Marrying a laos lady

minty65 wrote:

hi all,can anyone help,i want to mary my girlfriend,i am from the uk and we would like to be able to live in laos together,but also visit the uk for holidays.any information to help us would be great....
               Regards Minty.....

Hi and welcome to the forum...  

I suggest that you first read through the many posts on this section of the forum. particularly those on the forum categories list, upper right hand side of this page.

Marriage requires a mountain of paperwork. Where do you intend to get married? If you are in UK you could contact the Lao Embassy there. Also have a chat with UK officials about this too. If getting married in UK there are visa requirements to follow for your GF.

If looking to marry here in Laos then you need to find a lawyer here to do the paperwork for you. This is not cheap and is time consuming but is less frustrating than trying to do it yourself.

As for living in Laos, unless you have a job here which gives you a work permit and visa then you get a 28 day single entry visa which you can renew twice in the Immigration office Vientiane after which you have to leave and re enter again. Visa takes up a whole page each time in you passport.

No such thing as a marriage or residence visa for you.

Visa for your wife to travel back and forwards to UK may be a bit of a headache paperwork wise too. Proof that she has family, job, money back in Laos so she will not overstay in UK.

Sorry to sound negative but this is the reality of the situation. Some may disagree as they see it all through rose tinted glasses.

Thanks Stumpy,ill start with the Lao Embassy here in uk
                  Regards   Minty...........

minty65 wrote:

Thanks Stumpy,ill start with the Lao Embassy here in uk
                  Regards   Minty...........

Please keep us informed as any information you have may be of assistance to others.....

Yes it's a MAJOR pain in the butt, lawyer charges a fortune, ($5-10k & will take approx 12 months), you can do it yourself for $1-2000 (bribes included, if your a good negotiator). 
It's just a lot of running around & can take up to 6 months (pay extra for faster service).  You need to get the application for marriage from Ministry of the Public Security (MPS), you will need to keep hassling them or you will wait 12months.. you will need the following;

Letter from you, stating (stating your history together & love for her & you will take care of her etc..) (do NOT state you stay together).
Certificate of residence (her family book)
Photocopy of identity card or passport (passport for you)
Certificate of no impediment (or evidence of single status, you will need one to ask your embassy)
Certificate of health (for both)
Character reference (for both)
4 x 6cm passport photographs (for both)
Certificate of financial status (bank statement....funny that)
Written statement from you guaranteeing return of Lao citizen to his/her homeland according to his/her wish in case of divorce. 
Comments/letters from the Police at the provincial level & her village chief (tell them you intend on getting married & write me a letter, will cost, negotiated.

You will need to get all english paper work translated, by authorised person (ask your embassy in Lao, theres one on T2 road). 
Once you have all that, take it to the MPS, pay the fee & they will get back you if you're missing something or if something is incorrect.

Good luck

I'm going through similar & would like to do the same, not marriage yet, but checked it all out to see what I was up for.  Not sure what the VISA situation is like in UK, but in Australia it's a nightmare & costs a small fortune for a spousal VISA.