Endringen i regulativ ble utstedt av Department of Provincial Administration (DOPA) i august 2017 og er nå trådt i kraft. I tillegg gjøres en profilering av personer slik at myndighetene er sikker på at giftemålet er reelt og ikke kun gjøres for å anskaffe visum for ektefeller.
It's a crime: Foreigners marrying Thais now subject to fingerprints taken for criminal background
PHUKET: Officials in charge of registering marriages in Phuket have confirmed that they have begun scanning fingerprints of all foreign men who register to marry a Thai woman so that they can have criminal background checks conducted.
The regulation change, which was issued by the Department of Provincial Administration (DOPA) head office in Bangkok in Aug 2017, was revealed this week after a foreigner contacted The Phuket News asking for clarification on why he was required to have a criminal history check so he could marry his Thai fiancée.
“Specifically they are making farang (foreigners) who are marrying Thai get a criminal record check and a personality profile check to make sure farang are not marrying just to get a marriage visa,” the expat wrote.
“I will only recount to you what is said in the regulations issued,” the Head of the Muang District Office’s Registration department (Palad), who declined to be named directly, confirmed to The Phuket News on Wednesday (Feb 21).
“I did not think of these myself. So please write your story according to the regulations and not as an interview with me,” he requested.
The marriage registration model issued by the DOPA in June 2015 says, “The Department of Provincial Administration considers that marriage of foreigners to Thai citizens will have effects on socio-economic conditions…
“Where in some cases of the marriage of a Thai woman and foreign man, some foreigners will use a marriage certificate to apply for a visa to extend their stay in Thailand, work without a permit, and other illegal activities.
“Some officials have also been found to be involved in this,” said the notice.
“In order to prevent this, the Department of Provincial Administration sets a model in the case of a foreign man registering to marry a Thai woman, which are to be strictly enforced by each district office,” it said.
