Thoughts?

[Happy2]

A Dear friend of my mother Has a daughter who married a Balinese Indonesian
(Laziest man on the planet May be a slight exaggeration) He Has been in Indonesia on holiday for 1 month
Upon arrival back here has told his Aussie wife that he has gotten married over there. Is that allowed if she never comes here?

 

[Naughty Thoughts]

I don't know how that would be handled legally with the two different legal systems. Under Australian law a person can only be married to one person at a time, as far as I am aware.

If I was her I'd kick him out and tell him to go live with his new wife in Bali.

 

[Farm Boy]

Send her a airline ticket , sip out pick her up and confront the SOB , bet the Balinese wife know's nothing about Ausy wife.
Just to make sure its a real shit fight all wife's bring there mum.

 

[Happy2]

I see your way of thinking FB But she has brothers to do that for her
But as for the wife in Bali Who knows if she realises or if it matters to her. He being moslem his second wife may be fine with it
Was just wondering along loneroads way of thinking Two Nations whos marriage laws are based on different religions

 

[Naughty Thoughts]

If they are living here then they would be subject to Australian law. But you'd need to speak to someone with much more legal knowledge than me for definitive answers.

If Australian law recognises a marriage in Bali then I would imagine that he could be in a bit of trouble. Though I'm not sure what the law would actually do. They can't force him to divorce his Balinese wife.

It'd be interesting to hear her point of view. I'm assuming what's happened is that they've gotten married, there was no discussion specifically about a second (or third [or fourth]) wife so she's assumed she'd be the only one and he's assumed he can marry more.

What she can't do is get a second husband.

It wouldn't be legal in Australia, but it'd be interesting to see how he'd react if she said she wanted a second husband...

 

[JasRob]

That's pretty a bad situation for the daughter of your mom's friend, although its not that normal for them. They are Muslims, they could marry as much, so long as they can support their wife/wives financially and also the kids if there are kids involved. although here in Australia you're only allowed to marry 1 person at a time.

 

[Happy2]

I would like to thank all the people who posted private mail to me on this subject
To be honest it really surprised me Pleasant surprise though
Its a close little community we have it seems

 

[AlexandraSilk]

Happy if the man in question planned to return to Australia then his marriage to the Bali lady wouldn't be recognized within the Australia. However, if he becomes a citizen of Bali would it then become a different story?

Curious, if an Australian couple marries overseas, I imagine they would still need to apply for the legal documentation within Australia. Just my mind pondering.

 

[homer]

If he is a muslim, according to "their" law, they can have more than 1 wife. It's their "custom".

 

[Roger1]

If he is a muslim, according to "their" law, they can have more than 1 wife. It's their "custom".

I think that Balinese people are hindus, not muslims and I don't believe that you can have more than one wife as a hindu.

 

[Happy2]

Happy if the man in question planned to return to Australia then his marriage to the Bali lady wouldn't be recognized within the Australia. However, if he becomes a citizen of Bali would it then become a different story?

Curious, if an Australian couple marries overseas, I imagine they would still need to apply for the legal documentation within Australia. Just my mind pondering.

I dont know if a aUSTRALIAN COUPLE would have to apply in Australia or not? If a sea captain can marry you in International waters they should accept any recognised courts issued license

As to the other He is now back in Perth Not in her/their house though, You can guess why

I think that Balinese people are hindus, not muslims and I don't believe that you can have more than one wife as a hindu.

There are plenty of Muslims in Bali these days Dont forget bali is only one island in a muslim nation.
There lovely call to prayers can be heard in much of Bali today

 

[Saige]

I think that Balinese people are hindus, not muslims and I don't believe that you can have more than one wife as a hindu.

The majority are Hindu but Indonesia has a huge Muslim population and there are a minority in Bali.

 

[happytimes]

I don't know how this can happen as i used to work with a guy who married a Balinese Lady over there, had the traditional Hindu wedding and all but the strange thing is he can't bring her back to Australia to live here with him.

He still comes back over here to work as he did before they got married, seems nothing has really changed for him after he married her, still seems things are the same as they were before he married her, so it seems to me if your married over there it is not recognised by the Australian government.

This has been going on for over 10years and he still does the same thing. If he didn't show me the pictures of the traditional marriage i don't know if i would have believed him, as i asked him why can't he get her over here on a holiday visa at least, his answer was it's very costly to apply for the visa and there is no guarantee she will get it. Strange i know but it is true..

 

[Naughty Thoughts]

According to the bottom half of this page an overseas marriage is generally recognised assuming that it would be a legal marriage in Australia.

For arguments sake, if a 21 year old married a local 15 year old in a country where a 15 yo could marry then it would not be recognised in Australia. The first example above (second wife) would not be recognised in Australia as Australia will only allow one husband/wife.

The second example above (happytimes) would appear to be recognised as a legal marriage under Australian law (assuming there was legal paperwork for the traditional marriage) but an overseas marriage does not appear to guarantee entry to Australia for the overseas partner. Immigration is handled separately. If "traditional wedding" meant it was all verbal and there was no supporting legal documentation then that might be an obstacle.

...If a sea captain can marry you in International waters...

I don't believe a captain of a ship actually can. This is the first page I found about the topic and it appears that it's just a myth. A captain is no more entitled to marry people than the postman. Other sites are in agreement, such as About.com, abc.net.au and even TVTropes.com.

The common theme appears to be that although planned marriages can and do happen on ships (for the romantic value), the key there is "planned". A captain can only perform a marriage if he/she also happens to be an ordained minister (or other role with specific authority to perform marriages).

Thanks happytimes, your comment prompted me to do some research and I learned something new. I assumed captains could perform marriages as well.