Affirmation of Freedom to Marry certs rejected at some Amphurs

[caller]

(could some kindly mod correct the spelling in the title - thanks - and apologies if posted in wrong section, please move as appropriate)

This is an odd one, Thailand travel advice on gov.uk:

Still current at: 2 September 2016
Updated: 1 September 2016


Latest update: Summary – if you’re intending to marry in Thailand, some registry authorities are not accepting Affirmation of Marriage documents issued by the British Embassy in Thailand; you should check with your local registrar or district office where you intend to register your marriage if they will accept an Affirmation for Marriage from the British Embassy.

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/thailand

This may be related to a clampdown on such certificates from the Indian sub-continent that I read about today, due to the widespread use of false documents and perhaps, some Amphurs misinterpreting the advice given - who knows?

One to be aware of in any case.

[Gary & Nok]

That could throw a big spanner in the works

[Wayne & Ohm]

Being a bit new to marriage in Thailand but are planning to later next year, would that mean you could no longer get married in Thailand? I don't think that would impress Ohmmy

Could we on the other hand fly to the UK for a holiday and get married as a Registrar office there then fly back?

[Gary & Nok]

...would that mean you could no longer get married in Thailand? I don't think that would impress Ohmmy

No, I think as caller said, it is just some Amphurs getting a bit overzealous with the response to the instructions.

Could we on the other hand fly to the UK for a holiday and get married as a Registrar office there then fly back?

You could do this, but you would need Ohmmy to fill in a marriage visa application which would allow her to come here for the sole purpose of getting married.
This is a similar type of thing to UK (or other) couples who want to go and marry in, say, the Dominican Republic.

I would stick to getting married in LOS but just do a bit of checking beforehand, who knows, by the time you come to do the deed this will have all blown over.

[Tobias]

(could some kindly mod correct the spelling in the title - thanks - and apologies if posted in wrong section, please move as appropriate) ...

Done, and moved to the Thai Visas, Documents, etc. forum

Oh, and still current at: 3 September 2016

[Big AL]

If they won't accept it from the embassy, from whom will they accept it? Presumably, people would need to shop around for an Amphur which will accept it.

[Dsw727]

Once the affirmation has been translated and taken to MFA to be stamped and legislated I cannot see what the issue would be.

However, in May 2015 all the amphurs I went to in Bangkok refused to register the marriage.
They stated that the manager of the amphur has to be present in order to perform thai-farang marriage registration. The manager was not present and they did not know when they would be back.

We ended up going to the amphur in her home city of Uthai Thani and were able to do it there. Her uncles ended up being witnesses and signed with their fingerprint as they did not know how to write their name.

[caller]

Once the affirmation has been translated and taken to MFA to be stamped and legislated I cannot see what the issue would be.

I think it really is a case of Amphurs not getting it right. I assume the fake affirmation of marriage certs from the Indian sub-continent include a fake MFA stamp as well?

[melnathan]

Unless things have changed since I was married in 2009 the Affirmation from the Embassy was to prove there was no problem with you already being married. The Affirmation enabled you to go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and with their paperwork off to Amphur, job done. Dsw727 has got it right.
It is much better to get married in the lady's own village as she is more than likely to be known by all including the Amphur
Melnathan

[Lipboy]

The lady being known by her local Amphur will not assist if the issue is with the Affirmation of Marriage (as stated in Post #1).

My "wife to be" arranged ALL our marriage formalities (including sorting out my Affirmation of Marriage) in Chiang Mia which is many 100's of Km's from her home town south of Bangkok. All sorted within 2 days ready for our wedding in a small town in Chiang Mai Province a few days later in 2014. No one knew us in this small town except her teenage daughter. The only documentation I needed to initiate this process was my Passport and my wife just needed her Thai i.d. card (and/or her Thai Passport?).

[ash]

The lady being known by her local Amphur will not assist if the issue is with the Affirmation of Marriage (as stated in Post #1).

This may be true but assuming the document is bona fide and the only issue is a bad interpretation of the rules by the local management (tea money) , it definitely will be advantageous especially if the Pu yaa baan from her village comes along.
We had a similar issue when changing my wifes ID to our marred name, the local amphur decided the documents from Switzerland were not sufficient and that I had to go back to BKK and get another paper from the MFA. After long discussions with various officials this suddenly ceased to be an obstacle and tea money changed hands. Several days later this was returned in full as my wifes older brother had the manager of the Amphur replaced for effectively commiting fraud.

[Alcpone]

Hi. My fiancée is from Udon Thani, was this a easy process? No hiccups? I am worrying some what now about this problem, as we are wanting to get married in a couple weeks. Any advice you have would be great.
Thanks

Once the affirmation has been translated and taken to MFA to be stamped and legislated I cannot see what the issue would be.

However, in May 2015 all the amphurs I went to in Bangkok refused to register the marriage.
They stated that the manager of the amphur has to be present in order to perform thai-farang marriage registration. The manager was not present and they did not know when they would be back.

We ended up going to the amphur in her home city of Uthai Thani and were able to do it there. Her uncles ended up being witnesses and signed with their fingerprint as they did not know how to write their name.

Cancel that, miss read Uthai Thani as Udon.

[Gary & Nok]

If in doubt check with the Amphur office beforehand.

[Tobias]

The link in the OP has changed but the issue reported continues. The UK Foreign Office has updated their website with the advice as follows (14 September 2016):

"A number of registry authorities in Thailand are not accepting affirmations or affidavits for marriage. The British embassy is seeking urgent clarification. Check with the local registrar or district office where you’re getting married to find out if they will accept these documents."

The updated link is: https://www.gov.uk/marriage-abroad/y...l/opposite_sex

I think we'll make this topic a 'sticky' for now to ensure readers are alerted to the potential difficulty.

[caller]

I received an email from the Embassy that the above alert has now been removed. So that should mean that whatever the problem was has been resolved.

Summary

Still current at:
5 October 2016

Updated:
4 October 2016

Latest update:
Summary – removal of information about some registry authorities not accepting Affirmation of Marriage documents issued by the British Embassy in Thailand