Legalities

Wedding Legalities

The most frequently asked question asked about weddings in Phuket is "Can we get legally married in Phuket.?" The answer is Yes, sort of! This is why....

To actually legalise a marriage in Thailand, you must first complete a letter of intent at the embassy or consulate of your nationality in Bangkok. You have to be there to do this and depending on what country you come from, it may take just a few hours or may take two working days. This you can check out on your embassies or consulates website, or email them for advice. This can not be done in Phuket unless your country has a consulate in Phuket offering this service.

Once you have completed this letter of intent and it has been notarized by your embassy, you have a few of choices:

1- Come to Phuket and let a wedding service take care of the rest of the paper work. (See Wedding Planning Services). This is the most expensive option and will require at least 3 to 5 working days. You can expect to pay around 20,000 Baht for this hassle free option.

2- Stay in Bangkok for a couple of days and have a translation service do the work for you. This process will require 2 or 3 working days and you can expect to pay around 15,000 Baht

3- For a cheaper option, and perhaps more interesting you can go to all the government departments yourselves, which will cost around 5,000 Baht including taxi fares etc. You'll need around 4 working days, just to be sure.

Embassy documentation

The paper work each person to marry will need:

* Completed statutory declaration with the vice consul to witness your signature (From your Embassy)

* Original Birth Certificate

* Certificate of divorce if previously married

* Proof of identity with your passport

You may need more paper work for your particular embassy, so please check with them first.

So what's all this stuff happening in Bangkok? Well the process is actually quite simple, but can be daunting if you don't speak the language, or know where you are going. But this is the process:

The letter of intent that you fill out from your embassy must be translated into Thai along with your passports. This must then be registered at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is an office located in the North of Bangkok City. Once these documents have been registered, you can then visit a local registry office anywhere in Thailand. This is usually located around the city hall and Phuket has one in Phuket town. You must be present for this part of the process. Once you have visited this office you are officially married in Thailand and can have any kind of ceremony you like. If specially requested, the district officer will come to your wedding location to sign the documents at a reasonable fee, which is arranged case by case. Once you have your Thai Wedding Certificate, you must get it translated into your language before it is official in your country. There are many translation offices in Bangkok that offer this service.

So in a nutshell,

1. You must visit your embassy first,

2. Then you can either go through the rest of the process or have someone do it for you until the signing of the wedding certificate.

3. You must then have your wedding certificate translated into your langauge.

If you opt for process to be done while you are enjoying the sun and sights of Phuket, then your paperwork will be sent to Bangkok by courier and someone has to take it all around Bangkok for you, which is why there is additional charges. Please find a list of Embassy Websites and contacts below.