Marriage thread. September 2021

[Doc67]

For example....

You have kids (or a kid) here
You don't work / don't have a paid job / volunteer through a non-licensed NGO but want to stay for a longer time
You're not eligible for an ER extension yet
You want to make legal arrangements for your partner in case you pass away without making a will
You want to apply for Khmer citizenship

To name just a few

Well, there are alternatives if you are under 55.
And there are alternative ways of "making arrangements". Getting married is not a good alternative to making a Will.
If citizenship was on the cards, that would swing it but the advice I got is that it's a pipe dream.
If anyone has got it in recent years, I'd love to hear that I'm wrong.

That's the takeaway for me from this thread. All the problems of being a foreigner here: property ownership, long term stay issues, estate planning etc are not comprehensively remedied by marriage, but citizenship does the trick, if it can be obtained.

@Freightdog has a very specific additional requirement of marriage for job opportunities in the middle east and a UK wedding, while fixing that issue, is going to be more expensive than paying the fixers here to work their magic. Therefore a marriage here is the same price and possibly paves the way to citizenship.

I too would love to hear about people who have obtained such status without huge bungs.

[phuketrichard]

are there any posters here that have PR/citizenship in Cambodia ( beside Khmers)?

Seems strange that there is not a sperate category for those married to obtain extensions

Not to compare, but in thailand being married does not give u a stepping stone to citizenship.
you need be working for 3+ years an paying tax's +++++
I only know a handful of westerners that have gotten it an know a LOT more that never have bothered even after 30+ years of living there

[Doc67]

are there any posters here that have PR/citizenship in Cambodia ( beside Khmers)?

Seems strange that there is not a sperate category for those married to obtain extensions

Not to compare, but in thailand being married does not give u a stepping stone to citizenship.
you need be working for 3+ years an paying tax's +++++
I only know a handful of westerners that have gotten it an know a LOT more that never have bothered even after 30+ years of living there

It is encouraging that they are looking at a new class of marriage/family visa and it will be interesting to see what form that takes. Hopefully @PSD-Kiwi will let us know of any developments in this regard.

- Ease of obtaining Extension of Stay: For those who don't work/own a business in Cambodia, and are unable to/don't want to obtain an ER (Retirement) EOS, the DoI does issue EB (Business) EOS's to foreigners who are legally married in Cambodia to Cambodian Citizens. The DoI are also looking at introducing a marriage/family type Visa EOS category.

[armchairlawyer]

I would like to add a message to any who have got married in Cambodia or, indeed, who do so in the future.
My sincere congratulations to you and I wish you every happiness.
Serious message.

[Freightdog]

3. Letter of permission to marry from your country’s embassy.

Has anyone from the UK been through the marriage process? If so, how have you/they resolved the above?

[Doc67]

3. Letter of permission to marry from your country’s embassy.

Has anyone from the UK been through the marriage process? If so, how have you/they resolved the above?

Have you asked the embassy?

Maybe they will give you one. Maybe they wont. Maybe the Khmers know that they wont and it's one of those tedious requirements that can be bought off.

The requirement for permission is also problematic. Permission to marry is not within the gift of the British government, it is nothing to do with them unless you're already married. Even then I doubt they would care (tell them you're a Mormon!).

I suspect they know all this and it's just part of the ritual dance.

Let us know how it goes...

[PSD-Kiwi]

Most Embassies don't issue such a document, they will however provide, or sign, a letter confirming that there is no impediment to marriage based on the Certificate of non-impediment/single status from the applicants home country, or something to that effect. I have a few examples saved somewhere, will see if I have them with me.

[Kammekor]

3. Letter of permission to marry from your country’s embassy.

Has anyone from the UK been through the marriage process? If so, how have you/they resolved the above?

I went through the process and my embassy (not UK) wouldn't provide me with all the documents needed too. Some countries simply don't provide all the documents needed, or they won't legalize it because they don't have the authority to sign / legalize it. Loads of countries have put the legalization of documents from the home country with the in-country ministry of Foreign Affairs, not embassies abroad. Their task generally is to legalize documents from the country they're based in for use in your home country.

MoFA in Cambodia knows that. I think they designed the process so cleverly hardly anyone can meet all the requirements and go through the process paying the official fee. Don't worry about it, the staff @ MoFA are very willing to help you out in exchange for a donation towards their fleet of Land Cruisers.

If you accept their help, make sure their support is for the entire process so the MoI can't pull out the same trick. In my case they tried but when I mentioned my contact's name at MoFA plus the deal made they backed off and just 'asked' for the regular 40k riels per step there ('interview', stamp, receive application if I recall well).

[Freightdog]

or waiver written and signed by both partners at the MoFAIC waiving the salary requirement by absolving the government of all responsibility for the marriage

Would any learned folk be able to identify where this part of the requirements is stated?

[PSD-Kiwi]

or waiver written and signed by both partners at the MoFAIC waiving the salary requirement by absolving the government of all responsibility for the marriage

Would any learned folk be able to identify where this part of the requirements is stated?

It's not officially stated anywhere, several people managed to bypass the salary requirement by doing this (the MoFAIC were the ones who suggested it), however this was a few years ago and others who have tried since have been told "cannot" by MoFAIC.