Religious Wedding Ceremonies And Marriage Registration In Thailand

The Buddhist Religion is the most widely practiced belief system in Thailand. Nearly every Thai getting married in the Kingdom will have a customary wedding consecrated by Buddhist clergy. To the foreigner, these ceremonies can be fascinating for their exoticism and sumptuousness.

Oddly, the same attitude is not taken with regard to legalization of a marriage in Thailand. In the majority of marriages occurring in Thailand, sanctification is conducted in accordance with Buddhist religious practices or the family custom of the Thai fiancee. In many cases, a customary wedding ceremony will not be legally registered per Thai law. As a rule, a legally binding marriage in the Kingdom of Thailand must be registered at the local Amphoe office (this is the Thai district office that overseas recoding name changes, marriage, and household registration).

For most Thais, the important factor for a Thai-American couple getting married is the customary or religious ceremony or ritual in which the couple publicly vows to remain committed and together with the village or respective families looking on as witnesses. In general, these rituals are performed by monks from a nearby temple and after blessing the nuptials the monks will pronounce the couple as wedded man and wife.

For those couples who do not legalize their marriage the implication for US Immigration can be critical, particularly where an American seeks to obtain a United States Green Card for his unregistered Thai spouse. However, as odd as it sometimes seems, the fiancée visa is generally more quickly acquired than an immigrant spouse visa. Therefore, in some situations a couple will choose to have a marriage celebration in Thailand and wait to have an actual legally binding marriage ceremony in the United States.

Also, where a marriage is not registered in Thailand, there is no recordation of a Thailand prenuptial agreement. In a few very rare cases, Thai courts have awarded unregistered spouses an equitable share of communal or marital assets, but in those situations the couple had been together for many years and had formed an "equitable partnership." For the most part, retaining legal counsel in Thailand for Thai prenup preparation is recommended because the law firms in Thailand have Thai staff. This is very advantageous because the Thai language is not commonly spoken outside of Southeast Asia.

(Please note that this text should not be used as a definitive guide to personal legal issues, this text is written to provide information of a general nature. No Attorney/Client bond is generated by the mere act of reading this article.)