Yes, and Denmark does not ask your Thai partner for a certificate of no impediment. Until 28 February 2027, however, Thai documents need a double certification: first by the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then by the Danish embassy in Bangkok, each with an English translation. After that the apostille applies. After the wedding you register the marriage in Thailand at the district office (Kor Ror 22).
Who this guide is for
One of you lives in Germany, Austria or Switzerland, the other is a Thai citizen, whether still living in Thailand or already living with you on a residence permit. The route to Denmark is the same as for all couples who do not live there: an online application to Familieretshuset, the Danish Agency of Family Law, the approval (prøvelsesattest), and the ceremony in a municipality. This guide shows what changes because of the Thai nationality. The general process is explained in our guide Binational wedding in Denmark.
What your partner submits for Denmark
Familieretshuset checks whether you are both free to marry and whether your partner is lawfully in Denmark on the wedding day. For the Thai partner you submit: colour photos of all pages of the passport (issued within the last 10 years, valid at least 3 months beyond the stay, 2 empty pages), proof of lawful stay (residence card of a Schengen state, or visa with EES printout and flight tickets) and, depending on the case, these Thai documents:
| Your situation | Thai document | Issued by |
|---|---|---|
| Divorced, divorce registered at the district office | Divorce certificate (ใบสำคัญการหย่า) | District office (amphoe or khet) |
| Divorced by a court | Divorce judgment and certificate of finality (หนังสือรับรองคดีถึงที่สิ้นสุด) | Court |
| Widowed | Death certificate of the former spouse | Thai authority that registered the death |
| Children together | The children's birth certificates | District office |
| Only if Familieretshuset asks for it | Certificate of marital status | District office |
Familieretshuset does not require your own birth certificates, a certificate of single status or a certificate of no impediment from the outset. Single applicants confirm their marital status in the application with their signature, under criminal liability. For comparison: for a wedding in Germany, the Higher Regional Court of Cologne (as of 9 October 2026) lists a birth certificate, a marital status certificate from the district office and a certificate from the Central Registration Office in Bangkok on earlier marriages for Thai fiancés, plus the exemption from the certificate of no impediment.
If you already live together outside Denmark, current proof of address no older than 4 months is added. Familieretshuset may also ask about your relationship, request unedited photos of the two of you or invite you to an interview; more in our guide Proof of relationship and the sham marriage check. The complete list is in our guide Documents for your wedding in Denmark 2026.
Until 28 February 2027: legalisation step by step
The Apostille Convention only applies to Thailand from 28 February 2027. Until then, you legalise every Thai document you have to submit as described by the Danish embassy in Bangkok:
- Get a current document from the district office or court that issued it.
- Have it translated into English by an authorised translator. If the document is already in English, this step is not needed.
- Legalisation at the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs: the legalisation division (Department of Consular Affairs) legalises the original together with the translation. The ministry gives out appointments online.
- Legalisation at the Danish embassy in Bangkok: it confirms the ministry's signature. You must book an appointment beforehand and pay the fee through the embassy's payment page.
- Upload to Familieretshuset: scans of the document with both legalisations and the translation.
The English translation also meets Familieretshuset's language rule, as it accepts documents in Danish, English or German. If a step is missing, the agency asks for more documents, and that costs time: it usually decides complete applications within 5 working days, while after a request for more documents it was working on applications from August 2026 on 3 November 2026. More in our guide Requests for more documents or refusal.
From 28 February 2027: an apostille instead of double legalisation
Thailand deposited its instrument of accession on 30 June 2026; according to the list of contracting parties kept by the depositary, the Convention enters into force for Thailand on 28 February 2027. The other contracting states can object within six months. As of 3 November 2026 the depositary lists no objection to Thailand, including none from Denmark.
From 28 February 2027, a Thai document then needs an apostille from the competent Thai authority for Denmark, and the step at the Danish embassy is no longer needed. You still need a translation into Danish, English or German. Because the practice will be new, ask Familieretshuset briefly before applying whether it already accepts apostilles from Thailand this way. The overview of all countries is in our guide Apostille or legalisation: country list 2026, and the basics in our guide Apostille for the wedding in Denmark.
Translation: Thai into English
The whole document is translated, with all stamps and notes, by an authorised translator before you apply. For the route via the Danish embassy, the English translation must exist before the legalisation, because the ministry legalises the original and the translation together. If you have a document translated in Germany or Austria only after the legalisation, the translation must also cover the legalisation notes.
Watch the spelling of names: Thai names can be written in Latin letters in different ways. Use the spelling from the passport in all translations, otherwise there may be questions. Costs and process are explained in our guide Certified translations for the wedding.
Visa or residence permit
Thai citizens need a Schengen visa for Denmark. If your partner lives in Germany, Austria, Switzerland or another Schengen state with a residence permit, that permit is enough as long as it is valid on the wedding day.
If your partner travels from Thailand, they fill in the application online in the Danish ApplyVISA portal, pay the fee there and hand in the documents at the Danish visa application centre in Bangkok, which VFS Global runs for the embassy; VFS charges its own service fee. You can apply up to 6 months before travel. According to its visa page, the embassy aims to decide within 15 days; some cases go to the Danish Immigration Service and take up to 45 days.
The order: first the visa with the honest purpose “wedding in Denmark”, then the application to Familieretshuset with the visa and the printout of the EES calculator, then the date with the municipality. The approval is valid for at most 4 months and ends earlier if the visa expires earlier. Details: Getting married on a Schengen visa and EES proof for the wedding.
Earlier marriage or divorce
In Thailand there are two ways to divorce: registration by mutual consent at the district office, for which the office issues a divorce certificate, and divorce by a court, which you prove with the judgment and the certificate of finality. For Denmark, both need legalisation and a translation. Familieretshuset usually recognises foreign divorces if a court or an authority was involved; more in our guide Divorced: the second wedding in Denmark.
If your partner was married to someone from Europe and divorced there, the divorce needs no formal recognition procedure for Thailand (Higher Regional Court of Cologne). For it to show in the Thai civil register, however, it is registered: the divorce decree is certified in the issuing country, legalised by the Thai embassy, translated in Thailand and submitted to the district office, as the Thai embassy in Stockholm describes it. The reverse applies in Germany: a Thai divorce usually needs recognition there under section 107 FamFG, unless both spouses were Thai citizens at the time.
After the wedding: registering the marriage in Thailand (Kor Ror 22)
A marriage already concluded under foreign law cannot be registered again under Thai law. Instead, the family status is registered at a district office, and the office issues the form Kor Ror 22 (คร.22) for it, as the Thai embassy in Seoul explains. For a Danish marriage the route looks like this:
- Apostille on the Danish marriage certificate from the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DKK 250, about 5 to 7 working days). We take care of this with our apostille service for €149.99.
- Legalisation by the Royal Thai Embassy in Copenhagen: according to the Danish embassy in Bangkok, it legalises the original with the apostille together with the translation. Whether it wants a separate translation of the international certificate, which already contains English, is something to ask there.
- Translation into Thai in Thailand, and certification of that translation by the Department of Consular Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- Registration at the district office: the office updates the civil register and issues the Kor Ror 22. Ask beforehand whether it needs further documents. If the Thai partner cannot travel there in person, a power of attorney for a trusted person in Thailand is possible.
When the apostille takes effect for Thailand on 28 February 2027, this route may change too; ask the Thai embassy at that point. What to do in Germany, Austria or Switzerland after the wedding is in our guide Married in Denmark: what now?
Name change of the Thai spouse
If the Thai spouse wants to use a different surname after the wedding, this happens in Thailand at the district office when the family status is registered. After that there is a new Thai ID card and then a new passport, according to the Thai embassy in Stockholm. How you choose your married name in Germany is explained in our guide Name change after the Danish wedding. Make sure visa, residence permit and passport still match each other after the change.
Family reunification in Germany
If your partner is to move to Germany to join you, they need the visa for spousal reunification before entering. Thai citizens usually need German at level A1 for it, with exceptions. German offices currently also require Thai documents to be legalised (Higher Regional Court of Cologne). The process is explained in our guide Family reunification after the wedding in Denmark.
The most common pitfalls
- Taking the Thai document to the ministry without an English translation: the original and the translation are legalised together.
- Not booking the appointment at the Danish embassy in Bangkok in advance.
- Waiting for a Thai apostille before 28 February 2027.
- Different spellings of names in passport, certificates and translation.
- Stating “tourism” instead of “wedding in Denmark” in the visa application.
- Never registering the marriage in Thailand: then the Thai register still shows the old marital status.
Which documents your case needs is shown by our free eligibility check. In the Complete package for €649.99 including the Familieretshuset fee, we check every document, legalisation and translation before submission; the decision is made by Familieretshuset. All packages are on our prices page, and the rules for every nationality on our page Rules by country of origin.
