Questioner: Jean Pierre
I am married to a Thai lady and am now the head of the family as my wife does not work. What documents does the pension service need? Where can we get proof that my wife is not working?
Is having the marriage certificate recognized in Belgium an advantage for my wife to receive a widow's pension in the event of her death? We have already consulted various authorities, but little response to the first question.
Reaction Lung Addie
First of all, you will have to have your marriage recognized and registered in Belgium. Without this you do not even have to take any further steps as you are NOT married in Belgium. You will continue to be treated as a single person, by both the pension service and the tax authorities. So start with that first.
Once your marriage has been recognized and registered, it is best to notify the following services yourself:
– the pension service
- the tax
Proof of no income from your spouse:
– yes, you can already try at the tax office in Thailand. But this usually ends in failure. No income: no file and therefore no certificate.
– at the Thai municipality with two witnesses who declare that your wife does not work. This is also sometimes refused because the municipality cannot actually provide conclusive evidence of this.
– your own 'declaration on honour' in which you declare that your wife does not work and also that the Thai tax authorities will not issue a certificate in this case. They know that in Belgium several people have already used this method successfully, on my advice.
As an argument, if your wife has already reached a certain age, you can also indicate that she is no longer eligible for the Thai labor market.
From the moment you, if you are deregistered from Belgium and therefore live in Thailand, you will learn from the Belgian embassy which documents they need to register your marriage in Belgium.
After informing the pension and tax authorities, they will also inform you of the required documents.
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