If you are living in Thailand or visiting Thailand and got married then you need to have the marriage registered in Thailand. This process is a bit more complicated than in your home country. Firstly you need to show that you are not married and this start at your embassy normally in Bangkok.
If you live in Chiang Mai and are not using an attorney then you will need to get to Bangkok and approach your embassy for a letter showing that you are not married. For the British this is called a Letter of no Impediment and for the Americans and everyone else this is called a Letter of Affirmation. This is normally an overnight process so going to Bangkok on a Thursday or on a Friday is not a good idea if you wish to return to Chiang Mai quickly.
If you are divorced you will need to provide a divorce decree or if you wife had passed away then you would need to have a copy of the death certificate. Normally the following day the embassy will provide you with the letter on an official letterhead. You now have to visit the Department of Foreign Affairs out in Laksi near the old Bangkok airport. Don’t go late in the day as the traffic from Central Bangkok to Laksi will mean you spending 3 hours in Bangkok traffic. Here you need to be early as the process of verifying your letter from the embassy takes about 5-6 hours.
Once the letter has been verified you now need to go to the Amphurs Office or District off in Thailand to register the marriage. You need to take all the paperwork that has now been verified to the Amphur and register you marriage. This normally takes about 30 minutes to complete. You Thai wife needs to have her Thai ID card and also her Tabian Baan or house papers to complete the process. If she is divorced then she also needs to bring with her divorce decree to the Amphur. You can now use this marriage certificate for a 90 day marriage visa at any Thai embassy. See the Thai marriage questions for more details on this website.
Most expats and visitors to Thailand before to hand in there documents to an attorney in Chiang Mai and then collect their marriage certificate the following week. Speak to our staff at Law Firm in Chiang Mai for more assistance.
