My fiance and I are from Hong Kong and China. We are now planning to get married and would like to have our wedding registration in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The exact date is not confirmed yet. Understanding the complicated procedure of registration for foreigners, we would like to consult you for a legal foreigner-foreigner wedding registration and the preparation time needed?
Marriage in Thailand shall begin with the process of obtaining an Affirmation of Freedom to Marry from respective embassies in Thailand. Once the affirmation/affidavit collected from the embassy, the translations, legalization, and registration shall follow. It would normally take 5 business days for a marriage registration to be completed, or perhaps even less. For Hong Kong passport holders, a visit to the Chinese embassy in Bangkok is necessary.
Yet, the embassy does not issue this certificate to their applicants easily if not a residence of Thailand and further assessment will be required together with some additional documents to be provided. It is somehow best to speak and be assessed by your embassy in order to move on with the entire process for the Thai legal marriage registration.
See more questions and answers on the Frequently Asked Questions page of this website