Getting married in Laos

When I got married here in Laos some years ago it took 12 months to get the paperwork together, signed and stamped before we got married in my wife's village in Pakse.

Nowadays there are legal firms in Vientiane who can assist in the process and it takes only a couple of months.

I had to first get prmission from the wife's family then the village headman onto the local police then the district authorities. I had to provide bank statements to show I could support her and a letter saying that I loved her and intended to marry her.

This all had to be translated into English by an authorised translator. Now adays it is a lot easier.

Thank you for this info, stumpy!

Getting married in Laos is a slippery slope! make sure you fill in the form in English as it is the law for foreigners but not commonly known. Make sure you cross the empty spaces on the application form or you will have a shock if it comes to compensation in case of separation or divorce. And by the way engagement is regarded as marriage so you are allowed to sleep with a Lao woman don't think you are only married when you get the papers back and signed.I could right a book about my experiences in Laos, not the land of smiles when it comes down to money and foreigners.

Hello garlicholan and welcome to Expat.com!

Thank you for contributing!

Aurélie

@garlicholan.

We would be interested to hear your experiences in Laos.

Next time you are in Laos let me know, perhaps we can meet up somewhere.

I hear talk in other Forums about "TDS3 being a legal company that arranges marriages in Laos between Lao citizen and foreigner. I have searched online and not found any reference at all. I did find a list of lawyers on the USA embassy site, but who knows their reputation? I found LLC also who says they do marriage law and dossiers for couples. Can anyone shed some light on any of this as I am just starting the process with my gf and her family heard that it can cost $15,000 USD. I find that hard to believe based on other posts.
Thanks in advance

I used TDS a few years ago and it only cost me 1500 US. But it seems greed is the norm now. I also heard that it now cost 5000 US not 15000 US. When Lao speak in numbers get them to write them down. they are used to Kip in the thousand place value. TDS did a wonderful job for us. When doing anything but getting married it is wise to spend a lengthy time investigation who the top people are that will finally be the ones to sign off on anything. most of the money you pay in administration fees are syphoned between them and the secretary you first meet. I have saved a bundle on some things by knowing the person that holds the pens. In the end I usually am out just a couple of bottles of Jack Danials and a buffet or two. It isn't what you want to do, it's who you know that does it. I would imagine with more complaints to the Lao Government and Dept of Foreign Affairs that eventually this gouging process would be looked into. Then again maybe not.

You are right, if by any chance your future wife comes from the country side marry her there. I married a few years ago in Savanaketh and it cost only around 500$. In Vientiane they are all gangsters and Mafia including the Police. If your man turns up with a gold chain around his neck and a big gold ring in a Vigo you can be sure it is going to be expensive. Try someone close to the family that normally is a lit safer. I also know of cases where the wife to be pushed up the price and has taken her cut. Welcome to Laos

Dear Garlicholan,
please elaborate when you mentioned that engagement is regarded as marriage too.
do you have any suggestion on the law firm in VTE? if it is possible the complete name or with complete office address.

thanks a lot

The best and easiest way is to marry out of the country then register the marriage with the Lao Embassy there. When you come to Lao the deed is done and at only the cost of air fare etc...I just heard the other day in Vtn it is up to 5000 to marry and that is in Dollars. My friend took a country girl to Australia and married her there and registered the marriage at the Embassy or consulate and came home to Lao. Went and registered the marrieage in town at the registery office and all is well and cheap. He is from Australia and stayed with family while there. Hope it helps you out. You will still need a visa as Lao does not allow Spouse to stay without work like they do in the West.

I am from Malaysia. I wish to know the details procedure to marry a Laos woman if i register in Laos. What documents need & so on .....

Thanks.

Hi ckenghong,

An introduction would be the most welcome!

Thank you,

David.

ckenghong

More information please. Are you getting married in Laos or in Malaysia. I suggest you read previous posts regarding costs and paperwork. T-Lao has the best suggestion which is to get married anywhere else but Laos.

When I got married many years ago this was not possible to do. Had to get married in Laos.

I think things must have changed a lot (for the worse) in recent years regards foreigners getting married to a Lao partner in Laos. It is now regarded as a free-for-all money grab by all concerned.

There are about 12-15 stages involved in the process, each one requiring a visit to an office to get forms signed and stamped. Each visit requires you pay the standard fee - usually not a lot - but if you want your forms back anytime soon, another more substantial donation to the officer is needed.

We processed our own wedding forms rather than paying an agent. If you pay an agent, the bribes are still paid, you just don't need to do it in person, and you are paying the agent a fair amount too. There is no guarantee that paying a law firm/agent will get your forms processed quicker than doing it yourself (up to 2 years) - you are just paying to take the stress out of the process.

Having said this, once I got to know the process, most of it was fairly straightforward, simply shifting the forms from one office to another, answering many banal questions (including listing "everything" you have done since the age of 8). The worst were the 3 separate police offices that need to see the forms. All 3 of them sat on the forms until I gave an unreceipted $300. They asked for more but we settled on $300. The final police office in the new building on T4 Rd held the forms for 8 months, claiming it was due to my overseas police clearance certificate being out of date (it was in-date when he received it). As soon as a cash gift was mentioned the problem went away. Others claim that the "Certificate of Non Impediment" to marry (which says there is no reason you can't marry) was not enough - even though they have been accepting this form weekly for 20 years.

As the number of foreigners marrying Lao women has increased over recent years, it has become a cottage industry for police and govt officers to extract money-for-nothing.

Doing the application ourselves we spent about US$1000 total, most of which was extorted bribes. I believe the cheapest price a lawyer or agent will do it for you now is over $2000 - and they can still come back and ask you for more later if they come up against a manufactured problem.

In retrospect, we should have got married overseas in a country that has a Lao embassy (Paris,Vietnam, KL etc), and got the foreign marriage certificate recognised at the embassy. Although I have heard recently that the authorities are onto this "short-cut" and are introducing further money-making measures that couples marrying overseas will need to endure once they return to Laos.

Donkasay

Welcome to the forum.
Thanks for the informative post.

You got away quite cheaply at $1000. In total, with 2 trips by me to Canberra for official translations of documents into English for the Australian authorities and payment of fees, I paid $8000 and the process took 12 months. This 14 years ago.

Yes a very complicated and expensive procedure - i know of people (last year) who found it way cheaper to go outside of Lao to marry

Last year I married my Filipino spouse - in Australia why?, surprisingly, in Lao it is forbidden for 2 foreigners to marry here.
souk dee der!

hi

i'm from Malaysia i'm planning to marriage with my Laos girlfriend ,any advise how to do it in the fast and cheaper way ,as i know need to spend alot to get it done ,if possible kindly teach me step by step that will be very much appreciated

thank you

Get married in Malaysia and have the marriage registered at the Lao Embassy in KL.

what documents do we need ?

my girl need the single letter to register in Malaysia , how to get it? and can get it in Malaysia laos embbesy?

Contact the Embassy for information.

Hi
I'm from Malaysia and planning to marriage with my Laos girlfriend, and my girl already done the single statutory letter but yet stamped from her country of Ministry of Foreign in Laos. The document had submitted to Laos Embassy in Kuala Lumpur but their reject she single statutory letter, and told her that was illegal. And i have spend alot to get it done of this type of paperwork in Laos. Any advise how to do it in the fast and cheaper way. Can i get marriage registration in Malaysia Embassy Laos??

There is no cheap or fast way to do this. 

I suggest you try to find out why the letter was rejected and see if you cannot fix the problem.

Unless all the paperwork is in place you will not be able to register the marriage with the Malaysian Embassy in Laos.

There are law companies in Vientiane who specialize in marriage paperwork but this still takes 2 or 3 months.

Hi all,

My boyfriend who is from Lao and I are planning to get married. After reading this and other forums and looking into the paperwork it sounds like a real head ache to do it here in Lao. Thus I thought we'd go back to Aus and get married there. I just called the the Laos embassy in Aus and the guy told me that if we got married in Australia I couldn't register it in Lao, I would still have to submit all the paperwork here. Can anyone who has done this please provide more info. If its easier I'm happy to buy you a beer and discuss!

Cheers

There is no easy way unfortunately. When I got married in Laos  years ago it took 12 months, lots of money and a heap of paperwork.

As your boyfriend is Lao you may well be able to marry in Thailand. I have heard of this being done.

Alternatively you contact a law firm in Vientiane who will guide you through the process.

to dknn
stumpy knows lots about Laos,
Laos is a very difficult country for foreigner with lots of law
are you planing to live in Laos forever? if not save the money take your boyfriend back to Australia let the bambino grow up in Australia by then Laos law might change, you can always go back to visit there time to time. both of you work in Australia and lay the good foundation for family. only advice.

Thanks suerte007, but I know enough about Laos to make me dangerous...

dknn
To get married in Australia is a very long and difficult process, especially regarding a visa for you. You cannot come in on a tourist visa and get married. Best check out this website www.immi.gov.au  for information on what type of visa you need.

Being Asian it will be hard to get a visa. There will be lots of paperwork and time involved and lots of money. You will have to show all sorts of correspondence between the two of you to show that you have been in a relationship for 2 years or more,show that your boyfriend has been supporting you etc etc etc.

To get my wife in to Australia on a tourist visa it takes 2 months to get a visa issued from the Oz embassy in Vientiane.

Again I say you should look seriously of getting married in Thailand.

dknn. 

You could also choose to contact a lawyer in Vientiane who can look after all the paperwork for you and the time frame is not too much.
I have heard of it taking only 2 months.

This option would mean you could have family and friends at the wedding.

An online search will find a lawyer. Try say 3 and get a price from each of them, find out what services you get for their price and then make an informed choice.

hey stumpy
the man can go with student visa learning English at tafe
there will be no problem i did married to a Thai English course is cheap.less problem then compare to Laos law

Recently the immigration department here in Oz has been clamping down on visas for Asians and are making it harder for Asians to come over to marry Australians. 
They are scrutinizing the paperwork closely and demanding more proof of relationship. This is because of Asians using marriage as a way of getting family over here and then disappearing.

yes you have to know each other for 1 year to approve email or what ever that is fair better then Laos law.

Hi

I'm from malaysia and want to marriage my Laos girlfriend at malaysia. Now my girlfriend at Laos already done all her paperwork ( my paperwork also done all and all already translate to Laos). So now I just have to bring all the paperwork to embassy Laos at malaysia?

As long as you have all the correct paperwork, you can present it to the Lao Embassy.

Remember that any translations have to be done by an official translator. I suggest you contact the Lao Embassy who may have a list of translators that they use.

Hi Highway87,

I am from Malaysia too, and I am planning to get married with my Laos girlffiend this year.

May I know how you and your Laos girlfriend get all the paperwork done? Did you engage any agent to do it for you or you did it yourselves? How much it costs and how long it takes?

I thank you in advance for your valuable advice, it is very much appreciated.

Hey stumpy

I'm from Malaysia, now i want marry with Lao girl.. I hv girlfriend at Laos now.. So i want ask you.. What should i do.. Can i know step by step what i need to start..

I suggest that you go online to find out what paperwork is needed now.

To speed up the process you could also find a lawyer in Vientiane who specializes in this. That will speed up the process.

Perhaps also contact the Lao Embassy in KL for up to date information.

Hi out there, my  name is jimmy and i am from the beautiful country of Romania.I have a girl friend in Vientiane since 2002,but while living in Laos , i was not thinking about marrying her.After leaving Laos in2010 i have decided not to stay without her ,so we started the marriage procedure through TDS co. in VTE in  2012.After having paid USD500, TDS told us that it will take a while to get the steps done.After one year ,they told us that it is getting more and more complicated to go our way,and that time and costs represent no guarantee to get our paperwork done.Then we decided to do the procedures by ourselves. We have managed the engagement ,which is legal since Dec.2011,-on our own efforts -but since then we have lost a one year time period through this company............
, TDS........forget it!.
We are now still waiting: for already two years! and!? it seems that it will take another year to reach our goal...not to mention that our countries do not have embassies,which is making it all more time consuming and  difficult.
It is really tough to stand these times,mainly because we are separated,and although we are engaged we cannot stay together in Laos, as the law is ways behind in the 21 century!?

The whole process is meant to generate money, for those communist style, officials .Secondly, they do not really agree having their beautiful women taken abroad by a foreigner...since in Laos there is custom to have many wives.
I speak laotian and i know their way of living, but now i think that officialities are hoping that the long procedures  will
tear, loving couples, apart...as it takes that long to reach, to get married.Very sad and mindfucking,like: i have a wife but i have none !!!
i welcome you for suggestions to end this torture...        with peace and love and unity  we will manage.....     CIAO .