Get married to a Myanmar man or lady
(Please see updated information for 2018 at the end of the article)
Many of our visitors asked us information on getting married to a Burmese. Apparently, they find it difficult to find information on getting married to a Burmese. There are no information available on marriage to a Burmese (guy or girl). I think it is time to give you some information on this issue for those Burmese guys and girls who found difficulty getting married to a foreigner, and those foreign men and ladies want to get married to a Burmese.
Burmese law allows Myanmar citizens to get married to a foreigner. In the past, it used to be easy to get it done. Just head to a local judge and he will marry you. However, since about 20 years ago, local judges refused to do it on the ground that it is difficult to distinguish between real marriage and the human trafficking. Today, no judge or local court would marry a Burmese and a foreigner.
Even after you get married, your marriage certificate (actually a marriage contract in Burma) is in Burmese language. It has to be translated into English. You can get a certified notary translation of your marriage certificate into English but the Foreign Office will refuse to certify that notary. You can still use it if your embassy accepts the notary without a certification by the Foreign Office, but some embassies would not.
The best way to get your marriage done is to do it in a foreign country. You can do it either in Thailand or in Singapore. If you are doing it is Thailand, you will need an affidavit of freedom to get married. This has to be endorsed by your embassy. For a Burmese, he can get an affidavit in a court in Myanmar, get it translated into English by a notary public, and then get a certification from the Foreign Office in Myanmar. This can then be endorsed by the Thai Embassy in Yangon or endorsed by the Burmese Embassy in Bangkok. Both of you will need this affidavit. Then, go to a nearest amphur (local district administrative office) and get your marriage done. However, please check with the district office you intend to get married before you do anything as the requirements by the office may vary from one office to another. (Currently, Myanmar Foreign Office refuses to endorse the translation of affidavit of being single. Myanmar embassy in Thailand will also refuse to counter endorse, so this option is off at this moment).
Easier one is to get married in Singapore. This is what we have done when we could not do it either in Myanmar or in Thailand. All you need is a valid passport. You can file your marriage application online. However, the applicant (either you or your fiancé) has to be in Singapore at the time of filing for at least 15 days. After the filing, you can leave Singapore as there is 21 days waiting period. You will need two witnesses (either Singaporean or foreigner of at least 21 years of age). You can choose to get married at the ROM (Registry of Marriage) or with a solemnizer in a hotel. However, getting a solemnizer is sometimes difficult. Most Solemnizers only offer their service through recommendation so if you do not have any one to recommend you, you won't be able to use this option. We were very fortunate to have one who offered her service without recommendation from anyone else. I just phoned her and she agreed to offer her service. There was no charges for her, but we donated some money to her church. Your best bet would be to get married at the ROM. You can get the complete information at Registry of Marriage website.
Update (2018): Someone mentioned me that you can now get married to a Myanmar man/lady legally in Myanmar if you have contact to a correct agent/lawyer. He mentioned there are a few agents' offices around Sule Pagoda in Yangon, who would arrange to have a legal marriage done with a judge. I am not sure about the authenticity of this claim, but you could probably ask around the lawyer offices around Sule Pagoda. The fees might be quite substantial though. In addition, the marriage contract will be in Burmese, which need to be translated, notarised and endorsed by Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). Until recently, MOFA refused to endorse the marriage certificates with foreigner spouse. This may already have changed now. You should at least try to see if this is true or not. It would probably save both time and money.