Thread: Wife's surnames ??

Being married to a farang doesn't prevent a Thai woman from owning land whatever name she has.

Mrs Ast uses her married name in the UK (passport, bills, etc etc etc), and uses her maiden name in Thailand (Thai passport, land, etc etc etc). She`s not had any problems yet.

Originally Posted by dirtydog

Nope, that is of no interest to the UK.

not really thinking from that angle ,, its more the probs in Thai

Thanks for that Asta ,in another post I have going about getting money from the UK to Thai someone has tipped the ol apple cart over by saying his wife was not allowed to own land in Thai because she had changed her name .

Looks a hell of a lot easier if we do like that ,, also I gather from what you say that dont give the Thais a prob as her dual passports /nationallity names dont have to match .

Thanks a lot everyone for the help

Originally Posted by nigelandjan

someone has tipped the ol apple cart over by saying his wife was not allowed to own land in Thai because she had changed her name .

Luckily, that someone was talking shit.

Originally Posted by Marmite the Dog

Originally Posted by nigelandjan

someone has tipped the ol apple cart over by saying his wife was not allowed to own land in Thai because she had changed her name .

Luckily, that someone was talking shit.

Not necessarily. The guy was presumably talking on his own experience.

One BIG problem in Thailand, is that the officials etc in charge of implimenting rules and regulations often have no fucking idea as to what they are - and basically make it up on the spur of the moment - however wrong. Getting that person to admit the mistake and move from that position can be akin to moving a mountain with a teaspoon.

Probably better that she keeps her name, especially on her Thai documents. My wife has taken a lot of crap from some of the immigration and airline staff at Suvarnabhumi (and even at the Amphur) recently because her Thai passport has a farang last name.

Once again thanks a lot lads for all your input ,, especially Asta you have answered a whole lot of my probs , I had no idea whether you could have one name in one and another in the other passport ,job done ! This is gonna save a whole lot of pissin about changing ID card for her on our next visit as its not needed .

One little anomally that does spring to mind ( allthough you obviously had no probs Asta ) is the fact when you book your airticket you have to enter the names for your ticket ( exactly ) as in your passport ,, so Im thinking in the scenario of leaving the UK on UK passport entering / exiting Thai ( for the over 30 day rule ) on the Thai one ,,,, Asta ??

The tickets are booked in our married name. When arriving at check in (UK side) She uses her UK passport (as that's the name on the ticket). When going through passport control, she still uses her UK passport as this is the part whereby they mark you down as leaving the country (Im pretty sure it is anyway).

On arrival at BKK, she just hands over her Thai passport to immigration and they've never yet asked any questions. On our return, Mrs Ast checks in with her UK passport, but goes through Thai immigration with both (so as to get her stamp out of the country in her Thai passport). So far, we've had no problems whatsoever. Should there be any problems, she`ll just ditch the Thai passport, and travel in and out of the country, the same as I do.

Its sounds a little long winded, but it really is quite an easy and simple process to go through (for now).

As Asta said.... + it is is no big ordeal to get names properly changed. Too easy actually.

Cheers Asta ,you little devil , check in with one passport ,, stamp throu immi on the other ,good boy got it all sussed now .
Good to see a way through the clouds

Originally Posted by drawp

Probably better that she keeps her name, especially on her Thai documents. My wife has taken a lot of crap from some of the immigration and airline staff at Suvarnabhumi (and even at the Amphur) recently because her Thai passport has a farang last name.

Wife has been all over the place with her Thai passport and my surname, never had any problems at all. Same with owning land

Originally Posted by nidhogg

Originally Posted by Marmite the Dog

Originally Posted by nigelandjan

someone has tipped the ol apple cart over by saying his wife was not allowed to own land in Thai because she had changed her name .

Luckily, that someone was talking shit.

Not necessarily. The guy was presumably talking on his own experience.

One BIG problem in Thailand, is that the officials etc in charge of implimenting rules and regulations often have no fucking idea as to what they are - and basically make it up on the spur of the moment - however wrong. Getting that person to admit the mistake and move from that position can be akin to moving a mountain with a teaspoon.

That was me, taking about eventually problems, telling about a friend of mine.

Actually, and I quote from "How to Buy Land..." by Philip Bryce (2006), page 22:
"Can my Thai spouse own land?
Yes. There was a law prohibiting Thai perople married to foreigners from owing land but that las was revoked in 1999; now there is no limitation on Thai spouse owning land.
If you are already married to a Thai national, and you wish to buy land in the name of your Thai spuse, there is one small detail you should be aware of. Since assets acquired while married are considered the community property of the two of you, and since foreigners are not allowed to own land, then technically speaking, the married couple cannot own land in Thailand because it would be partly foreign owned.
However, if you sign a document stating that the money to pay for the land came from your Thai spouse exclusively and you make no claim on the land, then the Thai spuse can legally own the land. However, thos does mean that in the event of divorce, you will have no claim to the value of the land when determing community assets.
..."

And from page 22-23:
"Can my spouse or I buy and sell land when not in Thailand?
Yes, if you give your lawyer the appropriate power of attorney, copies of ID card, passport and all relevant documents.
Thai citizens can have documents notarized by the Thai consulate in most countries.
If your spouse is buying land, she will have to sign a declaration stating that the funds used for the purchase belong to the Thai spouse from before the marriage, and therefore the land is not considered a joint asset in the event of a divorce."

I hope that helps to clear the confusion about this matter.

^ yea thats ok thanks ,,,were clued up about that part of it ,its just the basics of the names I was getting in knots about.
There is also a legal bit that I can insert regarding a 30 year lease in the unlikely event of divorce allowing me to stay ,,, not that Id want to in those circumstances