Reader's question: Getting married on a prenuptial agreement and the costs

I am married in Thailand and therefore think that you are financially much cheaper there,
If you also add the dowry, you will lose a small amount of money here
I had lost a total of 6000 euros, all in all, including the 4 weeks of vacation
in Thailand you are for translating and legalizing the doc. lost about 500 euros.

Hi Stefan,

I did my Thai prenuptial agreement here:
https://www.samuiforsale.com/view-category/prenuptial-agreement-for-thailand.html
Issued at the Thai amphur with the marriage file.

We have made a will at the Thai amphur (free or a few hundred baht)
It is written in Thai.

And the Dutch prenuptial agreement can be concluded here as an example:
https://www.vandenotaris.nl/producten/relatie-en-kinderen/trouwen-onder-huwelijkse-voorwaarden/#prijzen

Testament in the Netherlands you can get cheap at the Hema.

Yours faithfully,

Bob

If you marry in the Netherlands, regardless of whether or not it is under a prenuptial agreement, that marriage is also legally valid in Thailand. Conversely, the same is true for a legal marriage entered into in Thailand. Same in Belgium. This is regulated by international treaty law.

Based on my experience with a mixed marriage (Belgo-Thai) concluded in Belgium, I will try to outline the procedure in human language.

We want to register/recognize a marriage (the government-sanctioned agreement, because this is the legal marriage after all) by the Thai government:

Marriage registration is done in Belgium (the Netherlands) and in Thailand at the local municipality:

Step 1: Request an extract from the marriage register from the municipal council. Expressly request the international version.

But Thailand obviously does not recognize my municipal council. They do know the Belgian state because they concluded that international marriage treaty with it. So:

Step 2: Have the extract from the marriage register legalized at the legalization department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (the guardians of international treaties).

This makes this document for Thailand an authentic Belgian document, not just a municipal piece of paper.

But in Thailand there are so many documents from so many countries that they are in danger of no longer being able to see the trees for the forest. So Thailand wants you to go to their embassy (or consulate) with your legalized extract from the marriage register. They (re)recognize that document there. The embassy staff often even knows the competent officials of the legalization department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs personally and they recognize each other's handwriting, signatures and stamps.

Step 3: Take that extract from the marriage register to the Thai embassy or consulate to have it stamped and signed by the consul or ambassador.

Then a trip to Thailand and a visit to the legalization department of the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Legalization Division, 3rd floor
Department of Consular Affairs
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
123 Chaeng Watthana Road
Bangkok 10210

Downstairs in the entrance hall and in the waiting room upstairs, “runners” walk around, who have your documents translated for a fee. Nobody knows the translation method (use of words, syntax, layout, etc…) that is required there better than the translators for whom these runners work. Last year we paid 800 baht for translation of 1 sheet of A4 format. That was done in a few hours. If you come early in the morning you will be ready shortly after noon.

Now you have a translation of your foreign marriage legalized by the competent Thai national service.

In Thailand, municipal authorities are also authorized to conclude marriage agreements.

Step 4: Take your translation of your foreign marriage, legalized by the competent Thai national service, to the town hall of your choice to have your marriage contracted abroad also registered there in the Thai variant of the marriage register.

Having documents translated in Belgium or the Netherlands is expensive and makes no sense because you cannot get those translations legalized here. The Belgian or Dutch legalization service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is not considered to be able to read Thai documents. They only declare documents from Belgian or Dutch official bodies “authentic” through legalization.

Sorry, it's quite a ramble. Hopefully this is a bit enlightening.

Specifically with regard to prenuptial agreements: In Belgium and the Netherlands, these are registered by the civil-law notary, not by the municipality. Well, in Thailand you also have that registration done by a lawyer. They do not know a notary there, but many Thai lawyers specialize in this. So first ask for advice from a Thai lawyer. I have no idea which document will be legally valid in the event of a dispute, the Belgian (Dutch) or the Thai one. Probably one of them will prevail over the other. Pay close attention to this, and inquire carefully with legal experts.
And foreign prenuptial agreements that conflict with Thai law will not be enforceable in Thailand anyway.