marriage visa /extensions

[BOBDUTHAI]

Hi ,

After reading numerous horror stories regarding entry to LOS i was wondering if i could get simple honest advice regarding a marriage visa.

I am retiring later this year am married to a thai (16 yrs) and we have a daughter (15 yrs) . 

I will have the necessary funds (400 k although no bank acc as i have to be in country 6 mths ,as told in local bkk bank)

My pensions etc = £ 1,600 ( does that have to be sent to thai bank monthly)

90 day reporting - i have been told can do locally in town (uthai thani) , i wish to travel so will it count as reporting ( ie get back to los on day 88 eg)

What is  TM30 

I know these questions have been covered before but i am getting paranoid reading recent posts , it would be great if the requirements were all laid out in order, 1,2,3, etc

or as i like to call it , idiot guide , go easy on me guy';s im new to this site. ( enjoying it)

[ubonjoe]

You do not have to wait 6 months to open a bank account. You could open one the same day you arrived if a bank was open. Take your wife with you when open you account. She can act as your reference and use her house book to prove your address. If she has a bank account it is best to do it at the same bank.

The 400k baht has to be in a bank account in your name only for 2 months on the date you apply.

Since you used pounds for your income I assume you are from the UK. You will have to prove your income by showing transfers into your Thai bank account from abroad. You will only need the equivalent of 40k baht to apply for the extension.

Since it will be your first extension application you only need to show a couple of months of transfers to apply for the extension.

If you are in the UK you should apply for a single entry non-o visa based upon marriage at embassy in London or one of the consulates there before starting your trip to here.

You do not need to do report of staying longer than 90 consecutive days in the country if you don't stay in the country that long. You can do the reports in person, online or by post to your local immigration office.

The TM30 is a report of your presence at your residence that is due within 24 hours of arriving at it. Check with you local office to find out when it is  required.

[BOBDUTHAI]

thank you , i was told i the branch ,with my wife but she is not assertive and believes what she is told by people in authority.they said i had to be on housebook (our house) which at the amphur i was told 6 months before i could be added.

As she and daughter are on book i will use the reference mode as you suggest.

[ubonjoe]

You cannot be added onto a blue house book. You can get your own yellow house book based upon your wife's house book no need to wait 6 months to get it.

[NokNokJoke]

It's confusing as hell to try to sort out info from the posts on this forum since 95 percent of the content is usually about specific problems or trying to work the gray areas.
Not complaining, just an observation.

Sent from my Nokia 6.1 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[BOBDUTHAI]

12 hours ago, Benroon said:

I read it as he was MARRIED to a 16 year old !!

 

OP If you get any problem with opening an account with one branch just go to the nearest one to it as you are unlikely to get the same response from two branches!! I learnt that from experience. I had a rubbish experience with the first BKK bank I went to and yet they could not have been more helpful at the second one and issued everything for me there and then.

 

<removed>

wish i was 

[thaibook]

16 hours ago, NokNokJoke said:

It's confusing as hell to try to sort out info from the posts on this forum since 95 percent of the content is usually about specific problems or trying to work the gray areas.
Not complaining, just an observation.

Sent from my Nokia 6.1 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

I agree.  I am in LOS on a tourist visa and have decided to apply for a non-o with extension of stay based on marriage to a Thai.  I am trying to figure out whether better to go to Cheng Wattana or to Savannakhet.  A simple comparison of the two options that would be super.

 

Just a personal peculiarity - my wife's blue book is her family's business address but in BKK we stay in another building.  When I asked immigration of which I should take a picture I was told the one in which we actually live.  I assume this indicates that we are unlikely to be visited.

 

For OP, whenever we drive between Chieng Mai and BKK we always stop in Uthai Thani at a little coffee shop and oftentimes buy fish.  Hope you enjoy it there and that your visa works out smoothly.  

 

 

 

[BritManToo]

15 minutes ago, thaibook said:

I am trying to figure out whether better to go to Cheng Wattana or to Savannakhet. 

Savannakhet is dead easy, the only original documents they want to see are your passport and Thai marriage certificate.

+ photocopies of all the usual documents, no finances required.

[thaibook]

thank you BritManToo.  I have two marriage documents - one with a flowery border (KS2?)of which I only have photocopies (the wedding was many many years ago and I am told a new "original" cannot be given) and the other a long paper with signatures (KS3?).  The amphur will issue copies of t his one with a red stamp showing it is "original".  Which is the one I need?

 

Please confirm that I may apply either for a single 90 day entry in which case I then ask for a one year extension that requires reporting every 90 days or for a 12 month multiple entry which entails leaving the country sooner than 90 days after each entry.  Once i have had a non-O visa in my passport I may apply to have it renewed at an immigration office.

 

Thank you.

 

 

 

 

 

[ubonjoe]

48 minutes ago, thaibook said:

I am trying to figure out whether better to go to Cheng Wattana or to Savannakhet.  A simple comparison of the two options that would be super.

 

At Chaeng Wattana you would get a one year extension of stay based upon marriage. No need to leave the country unless you want to.

In Savannakhet you would get a multiple entry non-o visa that allows unlimited 90 day entries for a year from the date is issued. You have to leave the country to get a new entry every 90 days.

[ubonjoe]

11 minutes ago, thaibook said:

I have two marriage documents - one with a flowery border (KS2?)of which I only have photocopies (the wedding was many many years ago and I am told a new "original" cannot be given) and the other a long paper with signatures (KS3?).  The amphur will issue copies of t his one with a red stamp showing it is "original".  Which is the one I need?

The flower one is a Kor Ror 3 marriage certificate. The other is a Kor Ror 2 marriage registry.

If you only have a copy of your marriage certificate a Amphoe can certify a copy of it and will attach a Kor Ror 2 to it. Savannakhet and immigration will accept that instead of the original.

Many immigration offices want a new print out of the the Kor Ror 2 from and Amphe every year to prove you are still married.

You can get a single entry non-o visa in Vientiane or Savannakhet. Savannakhet will also issue a multiple entry non-o visa.

[thaibook]

Ubonjoe, one last question if I may.  I have found the cost of non-O visas and re-entry permits but cannot find anything on extension of stay based on marriage or 90 day reporting costs.  Are both of these free?  It would be nice to think so but somehow I doubt it.

 

I would also like to thank you for your replies to me and to the thousands of queries on TV.  You always seem to reply with the required succinct information and to keep your cool, however many times the same questions arise.

[thaibook]

2 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

At Chaeng Wattana you would get a one year extension of stay based upon marriage. No need to leave the country unless you want to.

In Savannakhet you would get a multiple entry non-o visa that allows unlimited 90 day entries for a year from the date is issued. You have to leave the country to get a new entry every 90 days.

Sorry, I do have another.  At Chaeng Wattana can I get a one year extension based on marriage on my tourist exemption or do I first need to obtain a non-o visa and then apply for the extension within the 90 days?

 

[ubonjoe]

16 minutes ago, thaibook said:

Ubonjoe, one last question if I may.  I have found the cost of non-O visas and re-entry permits but cannot find anything on extension of stay based on marriage or 90 day reporting costs.  Are both of these free?  It would be nice to think so but somehow I doubt it.

The fee for all extension of stay is 1900 baht.

There is no fee for 90 day reporting.

[tijnebijn]

Hi , sorry to interrupt , but I was reading a response from Ubonjoe to the OP about needing the 400k in the bank account to come from oversees transfers . I recently made a post in another thread asking about this need for oversees transfers for the marriage extension was needed .I got the response that this was not needed for the marriage extension , only for retirement extensions .Now that I read this response from knowledgeable Ubonjoe got me a bit worried again .Because I am in my homecountry now and will bw more for a couple of years before returning and start the process over .I have deposted 400k already in my wifes account I want to use later for my extension but I have brought this cash in .Please can you give me some clearance about this .thank you so much .

[ubonjoe]

2 minutes ago, thaibook said:

Sorry, I do have another.  At Chaeng Wattana can I get a one year extension based on marriage on my tourist exemption or do I first need to obtain a non-o visa and then apply for the extension within the 90 days?

To apply for an extension of stay you have to have a non immigrant visa entry. 

You can apply for one at immigration. It requires showing the same financial proof and supporting document twice. You must have at least 15 days remaining on your entry or the 30 day extension of it to apply. See: https://www.immigration.go.th/content/service_79

[ubonjoe]

1 minute ago, tijnebijn said:

Hi , sorry to interrupt , but I was reading a response from Ubonjoe to the OP about needing the 400k in the bank account to come from oversees transfers . I recently made a post in another thread asking about this need for oversees transfers for the marriage extension was needed .

I was probably writing about the 40k bath income not the 400k baht in the bank having to come from abroad.

Proof the 400k baht came from abroad is not required.

[tijnebijn]

 thanks Ubonjoe , happy to read your quick response . One more thing , about the tm30 .Until now I still have not made such a report .In the past they did not make a point of doing this . I holiday once a year now knowing it is required these days but wonder should I do now on my next holiday or don't bother till I return back fulltime and get a new passport .I probably get a fine or how it works ?

Edited March 23, 2019 by tijnebijn

[ubonjoe]

5 minutes ago, tijnebijn said:

One more thing , about the tm30 .

The TM30 reporting depends upon the office you report to. Many do not want one unless you change addresses.

[tijnebijn]

Mine is in Chiangmai and what I understand they do .

[hgma]

20 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

You do not have to wait 6 months to open a bank account. You could open one the same day you arrived if a bank was open. Take your wife with you when open you account. She can act as your reference and use her house book to prove your address. If she has a bank account it is best to do it at the same bank.

The 400k baht has to be in a bank account in your name only for 2 months on the date you apply.

Since you used pounds for your income I assume you are from the UK. You will have to prove your income by showing transfers into your Thai bank account from abroad. You will only need the equivalent of 40k baht to apply for the extension.

Since it will be your first extension application you only need to show a couple of months of transfers to apply for the extension.

If you are in the UK you should apply for a single entry non-o visa based upon marriage at embassy in London or one of the consulates there before starting your trip to here.

You do not need to do report of staying longer than 90 consecutive days in the country if you don't stay in the country that long. You can do the reports in person, online or by post to your local immigration office.

The TM30 is a report of your presence at your residence that is due within 24 hours of arriving at it. Check with you local office to find out when it is  required.

The TM 30 report is required EVERY time one comes back into Thailand  in NongKhai . my (Lao)wife visits Laos frequently and yesterday was lucky to be back before 16.30 on her re-entry  (weekend close) to report TM30@immigration NongKhai.....

[Okis]

Regarding the bank account ubonjoes advice is good, if they still won't do it just politely insist they call their callcenter to get the updated requirements for foreigners opening a account.

 

I could open a account on several branches in bkk with only a letter from my embassy, found out since i live in another province there would always be a 30 baht transfer fee so instead we went to a small BKB branch in my wife's home province since we will be moving here later this year. There they didn't accept using only my embassy letter but they also wanted us to bring our marriage certificate so my wife could be my reference. 

 

We went back the next day with our marriage certificate and when I was halfway trough the approx 15 signatures i needed to do we find out that they wouldnt let me have a ATM card and said i needed a work permit for that.  My wife insisted and told them that is not needed and how I almost opened a account in Bkk without issues. She told them to contact their callcenter and around 5 minutes later they came back and told us that it was all ok and i could get the card.

 

According to them there was a change in law just last year and they didn't receive info about the change. Which for me just seemed like a way for them to save face

 

 

Edited March 23, 2019 by Okis

[thaibook]

Actually I think there was a change in the law on a number of points to do with banking.  There is now no limit on the amount that can be transferred into a Thai bank account from abroad, and no information is necessary as to its purpose.

 

I year or so ago I was I could not open a new bank account without specific documents, despite already having an account in BKK.  I shall now try again and refer them to the change in the rules if they prevaricate.

[Tanoshi]

@BOBDUTHAI

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