Need advice on how to change to a marriage visa from a retirement visa

[bronzedude]

Can anyone explain the process to change from a retirement visa to a marriage based visa. What documents, bank statements, timing of application, etc. Also anything that might help make the process go easier. I was married last year, have the คร2 and คร3. Thank you

[ubonjoe]

Will you be using the 400k baht or the 40k baht income option?

Be sure your financial proof does not meet the requirements for retirement.

You can do it at any time during the last 30 days of your current extension of stay. Just apply for an extension based upon marriage instead of retirement.

My general list is here. Marriage Extension Requirements 2.pdf

[Golden Triangle]

How good are your hoop jumping skills ????

 

[ubonjoe]

10 minutes ago, Golden Triangle said:

How good are your hoop jumping skills

No skills are needed from my experience of applying for 11 extensions of stay based upon marriage.

Just have the correct documents and etc and it will not be a problem.

 

[Golden Triangle]

1 minute ago, ubonjoe said:

No skills are needed from my experience of applying for 11 extensions of stay based upon marriage.

Just have the correct documents and etc and it will not be a problem.

 

I believe you ubonjoe, it was a slightly sarcastic tongue in cheek comment as I was reminded of some of my friends and others who do the Marriage extension thingmebob, what with maps, photo's, taking a neighbour and then not wearing different shirts in different pictures etc etc.

 

Just being frivolous ???? 

 

[BritManToo]

8 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

No skills are needed from my experience of applying for 11 extensions of stay based upon marriage.

Just have the correct documents and etc and it will not be a problem.

 

And in CM my experience was complete nightmare with them making up different requirements and wanting different documents every year until I gave up. I endured it for 4-5 years before I decided it was easier (and less demeaning) to get a VISA from outside Thailand (I had 400k in the Thai bank).

Edited March 23, 2019 by BritManToo

[ubonjoe]

7 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

And in CM my experience was complete nightmare with them making up different requirements and wanting different documents every year until I gave up. I endured it for 4-5 years before I decided it was easier (and less demeaning) to get a VISA from outside Thailand (I had 400k in the Thai bank).

From the many posts I have read over the years I would say most problems people have are self inflicted because they forgot things that were needed previously.

It does seem to vary from office to office.

[RJRS1301]

I find this 40k for married extension and 65k for retirement confusing. Do they thInk two live cheaper than a single retired?

in their words of Hanson P>>>>> please explain

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

7 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

 

It does seem to vary from office to office.

 

I think this above is a very important point for the OP to keep in mind. Joe's marriage extension docs list attached above is an excellent starter for the basic things that typically are needed.

 

But as other posters have mentioned above, for marriage extensions in particular, just exactly what Immigration will require in terms of documents, photos, whether they want witnesses, etc. does tend to vary a lot from one Immigration Office to another.

 

So an important preparation, once armed with Joe's list, is to seek out the Immigration office where you live and will need to apply, and check with them ahead of time of just exactly what THAT office will require for doing a marriage extension, and hopefully they can give you their own local list of requirements, if they have such a thing.

 

Also, for the OP, if you post here just what IO you plan to apply at, you may find a path to further advice here from other members that may also use that office.

 

 

Edited March 23, 2019 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[BritManToo]

7 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

From the many posts I have read over the years I would say most problems people have are self inflicted because they forgot things that were needed previously.

It does seem to vary from office to office.

Nope, CM wanted something new every year.

First year they just wanted money in the bank.

Next year they wanted rental contract.

Next year copy of the house owners ID card and blue book.

Year after that my son's birth certificate.

Fifth and final year they didn't like the bank letter, and insisted I get a bank letter from the Airport Plaza branch (even though the bank letter was the same for the previous four years)

 

I'd suggest you've never interacted with a 'problem' immigration office, CM is the equivalent of Poipet border or DMK airport.

Edited March 23, 2019 by BritManToo

[ubonjoe]

18 minutes ago, RJRS1301 said:

I find this 40k for married extension and 65k for retirement confusing. Do they thInk two live cheaper than a single retired?

in their words of Hanson P>>>>> please explain

The reason for the difference is that extensions based upon marriage are done for humanitarian reasons not convenience.

And it is possible for a Thai wife to work, have a business and etc to help support the family.

Not all retirees are single. Many are married and have a family as well. Their family members do not have to show financial proof to get extensions.

[RJRS1301]

2 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

The reason for the difference is that extensions based upon marriage are done for humanitarian reasons not convenience.

And it is possible for a Thai wife to work, have a business and etc to help support the family.

Not all retirees are single. Many are married and have a family as well. Their family members do not have to show financial proof to get extensions.

Thanks ubonjoe many of us are single though, seems like an arbitrary number the 65 k

[billd766]

20 minutes ago, RJRS1301 said:

I find this 40k for married extension and 65k for retirement confusing. Do they thInk two live cheaper than a single retired?

in their words of Hanson P>>>>> please explain

AFAIK the retirement extension is based on you alone and you are expected to have higher expenses.

 

For a marriage extension your wife has to present at the interview and the paperwork is at least 5 times as much plus you need 2 copies of all the documents. One for the local office and one for the regional office. There is also a 30 day wait and the first part of the extension you get 30 days before returning to Immigration when in more than 95% of the extensions are granted.

 

Also with a retirement extension you are not allowed to work but with a marriage extension you are allowed to work as is your wife which explains why the financial requirement is lower.

 

That is my take on it but I may be wrong and people with greater knowledge than me can and will correct me.

[RJRS1301]

1 minute ago, billd766 said:

AFAIK the retirement extension is based on you alone and you are expected to have higher expenses.

 

For a marriage extension your wife has to present at the interview and the paperwork is at least 5 times as much plus you need 2 copies of all the documents. One for the local office and one for the regional office. There is also a 30 day wait and the first part of the extension you get 30 days before returning to Immigration when in more than 95% of the extensions are granted.

 

Also with a retirement extension you are not allowed to work but with a marriage extension you are allowed to work as is your wife which explains why the financial requirement is lower.

 

That is my take on it but I may be wrong and people with greater knowledge than me can and will correct me.

Thanks. Although spending 65 K per month is high living for me

[holy cow cm]

1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

Be sure your financial proof does not meet the requirements for retirement.

Brilliant and love it if someone can shift the data they present.

[Justin Side]

39 minutes ago, RJRS1301 said:

I find this 40k for married extension and 65k for retirement confusing. Do they thInk two live cheaper than a single retired?

in their words of Hanson P>>>>> please explain

A foreign Wife of a Thai man has to show nothing in the bank so even more wacky.

[Peterw42]

11 minutes ago, RJRS1301 said:

I find this 40k for married extension and 65k for retirement confusing. Do they thInk two live cheaper than a single retired?

in their words of Hanson P>>>>> please explain

Even 2 guys sharing a house would have less expenses and more income. Most of the bills to run a house, car etc are similar for one or two people. its not like the electricity, water, internet, condo fees, car service/tax/insurance etc are doubled because there are two people in the house/car. there are 2 incomes to pay any bill or expense. The TV or airconn costs the same to run with one or two people. 

Most of my bills are similar to being single but there are 2 incomes to pay them. Personally I have less expenses as I dont pay for laundry, cooking, cleaning. 

[ubonjoe]

24 minutes ago, holy cow cm said:

Brilliant and love it if someone can shift the data they present.

Not sure what you mean. It does not make any sense to me.

I am sure you are aware there are different requirement for the extensions.

[ubonjoe]

28 minutes ago, Justin Side said:

A foreign Wife of a Thai man has to show nothing in the bank so even more wacky.

That is because it assumed that a husband supports their wife according to traditional norms.

But the Thai husband does have to prove at least some income at most immigration offices.

[SABloke]

1 hour ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

seek out the Immigration office where you live and will need to apply, and check with them ahead of time of just exactly what THAT office will require for doing a marriage extension,

I did that once with CW in Bangkok. Got the list they wanted; went away and got what they wanted; went back to CW and was told that we were missing documents. So I told them thanks but no thanks, I'll go get a work extension instead. The IO said I couldn't because I had a Non-O visa - I told her I could, walked over to the N counters and left an hour and a half later with my work extension. 

 

The point is that even at the same office, one hand rarely has any clue what the other is doing and/or what the actual law is.

[holy cow cm]

18 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

Not sure what you mean. It does not make any sense to me.

I am sure you are aware there are different requirement for the extensions.

Sorry. Should have been more clear. As I understand it is tough to do the change going back the other way and is mostly denied, so even if they can still qualify for the retirement (but don't want to) they should be sly and show proof of funds (data) under the 65k. Meaning they would have to change their sending routine from their normal source as if it is a pension it will show up in the bank account, or send lower amount to another bank account, or just have 400k in a bank account and say they don't have the funds of 800k anymore. But, what if they used the pension plan all the time before and it is documented and the IO calls their bluff to see that incoming? It will normally not change or fluctuate too much. But what you said is very ingenious and safe thinking. I like what you said as it should be our option to choose what visa we want.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

9 minutes ago, SABloke said:

The point is that even at the same office, one hand rarely has any clue what the other is doing and/or what the actual law is.

 

Indeed, what you're saying (the right hand, left hand problem) does occur sometimes. But I look at the process as a challenge to try to cover as many of the possibilities as possible, and to be as well prepared as possible....

 

So for me, my process includes:

1. starting with a good general guide like Joe's.

2. checking in advance with my local office to see what they say and or provide in the way of written instructions.

3. reading here on TVF to see the feedback from other users who apply at my particular IO office to see what they say about what the local rules are supposed to be, and whether or not they're followed.

4. And lastly, once I've gathered together everything I expect my local IO to want, I'll add into a separate folder everything else that I think they could/might want, just in case.

 

Beyond that, I dunno what else anyone can do. Immigration here is what it is.

 

[ubonjoe]

3 minutes ago, holy cow cm said:

Sorry. Should have been more clear. As I understand it is tough to do the change going back the other way and is mostly denied, so even if they can still qualify for the retirement (but don't want to) they should be sly and show proof of funds (data) under the 65k.

That cannot legally deny the change.

But some offices would do everything they could to deny it if enough financial proof is shown for retirement.

I think most people that are wanting do change to marriage are using the income option so it will be easy to show only 400k baht in the bank.

Others may be doing because the cannot or do not want show the 65k baht income anymore since the cannot get proof of income from their embassy any more. Some people do not want to transfer 65k baht income into the country every month since they do not need it here.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

FWIW, I think I remember some weird report coming out of one IO or another regarding the photos they wanted for the marriage extension. If memory serves, among the photos submitted, the applicant and his/her spouse needed to be wearing DIFFERENT clothes in some of the photos, supposedly to help convince Immigration that all the photos weren't taken on the same single day.  Bonkers!!!!

[ubonjoe]

16 minutes ago, SABloke said:

I did that once with CW in Bangkok. Got the list they wanted; went away and got what they wanted; went back to CW and was told that we were missing documents.

That was not a normal application since you were wanting to use income from working to apply for the extension that has different requirements from what most people do.

[SABloke]

9 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

That was not a normal application since you were wanting to use income from working to apply for the extension that has different requirements from what most people do.

The IO that gave me the list knew what I was applying for and I went back with what she requested including all the tax receipts, payment slips, company letter etc. Whatever method I used is irrelevant - They gave me a list of requirements that I duly completed and then when I returned they suddenly added more things. My point about them not knowing their own regulations still stands. 

[Sato]

A visa Change must be made several day's before the current visa expires. Don't remember how many day's but I think 21 day's. I've done a visa change 2 years ago from Non-O Marriage to Non-O Retirement and the IO told me, I would have just 2 day’s more time to do it.

[ubonjoe]

2 minutes ago, Sato said:

A visa Change must be made several day's before the current visa expires. Don't remember how many day's but I think 21 day's. I've done a visa change 2 years ago from Non-O Marriage to Non-O Retirement and the IO told me, I would have just 2 day’s more time to do it.

You would not of done a visa change. You were only changing the reason for your extension of stay.

The 21 or 15 days does not apply in this case. That is only for changing to a non immigrant visa from a tourist visa or exempt entry.

[Sato]

26 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

You would not of done a visa change. You were only changing the reason for your extension of stay.

The 21 or 15 days does not apply in this case. That is only for changing to a non immigrant visa from a tourist visa or exempt entry.

You're right, it was (also in my case 2 years ago) not a visa change, it was just changing the reason for the extension of stay.
However, the IO told me, I've just two day's left to do it, after I cannot change from marriage to retirement as I have to do this change at least 21 day's before current permission of stay expires.
It look's like the IO was wrong on this but this was what he told me.

[bronzedude]

10 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

Will you be using the 400k baht or the 40k baht income option?

Be sure your financial proof does not meet the requirements for retirement.

You can do it at any time during the last 30 days of your current extension of stay. Just apply for an extension based upon marriage instead of retirement.

My general list is here. Marriage Extension Requirements 2.pdf

I will be using the 400K income option. What do you mean by "be sure your financial proof does not meet the requirements for retirement?" Thanks