Should You Pay To Marry Your Thai Girlfriend
If you have been successful in your Thai online dating, you might consider taking your relationship with your Thai girlfriend to the next level which is marriage. However there are many foreigners who misunderstand “Sin Sodt” the term for thai bride dowry and equate it to purchasing a Thai bride.
What is Sin Sodt?
Sin sodt is a “Bride Price”, paid to the bride or her family by the groom prior to the wedding. It is a form of Thai marriage custom to use Sin Sodt as a form of paying respect to the bride’s family for bringing up their daughter.
The reason is because poorer Thai families sell land or borrow money to put their kids through university or simply put food on the table. The amount paid for Sin Sodt represent the investment that the parents have put into their daughter.
However some foreigners are disgusted about talking money when they are going to marry their Thai girlfriend and even refused to pay.
Why is there a need for Sin Sodt?
The most commonly stated rationale for the bride price in Thailand is that it allows the groom to demonstrate that he has enough financial resources to support the bride and possibly her family after the wedding. In many cases, especially when the amount is large, the parents of a Thai bride will return all or part of the bride price to the couple in the form of a wedding gift following the engagement ceremony.
However it is socially unacceptable to ask for the money back or expect it to be fully returned.
Because Sin Sod is a reflection of her, you, her family and your family. A Thai woman lives to make her family proud, to show the other villagers that they are a good family, that they are to be respected.
How much is the price of Sin Sodt?
The price is usually agreed between the two families and usually consists of three elements: cash (millions of Thai baht), Thai (96.5% pure) gold, and Western tradition of a diamond ring.
6 factors that influence the price of Sin Sodt
- Family Name
- Education
- Prior Marital Status
- Dependants
- Job
- Age
If the bride’s family is rich, the Sin sodt will most likely be for show and be returned after the wedding. If a Thai woman is university educated then you will be looking at more than 200,000 Baht which is the moden standard amount.
Why you should pay Sin Sodt
To marry a foreigner with a Sin Sod of less than 200,000 Baht would be quite a loss of face, not just for her but also for you.
The bottomline is if you can afford to pay, then pay. Do not be stingy and make an excuse that by paying Sin Sodt, it will comprised your western marriage traditions.
If you marry into Thai culture then you should expect to pay at least something. Sin Sodt is largely about face and flexible arrangement can be made with your Thai girlfriend’s family.
Supposing you offer nothing for the Sin Sodt, then you will be branded as a cheap charlie with label such as “Farang kee-nock”, “Keniiow” (stingy) and it will make your Thai girlfriend’s family look really bad in front of the villagers.
If you truly love your Thai girlfriend, you should not do something that hurt or insult your Thai girlfriend or her family.
If that is really the case, then you should think before getting involved with a woman from another culture. The reason is because if you marry a Thai woman, marriage is a big event for her and you should really understand the Thai culture first.
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