A Journey to Marriage in Thailand

When a LGBTQ couple chooses to tie the knot in Thailand, they embark on a practical yet exciting journey with the help of EQuitus, your guide to an easy and successful gay marriage registration.

The adventure kicks off with an important task: securing a marital status certificate from your home country. This document serves as proof of your eligibility to marry and must remain valid for at least 45 days before you submit it.

Since the processing time varies depending on where you are from—some countries might take a few days, others a few weeks—you need to reach out to your local authorities early to get a clear sense of the timeline and avoid any last-minute surprises.

Gathering and Sending the Essentials

Once you have the marital status certificate in hand, the couple connects with EQuitus. You start by emailing scanned copies of the certificate and your passports, ensuring every detail is crisp and clear.

Then, you carefully package the original certificate along with signed photocopies of your passports and send them off via express mail.

To keep everything on track, you will include a tracking number with the shipment and share it with EQuitus via email, alongside the digital scans.

Depending on the courier service and the distance from your home country to Thailand, this leg of the journey typically takes anywhere from three to seven days, sometimes longer if weekends or holidays slow things down.

Translation and Certification

When the documents land in Thailand, EQuitus sends you a friendly notification to let you know everything has arrived safely. From there, the process takes an interesting turn as the marital status certificate undergoes a transformation.

It’s translated into Thai by skilled professionals who ensure accuracy, a step that’s essential for the next phase. The translated document, along with the original, is then submitted to the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs for official certification.

This part of the process requires patience, as the ministry’s review and approval process generally spans one to two weeks, depending on their workload and the complexity of the paperwork.

Planning the Big Day

With the certified document ready, the couple moves into a more personal phase of planning. EQuitus asks you to propose three potential dates for their marriage registration—perhaps December 5 through 9, 2025, or another range that suits your schedule.

These dates aren’t chosen at random; they need to fall within 90 days from the date of the certification.

This adds a layer of strategy to your decision, ensuring you stay within the legal window.

Finalizing the Appointment

EQuitus takes the couple’s suggestions and works behind the scenes to make the magic happen. We coordinate with a lawyer and the District Officer, navigating availability and official schedules to lock in an appointment.

Once everything aligns, we confirm the date with you, a process that typically takes three to five days but can shift slightly depending on how busy the authorities are.

With the appointment set, the couple shifts their focus to travel arrangements. You should book flights to Thailand, taking into account their preferred timeline and any other plans they might have, like exploring Bangkok’s bustling markets or relaxing on a southern beach.

You then email your e-tickets to EQuitus as part of the confirmation process, tying up loose ends.

For those who opt for the VIP service, EQuitus arranges transportation to pick you up from your accommodation on the registration day, adding a touch of ease to the experience.

The Registration and Beyond

The registration day itself is the highlight of the journey. You arrive at the District Office, where the process unfolds efficiently, wrapping up in a single day.

Whether you’ve traveled from halfway across the world or just a neighboring country, this moment feels significant—a culmination of weeks of preparation.

Your broader travel schedule, of course, depends on your own plans, whether your staying for a honeymoon (check out our Thai honeymoon package) or heading back home right away.

Right after the ceremony, the couple receives their original marriage certificate, a tangible symbol of their union under Thai law. But the journey doesn’t end there.

EQuitus arranges for the certificate to be translated into English, a step that takes about a week. Once completed, the translated version is sent to you via express mail, ensuring they have an internationally recognized record of their marriage.

The entire process, from the initial hunt for documents to the final delivery of the translated certificate, typically stretches across four to six weeks. That timeline can flex a bit, depending on how quickly documents are processed, how available appointments are, and how fast mail moves between countries.

A New Chapter Begins

In the end, your gay marriage stands as a legally recognized bond in Thailand, achieved through a blend of careful planning, timely communication, and EQuitus’s steady guidance.

It’s a journey that balances logistics with the joy of starting a new chapter, leaving the couple with both a meaningful memory and the paperwork to prove it.

From start to finish, the process generally takes between four and six weeks, depending on factors like document processing speeds, appointment availability, and mailing times.

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