Malaysians Warned About Thai Marriages
Malaysian authorities issued a warning to men seeking to marry Thai women for their second, third or fourth wives at Muslim ceremonies in southern Thailand. Deputy Home Minister Lee Chee Leong said that under Malaysian law, children of an unregistered marriage must take the nationality of the mother. In many cases of foreign marriage this means the child becomes a Thai national.
The warning comes after a reported trend that Malaysian-Thai quickie marriages were becoming more and more common. Because many fail to register their new marriage with the Malaysian government, many Malaysian men are involved in problems over citizenship, late birth registration and birth certificates for children.
Marriage between foreigners and Thai women in Thailand is not only legal but common. Many foreigners come to Thailand hoping to find someone, and often find themselves embroiled in divorce cases because the quickie marriage went sour.
Related texts: The Marriage Code of Thailand
Flickr photo courtesy of Caucas’