getting married with cambodian girl

Hi and welcome to Expat.com Adry

Congratulations!
I hope other members will be able to advise you soon!

Regards
Armand

I would like to know the answer myself as I am in a similar situation.I have heard it is better to get married in Thailand this means my girl friend can travel with me for work.

I suggest you read MadMaxs' thread as he has recently married his Cambodian wife outside of Cambodia in Hong Kong, apparently easier than Thailand...

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=57350

What you need in Thailand is her "Affirmation of Freedom to Marry" document, which she can get at her local government office where she was born, or in Phnom Penh. The Cambodian Embassy in Bangkok will NOT issue it. Once you have that document, you can go to Bangkok, get all the necessary documents, get them translated into Thai. It's all written up pretty well on the internet. Less trouble and expense than Cambodia, and less of a hassle. Once you have all the papers filed, you can have a ceremony any where in Thailand you like.
Chroeb and I had to go to Hong Kong, as I am 67, and Cambodian law prohibits me from marrying a Khmer!

What do you mean with "Once you have that document, you can go to Bangkok, get the necessary documents." Where can you get the documents? Cambodian embassy in Bangkok? What is the internet address where we can find this information. Many thanks.

Hey MM, now your well famous for "getting married"
you can do consultations, and earn a lot of money:P

I am Cambodian and I would like to get married to my American boyfriend during Christmas, but he not have enough time to apply for married Licence in Cambodia.
We thinking about getting married in Thailand or Hong Kong. Which country is the easiest way to get married? Will my marriage certificate in Hong Kong or Thailand legally in Cambodia?
*** I have divorced degree already translate in English what else I need to get married in Thailand or Hong Kong?

I suggest getting in contact with the Thailand and Hong Kong embassies.  They will have that information.

Hi MadMax888.
                              You mentioned in your post regarding marriage in Cambodia, that the law did not allow you at 67 to marry Khmer lady, do you know what age this law starts from.

Kind regards

Tom

50 years of age is the limit for foreigners to officially marry a Khmer woman.

Some foreign men over 50 years are managing to register their marriage in Cambodia (although only a trickle and up to about 55 or 56).  Traditionally, a Cambodian lady should marry and register the marriage in Cambodia - which is an insurance to see the rest of the world with her husband.  The age and income limits were introduced in 2011 as a way of reducing the level of young women trafficked out of the country.  The evidence for this was spurious at the time.  The ruling is not yet law and was considered unconstitutional by human rights organisations.  If true love exists between the foreign man and the Cambodian lady, she should approach the Minister of State at the Ministry of Interior and make her case.  She will then make a decision as to whether or not to progress the marriage application. The Minister will need to meet the man and make a judgement.  If you are a young looking 55 year old and look smartly dressed at the interview, there should be no problem.  The alternative is to go to court and argue your case - which is the constitutional right of a Cambodian citizen.

I am planning on marrying my Cambodian girlfriend in Thailand. I am English and we have been together for eleven years now. I have all my documents apart from the “affirmation of freedom to marry document” I can get mine in Bangkok but can my partner get her document from the Cambodian Embassy in Bangkok? I mean you can get this document online so could we do that as it would be much easier.

We both live in Vietnam at the moment. She has a full passport, house book, and her birth certificate, so I believe that this document is all we need now to complete the marriage in Bangkok.

Also if anyone has a link for info on getting married in Hong Kong it would be much appreciated.

Hi,
my girlfriend has gone to Cambodia to where she was born. She is going to see the Chief of Commune and ask for the "Affirmation to marry document" does she need to fill this form in there and get it signed and can this guy do that for her?
Or can we now take that document to Bangkok and get it signed at the Cambodian embassy there. This is the last document we need as we have everything else.

Any help much appreciated.

Wow hope some one jumps in   Come on Expats where r u?????

I have answered this in another thread by the same poster

Hi,
Update on affirmation to marry doc. The Chief of commune in Cambodia signed and stamped the affirmation to marry document for $40. He charged more than the usual $10 because I wasn't there and he had no ID of mine. So we can now go to Thailand and make appointments. I just need to get my Affirmation doc from the British Embassy in Bangkok then we get everything including: passports, house book, ID's, birth certificates, translated. And we are all set to sign on the dotted line. 

Thanks.
Have a good day.

Thanks for the information - I am a 50YO Australian working in Hong Kong. I have a Khmer partner and we have a 2 year old son together. I am looking to get married to her in Thailand or Hong Kong and make it all legal and recognized for her partner / dependent HK visa, at the same time, being regognised in Australia.

HI,
Yes we got everything done in Bangkok except getting the marriage document. Cambodians are only allowed two weeks. By the time we had arranged my appointments and affirmation to marry got that translated then couldn't find anyone to translate the cambodian affirmation we had to leave.
So we are looking to head back soon and finish what we started. So once you have the affirmations to marry, get them translated as soon as possible, before you go to Thailand if you can as it is all very time consuming.  The short Cambodian visas really don't help things.

Good Luck ..

theebz wrote:

I am looking to get married to her in Thailand or Hong Kong and make it all legal and recognized for her partner / dependent HK visa, at the same time, being regognised in Australia.

hi, have you done this yet as i am looking to do the same but wondering if it would be recognized in Cambodia? what documents require to do.

many Thanks

joolsd wrote:

HI,
Yes we got everything done in Bangkok except getting the marriage document. Cambodians are only allowed two weeks. By the time we had arranged my appointments and affirmation to marry got that translated then couldn't find anyone to translate the cambodian affirmation we had to leave.
So we are looking to head back soon and finish what we started. So once you have the affirmations to marry, get them translated as soon as possible, before you go to Thailand if you can as it is all very time consuming.  The short Cambodian visas really don't help things.

Hi Joo,

so you have to translate the affirmation docs to english? any translation company in cambodia would be accepted in thailand?

I am looking to do the same but not sure how to start and what docs to be prepare, your sharing experience is greatly appreciated!

Thanks

Hi Adry,

Here is all what you need to do if you want to marry your girlfriend. I am hesitating to get marry in Cambodia but I have not decided yet as the procedure is quiet a lot:

"Cer­tifi­cate of No Imped­i­ment"
"Affidavit for Eligibility to Marry.”
"Affidavit of single statut"
"Affi­davit of Mar­riage (sworn at the Civil Reg­istry Office in Cam­bo­dia before the Con­sol or Vice-Consol)"
"Crim­i­nal Records"
"Cer­tifi­cate on Pro­fes­sion (show­ing monthly income)"
"Birth certificate"
"Valid Pass­ports and cer­ti­fied copies (obtained from your Embassy in Cam­bo­dia or the Cam­bo­dian Embassy in your res­i­dent country)"
"Photocopie of visa"
"Med­ical Cer­tifi­cate from Cal­mette Hos­pi­tal in Phnom Penh"
Mar­riage Appli­ca­tion Form (a sim­i­lar form exists for two for­eign­ers apply­ing for mar­riage in Cam­bo­dia): A writ­ten request for mar­riage appli­ca­tions must be sent to the Min­istry of For­eign Affairs. You will need to know the area or province that you plan to marry. The appli­ca­tion lists sup­port­ing doc­u­ments that must be attached to the appli­ca­tion. Some of these doc­u­ments may need to be legal­ized at the couple’s Embassy in Cam­bo­dia or prior to leav­ing at the Cam­bo­dian Embassy in your res­i­dent coun­try. Upon approval of the bride and groom’s appli­ca­tion, the appli­ca­tion must then be sub­mit­ted to the Civil Registrar.

Legal require­ments to get mar­ried:
•Cer­e­mony (Civil/Religious)

Civil and reli­gious wed­dings are legally rec­og­nized wed­dings pre­formed in Cam­bo­dia. The cer­e­mony is pre­formed in Cam­bo­dian. If either party does not speak Cam­bo­dian,
an inter­preter should be hired.
•Age and Relation

The bride must be at least 18 years of age. The groom must be at least 20 years of age. They can­not be related by blood, mar­riage or adoption.

Note: Non-Cambodian Male Cit­i­zens plan­ning to marry a Cam­bo­dian woman must be no older than 50 years of age, with a monthly income that gen­er­ates a min­i­mum of USD $2,500.
•Wit­nesses

Two wit­nesses over 18 years of age must be present for the cer­e­mony and pro­vide their passports.
•Reg­istry

Both par­ties must stay within the dis­trict of their Embassy or Con­sulate in Cam­bo­dia for 21 days prior to fil­ing a Notice of Inten­tion to Marry. We rec­om­mend mak­ing an appoint­ment in advance with the Con­sol or Vice-Consol, to be assured that you can deliver, in per­son, your oath of inten­tion to marry upon the com­ple­tion of your 21 day res­i­dency (this does not include the day you arrived).



Note: Take all paper­work and pho­to­copies of each to your Embassy and Civil Reg­istry Office in Cambodia.

At least 10 days prior to the wed­ding and 21 full days since your arrival in Cam­bo­dia, you will need to file your Notice of Inten­tion to Marry with the Civil Reg­istry Office. You will need to know where you will marry and who you plan to use as your mar­riage offi­cer. Here, you will also com­plete and sign an Affi­davit of Mar­riage.



Finally the Notice of Inten­tion to Marry will be posted, at the Con­sulate, for 3 weeks. Pend­ing objec­tions, your Embassy can pro­vide you with a Let­ter of No Imped­i­ment to Mar­riage. Bride and groom will show pass­ports and/or divorce or death certificates.

British Cit­i­zens can shorten their wait­ing period by apply­ing for a Super­in­ten­dent Cer­tifi­cate of No Imped­i­ment prior to leav­ing for Cam­bo­dia. You would apply at the Reg­is­trar in your res­i­dent dis­trict of the United Kingdom.

Mar­riage certificate:
•Wed­dings must be reg­is­tered with the Civil Reg­istry Office in order to be rec­og­nized. Offi­cers can come to your wed­ding to sign doc­u­men­ta­tion. The new­ly­weds will give their thumbprints to reg­is­ter and receive their Mar­riage Certificate.
•Mar­riage Cer­tifi­cates are issued from the Cheif of Com­mune, from the region in which the wed­ding cer­e­mony takes place.

*A Cer­tifi­cate of No Imped­i­ment, is also known as a Sin­gle Sta­tus Affi­davit, Sin­gle Sta­tus Statu­tory Dec­la­ra­tion, Cer­tifi­cate of No Record,  a Cer­tifi­cate of Legal Capac­ity to Con­tract Mar­riage, Cer­tifi­cate of Nulla Osta or a Cer­tifi­cate de cou­tume (plus an MP2A form).



Note: This infor­ma­tion can change at any given moment.

Cambodia Marriage Registrar's Office
Phnom Penh Capital Hall
# 69, Preah Monivong Blvd., Sangkat Srah
Chak, Khan Daun Penh, Phnom Penh

Cambodia
Tel/Fax:  +855 23 430 681   +855 23 430 681

Excellent summary tsalakh.  This string has been rocking for years and yours is the best procedural summary I've seen.  Don't hesitate.  You should definitely try and get married in Cambodia. With so many Government departments and Embassies getting involved in the process,  what could possibly go wrong?

Hi,

From what I heard, eventhought you've got the procedure right, the people who is doing the paper is asking 2000 dollars !

Normally this should be for free. And worse, it is not guarantee fter paying that much you can even get married. So thetre is too many if.... if you know what I mean

Of course I know what you mean! Although USD 2,000 for tips and services to marry the lady you love doesn't seem too high a price to pay.  Flying to Thailand or Hong Kong for the ceremony would be a lot more expensive.   Good luck with everything tsalakh

@joolsd Heey were you ever able to accomplish this in Bangkok? We live and work in Bangkok and she has all her documents from Cambodia, only issue is that her Single Status Affidavit from the province already expired (valid for only 3 months after being issued). She plans to go back and get a new one in her province but.......... we've heard that in Thailand they only accept this document if its from the MOF in Phnom Penh and to add more hearsay, MOF in PP apparently will not issue this document for marriage abroad because they want their citizens and spouses to enjoy the mead and honey life of Cambodia.
So I am really curious if you were able to get her provincial document accepted somewhere in Thailand to proceed with marriage?

adry73 wrote:

hello to everybody..
my girlfriend and me decided to get married and we are considering the easier way to do all the documents.. the new law for marriage in cambodia says that many documents have to be prepared if a foreigner wants to get married with a cambodian girl but from what i could read in internet it seems to be valid only if the wedding is in cambodia..
for getting married abroad it is enough that the girl get the certificate of single state..
am i correct?
can somebody tell me which office provide the certificate of single state in cambodia?
thanks in advance
Adry

Hello.

Find your answer in the excellent summary that Tsalakh wrote in September last year, here on this same thread.

Cheers.

Joe

Good luck
I have been to all the places to get a certificate with no luck.
The rule is no foreigner over 50 years old can marry a Cambodian lady. But I saw at the Khmer embassy in Bangkok that they are not enforcing this law. The problem is they will not issue a single certificate to your Khmer girlfriend. The only thing I can tell so far is it may be possible to marry in Cambodia. People claim it is possible to do in HK

You can marry anywhere as long as you have the right documentation.

The 50+ rule has been abandoned a few years ago so no problem.

No matter where you want to get married (Hong Kong is indeed easy) you can find all information on the website of the Ministry of Interior of that country and sometimes also on the website of the Cambodian embassy/consulate.

One more thing: it doesn't matter to whom she gets married, your girlfriend needs a certificate that she is eligible to marry.
That certificate plus birth certificate and family book are necessary. If she has been married before she needs also a proof of divorce.

Good luck

Joe

PS Why don't you marry in Cambodia?

I have a question. I want to marry a Cambodian girl.

(1) What is so easy a way to marry in Cambodia?
(2) Is cote marriage is possible in Cambodia? and
(3) How much money (probability) do I need to prepare to marry in Cambodian girl? (Knowing that a foreigner needs to prove he has at least 2,500$ monthly income in one. I have it.) I am interested to know the cost of the overall feasibility of marriage.

Please help me to share your opinion.

There are many hoops you need to come to terms with, first talk to a lawyer, things are very different in Cambodia in regards to marrying a khmer femail, there are important bits of paperwork you will both need, there is a procedures to those bits of paperwork and copies in English and Khmer, you need to be married and registered in Cambodia to be legal, if you marry outside of Cambodia it will not be recognised by Cambodia, but outside of Cambodia most countries recognise it, this you will have to check as things change quickly, marriage with the correct paperwork is time consuming but not expensive, but the familly party can be a min $10000 but they do give a donation to the event so sometimes you can make a profit, one important thing whatever you put together in the marriage is deemed 50% each on a divorce, see a lawyer or a marriage advice professional, in Cambodia you are a barang and things are very different from were ever you come from, you need to get the paperwork right buddy, good luck to you and your bride to be,

If you marry in Thailand you are not reconised as married in Cambodia, so you can not register your marriage as legal,

Having read many goverment information on Khmer marriage, maybe I am wrong as thins do change, but I was under the impression that you could marry anywhere outside of Cambodia but your marriage would not be able to be registered in Cambodia as it's not a Cambodian marriage and not legal in Cambodia, ?

There is no easy way, all ways are rather complicated and require thorough study and preparation.

I nvite you to read previous answers as all questions you have have been answered already.

Good luck.

Joe
Cambodia expert
Expat.com team

Thank you friend for your valuable information. I have another question.

(1) Can I get a Cambodian passport after marrying a Cambodian girl?
(2) If yes, how many days may have to wait? and Do i need to spend any money?

Please help me to share your opinion.

It is possible to gain a Cambodian passport but you must be leaglly married in Cambodia and have lived to together after marriage for over 3 years, so it's not a quick process,

In this case, may i can get permission for staying with my wife in Cambodia?

As far as I am aware until you are granted a Cambodian passport after 3 years of being married & living with your cambodian wife, you will still need a visa in that 3 years as you are still relying on your foriegn passport what type I am not sure,

Does anyone here know if a reliable lawyer that could help out with preparing all the legal docs, appointments, and costs?

I’m looking to get married, but reading everything is making me feel quite overwhelmed.