Question 1

When does a marriage become legally valid in Thailand?

Accepted Answer

Under section 1457 of the Civil and Commercial Code a marriage under Thai law is effected only by registration. A religious ceremony or a traditional Thai wedding creates no legal status on its own. Section 1458 requires that both parties consent to take each other as spouses and that the consent be declared openly before the registrar, who records it. Registration takes place at any district office (amphur) or khet office in the country; there is no residence requirement. Ask our Thai family-law team to review your documents by phone, LINE or email before you file.

Question 2

Can same-sex couples marry in Thailand?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The Civil and Commercial Code Amendment Act (No. 24) B.E. 2567, published in the Royal Gazette on 24 September 2024, came into force 120 days later on 22 January 2025. It replaces the gendered wording of Book V with neutral terms — 'two persons' instead of 'a man and a woman' and 'spouses' instead of 'husband and wife' — so any two people may register a marriage and receive identical rights on marital property, inheritance under sections 1629 and 1635, joint adoption and medical consent. The same Act raised the minimum age of marriage in section 1448 from seventeen to eighteen. Ask our Thai family-law team to review your documents by phone, LINE or email before you file.

Question 3

What documents does a foreigner need to marry in Thailand?

Accepted Answer

District offices require an Affirmation of Freedom to Marry (in some countries called a Certificate of No Impediment) issued by your embassy or consulate in Thailand, together with a valid passport and entry stamp. The embassy document must be translated into Thai and the translation legalised by the Legalization Division, Department of Consular Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Chaeng Watthana Road before the registrar will accept it. If you were married before, a divorce certificate, divorce judgment or death certificate of the former spouse must be legalised and translated in the same way. The Thai party brings an ID card and house registration, and two witnesses must attend. Ask our Thai family-law team to review your documents by phone, LINE or email before you file.

Question 4

Is a prenuptial agreement enforceable in Thailand?

Accepted Answer

It is, but only if the strict form in section 1466 of the Civil and Commercial Code is met: the agreement must either be entered in the marriage register at the same time as the marriage registration, or be made in writing signed by both parties and at least two witnesses, attached to the marriage register, with a note in the register recording that it is attached — all on the day of registration. An agreement signed afterwards is void. Section 1465 also voids any clause contrary to public order or good morals, or any clause providing that foreign law shall govern the couple's property. Ask our Thai family-law team to review your documents by phone, LINE or email before you file.

Question 5

How are assets classified during a Thai marriage?

Accepted Answer

Section 1471 defines personal property (sin suan tua) as property owned before the marriage, personal effects and tools of trade, property acquired during the marriage by inheritance or gift, and the khongman engagement property. Section 1474 defines marital property (sin somros) as property acquired during the marriage, property acquired by will or written gift that expressly states it is marital property, and the fruits of personal property. Where it is doubtful whether an asset is marital property, the final paragraph of section 1474 presumes that it is, so the burden falls on the spouse claiming otherwise. Ask our Thai family-law team to review your documents by phone, LINE or email before you file.

Question 6

Can one spouse sell jointly owned property alone?

Accepted Answer

No. Section 1476 requires both spouses to act jointly, or one to obtain the other's consent, for significant dealings with marital property — selling, exchanging, mortgaging, granting or extinguishing servitudes or superficies, leasing immovable property for more than three years, lending money and making gifts. Section 1480 lets the non-consenting spouse ask the court to revoke the transaction within one year of learning of it and no later than ten years from the date of the act, unless the counterparty acted in good faith and for value. Ask our Thai family-law team to review your documents by phone, LINE or email before you file.

Question 7

What are the grounds for divorce in Thailand?

Accepted Answer

Section 1516 lists the statutory grounds, including maintaining or honouring another person as a spouse, adultery, seriously injurious misconduct, physical or mental cruelty or serious insult, wilful desertion for more than one year, imprisonment for more than one year by final judgment where the other spouse was not complicit, voluntary separation for more than three years because the couple cannot live together peacefully, disappearance or a court declaration of disappearance for more than three years, failure to give proper maintenance and support, insanity continuing for more than three years, breach of a written bond of good behaviour, and a serious communicable disease or a physical condition permanently preventing cohabitation. The Amendment Act (No. 24) B.E. 2567 rewrote these grounds in gender-neutral terms. Ask our Thai family-law team to review your documents by phone, LINE or email before you file.

Question 8

How does an uncontested divorce work?

Accepted Answer

Section 1514 requires a divorce by mutual consent to be made in writing and certified by the signatures of at least two witnesses, and section 1515 provides that where the marriage was registered under the Code, the divorce is complete only when both parties register it at a district office. A privately signed divorce paper therefore ends nothing. Couples normally attach a settlement agreement (banthuek kho toklong) to the divorce register dealing with parental power, child maintenance and division of property, because that record is directly enforceable. Ask our Thai family-law team to review your documents by phone, LINE or email before you file.

Question 9

How is property divided on divorce?

Accepted Answer

Section 1533 provides that on divorce the marital property is divided equally between the spouses. Section 1532 fixes the reference date: for a divorce by mutual consent the property is divided as it stands on the date of registration, and where the court grants a divorce the date the action was filed governs. Section 1534 protects the other spouse by treating property that one spouse improperly disposed of for their sole benefit, or with intent to cause loss, as if it still existed for the purpose of the division. Ask our Thai family-law team to review your documents by phone, LINE or email before you file.

Question 10

Can I claim compensation from my spouse's lover?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Section 1523 allows a spouse who obtains a divorce on the ground in section 1516 (1) to claim compensation both from the other spouse and from the person maintained or honoured as a spouse. The second paragraph also allows a claim against anyone who has taken liberties with your spouse in an adulterous manner, or who openly holds themselves out as being in such a relationship, even without a divorce action. Section 1525 leaves the amount to the court's discretion, and the one-year limitation period in section 1529 applies. Ask our Thai family-law team to review your documents by phone, LINE or email before you file.

Question 11

Who has parental power over a child born outside marriage?

Accepted Answer

Section 1546 provides that a child born of a woman who is not married is the legitimate child of that woman alone, so the mother holds parental power by operation of law. Under section 1547 the father becomes the legitimate father only if the parents subsequently marry, if he registers the legitimation of the child, or if a court so orders. Appearing on the birth certificate or allowing the child to use the father's surname does not by itself create legal paternity, and this frequently matters when applying for visas or passports. Ask our Thai family-law team to review your documents by phone, LINE or email before you file.

Question 12

How long must a parent pay child maintenance?

Accepted Answer

Section 1564 obliges parents to maintain their children and provide proper education during minority, which ends at twenty years of age under section 19, and to continue maintaining an adult child only where that child is disabled and unable to earn a living. Section 1598/38 directs the court to fix maintenance according to the ability of the payer, the condition of the recipient and the circumstances of the case, and section 1598/39 allows the court to increase, reduce or cancel the amount later if circumstances change. Ask our Thai family-law team to review your documents by phone, LINE or email before you file.

Question 13

What are the age requirements to adopt in Thailand?

Accepted Answer

Section 1598/19 requires an adopter to be at least twenty-five years old and at least fifteen years older than the person to be adopted. Under section 1598/20 an adoptee aged fifteen or over must consent personally, and section 1598/21 requires the consent of the child's parents where the adoptee is a minor. Section 1598/25 requires the consent of the adopter's own spouse. Adoption of a minor must additionally follow the Child Adoption Act B.E. 2522 through the Department of Children and Youth, and section 1598/27 makes the adoption effective only on registration. Ask our Thai family-law team to review your documents by phone, LINE or email before you file.

Question 14

Can a foreigner adopt a Thai child?

Accepted Answer

Yes, through the intercountry adoption procedure. Thailand is a party to the 1993 Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption, and the Department of Children and Youth of the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security acts as the Central Authority. Applicants living abroad apply through their own Central Authority or an accredited body, submit a home study report, and complete the probationary placement period required by Thai law before the Child Adoption Board approves the case. Step-parent and blood-relative adoptions follow a modified route. Ask our Thai family-law team to review your documents by phone, LINE or email before you file.

Question 15

We married abroad — what should we do in Thailand?

Accepted Answer

A marriage validly celebrated under the law of the place of celebration is recognised under section 20 of the Conflict of Laws Act B.E. 2481, but Thai civil registration records will not change by themselves. Ask the district office where the Thai spouse is registered to record the family status (Kor Ror 22) under the Family Registration Act B.E. 2478. Bring the foreign marriage certificate legalised in the issuing country (Apostille, or legalisation by the Royal Thai Embassy), translated into Thai with the translation certified by the Department of Consular Affairs. Thailand is not yet a party to the 1961 Apostille Convention, so Thai documents used abroad still need two-step consular legalisation. Ask our Thai family-law team to review your documents by phone, LINE or email before you file.

Question 16

What are the financial requirements for a Thai marriage visa extension?

Accepted Answer

Extensions of stay based on marriage to a Thai national are governed by the Immigration Act B.E. 2522 and Royal Thai Police Order 327/2557, which sets the financial test as either monthly income of THB 40,000 or a deposit of THB 400,000 held in a Thai bank account for at least two months before the application. You must first hold a Non-Immigrant O visa, then apply for an extension of up to one year with the marriage certificate, house registration, family photographs and, usually, a home visit by immigration officers. Reporting every ninety days is required under section 37 (5), and you must obtain a re-entry permit before leaving Thailand or the extension lapses. Local practice varies between immigration offices, so confirm with the office covering your address before filing. Ask our Thai family-law team to review your documents by phone, LINE or email before you file.

Licensed Notary Public Attorneys 6 registered

Mr. Jiraphan

Mr. Jirasak

Mr. Patipan

Mr. Warawut

Mr. Wiwat

Miss Anutree

Thai Marriage Registration, Marriage Equality, Marital Property, Divorce, Children, Adoption and Spouse Visas

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