Problems at ministry, legalisation ( apostillestamp) documents

Ask us anything. Cambodia Expats Online has a huge community of long-term expats that can answer any question you may have about life in Cambodia. Have some questions you want to ask before you move to Cambodia? Ask them here. Our community can also answer any questions you have about how to find a job or what kind of work is available for expats in Cambodia, whether you're looking for info about Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, or anywhere else in the Kingdom. You're also welcome to ask about visa and work permit questions as well, as the immigration rules change often, especially since COVID-19. Don't be shy, ask CEO's community anything!
diesel
Expatriate
Posts: 124
Joined: Mon Jun 23, 2014 7:05 pm
Reputation: 6

Problems at ministry, legalisation ( apostillestamp) documents

Post by diesel »

Today we visited the ministry of foreign affairs, we need to get the apostille stamp on the birthcertificate and unmarried certificate. We need this stamp otherwise its impossible to go live in another country. The guy on the ministry said, that they dont give the apostille stamp on the unmarried certificate, but only at a weddingcertificate. So that means, cambodia force the people to get a married certificate, if they wanna live in another country. I onow the terms are strict to get a legal wedding. But he never spoke of terms, he gave us all the papers, questionlist etc etc etc. He even gaves 3 telephone numbers. So i did some research, and it seems a common problem, cambodia not give that stamp on a unmarried certificate, and the marriedcertificate cost 2000$$$$. thats why he gaves his numbers offcourse.

But i not go wedding if we are force togo wedding, and imnot gonna pay these fuckers 2000$. i allready contact the embassy, but wondering if people had the same experience, and more important, the solution!!!"
User avatar
PSD-Kiwi
Expatriate
Posts: 4905
Joined: Wed Jul 09, 2014 8:25 am
Reputation: 3226
New Zealand

Re: Problems at ministry, legalisation ( apostillestamp) documents

Post by PSD-Kiwi »

It does not cost $2000 to get the official marriage certificate, but it does take time and patience, see the guide below for more info....
User avatar
PSD-Kiwi
Expatriate
Posts: 4905
Joined: Wed Jul 09, 2014 8:25 am
Reputation: 3226
New Zealand

Re: Problems at ministry, legalisation ( apostillestamp) documents

Post by PSD-Kiwi »

First of all, you will need to go to the MoFAIC in Phnom Penh and meet and speak to Mr Ung Vantha in the Legal & Consular Department, this man will give you the application forms and lists of required documents, he will not accept any money. Do not deal with anyone else, as they will all ask for ridiculous sums of money. Mr. Ung Vantha's (MoFA) phone number, 016608586.

You will need to present the following to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs;

1. "Application for foreigner to marry Khmer citizen" (provided by MoFAIC)
2. Certificate of non-impediment/single status/divorce certificate (if applicable)/ex-spouses death certificate (if applicable)
3. Criminal record check from your country of citizenship
4. Passport with valid E type (Ordinary MEEV) visa, minimum 6 months validity
5. Letter of employment/proof of salary minimum $2500USD p/m (Male only). Work permit/work book/business license if employed in Cambodia.
6. Letter from your Embassy - permission/consent to marry
7. Pre-nuptial Medical certificate from Calmette Hospital (no older than 3 months)
8. 2x passport photos

NOTE: Foreign males must be under 50 years old to legally marry a Cambodian citizen in Cambodia.

All above documents must be notarised/certified from your nearest Embassy except 1,6 and 7.

Khmer partner will need to present;

1. "Certificate of celibacy, widowhood, divorce" (single status) from Sangkat
2. National ID card
3. Birth Certificate
4. Family Book and/or Carnet de Residence
5. Pre-nuptial Medical certificate from Calmette Hospital (no older than 3 months)
6. 2x passport photos

Note: The blood tests are for HIV, Hepatitis, and a few other diseases, chest x-ray is for TB. Cost from Calmette for the blood tests, x-ray and medical certificate is $120 per couple ($60 each). You will need to take your passport/national ID card, as well as 1x passport photo per person.

Once the MoFA processes the documents which takes about 1-2 weeks, you will be issued a letter which you must submit with all of your documents to the Ministry of Interior. You will both be interviewed by someone in the MoI, and if they are satisfied it will take approximately another 2+ months for them to issue an authorisation to marry letter, which you will then need to submit to your partners Sangkat, who will then issue you with your marriage certificate.

MoFAIC:

I'm not great at explaining directions, but I hope this helps...
When you go to the MoFA, enter the compound via the side entrance, do not go to the large main entrance on the riverside. There is a guard hut where you and your partner will have to show ID, and they will give you a visitors pass. Walk straight ahead to the large building straight ahead and to the right, and enter via the first side entrance.

As you enter, immediately on your left you should see a sign for e-visa on your right hand side, continue walking straight down the corridor. The 3rd or 4th door on the right hand side is Vanthas office. As you look at his office door, there should be a small alcove with a Buddhist statue to the left of his door, this is how you will know which office is his. Remember that this is a Cambodian Ministry, and they keep strange working hours...I think they take lunch from about 1100 - 1400.

MOI:

Do not go to the Main MoI compound. You need to go to an office called “National Committee to Lead the Suppression of Human Trafficking, Smuggling, Labour Exploitation and Sexual Exploitation in Woman and Children” (S.T.S.L.S), which is at the General dept of Identification building at this location…

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Gen ... ation+(GDI )/@11.5344525,104.9511904,17z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x4d2d71f75dee8eb6!8m2!3d11.5343962!4d104.9550942

Take all of your completed documentation and letter from the MoFAIC with you and try to arrive early (by 0900hrs at the latest). There all of your documentation will be checked, and if anything is not in order they will inform you of what you need to fix.

Once everything is in order, you will pay the official $200 fee, which you will receive a receipt for, and then be interviewed by several people, mostly regarding things like how you met your partner, how long you’ve been together, have you travelled together on holiday, how long have you lived/been travelling to Cambodia, what is your job, family members names and contact details, what are your plans, do you plan to take her overseas and exploit her, etc…Its not as daunting as you may think. Your partner will be near you the entire time, so if there any language barriers, ask her to translate for you.

Once everything is in order, it can take anywhere up to 4 months before you receive the letter of permission to marry from the MoI, which you then take to your partner's Sangkat in order to be issued your official marriage certificate. There is no requirement for a wedding ceremony in order to be issued a marriage certificate.

For foreigners marrying a Cambodian citizen, the only official fees payable are;

- $200 fee paid to the 'National Committe to Lead the Suppression of Human Trafficking, Smuggling, Labour Exploitation and Sexual Exploitation in Woman and Children (S.T.S.L.S)' , which is a department of the MoI. The fee covers admin, interviews and background check costs. An official receipt is issued.
- 20,000 Riel fee paid to the Sangkat which issues the official Marriage Certificate. An official receipt is issued.

(Note: The interviewers at the MoI expect a small "donation" each, about $5 each covers it...probably a good idea to just pay this to ensure your application is approved)

Many people no doubt end up dealing with the wrong people and/or fixers and end up getting fleeced purely because the information on the whole process is not readily available and can be confusing.
diesel
Expatriate
Posts: 124
Joined: Mon Jun 23, 2014 7:05 pm
Reputation: 6

Re: Problems at ministry, legalisation ( apostillestamp) documents

Post by diesel »

I not wanna go marry, but i contact the embassy and imigration service in holland, seems that itsva common problem. So probarly they have tbe solution to get a apostille stamp on the unmarried statement.
User avatar
PSD-Kiwi
Expatriate
Posts: 4905
Joined: Wed Jul 09, 2014 8:25 am
Reputation: 3226
New Zealand

Re: Problems at ministry, legalisation ( apostillestamp) documents

Post by PSD-Kiwi »

As someone mentioned on your thread on K440, get a copy of the Family Book and/or Carnet de Residence certified by the MoFAIC, as they include the marital status of all persons on it.

You may want to check with your Embassy/Immigration Department to find out if they'll accept that.
eriksank
Expatriate
Posts: 295
Joined: Wed Jun 10, 2015 11:25 am
Reputation: 24

Re: Problems at ministry, legalisation ( apostillestamp) documents

Post by eriksank »

PSD-Kiwi wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2017 6:53 am2. Certificate of non-impediment/single status/divorce certificate (if applicable)/ex-spouses death certificate (if applicable)
You're better off doing some jurisdiction shopping first. For example, flying to Malaysia with Air Asia, will cost you around 25 USD per person, one way. According to Sharia law in Malaysia, a man may marry 3 or 4 women. Hence, it is against Sharia law for the government to ask for divorce certificates. Furthermore, the act of divorce under Sharia law is effected by verbally pronouncing "talaq" three times to the ex-wife. In that sense, a divorce certificate cannot even exist.
PSD-Kiwi wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2017 6:53 am5. Letter of employment/proof of salary minimum $2500USD p/m (Male only).
They don't ask such proof from Cambodian nationals. Hence, certainly illegal in one way or another, according to international treaties. There are very precise rules as to how the administration may distinguish between foreigners and nationals. It is clear that they do not intend to follow these rules in Cambodia. It will backfire one day or the other.

You've got all these African countries who found their correspondent bank accounts in New York frozen and repossessed, after they also thought that they didn't have to follow the rules, this time, concerning debt repayment. They don't believe that anymore. If as a country you do not want to obey by treaty obligations, you should also not hold overseas assets or otherwise engage in correspondent banking in any way. That has been, for example, the Myanmar situation for a long time. In the end, Myanmar started begging for mercy.
PSD-Kiwi wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2017 6:53 am6. Letter from your Embassy - permission/consent to marry
Permission to marry is not granted by embassies but by the laws of God. It is essentially a religious procedure anyway.

Watch out with the laws of God. That is what the Americans are finding out every day in Afghanistan and elsewhere. Severed arm after severed leg, they discover on a daily basis that these laws have teeth, and must be fed with severed limbs! Governments do not control marriage. If they do, they will ultimately find themselves destroyed.
PSD-Kiwi wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2017 6:53 amNOTE: Foreign males must be under 50 years old to legally marry a Cambodian citizen in Cambodia.
Somewhere in the not far away future, the American government will finally crash and burn, trying to overrule the laws of God. They truly risk their lives and die for what they believe in, but to absolutely no effect. In fact, they have even stopped trying, because they were dying like flies in silly overseas "occupations". I am surprised that the Cambodian government even tries to "improve" the existing laws of nature, and add their own inventions to it !? They cannot spend the trillions of dollars that Americans are wasting in vain on the subject. The USA is full of one-legged veterans testifying to the actual impossibility of overruling divine law.
User avatar
PSD-Kiwi
Expatriate
Posts: 4905
Joined: Wed Jul 09, 2014 8:25 am
Reputation: 3226
New Zealand

Re: Problems at ministry, legalisation ( apostillestamp) documents

Post by PSD-Kiwi »

^ do you wear a tin foil hat?
User avatar
Duncan
Sir Duncan
Posts: 8149
Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2014 8:22 pm
Reputation: 2357
Location: Wonder Why Central

Re: Problems at ministry, legalisation ( apostillestamp) documents

Post by Duncan »

[ Quote ] For example, flying to Malaysia with Air Asia, will cost you around 25 USD per person, one way.


I fly to Malaysia at least 2 or 3 times a year and have never seen PP to KL at that price.. Usually $50 one way.
Cambodia,,,, Don't fall in love with her.
Like the spoilt child she is, she will not be happy till she destroys herself from within and breaks your heart.
eriksank
Expatriate
Posts: 295
Joined: Wed Jun 10, 2015 11:25 am
Reputation: 24

Re: Problems at ministry, legalisation ( apostillestamp) documents

Post by eriksank »

PSD-Kiwi wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2017 6:53 amYou need to go to an office called “National Committee to Lead the Suppression of Human Trafficking, Smuggling, Labour Exploitation and Sexual Exploitation in Woman and Children” (S.T.S.L.S), which is at the General dept of Identification building at this location… Once everything is in order, you will pay the official $200 fee, which you will receive a receipt for, and then be interviewed by several people, mostly regarding things like how you met your partner, how long you’ve been together, have you travelled together on holiday, how long have you lived/been travelling to Cambodia, what is your job, family members names and contact details, what are your plans, do you plan to take her overseas and exploit her, etc…Its not as daunting as you may think. Your partner will be near you the entire time, so if there any language barriers, ask her to translate for you. Note: The interviewers at the MoI expect a small "donation" each, about $5 each covers it...probably a good idea to just pay this to ensure your application is approved ...
All of that is utterly blasphemous. It is not permitted unto the believer to voluntarily follow rules mired in paganism. Unless you are an atheist or a pagan, you should NEVER agree to do this.
OKW
Expatriate
Posts: 462
Joined: Fri Oct 28, 2016 7:07 am
Reputation: 8
Location: worldwide
Angola

Re: Problems at ministry, legalisation ( apostillestamp) documents

Post by OKW »

eriksank wrote: Sun Apr 09, 2017 2:02 pm
PSD-Kiwi wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2017 6:53 am2. Certificate of non-impediment/single status/divorce certificate (if applicable)/ex-spouses death certificate (if applicable)
You're better off doing some jurisdiction shopping first. For example, flying to Malaysia with Air Asia, will cost you around 25 USD per person, one way. According to Sharia law in Malaysia, a man may marry 3 or 4 women. Hence, it is against Sharia law for the government to ask for divorce certificates. Furthermore, the act of divorce under Sharia law is effected by verbally pronouncing "talaq" three times to the ex-wife. In that sense, a divorce certificate cannot even exist.
PSD-Kiwi wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2017 6:53 am5. Letter of employment/proof of salary minimum $2500USD p/m (Male only).
They don't ask such proof from Cambodian nationals. Hence, certainly illegal in one way or another, according to international treaties. There are very precise rules as to how the administration may distinguish between foreigners and nationals. It is clear that they do not intend to follow these rules in Cambodia. It will backfire one day or the other.

You've got all these African countries who found their correspondent bank accounts in New York frozen and repossessed, after they also thought that they didn't have to follow the rules, this time, concerning debt repayment. They don't believe that anymore. If as a country you do not want to obey by treaty obligations, you should also not hold overseas assets or otherwise engage in correspondent banking in any way. That has been, for example, the Myanmar situation for a long time. In the end, Myanmar started begging for mercy.
PSD-Kiwi wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2017 6:53 am6. Letter from your Embassy - permission/consent to marry
Permission to marry is not granted by embassies but by the laws of God. It is essentially a religious procedure anyway.

Watch out with the laws of God. That is what the Americans are finding out every day in Afghanistan and elsewhere. Severed arm after severed leg, they discover on a daily basis that these laws have teeth, and must be fed with severed limbs! Governments do not control marriage. If they do, they will ultimately find themselves destroyed.
PSD-Kiwi wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2017 6:53 amNOTE: Foreign males must be under 50 years old to legally marry a Cambodian citizen in Cambodia.
Somewhere in the not far away future, the American government will finally crash and burn, trying to overrule the laws of God. They truly risk their lives and die for what they believe in, but to absolutely no effect. In fact, they have even stopped trying, because they were dying like flies in silly overseas "occupations". I am surprised that the Cambodian government even tries to "improve" the existing laws of nature, and add their own inventions to it !? They cannot spend the trillions of dollars that Americans are wasting in vain on the subject. The USA is full of one-legged veterans testifying to the actual impossibility of overruling divine law.
Have you sunk on one of those 25 dollar runs, Erik?
Post Reply Previous topicNext topic
  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Bing [Bot] and 439 guests