Wedding Planner Phuket
CIVIL MARRIAGE
CIVIL MARRIAGE IN THAILAND
Phuket Wedding Service is not only your German wedding planner and contact person when it comes to planning and organizing the ceremony and celebration of your dream wedding in Thailand. We also support you with all the bureaucratic requirements of a civil wedding in Thailand.
LEGAL MARRIAGE IN THAILAND REQUIREMENTS AND PLANNING
Since 2012, foreign couples have also been allowed to legally marry in Thailand.
Of course, as everywhere else in the world, certain requirements must be met in order for the marriage to be recognized everywhere.
IMPORTANT: (The circumstances of each individual couple are always different. Therefore, the requirements and necessary documents must always be checked individually in each case and will be clarified and discussed with us in a personal meeting).
The basic requirements of a German/German couple are set out below:
WHAT DOCUMENTS DO I NEED FOR A CIVIL WEDDING IN THAILAND?
1 – The certificate of no impediment to marriage
The certificate of matrimonial capacity is a certificate issued by the registry office in your home town. This certificate states that there are no obstacles to you being allowed to marry your fiancé / fiancée.
The certificate of no impediment to marriage is issued on application (in person or online at some registry offices). The processing time for this is usually relatively short and should not normally take longer than 1 – 2 weeks.
The documents to be submitted for the issue of the certificate of no impediment to marriage may vary depending on the individual case and the registrar (please enquire about the respective requirements directly at your registry office), but they must almost always be submitted:
- Valid passport/ID card
- Transcript / extract from the register of births, not older than 6 months (available from the registry office of your place of birth)
- Divorce decree / or death certificate, if there were previous marriages
Please note that the certificate of no impediment to marriage is only valid for 6 months. Therefore, please do not apply for it before then.
2. The Consular certificate
Thai registrars are obliged to inspect the so-called consular certificate prior to the marriage of foreign nationals. The consular certificate is issued by the German Embassy Bangkok issued on application.
The following documents are required for this:
- The certificate of no impediment to marriage
- Notarized copies of passports (in Germany, notarizations can usually be obtained from any “seal-bearing” authority, such as municipal authorities, police stations, etc.)
- Marriage questionnaire of the German Embassy
- Cover letter and, if applicable, power of attorney
The application documents for the consular certificate must now be submitted to the German Embassy. If all documents are complete (if you instruct us to do this, we will of course have already checked this in advance), the consular certificate will be issued a few days later.
This must now be notarized by the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The legalization usually takes about 3 working days.
APPLICATION FOR MARRIAGE AT THE REGISTRY OFFICE OF YOUR WEDDING VENUE
The translated and notarized consular certificate must now be submitted together with your passport copies to the relevant registry office at your wedding location. The documents will be checked and 2 – 3 days later nothing should stand in the way of your legally binding marriage in Thailand.
The registrar issues the marriage certificates and documents, which are signed on your wedding day directly after the wedding ceremony on the beach / villa.
AFTER THE CIVIL WEDDING IN THAILAND
In order for your marriage to be valid in Germany, further steps must now be taken. After you have signed your marriage certificate on your wedding day and your marriage has been entered in the Thai family register, the documents must now be prepared for the German registry office.
Your Thai marriage certificate and the extract from the family court register must first be translated into German. Everything is then notarized at the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs and certified by the German embassy. This legalizes your documents for the German authorities and you only have to register your marriage in Thailand at the German registry office.
Navigating international marriage laws, document legalization, and local registration can be one of the most complex parts of planning a wedding abroad. Specialized destination wedding planners solve this by offering end-to-end document and legal paperwork management. By coordinating embassy certifications, certified translations, and local registry filings, an experienced planner handles the bureaucracy on your behalf, ensuring your civil marriage is legally binding and recognized in your home country.
CIVIL MARRIAGE IN THAILAND – SUMMARY
Here again, all the necessary steps for your civil wedding in Thailand summarized:
- Application for the certificate of eligibility to marry at the German registry office.
- Application for the consular certification at the German Embassy in Bangkok.
- Legalization of the consular certification at the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bangkok.
- Application for the marriage at the registry office in the location of your wedding ceremony.
- Signing of your marriage certificate on-site on your wedding day.
- Translation of the marriage certificate and the extract from the family register into German.
- Authentication of the marriage certificate at the German Embassy in Bangkok.
- Superlegalization of the marriage certificate at the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- Submission of the documents to the German registry office and registration of the marriage.
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All the steps described above can be done by yourself if you are a bit adventurous (Thai authorities can sometimes be a bit demanding and unpredictable ?), have enough time and perhaps have planned a stopover in Bangkok anyway.
For all those for whom this is too much effort and too time-consuming, we offer our document and authority service.
After thorough consultation with us, simply send us the required documents (passport copies and, most importantly, the certificate of eligibility to marry) from Germany in advance, and we will take care of everything else. Enjoy your vacation and leave all the annoying bureaucratic procedures to us.
LEGAL MARRIAGES IN THAILAND FOR SAME-SEX COUPLES
Civil weddings for same-sex couples are unfortunately not possible in Thailand yet. In this regard, despite its openness, Thailand is still somewhat behind. We sincerely hope that Thailand will join the countries that recognize and allow legally binding marriages for same-sex couples in the near future.
Until then, symbolic weddings of same-sex couples can, of course, be celebrated in Thailand.
CIVIL MARRIAGE IN THAILAND –
GENERAL INFORMATION
- If you plan to get legally married in Thailand, we recommend starting the entire wedding planning process at least 6 months in advance.
- Plan your wedding so that your wedding day is at least 6-7 working days after your entry. This will give you enough time to prepare all the necessary documents.
- Independently inquire about all requirements from all relevant authorities (German registry office, German Embassy, Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Thai registry office), separate from the information provided above.
- Every couple is different, and the requirements are always unique to each case and should be individually verified.
- All the information and services mentioned above apply to German citizens.
- We do not assume any liability for the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of the information provided. We reserve the right to make changes or additions to the information or data provided without prior notice.
- The information on this page does not constitute legal advice.