Wedding certificate in Cambodia

This is where our community discusses almost anything! While we're mainly a Cambodia expat discussion forum and talk about expat life here, we debate about almost everything. Even if you're a tourist passing through Southeast Asia and want to connect with expatriates living and working in Cambodia, this is the first section of our site that you should check out. Our members start their own discussions or post links to other blogs and/or news articles they find interesting and want to chat about. So join in the fun and start new topics, or feel free to comment on anything our community members have already started! We also have some Khmer members here as well, but English is the main language used on CEO. You're welcome to have a look around, and if you decide you want to participate, you can become a part our international expat community by signing up for a free account.
Vanna
Tourist
Posts: 11
Joined: Fri May 12, 2017 10:51 pm
Reputation: 4

Re: Wedding certificate in Cambodia

Post by Vanna »

Yes you choosed different picture is good, just not old man with young woman so it will get different answer not direct answer or people say they cant marry. :pardon: :pardon:
shmpradeep
Tourist
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Feb 01, 2015 10:31 am
Reputation: 1
India

Re: Wedding certificate in Cambodia

Post by shmpradeep »

Very detailed information. Just wanted to add few more things.

1. MoFA will charge 125 USD.
2. If you are staying in Cambodia, then better you get "no criminal certificate" from ministry of justice ( river side office) . It will be required by General Department of Identification ( MoI ) they take 20 days to process the document in 60 USD. They will need certificate of residence which can be issued by commune office where are you staying in Cambodia. Owner of your renting place can do that. It can be done in 2 days time.
3. Birth certificate of your partner should be properly registered in system otherwise GDI will try to find the reference for that document. It can be a blocking point.
4. Keep the original copy of your passport and employment workbook with yourself whenever you go for submission of the document.
5. Keep a copy of all document with yourself as a proof.
6. Try to submit all the application document with in the time frame of 3 months. Otherwise officials may not accept document and ask you to re-release.
7. In this post from the gentleman, point 7 which mentions letter from embassy requires a simple statement that "embassy has attested all the documents for mr/ms so and so with follwing passport information for the marriage with cambodian citizen"
Sometimes it is vague requirement.
8. Criminal certificate from your own country is also required at MoFA.
9. patience is the key to get your document processed.

PSD-Kiwi wrote: Sat May 13, 2017 11:28 pm 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.
User avatar
PSD-Kiwi
Expatriate
Posts: 4906
Joined: Wed Jul 09, 2014 8:25 am
Reputation: 3226
New Zealand

Re: Wedding certificate in Cambodia

Post by PSD-Kiwi »

shmpradeep wrote: Mon Aug 27, 2018 4:43 pm Very detailed information. Just wanted to add few more things.

1. MoFA will charge 125 USD.
2. If you are staying in Cambodia, then better you get "no criminal certificate" from ministry of justice ( river side office) . It will be required by General Department of Identification ( MoI ) they take 20 days to process the document in 60 USD. They will need certificate of residence which can be issued by commune office where are you staying in Cambodia. Owner of your renting place can do that. It can be done in 2 days time.
3. Birth certificate of your partner should be properly registered in system otherwise GDI will try to find the reference for that document. It can be a blocking point.
4. Keep the original copy of your passport and employment workbook with yourself whenever you go for submission of the document.
5. Keep a copy of all document with yourself as a proof.
6. Try to submit all the application document with in the time frame of 3 months. Otherwise officials may not accept document and ask you to re-release.
7. In this post from the gentleman, point 7 which mentions letter from embassy requires a simple statement that "embassy has attested all the documents for mr/ms so and so with follwing passport information for the marriage with cambodian citizen"
Sometimes it is vague requirement.
8. Criminal certificate from your own country is also required at MoFA.
9. patience is the key to get your document processed.
Hi shmpradeep, thank you for your feedback, good to hear, and some very good points. Have you successfully completed the process yet?

You are actually the 2nd person to mention point 1 & 2 in the last couple of months, so they must be fairly new requirements, thanks for sharing. I know for certain that they were not requirements 6 months ago.
bvanfossen
Expatriate
Posts: 375
Joined: Fri Jun 01, 2018 12:40 am
Reputation: 50
Location: Phnom Penh, Cambodia
United States of America

Re: Wedding certificate in Cambodia

Post by bvanfossen »

Disappointed to hear about the fee. We go tomorrow to get our application
User avatar
PSD-Kiwi
Expatriate
Posts: 4906
Joined: Wed Jul 09, 2014 8:25 am
Reputation: 3226
New Zealand

Re: Wedding certificate in Cambodia

Post by PSD-Kiwi »

rogerrabbit wrote: Fri May 19, 2017 1:46 am
Vanna wrote: Sun May 14, 2017 12:01 am PSD-Kiwi
Thank you for your info.
It mean Cambodia will not recognize official marriage certificate from Switzerland??
We though to make official in Switzerland will help us easy to oganize wedding party, but sad :(
It seem like process take too long, as he has only 3weeks in Cambodia we can't follow this step.
Maybe there is only a risky way to make wedding party without inform authorities. :( ;(

Once again,Thank you so much.


They do recognize. Get your Swiss marriage certificate, go to Foreign Afffairs Ministry. They will stamp it. This should be free. Then you can take the paper to your local Sangkat for them to sign/stamp it. They might want some tea money. It takes few days and then you should have wedding license official recognized in Cambodia.. All of this should take 20-50$ and few days/weeks.
Unfortunately they have put a stop to this, you need to go through the marriage process the same as everyone else...until they change their minds again :facepalm:
User avatar
newkidontheblock
Expatriate
Posts: 4424
Joined: Tue May 20, 2014 3:51 am
Reputation: 1545

Re: Wedding certificate in Cambodia

Post by newkidontheblock »

One of the problems is that some of us can’t stay in Cambodia for months at a time. And the tea officials know this. And take every possible advantage to extract their tea.
bvanfossen
Expatriate
Posts: 375
Joined: Fri Jun 01, 2018 12:40 am
Reputation: 50
Location: Phnom Penh, Cambodia
United States of America

Re: Wedding certificate in Cambodia

Post by bvanfossen »

shmpradeep wrote: Mon Aug 27, 2018 4:43 pm Very detailed information. Just wanted to add few more things.

1. MoFA will charge 125 USD.
Is that due at the time of picking up the application?
We go there in 1 hour.
bvanfossen
Expatriate
Posts: 375
Joined: Fri Jun 01, 2018 12:40 am
Reputation: 50
Location: Phnom Penh, Cambodia
United States of America

Re: Wedding certificate in Cambodia

Post by bvanfossen »

Kiwi informed me it's due at time of submitting the app for anyone else that needs the info
User avatar
Brody
Expatriate
Posts: 7204
Joined: Thu Mar 15, 2018 12:07 pm
Reputation: 8205
United States of America

Re: Wedding certificate in Cambodia

Post by Brody »

bvanfossen wrote: Tue Aug 28, 2018 2:41 pm Kiwi informed me it's due at time of submitting the app for anyone else that needs the info
Thanks for relaying that info.
Kimleng
Tourist
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Nov 20, 2018 1:13 pm
Reputation: 0
Cambodia

Re: Wedding certificate in Cambodia

Post by Kimleng »

PSD-Kiwi wrote: Mon Aug 27, 2018 5:27 pm
shmpradeep wrote: Mon Aug 27, 2018 4:43 pm Very detailed information. Just wanted to add few more things.

1. MoFA will charge 125 USD.
2. If you are staying in Cambodia, then better you get "no criminal certificate" from ministry of justice ( river side office) . It will be required by General Department of Identification ( MoI ) they take 20 days to process the document in 60 USD. They will need certificate of residence which can be issued by commune office where are you staying in Cambodia. Owner of your renting place can do that. It can be done in 2 days time.
3. Birth certificate of your partner should be properly registered in system otherwise GDI will try to find the reference for that document. It can be a blocking point.
4. Keep the original copy of your passport and employment workbook with yourself whenever you go for submission of the document.
5. Keep a copy of all document with yourself as a proof.
6. Try to submit all the application document with in the time frame of 3 months. Otherwise officials may not accept document and ask you to re-release.
7. In this post from the gentleman, point 7 which mentions letter from embassy requires a simple statement that "embassy has attested all the documents for mr/ms so and so with follwing passport information for the marriage with cambodian citizen"
Sometimes it is vague requirement.
8. Criminal certificate from your own country is also required at MoFA.
9. patience is the key to get your document processed.
Hi shmpradeep, thank you for your feedback, good to hear, and some very good points. Have you successfully completed the process yet?

You are actually the 2nd person to mention point 1 & 2 in the last couple of months, so they must be fairly new requirements, thanks for sharing. I know for certain that they were not requirements 6 months ago.
Hi,
I just go MOFA this morning all doc is ok but government fee is 125 $ for 15 working days and because i need to get marry in week 1 Jan so they asked for 250$ extra for 5 workings days. What do u think? I try to call Mr Van but his phone doesn't work. I don't know should i pay or what and i don't know what are the requirement for MoI and how long for sure. Anyone help please
Post Reply Previous topicNext topic
  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Bing [Bot], Deefer, ExPenhMan, laredo, orichá, Spigzy, WildAlaskaKen, Zyzz and 1717 guests