Thailand is among the favorite wedding destinations in the tropical Far East as it provides, that is in abundance, places of beauty which normally add to the romance that couples want in their wedding. In the Kingdom, couples may choose to have a beach wedding or perhaps a hillside ceremony that overlooks a lush forest or even do their respective vows in an elegant setting inside a five star hotel in downtown Bangkok.
Yet, whichever wedding setting they would prefer in Thailand, they need to be both eligible to marry in the Kingdom otherwise the marriage cannot be registered which in turn can make such marriage legally immaterial.
To be eligible for a wedding in Thailand, both the husband and the wife should:
- Be 17 years old and above or that should be on “marriageable age” basing on the applicable laws on marriage in his/her/their home country. However, there can be instances in which the Court will decide to allow one or both to marry before reaching such age provided that they can present a compelling reason.
- Neither be incompetent or mentally challenged.
- Not be related by blood either by descendant line or ascendant line. Also, they should not be brothers and sister in full or half blood or otherwise not in the degree of relationship in which marriage is not allowed like having the same adoptive parents.
- Be free to marry one another. But, if the woman has recently have her marriage terminated or her husband has died recently, she cannot marry someone else if such marriage previous is not yet terminated by death or divorce. However, if the previous marriage ended either by divorce or death, the woman can only get married after the lapse of 310 days after the termination of such marriage.
But marriage can still happen if:
- A court order has been issued to allow the marriage to continue.
- The marrying couple were previously married to one another.
- A medical certificate has been provided to certify that she is not certificate.
- A child was born within the prescribed period.
When registering the marriage in Thailand, what documents should be presented?
If one or both of the marrying couple is/are both foreigner/s, the following are needed:
- Copies of their passports together with the arrival card.
- Affidavit certifying that the marrying person is free to marry. This should be obtained from the marrying person’s embassy.
- Translated copies of the required documents and these should also be approved by an authorized Foreign Ministry translator.
What the marrying couple should remember?
- Marriage can only take effect if this is officially registered with a marriage registration certificate issued to the couple.
- The wife’s title used, her forename and last name will be changed by the district officer of the registration of marriage is done in the same office where she was born.
- If the husband and the wife cannot file for their marriage at a district office, they may file for a request for the registrar to have their marriage registered at another location but under the district office’s supervision.
- However, their marriage can be registered in any district or minor district office in Thailand with no preference basing on the couple’s individual birthplaces.
- Their marriage can only take place if they, the couple, has given each other with consent to marry and this should be done at the presence of the registrar.
For further information or if you need legal assistance on registering your marriage here in Thailand, please contact us.