Hi,
I'm looking to get married also, can anyone post me a guide or link please. She says a police cert would be enough and her family who are pretty well off can sort everything else like the cert. But I know it won't be recognized anywhere else. Unless the family can get a cert as her grandfather is a wealthy ex sergeant and says he can sort it. I'm just over 50 and she is in her 40's so there should be no problems right?

@Joolsd ....do not believe them when your partners family tell you they can get you the marriage certificate...the only way for foreigner-Cambodian couples to legally marry is by going through the process with the MoFAIC and MoI. The family may think they can, but they are unaware of the law and the process involved.


For anyone interested in legally marrying your Cambodian partner in Cambodia....

First of all, you will need to go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation (MoFAIC) in Phnom Penh and obtain the application form and lists of required documents. This is all received at the counter labelled with the Khmer word for marriage (អាពាហ៍ពិពាហ៍), no money will be requested when receiving these documents.

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 single status/divorce/ex-spouses death certificate from your country of citizenship. (no older than 3 months)
3. Certificate of non-impediment / letter of permission to marry from your country’s embassy. (no older than 3 months)
4. Criminal record check from your country of citizenship (no older than 3 months)
5. Passport with valid E type (Ordinary MEEV) visa, minimum 6 months validity
6. Proof of salary of a minimum $2500USD p/m 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. Work permit/work book/business license if employed in Cambodia.
7. Pre-nuptial Medical certificate from Calmette Hospital (no older than 3 months)
8. 2x passport photos (no older than 3 months)

Note: Any document above which is not an original document from your country of citizenship or embassy must be notarised/certified from your nearest Embassy (except 1,6, 7 and . According to the list of documents required for marriage, 2 and 4 are required from your country of citizenship. Numbers 2 and 3 will vary based on your country of citizenship – e.g. Australian Embassy insists that they do not do a letter of permission to marry.

The requirement for foreign males to be under 50 years old to legally marry a Cambodian citizen in Cambodia was dropped as of November 2018. Note that what the law says and what officials in the ministries do are entirely different matters and may be up to individual discretion.

The Cambodian partner will need to present;
1. "Certificate of celibacy, widowhood, divorce" (single status) from Sangkat (no older than 3 months)
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. Letter of parental approval obtained from Sangkat (if available). (no older than 3 months)
7. 2x passport photos (no older than 3 months)

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 $136.13 per couple. You will need to take your passport/national ID card, as well as 2x passport photo per person. Go to the East Entrance along Preah Monivong Blvd and ask at the information desk. Keep in mind that tests must be conducted on business days and that processing can take 3 business days, not including weekends and holidays.

MoFAIC:
When you go to the MoFAIC, enter the compound via the side entrance on the left-hand side of the building. The guards will not allow you to enter through the front. There is a guard hut where you and your partner will have to show ID (passport and ID card), and they will give you a visitors pass. Follow the path towards the building and enter through the furthermost entrance.

There are several counters inside. The counter is the furthest to the right labelled with the Khmer word for marriage, អាពាហ៍ពិពាហ៍.

Remember that this is a Cambodian Ministry, and they keep strange working hours. They take lunch from as early as 11:00 - 14:00. As of 3rd November 2019, the phone number of the guy who deals with marriage applications at the MoFAIC is 061 214 415. There is an official fee for this step of the process of $125 USD.

Once the MoFAIC processes the documents which usually 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.

Note from NK: It has been possible in the past for the Cambodian partner to submit a waiver noting that the foreign partner does not earn $2500 a month. Whether or not this is still possible is unclear.

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 Department of Identification building in Chbar Ampov at this location…

https://goo.gl/maps/T5pofTJSr9s

Take all of your completed documentation and letter from the MoFAIC with you and try to arrive early (by 0900hrs at the latest), as later in the day is much busier. As you walk in through the front door, the very first office on the left with the windows facing into the foyer is the first place where 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. You had to fill out a parental information form for your family and Khmer partner is asked questions – very little asked of foreigner during this time, and Khmer partner usually asked everything.

Once everything is in order, it can take anywhere between 2 to 4 months before you receive the letter of permission to marry from the MoI. The interviewers at the MoI expect a small "donation" each, about $5 each covers it. Be aware that they may ask you for more. This is entirely your choice whether you pay this, and may possibly affect the length of time for receiving back your documents.

When you go to pick up your documents with your receipt (only one of you needs to go), you will enter through the front entrance, past the elevators and through the courtyard (where the coffee shops and exercise area is) to the buildings straight ahead. Go to the right side of the building complex and take the stairs (you should be next to a carpark) up to the first floor. There are 3 rooms – first is an office, second a room which has a waiting area outside and the third room is the one you want. At the back righthand corner of the room is the desk to collect your marriage paperwork.

Sangkat:
Once you have received the permission to marry letter from the MOI, you then take it 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. This is expected to take 10 days, during which a notice of intent to marry will be posted in the Sangkat office and the Khmer partners parents house. You require 2 witnesses to sign the marriage book alongside you.

The official fee is 20000r, but it is likely the Sangkat officials will request more.

Official Fees:
For foreigners marrying a Cambodian citizen, the only official fees payable are;
- $125 fee paid to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on receipt of the documents. An official receipt will be issued.
- $200 fee paid to 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.

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.

@Joolsd - a Cambodian marriage will be recognised in most major countries. OTOH, foreign marriages are not recognised in Cambodia, or so I believe.
In pre-Covid times, the easiest, quickest and cheapest way to get hitched was to fly to Hong Kong and do it all there. Not valid in Cambodia but that is not usually an issue.

armchairlawyer wrote: ↑Wed Jan 20, 2021 12:12 pm @Joolsd - a Cambodian marriage will be recognised in most major countries. OTOH, foreign marriages are not recognised in Cambodia, or so I believe.
In pre-Covid times, the easiest, quickest and cheapest way to get hitched was to fly to Hong Kong and do it all there. Not valid in Cambodia but that is not usually an issue.

A while back PSD-Kiwi said that according to a law, if you inform the MoFAIC before your marriage overseas, there is a way to get them to recognize your overseas marriage. However no one seems to know how this is done.

If any one figures it out, inform us!

@daeum_tnaot yea, it's one of those processes that isn't well published or known, even most Embassy staff are unaware. Basically you are supposed to inform the Embassy beforehand, and once married they will enter the details into their registrar and provide you with a document which you then submit to the Department of Identification, the MoFAIC and the MoI, you should then be issued a letter of authorisation to marry, which you then take to the Sangkat for the next steps to receive an official Cambodian Marriage Certificate.

There have been a couple of reports in the past year or so from couples who married abroad without registering with the Embassy, but have successfully managed to have their marriage recognised and issued a Cambodian marriage cert, as above, need to start at the Department of Identification.

There is of course one major advantage of a foreign marriage not being recognised in Cambodia.
It was reported today that a 62 year old man who had been separated from his wife for 6 years was sentenced to 4 months in prison for adultery. The defendant's poor physical health (diabetes, high blood pressure etc) was raised in vain. Under the relevant law, adultery is punishable by a prison term of up to 12 months and/or a fine up to 1 million riel.

https://www.rasmeinews.com/archives/423673

Has a Westerner ever been arrested for adultery in cambodia

armchairlawyer wrote: ↑Sat Jan 30, 2021 8:07 am Under the relevant law, adultery is punishable by a prison term of up to 12 months and/or a fine up to 1 million riel.

Very interesting.

I was under the impression that cheating on ones spouse was a national past time here.