        Reply

      • I think 4 days should be enough 🙂 and also i think if u wanna do it at phuket you have to call and check first even in bkk some district they dont do it i dont know why !! But lak sri is really good service ! Some of them use an agent I dont think we should use agent because its easy for prepare documents if anyone have any problem you can ask me !!!

        Nan

        Reply

        • We have decided to use Nida. Line app id: Thaivisa after reading this board (see October 6, 2016) to assist us in December. She has been so helpful and responsive. We have a very limited time in Thailand and my fiancée is from Vietnam (where it is time consuming and very complicated to get married). Others discouraged us regarding the Vietnam consulate in Thailand providing the Freedom to Marry document but Nida said she has many customers from Vietnam. She told my fiancée exactly what she needs to bring from her country. Nida told us the time frames of when to go to the embassies (Vietnam takes 5 business days). She will do the translations and even file our documents with the Ministry so we do not have to go there. I hope all goes as planned. It is well worth it to us to pay her fee to have someone in Thailand guiding us every step of of the way and heading off any problems.

          Reply

          • Thank you for this, it really helps a lot

            The biggest problem I have come across now is that I booked the A1 life skills test without realising that we would need to be married first so that she could take the test using my surname 🙁

            I am going to have to try and do as much stuff as possible whilst I am with her and then leave my documents so that she can go apply for the visa alone after I go home

            I’m pretty tempted to pay for a visa agent just to make the process as easy as possible as it’s so stressful trying to organise it from the UK

            Can anyone on here advise how easy their wife found the A1 test? My girlfriend speaks really good English so I don’t think she will have any problems passing

            Reply

        • Does anyone know if the single status documentation can be obtained in Ho Chi Minh City prior to arriving in Bangkok as we are told it takes 5 business days for the Vietnam consulate to process the paper work in Bangkok.

          I emailed the Legalization Ministry in Bangkok and the Thai Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City. This is what they said:

          From Legalization:
          Dear Sir/Madam,

          I would like to inform you that for registering marriage in Thailand, basically you need to prepare your marital status certificate which issued by the concerned authorities of your country and must be passed certifying process by your Embassy in Thailand or The Thai Royal Embassy in your country, or incase your embassy in Thailand is able to issue that certificate to you directly you can contact them for issuing. After that you need to translate it to Thai language and bring it together with your original certificate from your Embassy and copy of passport to Legalization Division, Department of Consular Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bangkok for legalizing. Then bring the completed document contact Thai district office for registering marriage.

          Regards,
          Legalization Division

          From Thai Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City:
          Dear sir,

          Her Vietnamese doc must be translated into Thai and get the legalization at the External Relations Office, Ho Chi Minh City (most of the time they wont accept the thai translation but English so you can do the Thai translation once using in Thailand before handing to the Consular Affairs Dep in BKK). Then you take the doc with legalization from Vietnamese authority to legalize it here at Thai Consulate-General.

          Regards

          My question to Thai Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City:

          Thank you for your response. Will her single status document certified by External relations office in Ho Chi Minh City be good enough to take to Thailand Consular Affairs?

          Thai Consulate Ho Chi Minh City response:

          yes it is good enough

          Reply

      • Hi, Mike this is the address of Don mueang district
        999 Thanon Choet Wutthakat, Don Mueang, Bangkok 10210, Thailand
        Tel.02-565-9413
        I am not happy with the service at don mueang by calling and ask their information so I decided to use lak sri instead 🙂
        Yes some case are better to use agent but i am thai tho its quite easy 🙂
        Anyways good luck to both of you .

        Cheers
        Nan

        Reply

    • When you receive an update, click through to the post and find the box where you would normally reply and click on ‘You are the author of this entry. Manage subscriptions.’ You can then manage which posts you are subbed to. I think you’ve already done it, as I just had a look to do it for you and couldn’t see your email 🙂

      Reply

    • Please help with time frames for US Citizen. I can be at the US Embassy on a Monday for their first appointment which is 9:15. Will I get my Affirmation of Freedom to Marry right away? Once I have that we can go the Department of Consular Affairs. Will we be able to register marriage on Thursday? We have flight out of Bangkok on Friday morning. Thank you.

      Reply

  110. Hi All, I did everything today except go to the District because all documents we will get it in couple days which is we cant take off anymore so we decided to do it next week and Hopfully there is not gonna be any problem about witness or any translator.

    good luck everyone,

    Nan

    Reply

      • Hi Gary, I am abit confused that Don muang told me that We dont have to book just walk in , also do u have to bring witness and translator ? because last time they asked me to bring two witness and one translator , please keep an update so I am abit worry of there is a problem after . We are gonna do it next wednesday 🙂

        Thanks
        Nan

        Reply

        • We are using an agent as the whole process just been too stressful trying to do it ourselves whilst the problem with the british affirmation going on. The agent has booked me a time slot but maybe because we are being picked up at 9am. Yes you need witnesses and a translator.

          Reply

          • Just married today at Don Meaun. Went with an agent and paid the 7500 ouch. Even though there were suppose to be 2 witnesses only one agent/ translator was there. She seemed to know what she was doing though. To be honest it seems like a big cash cow. Because there was minimal work involved for this payment. And it all went through in little over an hour. I even noticed her signing 2 different signatures for the witness part. Can’t fault the service though. All done hassle free. So perhaps i should be thankful. Yay finished!!! Also thanks Ben for the tip.

            Reply

        • Just to update you, we were married in Don Muang yesterday. We used one translator and one witness done through an agent. Process took about 45 minutes. Pretty painless. Just waiting for our marriage document to be translated in to english and cerified today and then we are done.

          Reply

  112. Hi , Some of the comment they use Lak Sri also Laksri they provide witness aswell , that is awesome for that but I dont know if you have to bring translator
    I think I change my mind to go Lak Sri not Don muang but first of all I have to recheck again If it Okay for british married with Thai and also translator if i have to bring ..
    this website is soooooooooooo helpful for us 🙂
    thanks everyone

    Reply

  113. Hi all,

    Does anyone know or have any useful contacts with a Thai who can speak English and is willing to help translate during a marriage registration? Or an agent who can do this and supply witnesses. Open to all potential costs as i am desperate to get my situation resolved quickly.

    Reply

    • Hi Michael. I totally recommend the agency who got me and my Thai wife married 1 week ago today at Don Muang. No problem at all.
      Total fee is 7,500 baht. You just turn up with all your paperwork on the day. That 7,500 baht include translated marriage certificates to English too.

      Lady’s name is Khun Nida.
      Here are details.

      Please follow the company location below :
      Company name : Professional visa service co.,ltd
      Place : Maha thun Plaze building , Phloen chit road ( BTS Phloen chit exit 4 )
      ** our company is located on the left hand side of the Maha thun plaza building ( next to RADI Coffey shop )

      Nida
      0896117636

      I sorted it all out with her over the LINE application first.
      You pay 50% (3,750 baht) before then the other 50% after you are married and have your official certificates.

      Her LINE ID is : thaivisa

      I am very pleased I decided to use the service. My documents were also sat at Nonthaburi. Nothing will ever come of that. I am sure which is again why I used this agency.

      Cheers and good luck.
      Ben

      Reply

  114. Hi there, I have one question to ask
    how long that I can get all my documents back from the Department of Consular Affairs ? can it be one day still or three days ? I have read it from another website it said 3 days 🙁
    anyways this is the number of
    Don Mueang Ampher 02-5659413
    Bang Rak Ampher 02-2361395
    Lak Sri Ampher 02-9822081,02-9822082

    Nan

    Reply

    • Hi again Nan. Minimum wait is 3 days from MFA. No same day service anymore.
      Reference to the witnesses and translator that was a definitely a bonus of going through the company. They provided all of them.
      Cheers,
      Ben

      Reply

      • Hi Ben, Thanks for the answer so I though It was still in the same day, that too bad there is no process for one days any more and I need to do it another week then . also its good for the agency that they provide all witness and translator for you but for us I might have to find them , it could be friend from my fiance
        🙁

        Reply

  115. Hi , When did you get that message from Thai woman ?
    when I saw your message I directly called the Don Muang district and all they say it has been okay for a couple days and all district in Bangkok should be okay aswell then I made a phone call to re check at Bang Rak because my house is really close to Bang rak , the lady picked up the call with vert agressive voice so I asked her very politely she said no still cannot t then I said but I just call Don mueng the officer said its all okay now then you know what she suddenly answered me with agressive voice again ” why dont you go don muang if its okay ” so I said thank you and hung up the call , I got soooooooooooo very mad at her why she said that never ever help at all even I am thai she should be more polite , Sometimes I hate my people so much …anyways I am finding the way to complain her even I still still dont know her name but I will still complain .
    well, I just made an appointment with the embassy next week so hopfully everything okay

    Reply

      • Last time called Don Mueang, they said we can marry there however we need to have a non related person who could speak Thai and English to act as a facilitator/ translator, plus 2 Thai people as witnesses and we need to ring before hand to book an appointment. Perhaps that’s why other people have had success through an agency as they would supply all of these. I’m currently still waiting. Hopefully next week we can find someone to help which doesn’t cost us an arm and a leg. haha

        Reply

        • Hi Michale , I just called to recheck at Don Muang again the lady said I have to bring 2 witness and one translator which is can speak thai and english , for me I have to find them which is probably not easy becuase all of my friends they are all working 🙁 What Process are you on now ? and how long you can get all paper back from the Department of Consular Affairs ? I checked the update so the express way is not available anymore .

          Reply

          • Hi Nan,

            I have already done all of the steps except the actual registration. I went to a translator who i used regularly and they took the documents to get approved on my behalf. So i paid for that extra service. Because I couldn’t get too much time off work and it was good to cut out that hassle. I paid 1900 for translation and to get it stamped by the MFA and sent back ready for collection( I know that’s a bit expensive, but I know this translator well, and she does a good job. I submitted to Ann at the Express Translation service in Ploen Chit and she told me it would take 2 to 3 working days. Anyway I went back on the following Friday and picked it all up. Then I went to Nonthaburi as they were the only office at the time accepting paperwork. But essentially our copies are just sitting there on file at the moment. Every time we call its just wait longer. So I’m keen to try out Don Meaung, but have the same problem as you. We have even tried calling an agent who helped some friends of ours last year, but he’s not picking up the phone. I finish the school term this week, so will be looking to get this all sorted next week in earnest as my girlfriend is due to give birth later this month and i want us to be legally married before the baby is born ideally. But she needs to be taking it easy, so i think an agent would be better to take care of our situation. its gone beyond caring about money now. Good luck to you too. Let me know if you get any progress or find any translators etc…

            Reply

  117. I want to get married in Bangkok, we are both British and have not been married before. How long do you need to reside in Thailand before getting married? Where can i find a list of Amphurs to use and will they be open on a weekend?

    Reply

  119. LATEST UPDATE!!
    Just had a message from a reader via the TTL Facebook page:

    “Hi, just want to update that we’ve got married fine at Don Muang today. Not sure about other district offices though.”

    I replied: That’s great! Thank you for the update. And no problems with the British affirmation?

    “We complained to the district office and they said ok. We also requested for affirmation of the passport (not sure what the proper term is) to supplement the required documents. I heard from Don Muang that it should be all okay now. (District offices do not like complaints).”

    Reply

    • Did you mean that we can only married in Don Muang or Lak sri District? not Bangrak District
      So Do I have to book an appointement to get an afirmation certificated from the embassy ?
      Im getting confused now , the embassy shoud fix asap
      🙁

      Reply

    • Wait a minute. Now I’m really confused. Is this a British marrying a Thai at Don Meung? And what is an affirmation of passport?

      Furthermore, what is JoJo saying about the Thais not accepting a sentence on the document which reads: I am free to enter this marriage and believe bla bla blan etc…. Which is separate from the legal disclaimer and that the embassy believes it may take 3-4 months.

      What’s going on? So confused with all the conflicting stories.

      Reply

      • I mean Don Muang and Lak sri District are the same place , They cannot accept thais married with British still, We need to wait the Embassy to confirm to all district , I dont know how long does it take ,
        does anyone know that , How long can I keep the Affirmation letter ? I mean keep it and not expired when we go to do married certificated .

        Reply

        • GOOD NEWS.Hello everyone.
          I AM BRITISH and I just got married this morning to my Thai wife successfully at Don Muang district.

          There were no problems at all and we were done in less than an hour.

          BUT..

          I went through a company based in Ploen Chit. A visa company who specializes in these things. The same company I previously mentioned before on here. I paid 7,500 baht total including translation of the marriage certificate to English language.

          I don’t know if you can do it alone but you can DEFINITELY do it with this company. I didn’t ask many questions at the office because everything was going fine and frankly I didn’t want to cause any problems.

          Good luck guys.

          Reply

        • Hi , When did you get that message from Thai woman ?
          when I saw your message I directly called the Don Muang district and all they say it has been okay for a couple days and all district in Bangkok should be okay aswell then I made a phone call to re check at Bang Rak because my house is really close to Bang rak , the lady picked up the call with vert agressive voice so I asked her very politely she said no still cannot t then I said but I just call Don mueng the officer said its all okay now then you know what she suddenly answered me with agressive voice again ” why dont you go don muang if its okay ” so I said thank you and hung up the call , I got soooooooooooo very mad at her why she said that never ever help at all even I am thai she should be more polite , Sometimes I hate my people so much …anyways I am finding the way to complain her even I still still dont know her name but I will still complain .
          well, I just made an appointment with the embassy next week so hopfully everything okay .

          Reply

  120. I am/was in the process of marrying my Thai fiancee.
    Today I learnt the reason why British citizens marrying a Thai citizen are not being accepted. It is because of the sentence on the affirmation that reads:

    I am free to enter into this proposed marriage and believe that there is not any impediment by reason of kindred or alliance, or other lawful hindrance, to this proposed marriage.

    Thai registry offices are not accepting this sentence. I have no idea why but I am told the embassies are now communicating regarding this and suggest a period of 3 to 4 months to have it resolved.

    Reply

  121. Hi. I have been following the recent posts closely. I have the affirmation to marry document, plus translation already. On both documents it says my fiancé and I plan to marry in September 2016, however with these recent problems at the amphurs, I don’t think we will be able to do it until these problems are resolved. My fiancé is heavily pregnant so I don’t want to put her through the stress of going to he Amphur to then be turned away. Does anyone know if the September date on the documents is going to be a problem if we can’t do it until next month? Thanks

    Reply

    • I called the Bangrak aumpher today , the thai guy said its still cannot do for today or in this week , he said he is waiting the letter from embassy to confirm that we can do it he also said its not about the Aumpher its about the Embassy ! I wish the embassy fixed it asap coz Me and my fiance have just booked time off for next month to do it ! Well , i tried to contact embassy aswell but no one pick up my call !

      Reply

    • I’m in exactly the same situation as you Adam. And funnily my girlfriend is also heavily pregnant. Baby due Nov 3rd. We are just going to sit it out for now. But copies of all our documents are sitting at the Nonthaburi Office. However i have no idea whether they will get back to us. I also would like clarification on the date issue as ours also says September. But to be honest i think that’s small fry compared to the legal disclaimer.

      Reply

  122. My Thai girlfriend and I (Canadian) got married this week in Thailand. I arrived there on the sept 13th and we started the process on the 19th. Here is the process and timeline for our marriage.

    19th – went to the Canadian Embassy in Bangrak to get the no marry certificate. It took about 20-30 minutes. Make sure you have an appointment set up before you get to Thailand. Not that I really think it was needed but they suggest you do.
    Then we went to a Thai-English translator which was close by. She tried to tell me she wasn’t able to do it that day and continued to explain to me there was no way to have everything done in a week. Oh how wrong she was. She just wanted to do every step for me and charge me for it. Don’t fall for it. It can be done. Keep reading.
    We then went to the foreign affairs office in Lak Si to have the certificate translated. We used one of the touts there as it was easy and convienent for us. After doing that we have them (foreign affairs) our copies and were told to come back on 21st.

    21st – We woke up early and got back to Lak Si to the foreign affairs office to pick up our translated no marry certificate. But there was a mistake made in the translation. So we went back to the translator and had him fix it. After that we then had to give them back the translation. We then has to wait until 15:00 to get it back.
    At 15:00 we received the corrected translation back. We then hurried to the local registrar and and got the marriage certificate. We just got it in time but too LTE to head back to foreign affairs to have it translated back to English.

    22nd – We got up early and headed back to foreign affairs to have the certicate translated back to English. We just the translation office at the top of the escalator. Took about 30 minutes. After that we tried to have the foreign affairs stamp the certificate bit we would have to wait around all day. So we decided to go to the Canadian embassy to have this done. Now I was smart and made an appointment on Monday for this to be done at the embassy. I didn’t want to take the chance of not getting this done. So we went back there and had it certified.

    Now saying all this we unused taxis for all of the travel which was from Bang Kapi, Bangkok. It was a bit pricey but we wanted to have this done in the few days we had set aside.

    Hope this helps someone out there looking to do this. If you have any questions I’ll answer to the best of my ability.

    Reply

  123. Hi There,

    Me and my other half are thinking of marrying in Thailand.
    It’s just us two (both British) so we don’t want a huge costly ceremony.
    We like to travel and don’t mind putting in the hard work. Is it best to get married in Bangkok or can we do it in one of the southern resorts?

    We were going to fly to Bangkok, get married and then go onto a resort or two for a couple of weeks.

    Cheers!

    Reply

    • You will need to visit in Bangkok if you do it by yourselves, so you might as well do the marriage at a district office here too. The embassy and MFA are in BKK, both of which you have to visit. You could still use a district office down South, but I’d do it in BKK.

      Reply

  125. Hi,

    I was wondering if anyone could help me? My partner and I (both British) have planned to get married in koh lanta this November. Has anyone else get married there since all of the problems have occurred?
    We are really worried they won’t accept the paperwork and it all become a disaster.
    If anyone has any advice, it would be much appreciated. Thankyou

    Reply

        • It’s difficult to be totally sure about anything the way things are. IMO though I think it will likely be fine. At the end of the day the Thai government sees this act as protecting Thai people and if neither of you are Thai I doubt they care providing your paperwork is all in order of course.

          I would recommend calling the Bang Rak office in BKK and asking them. What they say seems to be going for every other amphoe in Bangkok at the moment.

          If on the off chance there is and uncertainty I would recommend doing it in Phuket or Samui or somewhere else use to foreigners (as you’ll need witnesses and maybe a translator) far away from BKK. There was a report of couple (both non Thai) who successfully married on Koh Samui recently.

          First thing, I’d call Bang Rak in BKK to check. Number is 02-236-1395.

          Reply

          • Yes i spoke to Ban Rak amphur last week on skype and they told me to contact them again next week. I also phoned a number of amphurs but it is difficult trying to have a technical conversation when you dont speak the lingo. However, a lady from amphur pathumwan was very nice, spoke english but didnt seem aware of the difficulties and just said bring your documents, no appointment necessary. But of course anything can be said on the telephone and you really need to be there to get a clearer picture. I will be in Bangkok from 29 september so will advise everyone as best i can

            Reply

  126. OK. So ditto everything Ben said in his update. Came to Nonthaburi this morning. Very helpful lady behind desk. Said no problems about the date being September if it takes abit longer before they can process again. They said 1 or 2 months. And in and out in 10 minutes. All seems rather positive. Although for those who cannot wait I appreciate this isn’t much help.

    Reply

    • This is becoming beyond a joke!!!! It seems that there seems to be no logic, uniformity oder or anything. It just seems like a bureaucratic nightmare to me! My filippin fiance and me are visiting our embassys on September 29 and leaving Thailand on 18 October. We are both stressing about the situation because of all the conflicting comments. We cannot afford to be waiting around so are going to ring around some amphurs outside of bangkok. You caanot tell me that every amphur in thailand is not going to register our documents!!! We will go anywere as long as someone will do it. What does everyone else think?

      Reply

  127. Didn’t have any problems at all. All my documents were correct, as were my wifes.

    Went to the Amphur & only needed one witness.

    Don’t know why so many people appear to have so many difficulties; & then attempt to shift ‘blame’ onto the Thai Authorites.

    Reply

    • Joh when did you do this? You are British and your wife is Thai? British marrying British is no problem. The problem is British marrying Thai. The situation most certainly is due to the Thai government not accepting the affirmation of freedom to marry from the British embassy. They won’t care if your fiancee is British though.

      Which amphoe office did you go to?

      Reply

      • My documents are perfectly correct and so are my fiancee’s. As for the Nonthaburi office I hold little faith that anything will ever come of it. It feels like they are just taking documents and telling you to wait 2 months. I don’t know where and who checks these documents. It certainly isn’t the British embassy. I’ve asked them.

        For any British citizens having problems with this please contact Sarah at the British embassy on 023058333. She is a lovely lady and trying to build a record of all the people experiencing problems.

        As I said I went to 3 different amphoes. Bang Rak, Laksi and Bang Plad as well as calling several others before submitting documents at Nonthaburi but I’m still not confident anything at all will come of that. As Michael says they didn’t even check his original affirmation.

        I have today been in touch with a company in Ploen Chit who are adamant that for 7,500 baht they can get you married, registered all done in 1 day between British and Thai including translation of the Thai marriage certificate from Thai to English.

        Apparently you pay the fee AFTER you are married too. They do everything then you pay and then they hand over the marriage certificates apparently.

        This is only what I have learned today. I CANNOT vouch for this comoany but it is a registered company in an office in Ploen Chit area. I am considering giving it a go with them.

        I had a long conversation with Sarah from the British embassy yesterday and she advised many people have called this week regarding the problem. It has been escalated and taken up with the Thai ambassador in London and one way way or another MUST be sorted out quickly even if that means the British embassy compromising over the affirmation disclaimer. Those were her exact words to me.

        Cheers,
        Ben

        Reply

  129. Came last week and hit this legal brick wall. Took a week off and saw the success messages here so thought, ok, let’s give it ago. So far lak si and Don muang said.. dai dai ( one on phone one on counter) but the reality is thst once you get there and begin the process.. all of a sudden, it’s mai dai mai dai ( cannot cannot) reason being the British embassy is unwilling to flex on the legality if our affirmation stamp that according the embassy is legally binding and fine under uk law but according to thai law is not. Lak si requested I go to my wife’s home for marry to which I replied roi et is in Thailand as well. . Why Is YOUR thai law different here in BKK to the rest if thailand..?? to which I got only a look and no reply. Complete waste of time and effort with both thai offices and British embassy. Don’t waste yours… make alternative plans and let Thailand, its tourism and everything else sink I say.. I’m done with its B’S and put up with it for 7 yrs too long.. I’ve seen the light today. This military reign combined with its keep face culture is gonna be the death of this country.

    Reply

    • Forgot to mention that the British embassy are adement the matter is resolved ( even publishing so on the .gov website) but it may time time to filter out to all offices. A more realistic situation has just been painted to me by an official at another thai office which agreed the legal issue was resolved already early this week with the British stamp however some offices are still reluctant and will refuse Indian british ( since it was a fraudulent India british registry which kicked all this off apparently) yet at the same time their powers at be seem to ‘feel’ it’s unfair to hold such a ban on a selective British element so therefore are ignoring the resolution and refusing all british applicant until god knows when….who knows what to believe???

      Reply

      • Now just spoke to rad pao office on phone who said dai dia come and we’ll speak to the British embassy on the phone and see what we can do… get there and it’s the same mai dai mai dai B’S. . We think you should go and talk to bang rak since we have to send to them anyway…going home.

        Reply

        • Trying district offices outside of Bangkok. We hit the same brick wall in Bangkok and married in Koh Samui. They didn’t mind that the affidavit document said marrying in Bangkok.

          I’m pretty sure all district offices outside of Bangkok or marrying British citizens. Might be less stressful.

          Reply

    • Just an update.

       

      The Bang Plad office on Charansanitwong road in Bangkok called us last Friday saying they couldn’t register the marriage for the same reason. Disclaimer on the affirmation.

      I went and collected all the documents back yesterday and called the British embassy.

       

      The embassy said there had been a meeting last week at the MFA and it had been confirmed this issue was resolved and the affirmations would be accepted. They even had proof in the form of a Thai letter. She said if I had any problems to give them the phone and let them talk to the embassy.

       

      Off we went to Laksi office. Got there and same old rubbish. Cannot accept it. I flatly refused to leave and they spoke to the British embassy. Even after faxes, emails etc etc of this letter confirming the meeting last week after 2 hours the lady just said “no cannot” and pointed to the disclaimer. On a sidenote I’ve been here 6 years and I speak good Thai. I had the whole argument with her in Thai and she just kept saying they couldn’t accept this document.

       

      Gave up. Went to Nonthaburi. All be it next door to Bangkok but still a different province.

       

      They were very nice there unlike at Laksi. However they said the process was now to take the forms and send them to be checked and confirmed as true. Then once this had happened they would call us in to register our marriage. They said this could take anywhere between 2 weeks to 2 months.

       

      So I just submitted the paperwork. They had a pile of paperwork from other foreigners who had done the same.

       

      They also said that British was good. If the nationality was Russian, Indian or any African country they WOULD NOT accept the paperwork.

       

      I called the British embassy after. They have no idea about this “checking” process and where the affidavits will go to be “confirmed as true”. 

       

      The embassy is looking into it and trying to sort it out again and will call me back.

       

      Any information or accounts of personal experiences over yesterday or today would be extremely appreciated.

       

      Thanks
      Ben

      Reply

      • That’s interesting. I’m going to try tomorrow. Have been trying to ring Nonthaburi all day with no luck. But then my Girlfriend got through to them just before closing and they told her to ring another number tomorrow. So will update everyone tomorrow. Looking for clarification on this really, as it seems a bit risky to just drop off all your documents and trust them to fix it for you, and Also what about the date on it expiring?

        will post back tomorrow.

        Regard

        Michael

        Reply

  130. As the address is:
    Department of Consular Affairs
    123 Chaeng Wattana Road,
    Laksi District, Bangkok 10210
    you should tell the driver “pass-a-bort off-ice tannon chaeng wattana khet Laksi”
    or show him: สำนักงานหนังสือเดินทาง
    ถนนแจ้งวัฒนะ
    เขตหลักสี่

    Reply

  131. Bad news! So I just got off the phone to Khet Bangrak. Apparently the lady told me that it’s unlikely they will accept the avidavits for 1 to 2 months, due to (in her words) the British Embassy’s unwillingness to accept legal responsibility. She then went on to say this applied officially across Thailand. Sad news indeed. Will seek further clarification from the British Embassy.

    Reply

    • This is all very odd as British Embassy has previously told me this was resolved and that they would start accepting the disclaimer again as it was never an issue with British affidavits but Indian ones. That said I’ve since heard mixed messages from different departments that they can’t accept the documents due to discrimination if they allow U.K. but not Indian etc.

      Best bet is to call the British Embassy and ask for Pro Counsul Sarah from Consular services. She was really helpful when I last spoke to her.

      Alternatively just marry outside of Bangkok seems local district offices are marrying and the one we used in Koh Samui didn’t seem to care about the mention of Bangkok on the document or the legal disclaimer.

      Seems to be a lot of different information out there. Good luck.

      Reply

      • Thanks for the advice.

        I have just got off the phone to the embassy. They were surprised about the ongoing issue as they indeed thought that it had been resolved. seems to be a brick wall preventing communication between the various sides of the process. But he did tell me to speak to Sarah who would be back after 1pm. So I will update everyone later.

        Unfortunately marrying outside Bangkok is not really an option for us right now, and if this is issue is not resolved then we will postpone the whole process.

        Regards

        Micheal

        Reply

        • Good luck and let us know what you find out. I’m interested too as we were told it had been resolved.

          It does seem government departments just not talking to each other or blaiming / Shifting responsibilities to the other. Now it’s the British Embassy’s turn.

          Reply

          • So the embassy’s official line is that it has been resolved but that it may take a little while longer until certain district offices begin to accept applications once again. They said to try and pass the phone to them during any difficulties. I will be trying next week, but I won’t hold my breath. All seems hopelessly vague to be honest.

            Reply

            • Michael
              The Thai bureaucracy is hopelessly vague and completely disorganized from what my experience has shown. Do not try to Marry in Bangrak district and you should be ok. We married in Lak si district which is just north of Bangkok proper and had no problems. Everyone has a different story even at the offices. The women that so graciously helped us was named Miss Banyong Kamsap she is a governing officer and acting chief of registration. First desk on right side. I wouldn’t bother calling just show up at Lak Si.
              Also we picked up our now translated and legalized marriage license and registration forms today. So now I can return to USA and start the long application process for a marriage visa for my wife.

              Reply

        • I have an appointment on 30 September at ghe british embassy so am a bit concerned with whats going on. I am marrying a philippina and this is our second go at getting married as the philipino embassy rejected my fiances passport 3 months ago because her married name was still on her passport even though she is widowed. She has had her passport amended to now show her maiden name. Very petty i thought so we dont want another castrophe!!!

          Reply

  132. Hi, We have had a disappointing day as well. I am Canadian, my beau, Indonesian. When we arrived at Bangkrat they told us that we would have to wait a month, so they could send the documents back to our embassies and the Foreign Ministry to approve. But these are approved, fresh off the press from all three locations??? We were told they just changed the rules a week ago. My embassy knew nothing of it, I asked them to show me the new law, and they laughed at us, as tears streamed down my face. It was very bizarre. I am going to call my embassy first thing tomorrow am, but I am wondering what the address, location is of this Laksi place others are speaking of? Perhaps we should try there before we give up hope for this trip.

    Reply

  133. I’m more confused that ever today. We’ve called both Laksi and Bangrak and both said they can’t accept British affidavits still.

    We called the Ministry of Provincial Administration who told us to call Interior Ministry who told us to call the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and basically kept going around in circles with each department blaiming the other.

    We were told that the British affidavit would not be accepted as they are not accepting Indian ones and it would be discriminatory to accept some country’s affidavits and not others that contain the legal disclaimer.

    I’m waiting for a call back from the British Embassy as it seems bangkok district offices are marrying everyone apart from
    British nationals marrying Thai nationals. Which makes no sense at all. The issue was always to do with Indian affidavits we’ve been told hence the original blanket ban.

    Yet it seems British people can marry non Thai nationals with the same legal disclaimer present, Americans with similar legal disclaimer can marry Thai nationals but the British nationals can’t!

    I don’t really know what else to do other that pressure the British Embassy to get answers as I was told this was sorted last week.

    It seems pot luck if you get married at the moment.

    Reply

  134. So the plot thickens. Just called the Laksi and Bangrak office to make sure they are now accepting the affidavit with legal disclaimer and have been told that they are still not allowing them until they receive official letter from Ministry of Provincial Administration after the 16th September.

    Was told by the British Embassy that the fax would be sent out last Friday. I’m flying out of the country on The 17th and the local district offices are closed at the weekend!

    The couples that have managed to marry in the mean time we’re not marrying Thai nationals so they are currently allowing marriages between British citizens and non Thai nationals.

    But if like me you are marrying a Thai national then who knows when they will actually allow this.

    Reply

  135. I just discovered this discussion thread and after reading the latest posts i’m a bit worried as we are planning to arrive Bangkok on the 12th to get married. I’m an Indian national and my fiancé is Polish and we are in constant communication with our respective embassies and arranged all our paperwork accordingly. The Indian embassy told me that once I submit my personal documents, they will send them to India to verify the authenticity of all the stamps and signatures and thereafter will issue my affirmation to marry document. Neither the Indian or the Polish embassy informed us anything about this issue being discussed here. Also, I’m double concerned being an Indian national since the above posts indicates India being the trigger to all this. Can anyone update what going on with the thai authorities at the moment?

    I did manage to find an online news published during Oct 2014 which looks like to be the epicentre of this present situation as thai officials “sold” identity of thai women to facilitate scam marriage between foreigners and Thai women. Most of those foreign men were from India, Malaysia and Nigeria according to the post. Link: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Women-caught-in-fake-marriage-registration-scam-30245742.html

    I would highly appreciate if anyone can come up with some updates regarding this.

    Reply

  136. Good news! The department for provincial administration had the meeting to discuss the problematic disclaimer and have agreed to re-allow marriages with the disclaimer present on the Affirmation document.

    I was told this by the British Embassy this morning and we also phoned the Department for Provincial Administration and confirmed this. What I don’t know is if this change to allow the disclaimer only applies to the British documents of all nations that add disclaimers.

    Apparently the original reason for rejecting the disclaimer was due to issues with Indian documents and they made a sweeping change.

    We tried again to marry today but the district offices are awaiting the update by fax which should be sent out by the end of the day. Until they have this official confirmation from the Ministry of Provincial Administration they still can’t marry people.

    Should be good to go from tomorrow.

    Reply

    • Great news, me n my Pakistani partner married today at laksi district at about 4-4.30pm, we just need to take our marriage certificate to ministry of foregein affairs Tomorrow for a English translation and then get it legalised

      Reply

    • I wanted to add my experience today for all Americans trying to marry in Bangkok. Last week I completed the USA right to marry Marriage affidavit stating that I am single . Had it notarized at the US embassy , translated and certified at Thai ministry of foreign affairs . I’m good to go right ? Wrong. We showed up today at Amphur office with our witnesses and the manager tells me line # 9 of affidavit is makes the statement of single status null and void.
      Line # 9 reads : “The US Embassy does not guarantee the contents of my own sworn statement under penalty of perjury I assume full and complete responsibility for the veracity of the claims here in.”
      I called the embassy and had a Thai speaking. Embassy officer speak to the Amphur personally. He writes something down and makes another call finally he comes back and says go to he US embassy and have them cross out line #9 and notarize. Then translate it and have certified by Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
      I go to Embassy thinking they won’t cross out a line on an official document . Hey won’t let me in without an appointment. I call and speak to the Thai officer who originally spoke with the Amphur. She says I told him to call my supervisor to verify the document is legitimate. He told me the # she gave him was a fax#. I was then transferred to an American officer who informed me this “phenomenon” ( her words ) is brand new and they are getting a lot of calls about it and are in ommunication with Thai counterparts of government and trying to resolve it asap . But it won’t be anytime soon. So in the meantime we cannot marry? She said not all Thai Amphurs are enforcing this new change of procedure and to try another Amphur office. So we go to Rathethewi office wait one hour and are told the same thing. The Amphur was nice engough to tell us to try the country as they may not have been informed of the new rules ? So we will go to Ayuthaya Monday to try our luck. They also said India India India bad people try to marry here on Bangkok?
      Any help anyone can offer is much appreciated!!! I’m leaving in a week and came here to get married to my fiancé !
      Mathew

      Reply

      • Cameron’s update yesterday indicated that the British Embassy had resolved this issue with the Thai authorities and they were now accepting affidavits with the legal disclaimer, which they weren’t the day before. Did you try speaking to the boss at the MFA? The change back to the old rule may not have filtered down to desk staff yet.

        Reply

        • We tried yesterday to marry with british affidavit at 3 offices in Bangkok, none of which will accept. We were told later in September that would accept. Was going to try country office but affidavit says we will marry in Bangkok. Will this be an issue? Unsure.

          Reply

                • They legalized the translation of the certificate of single without issue. It is when you attempt to register the marriage that they are rejecting the affidavits.
                  I will keep you updated with how i get on this week.

                  Reply

                • The issue we all had was with the marriage affidavit when presented to Bangkok Anphur / Khet offices not accepting. Having the affidavit legalized at the Thai Ministry of foreign affairs was no problem at all.
                  The Laksi office had no issue with my legalized affidavit even tho it had the legal disclaimer language. The marriage license and registration we received today is now legal in Thailand . The next step for us is to translate into English and have that translation certified at the Thai Ministry of foreign affairs. I highly recommend going to the Laksi office north of Bangkok it is in the Bangkok district of official Amphur / Khets. So if your documents say you must marry in Bangkok this office should work for you. I hope this helps and thank you for this forum!

                  Reply

          • This seems really odd. Others have since married with the legal disclaimer.

            Unfortunately you’ll have to marry in Bangkok or start the process all again with a new affidavit specifying where you are to get married.

            We wanted to marry outside of Bangkok when we had issues and were told it’s not possible as the document says Bangkok.

            I’m really hoping these issues are resolved now as we’re returning to Bangkok on Friday to marry.

            Reply

            • Good news everyone we married today at Laksi office with no problems whatsoever . The legal disclaimer was not discussed at all. It seems this office marries a lot of foreigners as they have signs in English with instructions etc. the lady with glasses in the first desk from right side . Worked thru her lunch hour to help us and was very thorough and sweet. She even posed for a picture with us. Nothing is easy in Thailand and it all takes a long time . We are now at the MOFA for English translation of Marriage license and certification. This will probably take a few days and I leave Friday ! Will follow up.

              Reply

  137. Further to my previous comment, just having checked with the Laksi registrar it turns out they no longer allow couples to sign the manage certificate if the Affirmation of Marriage document contains any legal disclaimer as ours does.

    A legal disclaimer was stamped on the bottom of our Affirmation of Marriage document by the British Embassy essentially voiding our documents!

    Apparently the rejection of this document when containing a legal disclaimer is a new rule that was also introduced last week.

    There is no mention about this on the British Embassy website and the Embassy staff clearly did not know about the change.

    We’re currently on the phone to the Embassy now trying to work out what we do next.

    But it seems like we may have to start the process all over again and have wasted two days and a lot of money.

    Warning to any British citizen who is planning on marrying a Thai national please check that the British Embassy don’t add the disclaimer to your Affirmation document.

    Reply

      • Will do we still plan to register the marriage on Thursday but it’s 50/50 whether they will accept the Affirmation. The Embassy told us to try Bangrak instead of Laksi so will let you know how it goes. The British Embassy said they had a nightmare last week with loads of couples phoning up about this though they were all eventually resolved.

        Seems both the withdrawal of express service at MOFA for affirmations and new rules on legal text on Affirmation document at registrars was introduced at the same time. They are trying to crack down on forgeries and fake applications apparently.

        The MOFA now requires 3 days which is a hell of a lot longer than the express service that I got up at 5am for this morning 😉

        The British Embassy thought they had resolved the issue of the legal disclaimer last week but they said they are having problems with Thai authorities and said they are just being stupid.

        They solution is just to find a registrar that will accept he document and if they don’t to call the Embassy and get them to speak to the registrar directly in order to convince them to allow the marriage. Though this is not guaranteed to work and it’s just pot luck at the moment.

        The British Embassy was not informed of the changes. Typical.

        I will feedback if and when I get married on Thursday.

        Reply

        • Latest update is that no Bangkok district office is accepting Affirmation of Marriage if it contains a legal discimaer. We’ve just spoke to the Bangrak district office and they are saying the same thing as the Laksi district office.

          We’ve been told the marriages that were allowed last week were a mistake and should not have been allowed to go ahead.

          Spoke to the British Embassy’s pro consul today and was told that they are still having problems with this and they thought they had been resolved.

          They said that there is a meeting on the issue scheduled for today at the Ministry of Provisional Administration and we will know if they are going to change this rule or at least allow the UK disclaimer.

          The UK government can’t remove the disclaimer so at this time no British citizen can marry in Bangkok as we’re finding out.

          The British Embassy also said that district offices outside of Bangkok are still marrying but I’m just trying to confirm this. We would have to redo our Affirmation and pay all the fees again and resubmit to MOFA so are waiting for result of today’s meeting before we proceed with this option.

          Th British Ambassador has been taking this issue out with the Thai govement and the British government has been lobbying the Thai Ambassador in London. So it’s been raised at the highest level.

          Just seems really bad luck that I’ve choose this week to marry.

          Reply

        • I should alsjust point that the issue over the Affirmation disclaimer may not affect just British nationals trying to marry it will affect other countries that add a disclaimer. I believe the USA also add this.

          One that I am 100% certain on at this time is that the MOFA does not offer an express service for Affirmation legalisation and that it takes 3 days not the 2 previously required for the normal service. So please factor this in to your schedules.

          Reply

        • Ok so today the Department of Provincial Administration were due to meet to discuss the issues with the legal text on the letter of Affirmation documents.

          The British Consulate called me today and said that the meeting does not appear to have appened yet and that they still know nothing. I now have to wait another day before I will know if we’re going to be able to get married at all. The ceremony is on Friday and guests and arriving tomorrow.

          We’re due to fly to Koh Samui for honeymoon and have everything booked but if we can’t marry in Bangkok before the wedding we’re going to have to try and get married in Samui though with the 3 day processing of the Affirmation document with the MOFA I really have no idea if we’re going to be able to pull it off.

          Reply

      • I assume the issue will be the same as a British National you have to supply the same Affirmation of Marriage document which will have the same legal wording added by the consulate.

        Your best bet is to call the embassy and check with them as well as calling the Laksi. The British Embassy just told us to try a different district office.

        Reply

    • I am here in BKK and have come a cross the same situation. I’ve visited the 3 main Amphur prior to receiving our translated docs and they’ve all told me the same info. Thinking of trying Pad Ttai and also talking to 2 agents. The agents assure us they can have it done but all the staff at the Amphur said that an agent would be of no help. We’ve been on it since Monday solidly, but it looks like we’ll go home on Saturday empty handed.

      Reply

    • Further to my last reply- there are a few Khet that are still leaving door open on this area. Looks like I am booked into one but through an agent only and they’ll not tell me which one in order to get their fee. 5000 baht all up. Pick up from hotel , go Khet via FM for papers including witness’ and translator. I’ll let you know how I go. The u.k. embassy is of zero help. BTW my bride is a Russian national and her embassy informed us of this new law when handing over the affidavit.
      The u.k. embassy jut handed it over.

      Reply

      • Hi Pete cud u please let me know asap which agency have sed they can sort it, as I’ve come to marry n do not wanna leave here Friday evening empty handed n upset, do u have the agency number please? It’s urgent, thank you

        Reply

        • Further to the last post. As of this morning the last 2 khet in Bangkok offering to marry are now turning down all affidavits that do not guarantee the information given. Right now the only people getting this done are those with Danish nationality as their embassy underwrites a guarantee and the French embassy is now agreeing to “cross out and stamp” their non guarantee on the affidavit.

          Reply

      • I would be careful, it’s pretty clear that the law has changed and Agency’s are known for taking advantage, they want your money for a normally relative simple process.

        I would take what they say with a pinch of salt. In the end that’s a lot of money to gamble. We should hear back today regarding the result of yesterday’s meeting on the issue so might be worth holding out a little longer.

        Reply

  138. Just going through the process of getting married and followed the steps outlined in the article but the MOFA no longer is offers the Express Service for Legalisation of Afffirmation documents. The minimum amount of time is now 3 days.

    We got to the MOFA at 6:20am today and we’re 3rd in queue only to be told that the Express service has been discontinued due to a number of fake translations and they need more time to verify documents.

    Apparently they discontinued the Express Service a week before when we arrived on the 6th Sept 2016.

    This has completely messed up our plans and I hope readers of this article see this. Please update the article too as this is the most comprehensive guide on the Internet.

    Reply

  141. Am Australian, just submitted my papers today 04/08/2016
    Please note of changes in Thai consular process if submitting divorce papers with statuary decleration. Divorce papers must now be submitted separately at the consular department as divorce papers are approved via the Thai court system. Paid the 800baht same day express fee but this only gets you the verified statuary decleration back. Had to pay an extra 660baht for divorce papers to be sent in 3 days via EMS back to my thai address.

    Reply

    • Going through this process it takes more than a few days, having been divorced I had to have this stamped as well as an authorisation to marry from my Embassy, then have all English paperwork translated into Thai, this took two days and ฿3,000.
      Also the Bang Rak office it Bangkok requires farang to book as they can only do a small number a day, and the witnesses they say you must know them, so all in all not an easy process.

      Reply

  142. Hi,

    I contacted Khet Bangrak Registration Office and was told that if two foreigners are getting married at least one must have a work permit and be resident in Thailand.

    Neither of us are, and if this is a new policy, it seriously messes up our plans.

    Any advice much appreciated,

    John

    Reply

      • Hi TTL,

        Thanks for your reply. Is there any way I can verify that? The lady I spoke to said that each office might have different requirements. I have tried several offices, but most don’t answer, and the other one that did wasn’t much help given my lack of Thai and their lack of English.

        It’s the first I have heard of it as well,

        Thanks,

        John

        Reply

        • Hmm, it’s quite worrying since Bangrak is supposed to be the most foreigner-friendly office. I’d contact a Thai embassy and ask if the rules have changed. Are you from the UK? Id so, phone the Thai Embassy in London, or drop them an email and ask. I’ve never heard of that rule. Friends of mine married in Thailand last year with no issue, and so have many people here in the comments section. Another option would be to call an agency that handles weddings in Thailand and pretend you are an interested customer. Quiz them on any new rules and ask what the procedure is. I will try and verify this myself over the next few days.

          Reply

          • Hi me and my fiance are planning to marry in September now I’m really worried after seeing the post about needing to be residents in Thailand, is there any update? I’m British and my fiance is from Pakistan

            Reply

            • Kayleigh, please see my earlier post (copied below). It still seems possible. Check the website and let me know what you think.

              Hi John,

              I have just checked a website (see here) and it has a note which i have pasted below..Seems it is still possible even if you are both foreigners. Good luck…I would love to hear how you got on because I am planning to do the same in September of this year…please post back how it goes.

              “SPECIAL NOTE

              You should allow four working days in Bangkok prior to registering your marriage as you are required to have been a resident in Thailand for at least three days before you marry and you must allow time for the paperwork to be processed in Bangkok. This also allows you to visit some of the wonderful attractions in Bangkok.”

              Reply

              • Hi I’ve seen all the info on this site though weeks ago so it’s still worrying me, I’m on hold on the phone to the Thai embassy in London, been on hold over 30minutes, I don’t think anyone Is gonna answer

                Reply

              • Hi again, I emailed the British embassy in Bangkok and as I asked about do you need work permit and be s resident to marry and you don’t,, they said any foregeiner can marry in Thailand and there’s no residency requirements or work permit requirements so it’s all good

                Reply

                • Hi all, we got married 2 weeks ago registering in Bangkok and the U.K. Embassy, and ceremony in Phuket. It was a bit stressful as they told us 4 hrs wait so we left for lunch and came back within 3 hrs, and then told us there were mistakes in our translations and we had 30min to get it fixed. Luckily express translators did it for us on site. Hopefully not a scam, but it did take the entire day from 8am to past 5pm at the ministry!

                  Reply

      • Hi I’m a Filipino and my bf is a Greek. Were planning to get married in Thailand. We both have documents ready . if we get married in Greek embassy do we need to translated in Greek language? Or Thai language? Thanks I really appreciate your replying.

        Reply

    • Hi John,

      I have just checked a website (see below) and it has a note which i have pasted below..Seems it is still possible even if you are both foreigners. Good luck…I would love to hear how you got on because I am planning to do the same in September of this year…please post back how it goes.

      “SPECIAL NOTE

      You should allow four working days in Bangkok prior to registering your marriage as you are required to have been a resident in Thailand for at least three days before you marry and you must allow time for the paperwork to be processed in Bangkok. This also allows you to visit some of the wonderful attractions in Bangkok.”

      Reply

  143. Hi! Thanks for the article and noted the comments. May i know if the procedure for Muslim Marriage is similar? Me and my fiance are muslim and from Singapore. We will be going to Thailand in Dec to register our marriage. Is there a need to go to the district office after going to the Thai MFA? Or can i go straight to the National Islamic centre of Bangkok to register?

    Reply

    • Hi bro, it is the same steps even if you r muslim because it will have to be a civil marriage if you want a document that will work back in your country, you can marry in a mosque there but i dont think they will register that, only civil marriage gets registered, so do a civil marriage and you can then go to a mosque for a cermony later :), good luck and congratulations

      Reply

      • hi ahmed, do u know how long it takes for a Pakistani man to get all his documents back after hes took the freedom to marry affidavit certificate to Pakistan embassy? I’m british n my partners Pakistani ,my affirmation can be sorted very fast at the british embassy but how long will it take for my partner to sort his? I read 7-30 days as they need contact Pakistan district, hes got the affidavit and done everything he needs to do before he goes to his embassy, wud be great if u knew, thank you from kayleigh

        Reply

      • I married my Thai fiancee at the Bangrak Amphur a few weeks ago. We followed the process noted above. All went as noted but things were a bit slower. My country’s embassy to get the affadavit, department, translation and then legalisation of the documents at the Dept of Consular Affairs. We chose to do the translations at the Dept of Consular Affairs and it was a little busy which meant we missed the legalisation express deadline for the Monday but went back on the Tues and completed it with no problems, just a frustrating wait but we were done by lunchtime.

        Went to Bangrak on Tues after lunch but could not get an appointment at the Bangrak Amphur until Thursday morning so it meant a day and a half of relaxing and sightseeing first.

        The Amphur was busy and would not supply witnesses but we sourced our own and was done by lunch (our witnesses arrived late so we missed our appointment time and had to wait until they finished processing a couple of others).

        No issues, just some bureaucracy!

        Reply

  145. Hello there! I am a Filipina and my fiancè is Portuguese. I have inquired requirements from our respective embassies already and took note of all the steps and process that you wrote.

    I am just quite confused. After the authentication of all documents, are we already certified and legally married even without the ceremony yet?

    And could you advice where to do a simple ceremony just for a civil wedding.

    Your response is highly appreciated.
    Thank you 🙂

    Reply

  146. Went to The Legalisation Division in Chaeng Wattana Road yesterday to get my affidavit (already translated) certified.
    I got there at 6 and stood by the door, not in the seating area were about 20 people were waiting, so I was first in at 7, some nice person handed me the paperwork and at 8am when I got upstairs I paid 400thb for express service. They told me that it would be ready at 12 but I decided to stay put and it worked out, they called my name around 10am. All done.
    Recommend going early.

    Reply

      • Hi, thanks all for the input. My Thai fiancee and I (English Citizen) are planning to get married in Bangkok on the 6th August. I have been married in UK ,Australia and u.s before and have all of my original divorce certs. My question is , do I ha e to go to the Australian embassy and u.s embassy to validate these certs and if so do I need to do this before the UK affirmation ???
        Also do I book an appointment now for the UK affirmation ?

        Regards
        Stuart

        Reply

          • but these are original decree absolutes i have. Do i still need to go the u.s and australian embassies with them ? i did call the uk embassey and explained and they said i can just take what i have there. Im a bit worried now

            Reply

          • Hi,

            I have a question for you, is my divorce paper that I get from the US Courthouse is good? Or it need to get certified by the Department of States? I talked to the Thai emmassy here in Los Angeles, they told me my divorce papers have to get it seal by the Department of State in order to get it translated, can I just go to Thailand with the court issued divorced? Plzzzz help!!! I’m planing to go to Thailand and get married next month

            Thank you

            Jee

            Reply

      • Hi TheThailandLife!
        Thanks for the wonderful article. I’m living and working in Thailand and we would be getting married next month in Thailand. I am from Cameroon and my fiancée is from Ireland. I have a certificate of single status that I did when I was in Cameroon. Cameroon doesn’t have an embassy in Thailand and our nearest embassy is in China. Can I translate the Certificate of Single Status and take it to the MFA for the documents to be authenticate? Or do I have to contact our embassy in China for them to issue me an affirmation of freedom to marry?

        Reply

        • I’m not 100% sure, but I assume you would have to have this translated by an official translator into Thai, in Thailand. Or get it translated to English, then to Thai. I don’t know if a single status certificate is the same as a freedom to marry document in your country, so confirm this by ringing the embassy in Thailand.

          Reply

  147. Hi,

    Cheers for this very interesting post ! Very good to read such details and so many tips !

    My partner is British / I am French and we are both living in the UK…

    We are getting married in Koh Samui in August.. Has anyone got into trouble to get the French affidavit / CCAM ? Looks like it takes at least 8 weeks from application to get it and, only then, you are allowed you to get legally married !

    If anyone could help with this one, that’d very appreciated !

    Cheers,
    Lilo

    Reply

    • I (American) and my fiancee (French) are wondering the same things! It looks like we’ll have to translate my documents into French (probably get official translations … More money…. :/) and mail everything from China (where we work) a few months before we arrive in January for the ceremony. Why is it so needlessly complicated for French people?

      Reply

  148. Hi!!

    This is very helpful. I am trying to marry my gf…she is from Poland and I am from Mexico….Thailand seems like a paradise for us to do it….I was wondering if the same requirements apply for us.

    thanks

    Reply

  149. First, thanks for the great post! But I strongly suggest you edit it to prominently warn everyone to carefully read the comments. They might miss relevant updates, as I did.

    My Thai fiance and I (USA citizen) tried this today in Bangkok (Huai Khwang Khet office). Not only do they require the passport translation, but they also now require that the combined (original with translation) marriage affidavit from the US Embassy be sent to the embassy first and validated. Apparently they have had forged affidavits brought to MFA for translation. This process will take several days, and I will report back how long, but it’s looking like for this situation (foreign national and Thai national) cannot be done even in 3 days in Bangkok. The boss at the Khet office showed my fiance and witnesses the relevant orders mandating this process.

    They were also concerned about my finances and stated that their mandate is to protect the Thai national from being duped. In my case I am pursuing an advanced degree in the region and so listed my occupation as student on the marriage affidavit. This is causing more concerns.

    Reply

    • This is strange. Why would they require you to validate a translation of an original document that had already been validated? Could this process be getting like opening a bank account, whereby it’s different rules for different branches?

      Thank you for letting me know about this though. I will try to pop into the Huay Kwang office and ask.

      Reply

      • Maybe the original receipt from the MFA was missing. We got married yesterday, but another couple had a lot of trouble, because they did not have the receipt. The officer needs it to confirm that the authentication is real.

        Reply

    • You can only get an English marriage certificate if you marry in Britain. Your marriage is automatically recognised under UK law, so just get a translation of your Thai marriage certificate when in Thailand. You used to be able to deposit your foreign marriage documents with the General Register Office (GRO), but they stopped this some time ago: see here:

      Reply

    • Hi We are a british couple who are getting married in koh smaui in may, we land in Bangkok on the 14th april (which I believe this is the thai water festival – is this a bank holiday and will people be working so we can still get our legal paperwork done?) we will arrive on the Saturday in Bangkok and leave Bangkok to head to koh samui on the Thursday. will this be enough time to get everything sorted? also is there any advice that anyone can offer us??

      Also I understand the express legal side cost £599 is this still applicable and also does that pay for the person to marry you in koh samui

      All help would be greatly appreciated

      Reply

  152. sir were both Filipino and we’ve planned to get married in Thailand.my fiance is in Canada right now,she is divorse,what should we do,how do we do that English translation.can you help us and give advise pertaining into getting marriage in Thailand ..thank you for this site

    Reply

    • Hi Paul, please read through the post and the comments. All the instructions are there. Some other Filipino people have left their experiences in the comments section too; read these because there may be specific requirements for Filipinos. At the very least you both need to get your freedom to marry document from your Embassy in Thailand and have them translated. Your finance will need to show her divorce certificate to obtain hers. Then go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and have it certified. You can then make an appointment to get married at a district office.

      Reply

      • Fantastic step by step guide which has helped me immensely.

        Few tips for new players:

        It appears the express service is only valid for those before 9am. I arrived at 9:30am and was told express only available before 9am.

        Make sure you get there for 6am if you want to be seen early, there are 2 lines, . Make sure you stand in the right hand queue on the far side from Black Canyon coffee. When they open at 7am you will be given a ticket with a number prior to heading up stairs. This is like a pre ticket which you exchange when up stairs when they do a quick check of your documents. You will then be given the electronic ticket where you wait to pay and hand over your documents.

        I got my translation done at the ministry of foreign affairs, 500 baht and only 30 mins from start to finish.
        Make sure you have a clear transaltion of your partners name in Thai.

        Reply

  153. so here is my experience so anyone can use …
    i was in Thailand on may 18th till the 29th , got married to my canadian girl , from my experience it can never be done in one day , or maybe thats in my case but here is how it went
    1- embassies open at 9 and to get the letter translated and legalized from the MFA you have to submit your application there before 9
    2- to get a queue at the MFA you have to be there before 7 coz it gets crowded
    3- after u finish submitting and paying they give u back the stuff after 3 hours or more of the time you got on your receipt

    so it will take at least 2 days , i went there at 6 30 , left at 4 30 because at 12 they called my name saying i have a mistake in the thai translation so i had to wait for another 3 hours after i went and corrected my thai translation

    also if ur marrying in bangkok make sure to get a copy of your passport translated to thai and legalized because the next day when i went to the KHET or the registry office they asked for it , i went to 2 offices and called another 6 of the 50 offices in bangkok

    also the rule of 310 days after divorce applies to foreigners and thai people and thats what i have been told , but the thai law says you can waive that by going to a thai hospital and make a pregnancy test and get a paper that says your not pregnant in thai

    we didnt have enough time so we thought about trying another office in pattaya , and it worked there without the passport translation and legalization

    they literally said that the thai law is about marriage had no certain explanation so each office gets it on its own way and you will have to satisfy the one your applying to , the lady at one of the offices in bangkok showed us many cases of marriage that had the passport translated and legalized

    so to make the story short , if you r staying in bangkok dont risk it and translate a copy of your passport and legalize it too while ur legalizing the embassy’s letter

    if u dont have time then pattaya is only 2 hours away and they only ask for the letter , and of course you will need a translator and 2 witnesses , the translator can be one of them

    good luck and i hope i was of any help 🙂

    Reply

    • Thanks for reporting back Ahmed. Indeed, one day is pretty much impossible now. I wrote this post some time ago and the processing time at the MOF has changed since then. But two days, as you have proved, is very possible.

      Reply

      • hi,
        i just want to ask for clarification i read that there is a rule of 310 days for divorced people what do you mean by that coz my partner is a divorcee but he is divorced for almost 30 years do you think that rule will be a cause of delay for our marriage we intend to get married by august i hope you can advise me on that thanks alot