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Thai Marriage
Please Note: This section contains information about marriage issues for the Australia only. We are in the process of updating our website to provide information about other countries but in the mean time simply contact us and we will be more than happy to assist you.
The Australian Embassy in Bangkok is not authorised to perform marriages.
Any marriage in Thailand must be performed according to Thai law and any detailed questions on the procedure should be addressed to the appropriate Thai authorities.
The Thai authorities require that any foreign national wishing to marry in Thailand obtain an "affirmation of freedom to marry". This affirmation must be made in person at the Consular Section of the Australian Embassy in Bangkok. It is not possible to obtain the affirmation from the Australia in advance.
The marriage will only be recognised under Australia law if it is valid under Thai law. For it to be valid in Thai law, the marriage must be registered with the Registrar at an Amphur Office (District Office). A religious ceremony on its own is not recognised as being valid under Thai law.
The Thai marriage certificate will be in Thai only. You may wish to commission a "sworn translation" of the marriage certificate from a translation bureau, so that you can use the document for legal purposes in Australia.
Consular Section can arrange for your marriage certificate to be deposited with the General Register Office (GRO) in Australia. This not a legal obligation and has no bearing on the validity or otherwise of the marriage. It simply means that you are able to obtain a certified copy of your marriage certificate directly from the GRO, should you need to do so in the future. Please ask us for further details if you wish do this.
A foreign national does not automatically acquire Australian nationality through marriage to a Australian national.
If you are marrying a Thai national, he or she will require a visa to visit or settle in Australia.
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