Marriage in Thailand

Yes. Nationality is not a bar, but the marriage must satisfy Thai law and be officially registered.

The parties must meet the legal conditions for marriage and personally express their consent before the registrar at an Amphur, Khet or other authorised registration office. A wedding ceremony by itself does not create a legally registered Thai marriage.

The normal minimum age for marriage in Thailand is 18.

Under the amended Section 1448 of the Civil and Commercial Code, both persons must have reached eighteen years of age. In exceptional circumstances, a Thai court may permit marriage before that age where there is an appropriate reason. A person aged eighteen or nineteen is normally still a minor and may also require the consent prescribed by Sections 1454 and 1455.

The minimum marriage age should not be confused with the criminal-law age of consent in Thailand or with general legal capacity in Thailand. These are separate legal questions governed by different rules and age thresholds.

Read more: conditions for marriage under Thai law.

Not by itself. Thai law generally requires civil registration for a marriage to have legal effect.

A Buddhist, religious or traditional ceremony may be personally and culturally important, but it does not replace registration before a competent registrar. A marriage validly concluded under foreign law raises a separate question of recognition in Thailand.

Thai family law regulates the personal relationship between spouses, their property and the termination of marriage.

• Engagement: Sections 1435–1447
• Conditions and registration of marriage: Sections 1448–1460
• Relationship between spouses and marital property: Sections 1461–1493
• Nullity, divorce and termination of marriage: Sections 1494–1535
• Parentage and parental rights: Sections 1536 onward
• Inheritance and succession: Book VI, beginning with Section 1599

Read more: Thai Civil and Commercial Code provisions on marriage.

An international marriage involves spouses of different nationalities or a marriage connected with more than one country.

A marriage registered in Thailand is governed by Thai rules on formation and registration, but recognition, marital property, tax, inheritance and divorce may also be affected by the laws of another country. Couples with assets or residence in more than one jurisdiction should consider advice in each relevant country.

The foreign national will normally need identity documents and official proof that there is no legal impediment to the marriage.

Documents commonly requested include:

• a valid passport and evidence of lawful entry or stay;
• proof of marital status or freedom to marry from the competent embassy or authority;
• a certified Thai translation and Thai legalisation of the foreign document where required;
• the Thai national’s identity card and house registration;
• final divorce or former spouse’s death documents, where applicable; and
• the legally prescribed consent documents where either person is still a minor.

The required form of proof differs by nationality, embassy practice and registration office. The couple should confirm the current requirements with the relevant embassy and intended Amphur or Khet before arranging translations or legalisation.

Read more: registration of a Thai-foreign marriage.

Yes. Same-sex couples have been able to register a marriage in Thailand since 23 January 2025.

The Marriage Equality Act introduced gender-neutral terminology throughout the relevant Civil and Commercial Code provisions. Marriage registration and the principal rules concerning spouses, marital property, divorce and inheritance now apply to couples regardless of sex.

Read more: Marriage Equality Act – Amendment Act No. 24, B.E. 2567.

Yes. A Thai prenuptial agreement is enforceable when it complies with Thai law and is recorded at the time of the marriage registration.

A Thai prenuptial agreement must be made before the marriage, comply with the required written and registration formalities, and must not contain terms contrary to public order or good morals. It cannot simply replace mandatory Thai family law with a foreign marital-property system. An agreement made only after marriage does not qualify as a Thai prenuptial agreement.

Read more: prenuptial agreements under Thai family law. For the agreement itself, see the Thai prenuptial agreement page.

No. A properly prepared prenuptial agreement is a sensible way to protect personal assets and reduce future conflict.

A carefully prepared agreement encourages both persons to disclose and discuss their finances before marriage. It can identify personal assets, record the parties’ intentions and provide greater certainty if the marriage ends. When approached openly, it can demonstrate transparency rather than mistrust. Its terms must, however, remain within the limits of Thai family law.

Personal property, or Sin Suan Tua, generally remains owned by one spouse separately.

Under Section 1471, it includes:

1. property belonging to either spouse before marriage;
2. property for personal use, dress or ornament appropriate to that person’s position in life, and tools necessary for a profession;
3. property acquired during marriage through a will or gift, unless declared to be marital property; and
4. Khongman given in connection with an engagement.

Read more: division of assets and property in a Thai divorce.

Property acquired during marriage will generally be marital property, or Sin Somros, unless it falls within a personal-property category.

Section 1474 includes:

• property acquired by either spouse during marriage;
• property acquired by will or gift where it is expressly declared to be marital property; and
• fruits and income produced by personal property.

Where there is doubt about whether property is personal or marital, Thai law generally presumes that it is marital property.

Read more: property of spouses under Sections 1471–1493.

Each spouse may generally manage marital property, but important transactions listed by law require joint management or the other spouse’s consent.

Section 1476 applies to specified transactions such as selling or mortgaging immovable property, creating certain registered property rights and granting a lease of immovable property for more than three years. A prenuptial agreement may regulate management within the limits permitted by Thai law, but it cannot remove mandatory protections.

Read more: management of marital property under Thai law.

Identify personal assets before marriage and retain records showing their ownership and source of funds.

• List important existing assets and debts in a prenuptial agreement.
• Keep purchase documents, bank records, title documents and evidence of gifts or inheritance.
• Avoid unnecessary mixing of personal and marital funds where the source may later become difficult to prove.
• Ensure that wills and gift documents clearly record the donor’s or testator’s intention where appropriate.

Yes, but agreements made between spouses during marriage require careful consideration.

Under Section 1469, either spouse may avoid an agreement concluded between them during the marriage or within one year after the marriage ends, subject to the protection of third parties acting in good faith. The agreement must also satisfy any separate formalities governing a lease, loan, usufruct or other registered right. This can make an agreement between spouses less secure than an equivalent agreement between unrelated parties.

Read more: Section 1469 and agreements between spouses.

It depends on what is owned, when it was acquired and how the purchase was financed.

A house, condominium and the land beneath a house may have different owners and different legal classifications. Where land is purchased in the name of a Thai spouse using that spouse’s separate funds, it may be registered and treated as personal property. When a foreign spouse signs a Land Office declaration confirming that the purchase funds belong to the Thai spouse, that declaration can be important evidence concerning ownership and marital-property claims.

Read more: land acquisition by a Thai national married to a foreign national.

A foreign spouse generally cannot own land in Thailand merely because they are married to a Thai national.

Depending on the property and circumstances, lawful options may include foreign ownership of a qualifying condominium unit, separate ownership of a building, a registered lease, usufruct, right of habitation or superficies. A Thai will may also be relevant to succession planning. Each option creates different rights and ends in different circumstances, so it should be selected for the actual purpose rather than treated as equivalent to land ownership.

• Land purchase by a Thai spouse married to a foreign national
• Right of habitation
• Thai-English Last Will

A divorce may be registered by mutual consent or ordered by a Thai court.

An administrative divorce requires the agreement of both spouses and compliance with the registration requirements. If the divorce is contested, or an administrative divorce is not available for the marriage concerned, a spouse must normally establish a statutory ground for divorce before the court. International couples should also consider whether a Thai divorce will be recognised in their other relevant country.

Read more: divorce and legal grounds under Thai law.

Khongman is property delivered by one betrothed person to the other as evidence of the engagement.

Under Section 1437, a legally enforceable engagement arises when the Khongman is delivered or transferred. It may consist of money or other valuable property. Khongman should not automatically be confused with Sin Sod, and a formal engagement is not required in order to register a valid marriage.