Consul-general Mohd Afandi Abu Bakar said 4,653 applications for the marriage verification letter were received last year compared with 4,375 in 2017.

He said the number of applications had been rising, with 2,885 in 2011, 3,463 in 2012, 3,485 in 2013, 3,831 in 2014, 4,081 in 2015 and 4,178 in 2016.

Afandi said the majority of the applications involved couples who had been married for two or three years and they needed the document to register their children.

Most of the applications were from Malaysian couples who got married at the Islamic religious offices in southern Thailand, he told Bernama at an event at the Malaysia-Thailand Riders Association (MalTha) here today.

He said some of the applicants had been married for 20 years but the number was small.

Afandi advised couples against using agents to obtain the marriage verification letter as it might lead to problems in terms of the status of their marriages.