Kunal Sachdev and Thunyaporn Chartisathian contributed the article on marriage in Thailand on the NTCC website.
The article focuses on the various legal issues involved in the civil union of two people under Thai law. It serves as the first part in a three part series on marriage where we cover how one gets engaged, married and divorced under Thai law. It is not uncommon in Thailand for foreign men to seek Thai wives to be their life partners and vice versa. In this article, the authors look to lay out the relevant Thai law which governs the relationship between man and woman in the preparation of their marriage.
Unlike many foreign countries, there are two forms of marriage in Thailand – civil marriages and traditional marriages. A marriage by way of a traditional ceremony may have profound moral, emotional and religious meaning for the couple, their families and their God, but it has no legal import. Only a civil marriage, registered at a district office in Thailand, has legal effect.
As with tradition in other countries, a wedding in Thailand, irrespective of being a civil ceremony or traditional ceremony, is done in 3 stages: the betrothal (i.e. engagement proposal), the marriage and the reception. For the purposes of this article the authors are dealing with the betrothal stage and the marriage itself.
To read article on Netherlands-Thai Chamber of Commerce, please click here.
To download the article, please click here.
