No stimulant based ADHD meds available in Thailand. (Or at least that’s what a doctor told us.) The primary ingredient in Adderal and similar meds, or any similar molecule is 100% illegal in Thailand.

There is a variant of a non-stimulant ADHD med that’s popular in Germany, in the Thailand pharma market. (Straterra is what I think they call it in the states.)

I tapered off of stim based ADHD meds over 6 months starting in October 2023 and still feel some adjustment issues as of today, though it’s not thag bad. (I don’t like taking the med, either.) Will be moving to a non-stim ADHD med this summer, here in BKK.

Some MAOI inhibitors are available. My partner takes Wellbutrin and was able to continue doing so here, but had to get a prescription for it and goes to that doctor for each refill.

Each of these meds will require visiting a doctor and going to periodic counseling, but we’re not clear on the details yet. I’m curious about the stories I’m seeing here where some folks are just hitting up local pharmacies. Will try that for our meds next time we’re out and about.

@Joe *****

was wondering if anyone would talk about the thread topic. Thanks.

My lawyer said keep it simple:

It goes in there, and it stays in there.

Freight it, and have the freight service manage all that. This way is more likely to be efficient and properly documented. If you’re on east coast, look up Sinnava.com. They ship our stuff and several of our friends’.

Have not tried commercial shipping options with Sinnava, but they list related services on their site.

Also try to build as much of your business as possible on Thailand based goods and services, or you will have a bad time.

Ignore any answer that refers to “notary” or “notarization.” Proving to Thailand government that your marriage certificate is real has nothing to do with notarization.

When you bring an official document from one country to another, they need a way to know it’s real.

Every country is either 1.) part of the Hague convention or 2.) not part of the Hague convention.

Thailand is not part of the Hague convention, so Apostille authentication does not work. Documents must be authenticated the old school way.

There will be stamps, seals and signatures.

After getting the state level authentication, I let this service (link below) do the rest of the stateside aspect for me, and then airmail it to my lawyer in BKK:



My documents were authenticated in 12 weeks and the total cost of fees was about $300. (This does not include what I’m paying the lawyer in Bangkok for BKK-related immigration.)

@Jeffrey ********

What Jeffrey said is in line with our experience.

@Will ***********

If (on paper) you’re married in the states first, you have to authenticate via the non-apostille process, back in the states. I learned this the hard way.

Oh man, that is a task. Assuming you married a Thai national in the states and are now working on Non-O immigrant status:

You’re going to need state (Oregon) level authentication and then send it to a document handler in D.C. For US Dept of State (country level) Authentication, followed by Thai Embassy (in D.C.) authentication. Then send it to Thailand, or take it there, and get it verified by US Embassy in Thailand, followed by translation. Then you can use the document in Thailand for immigration process.

I started this process in mid February, and just arrived back in Bangkok (end of May) for the next steps.

Timeline:

1. State level authentication: in Georgia it was a trip to Atlanta and less than an hour wait.

2. US Dept of state: 10 weeks

3. Thai Embassy: 2 weeks

4. Ship to lawyer in Thailand: 1 week

5. Sign power of attorney so lawyer can complete local authentication: 1-2 weeks

*Hire the document handler in DC so nothing gets screwed up or delayed.

*Process may be different for you as there’s lots of variables. We hired a lawyer in BKK to help us navigate the process. Can share in PM if you’re interested.

Doing the marriage Visa with the help of a lawyer and I’m just about through the process. She’s Thai with dual citizenship but hasn’t lived in BKK for nearly 30 years.

We married in the states before COVID hit and the fact that our marriage certificate came from the states had me going back for document authentication, which took over three months to complete. I’m actually heading back to BKK tomorrow, now that all the authentication business is complete.

Marriage Visa in Thailand is less money in the bank, but I can confirm the process is confusing at times, and a lot of paperwork.

I do plan on getting a work permit and digging in here for a few years while we take care of her parents. So it’s worth the effort.

Make sure that whoever assists you with the process is registering everything in the area you plan to live in. I hear about this getting messed up somehow with some of the ‘quick and easy’ immigration services.

Best advice I’ve gotten is to always be polite and patient no matter how many lines you have to stand in, or appointments you’re required to make. Thailand operates in it’s own unique ways, and one has to adapt to that.

@Luke ********

Yeah it’s always the worst when you’re left to imagination. 😅