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Answereda year ago

What is the process for registering a foreign marriage in Thailand to extend a Non-Immigrant O visa?

Martin **************
asked Sep 26, 2025
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Just checking

We married in The Netherlands and want to register our marriage in Thailand too. Than I can base the yearly extention of a Non-immigrant O visa on our marriage. I had our marriage certificate legalized here in The Netherlands by the MFA and the Thai embassy. So far so good.

I found a translator in Bangkok who will do the registration at the MFA in Bangkok. For that I will provide here with the legalized marriage certificate, a legalized copy of my passport by the Dutch embassy, a copy of the Thai identity card of my spouse and his Tabien Baan. The translator will send the registered document to our address in Phitsanulok. Than I will register our marriage at the municipality (Amphur). I was told that I should insist to keep the original marriage certificate for Immigration, the Amphur should keep a copy. I hope this goes well. Anyone who has experience with this?

Having done all this, after two months of stay I can ask Immigration for extension of my visa, based on our marriage. My Thai spouse has a bank account with more than 400,000 baht, so I don't need a bank account of my own. At least that's what Immigration told me in April when we were there. But if necessary I can open a bank account of my own with a Certificate of Residence, to be provided by Immigration. To be sure, I will check again with Immigration after our arrival.

For the extension next year we will not have 400,000 baht any more on my spouses bankaccount, we will use the money for a house (to assure my rights, we will register an Usufruct agreement for as long as I live). But the Dutch embassy can provide an affidavit about my pension, that's enough. Just to be sure, I will also check this with Immigration.

Anyone any comment? Did I miss something? Thank you.
Answer summary
The process for registering a marriage in Thailand when married overseas involves legalizing the marriage certificate, translating it, and registering it at the local Amphur. The poster has completed the initial steps of legalizing their marriage certificate in the Netherlands and is now seeking advice on the registration process and documentation needed for a Non-immigrant O visa extension based on their marriage. They plan to consult with Immigration regarding financial requirements and have received mixed feedback from the community regarding bank account necessities for the visa extension.
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Dca *****
Dca *****
You need to take your Certified Copy Huwelijksakte to Consulair Dienstencentrum (CDC) for Legalisation to use in Thailand

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Ally ************
Ally ************
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 before you leave for Thailand.. however, you could have had a vacation style wedding of course, which would need to involve a foreign Embassy in the process.. but if you are already in Thailand then things are slightly different.. first step, your overseas marriage certificate has to be authenticated by the relevant country Embassy in Bangkok before 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 the translated copy certified by the 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.. this process took them around 2
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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!

Ps. It appears that you have already attended to the certification of the native marriage certificate.. therefore you are ready to move on to the translation and certification by the MoFA in Thailand.. though it may be worth checking if you can get this done at the Thai Embassy in the Netherlands.. so it's all done before you travel to Thailand.. however if you are already in country then a translation agent is your best option.

PPS. And note, the local Amphur and the Municipality are 2 different authorities within a district.. and are often housed in different buildings.. marriage registration is handled at the Amphur.. as was my Pink ID card application.. whereas Yellow books are the domain of the Municipality.. as is stuff like refuse collection and street lighting etc ๐Ÿ˜‰
Martin **************
Martin **************
OP
@Ally ***********
I am not in the country yet, I will apply for a Non-resident O visa. Thank you especially for the information about the Kor Ror 22 and your experience with your local Amphur, that's very helpful.
Brandon ************
Brandon ************
First of all, how are you in Thailand now? Did you enter on a non-O visa you obtained from the Thai embassy? And was that based on marriage?

For marriage extension, the money must be in YOUR Thai bank account. Some immigration offices will accept a joint bank account (and some will not) but for joint accounts, you would need double the funds of 800,000 because only half of that is yours. I've never, ever heard of an immigration office accepting the wife's bank account for a marriage extension.

But none of that should matter because you're going to be using embassy certified income. That should bypass any bank account requirements.

I'd still recommend getting your own bank account, because all of the banks have locked down the accounts to only allowing one phone per account. So if you ever want to pay with QR code you would need your own bank account with your own bank app login.
Chris *******
Chris *******
@Brandon ***********
it would appear that this is a same sex couple in this case, the money has to be proven by 1 of the spouses. Not necessarily the foreigner. So as long as 1 has the money to prove as per the the rules, should be no problem. As always every office will have their own interpretation, check there first.
Brandon ************
Brandon ************
@Chris ******
Oh wow, didn't know that aspect of it. That's interesting.
Chris *******
Chris *******
@Brandon ***********
it's an interesting solution to the gender roles played out in traditional marriage requirements. As is well known if the husband is Thai a female requires no money and the reverse the male needs it. It will be interesting to see how it evolves in the long-term.
John **********
John **********
@Brandon ***********
do immigration recognise same sex marriage now? I didn't think they did. He could potentially get a Non-O based on being married in the Netherlands but then what? A Non-O based on being over 50 may be the only option for him.
Joshua *********
Joshua *********
@John *********
Just got my 1 year extension based on same sex marriage.
Martin **************
Martin **************
OP
@John *********
No, same sex marriages are legal in Thailand since last January, so there is no difference anymore. Immigration even advised me this route!
Jo **********
Jo **********
@Martin *************
sommige immigration offices will not accept same sex marriages
Dca *****
Dca *****
@John *********
Yes, the Thai Immigration Bureau had to update their Thai Immigration Bureau Orders (Thai Immigration Bureau Order #
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, dated 23 January 2025) in order to comply with the Same-Sex Marriage Act (Equality Marriage Act)

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John **********
John **********
@Martin *************
I questioned it because I know when the law changed that immigration did not change. It appears they do now accept it which I wasn't aware of.
Martin **************
Martin **************
OP
@John *********
Like I said, Immigration, that is the immigration office in Phitsanolok, advised me this route. The whole idea of same sex marriages made possible by law, is that no distinction should be made, also not by Immigration.
Brandon ************
Brandon ************
@John *********
They are accepting them now. And the ONLY combination of marriages that avoid the financial requirement is Thai man married to foreign woman. Every other combination still has the financial requirement.
John **********
John **********
@Martin *************
yes they are but I'm not aware of immigration offices inside Thailand accepting same sex marriage for the purposes of obtaining an extension of stay. I would check with your local immigration office where you will live in Thailand and that you will apply for the extension of stay at.
Martin **************
Martin **************
OP
@Brandon ***********
Ah, with an affidavit from the Embassy I don't need a bank account at all, also not for the first extension?
Brandon ************
Brandon ************
@Martin *************
The embassy affidavit would cover extensions, as long as your embassy issues them.

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