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Answereda year ago

What documents are needed for a marriage visa application in Thailand if the Thai marriage certificate is no longer available?

Pierre *********
asked Aug 27, 2025
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Hello, I am married to a Thai woman and I will be arriving in Thailand on a non-immigrant visa O staying with a Thai family. I will then apply for a marriage visa. I have my thai bank account and the deposit.

What documents do I need to provide to immigration? Because the problem is:

I registered my marriage in Canada and they required my Thai marriage certificate so I no longer have it in my possession. What should I do if Thai immigration requires this certificate? Is a copy accepted since I no longer have the original. Thank you.
Answer summary
The user is married to a Thai citizen and plans to apply for a marriage visa after arriving in Thailand on a NON-O visa. They face a challenge as they do not possess their original Thai marriage certificate, which was required to register their marriage in Canada. They seek guidance on necessary documents for immigration and whether a copy of the marriage certificate will be accepted. Responses suggest verifying the marriage certificate with the Thai embassy, getting it translated, and obtaining additional documents like the Kor Ror 22, along with maintaining a bank account with a minimum balance for the visa application.
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Marcel *******
Marcel *******
Is her new, married name in the passport and ID card ?
James **********
James **********
I see a lot of people just go for the retirement non O due to the requirements for marriage. Is it just the extra 400k? Or the other documents that are a pain in the zz ?
Scott *********
Scott *********
More than likely they'll put you on a tourist visa until you go through the hoops of registering your marriage in Thailand. You'll obviously need your official marriage license, a Thai translation of it, a form in Thailand called khor ror 22 and a Thai bank account in your name with 400,000 baht in it. It's a minimum bank balance to maintain your Non-O marriage visa. I have a English form of the requirements I can send to you. Just msg me. 👍
Pierre *********
Pierre *********
OP
@Scott ********
My marriage is registered in Thaïland
Scott *********
Scott *********
@Pierre ********
oh, I'm sorry. I misunderstood
Ally ************
Ally ************
I will focus on your marriage certificate here.. since imo this is possibly the most difficult aspect to get right.. because it involves several steps.....

If you were married overseas.. meaning not in Thailand.. then the first step is to get a copy of the original marriage certificate certified by the Embassy (or sometimes it's a service performed by the Consulate) of the country where your marriage took place.. for most people that's likely to be their home country.. so you may be able to do this in Canada before you leave for Thailand.. however, you could have had a vacation style wedding, which would need to involve a foreign Embassy instead.. but if you are already in Thailand with a home country marriage certificate then things are slightly different.. first step, your overseas marriage certificate has to be authenticated by the relevant country Embassy in Bangkok.. once you have this you can move on to the second step.. which is getting a copy of the original (now already Embassy certified) marriage certificate translated into Thai and getting that translated copy certified by the (Thailand) Ministry of Foreign Affairs (also in Bangkok) .. only then will you have the correct documents to be able to register your marriage at your local Amphur in Thailand.. which is necessary to obtain a Kor Ror 22 (another certificate) from them.. which is a document you will need to support your non-o married visa application at Immigration.. given the complexities and inconvenience involved in this process I'd say it's probably best to engage an agent who knows the ropes and can expedite this for you.. we are in CM and didn't want to waste our time and energy traveling to Bangkok in person.. so we found an agent that specialises in translation services that could do everything for us and produce the certified marriage documents I've outlined here.. this process took them around 2
***
weeks from start to finish and we agreed to attend the final document collection at the International Convention Center in CM to reduce the wait by a few days.. otherwise it would have been a 3-week wait.. the fee was just over 5,000 baht in total.. and they threw in a translated copy of my passport for good measure.. which wasn't needed by the Amphur to register the marriage but i guess it might come in useful later.. be aware that your Amphur may try to retain the original certified copies instead of simply taking copies of them for their records.. which is outrageous imo since you may need to use them elsewhere in the future.. and you won't want to have to repeat this exercise and incur further unnecessary expense.. i pushed back hard and told our Amphur they could only keep them if they gave me a legal undertaking to return them if i needed them.. or alternatively, agreed to pay an agent the necessary fee to produce another set for me.. and after deliberation and consultation with superiors they backed down and simply took copies which they had us certify as genuine copies!
Per ********
Per ********
@Ally ***********
Well written 👏
Pierre *********
Pierre *********
OP
@Ally ***********
To clarify, I got married in Thailand and at the time of this union, the district gave us the marriage certificate in Thai and the marriage certificate in English. But...to register my marriage in Canada, I had to send them these original documents so, I no longer have them in my possession because they keep them. From what I understand is that to apply for an extension of non-immigrant visa O (marriage), I must present these certificates. I no longer have them...what should I do?
Ally ************
Ally ************
@Pierre ********
You also state you will arrive on a 'non-o' and then intend to apply for a marriage visa.. if you have applied for an initial non-o in Canada and it has been granted already.. then it should have been based upon marriage to a Thai.. and the Embassy in Canada would surely have needed your Thai marriage certificate to process your application.. which is slightly confusing.. that initial 90-day 'visa' is the prelude to an application to extend it for the full 12-month 'visa.. ie. once you reach Thailand.. but you will still need the same marriage docs to do that.. but if you've applied (in Canada) on a different basis (such as retirement) you cannot extend it based upon a different reason.. after entering the country you would have to go through the process of converting the initial visa purpose first.. ie. prior to extending it.. which is another layer of bureaucracy and fees to contend with.. I'd recommend you have a marriage based visa in place before you travel, if there is sufficient time to do it.. makes your life easier on day 1.. such as opening bank accounts and applying for a yellow book etc.. especially important in the current climate if you have a bank account with BB and are intending to use that to season your funds.. since they are making life difficult for expats who haven't had the funds on deposit for at least 4-months before requesting a balance certificate!
Ally ************
Ally ************
@Pierre ********
I would contact the gov't authorities in Canada that are holding your original documents and see if there is any way of retrieving them.. if that is a wild goose chase you will need to apply for a replacement marriage certificate from the Thai Embassy in Canada.. presumably you have a photocopy of it or at least a digital copy.. which will contain all the relevant information.. which they will need to trace your marriage and fulfil such a request.. you should get your Thai version of the marriage certificate which removes the need for a translation of course.. and that will save you much time and money when you get to Thailand.. though you should check you won't need an English language version as well for immigration.. worst scenario is you get here and start the process of obtaining a replacement marriage certificate from the Amphur in the district where you got married.. and since your marriage will already be registered with them you can get a new KR22 (might be KR2 for a Thai marriage) at the same time.. and then you will be equipped to tackle the non-o application.. just bear in mind there might be a minimum waiting period if you are getting replacements from the Amphur in Thailand.. eg. it could be a same day service or a 7-day service.. and you need to factor that in to your calculations.
Abu ********
Abu ********
I have clear knowledge about it and can certainly help you. Please keep in touch since I am busy right now.
Len *****
Len *****
Do you have to get married in Thailand.
Graham ******
Graham ******
@Len ****
The OP is already married
Brandon ************
Brandon ************
The non-O visa IS the marriage visa.

If your marriage is already registered in Thailand then you can get the marriage certificate from any amphur office in Thailand.
Pierre *********
Pierre *********
OP
@Brandon ***********
What I understand from your answer is that since I no longer have in hand the original certificate in Thai and English given by the district during my marriage in Thailand, I can once again obtain the said certified documents from any Amphur in Thailand?
Brandon ************
Brandon ************
@Pierre ********
yes. Once a marriage is registered in Thailand, you can get proof from any amphur.
Pierre *********
Pierre *********
OP
@Brandon ***********
Thank you very much Brandon!
Prinze ******
Prinze ******
@Brandon ***********
just to add, your wife should have a copy of this - it is called the Kor 2 and Kor 3. It's printed in Thai on a card paper. If none, go to the district office - like what the wise gentleman said.
John **********
John **********
I suspect you will need to get your Canadian marriage authenticated by the Thai embassy in your home country before you travel. Perhaps another Canadian who has been through the process could weigh in

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