Farang/Farang divorce in Thailand

Greetings,
First post here.

I am an American seeking uncontested divorce from a Hong Kong national, while living abroad (here in khon kaen).
No kids or property to share.

I also wish to marry a Thai national.
The deal is, I did not register my marriage in HK with the US Embassy in HK.
Am I legally married in the eyes of the law?

If I go ahead with marriage here in Thailand with my Thai fiancee while still married HK national, will this create legal problems? If I register this marriage with my embassy, will it be seen as legal?

Lastly, as I will not be returning to HK for any reason, can I persue divorce from the HK wife
the easy way without her signing papers and such?

Can be done without a lawyer?

Cheers

Welcome to the Buffalo Board...

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Originally Posted by Kommiekat

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Am I legally married in the eyes of the law?

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Yes. Registration with an embassy has eff all to do with it

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kommiekat

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Can be done without a lawyer?

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Only if you are prepared to spend time wherever it was that your marriage was recorded.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kommiekat

Greetings,
First post here.

I am an American seeking uncontested divorce from a Hong Kong national, while living abroad (here in khon kaen).
No kids or property to share.

I also wish to marry a Thai national.
The deal is, I did not register my marriage in HK with the US Embassy in HK.
Am I legally married in the eyes of the law?

If I go ahead with marriage here in Thailand with my Thai fiancee while still married HK national, will this create legal problems? If I register this marriage with my embassy, will it be seen as legal?

Lastly, as I will not be returning to HK for any reason, can I persue divorce from the HK wife
the easy way without her signing papers and such?

Can be done without a lawyer?

Cheers

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Partial response. Yes, it can be done. I'm an American, and divorced my American wife in Thailand in an uncontested divorce. We were both living in Thailand at the time, and had been married in another Asian country. But, both the marriage and divorce were registered with the respective Embassy.

I can't answer the Hong Kong questions.

There are a number of factors at play - eventual access to Social Security benefits, retirement/pension benefits, etc.

I would recommend you call the American Embassy, ask for American Citizen Services, and ask to speak to somebody who knows divorce stuff - don't be put off when you get a Thai - most of them have been working there for years and know the subject far better than the Americans who are there on a two year assignment.

I did use a Thai lawyer (a good friend of mine) simply because my Thai wasn't good enough for the legal jargon.

In order to marry a Thai you will need a letter from your embassy, stating you are free to marry. Making a false declaration could come back to bite you later.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kommiekat

Greetings,
First post here.

I am an American seeking uncontested divorce from a Hong Kong national, while living abroad (here in khon kaen).
No kids or property to share.

I also wish to marry a Thai national.
The deal is, I did not register my marriage in HK with the US Embassy in HK.
Am I legally married in the eyes of the law?

If I go ahead with marriage here in Thailand with my Thai fiancee while still married HK national, will this create legal problems? If I register this marriage with my embassy, will it be seen as legal?

Lastly, as I will not be returning to HK for any reason, can I persue divorce from the HK wife
the easy way without her signing papers and such?

Can be done without a lawyer?

Cheers

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If you were married in Hong Kong, then I would suggest that you get advise from somebody in Hong Kong about divorce there.It may be quite simple.

^^Indeed. The US tracks paperwork. You will have to show proof of legal divorce down the road at some point.

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Originally Posted by jamescollister

In order to marry a Thai you will need a letter from your embassy, stating you are free to marry. Making a false declaration could come back to bite you later.

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Firstly, thanks everbody for the replies.

As I did not register the HK marriage with my embassy, am I not seen as being free to marry now?
They have no record of my marriage.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kommiekat

As I did not register the HK marriage with my embassy, am I not seen as being free to marry now?
They have no record of my marriage.

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They may not have a record, but Hong Kong does, and I presume so does your wife.

If she comes back at you at some point in the future - seeking money or just to cause you grief - she will have proof that you falsely represented your marital status to both Thailand and the US.

You want to stay legal on stuff like this.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kommiekat

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jamescollister

In order to marry a Thai you will need a letter from your embassy, stating you are free to marry. Making a false declaration could come back to bite you later.

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Firstly, thanks everbody for the replies.

As I did not register the HK marriage with my embassy, am I not seen as being free to marry now?
They have no record of my marriage.

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You're legally married under HK law thus legally married under US law, just because you didn't register your marriage with the embassy doesn't change that and there will be a record of your marriage, you know that piece of paper you signed when tied the knot. For UK citizens marrying abroad it's not even a legal requirement to register your marriage, you just need your marriage paper translated when applying for visas, passports for kids etc.

But saying all this, there is nothing stopping you committing bigamy and you probably would get away with it, but do you want to live a lie and knowing it could all come back to bite you on the ass one day???

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kommiekat

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jamescollister

In order to marry a Thai you will need a letter from your embassy, stating you are free to marry. Making a false declaration could come back to bite you later.

---

Firstly, thanks everbody for the replies.

As I did not register the HK marriage with my embassy, am I not seen as being free to marry now?
They have no record of my marriage.

---

To get married in HK you will have to have gone to the US embassy to get a letter saying you are single / divorced. When I got married in Hong Kong I had to do the same at the British Consulate and they gave me a letter that vouched for my word saying I was single. I can not see any way you got around not having this letter as it was demanded prior to registration.

So, the US knows you are married, or at least were planning to marry. Will they flag this up? who knows. Also, who did your wife inform? On various forms such as IRD forms spouse information is required, including nationality and ID information. If you earned money in Hong Kong I would assume on information you sent to the US there would be documents there showing you have a wife?

Getting divorced in Hong Kong is as easy as getting married more or less as long as it is uncontested and amicable. There's a process and no need to have a lawyer. If your wife will come to Thailand you can divorce here in about 20 minutes. In both countries divorce is easy and does not necessitate a lawyer, but i does require both to be present.

If you will not get together then hire a lawyer in Hong Kong (pm me for a couple of recommendations) and they can do it on your behalf. However, it would be a lot simpler and cheaper to call your ex wife and ask for the divorce to be finalized and get it done.

Of course, if you do not want to bother with the divorce and become a bigamist, then on the basis that by the sounds of things you and the soon to be ex wife are not on the best of terms, she has in her hand a document saying you are legally married and that very well might come back to bite you in the arse.

Hongkie girls are educated and spiteful; last thing I assume you would want would be to apply for a wife visa to the US for your new bit of stuff and find out your current wife has popped into the embassy with your legally binding marriage certificate asking them to find you because she has no idea where you are and herself wants a divorce.

If you are planning on marrying your issan mattress warrior and no intention of shipping her to the US, just pay the dowry and have the village wedding with nothing signed. Its all she wants anyway so save yourself the hassle.

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Originally Posted by pseudolus

If you are planning on marrying your issan mattress warrior and no intention of shipping her to the US, just pay the dowry and have the village wedding with nothing signed. Its all she wants anyway so save yourself the hassle.

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Harsh or as the thaiz say แรงมาก! Still possibly the best advice given so far..

Now if I knew how to green a post, I would...:)

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Originally Posted by BaitongBoy

Welcome to the Buffalo Board...

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You fukin bastardos maximos

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Originally Posted by Kommiekat

seeking uncontested divorce

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Originally Posted by Kommiekat

I also wish to marry a Thai national.

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Out of the frying pan into the fire... Crazzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Many posters have stated, you need a letter from the US embassy saying that you are not married. So, are you prepared to lie to both the US embassy (they will likely want you to sign a document saying you are not married before they give you the letter/or as part of the letter) and the Thai authorities?

When you have children with your wonderful Thai wife, then want to send them to school/uni, but find that your money has been taken by a HK court from an ex-wife, you will wish that you had managed the processes properly. The proper way is to deal with the issue in HK according to their law. Just sayin... Good luck.

For UK nationals the letter of affirmation and freedom to marry must be obtained in the UK nowadays(stops a lot of shotgun marriages).

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Originally Posted by toddaniels

Now if I knew how to green a post, I would...

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You can't green yourself.:)

kommiekat;

Quick and simple - if it comes back to haunt you, ONLY you will pay the price. The risk is yours and yours only. International law - tread carefully.

In your shoes I would lawyer up.

Good luck.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pseudolus

If you are planning on marrying your issan mattress warrior and no intention of shipping her to the US, just pay the dowry and have the village wedding with nothing signed. Its all she wants anyway so save yourself the hassle.

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This has to be an all time classic!
Think I'll use it as my sig.

Thanks for all the replies and advice.
I'll make it legit and try to get it done peacefully and quickly.

In the meantime, the warrioress has suggested we do a ceremony for the family and village neighbors, including the ancestors to make things "proper", seeing that we are shacked up together and not wanting to be seen as living in sin.

Will sign papers later.

Thanks!