Huckfi Posted June 30, 2020 Share Posted June 30, 2020 Good Afternoon! Long time lurker, first time poster. Firstly, I just want to say thank you to so many for the great information and discussion on this site. The number of times I've needed help with visa issues, travel, or news, this site has had the answers for me. I'm an American citizen and have been in Thailand living with my Thai wife since October, and not looking forward or wanting to return to the US anytime soon. I know I may not have many options, if any, and I know there is much speculation about future, but hopefully some of you may have some ideas or advice. Information rundown: Entered Thailand on tourist visa: Nov 22, extended to Feb Holiday in Laos, entered Thailand with tourist visa: Feb 26, extended to May 25 Married in May Now on amnesty I know that due to the amnesty things are hazy and I'm technically on overstay, but is it possible to get a further 60 day extension to stay with my wife now that we are married? Another option we are weighing is getting an ed visa down in Samui. After receiving a tip, we contacted a school down there and after reviewing my passport they say it is possible without leaving the country. It will cost 14,900 for the online classes and 20,000 baht to be paid to immigration at time of applying for the visa, giving me a 9 month stay. This seems like an expensive and stressful option that we need to decide on asap as the process takes time, but it is an option. And lastly, is there anything an agent would be able to help with in our case? This is where we have no knowledge of how things work and what it would cost. My wife just got off the phone with Changwatta immigration and of course they were less than helpful, seemingly reciting replies. They told us they had no advice and to be patient as immigration officials had their first meeting today to decide the plan going forward, and that a second amnesty extension may be possible. Thank you in advance for any help and I wish you all the best ???? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anchadian Posted June 30, 2020 Share Posted June 30, 2020 If you are married to a Thai you'll be able to get a non-immigrant O visa and still study the Thai language. You wont need an ED visa. This is exactly what I did when I studied Thai although I was on a retirement extension. Others will explain more. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubonjoe Posted June 30, 2020 Share Posted June 30, 2020 If the amnesty is not extended you could apply for a 60 day extension to visit your wife on or before July 31st. If you could put 400k baht into a Thai bank or have proof of 40k baht income you could possibley apply for a 90 day non immigrant visa entry (category O) visa while on the 60 day extension. And then during the last 30 days of the 90 entry apply for a one year extension of stay based upon marriage to a Thai. The 400k baht would have to be in a Thai bank for 2 monts. Another option would be to go out for a multiple entry non-o visa based upon marriage after the borders crossings open. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huckfi Posted June 30, 2020 Author Share Posted June 30, 2020 20 minutes ago, anchadian said: If you are married to a Thai you'll be able to get a non-immigrant O visa and still study the Thai language. You wont need an ED visa. This is exactly what I did when I studied Thai although I was on a retirement extension. Others will explain more. Thank you. Was mostly looking at the education visa as it would allow me to stay for an extended duration until the borders reopen or more options become available. But that information is useful as well. 21 minutes ago, ubonjoe said: If the amnesty is not extended you could apply for a 60 day extension to visit your wife on or before July 31st. If you could put 400k baht into a Thai bank or have proof of 40k baht income you could possibley apply for a 90 day non immigrant visa entry (category O) visa while on the 60 day extension. And then during the last 30 days of the 90 entry apply for a one year extension of stay based upon marriage to a Thai. The 400k baht would have to be in a Thai bank for 2 monts. Another option would be to go out for a multiple entry non-o visa based upon marriage after the borders crossings open. Thank you very much for the help Ubonjoe, that looks like a very straight forward route to go. Just to verify, I can still apply for the 60 extension to visit my wife even though I extended my tourist visa before getting wind of the amnesty? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubonjoe Posted June 30, 2020 Share Posted June 30, 2020 23 minutes ago, Huckfi said: Just to verify, I can still apply for the 60 extension to visit my wife even though I extended my tourist visa before getting wind of the amnesty? They will do the 60 day extension after a 30 day tourist visa entry extension. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greggraham Posted June 30, 2020 Share Posted June 30, 2020 18 minutes ago, ubonjoe said: They will do the 60 day extension after a 30 day tourist visa entry extension. What about after a 30 day tourist visa entry extension and then the 30 day COVID extension (and then amnesty), same deal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huckfi Posted June 30, 2020 Author Share Posted June 30, 2020 20 minutes ago, ubonjoe said: They will do the 60 day extension after a 30 day tourist visa entry extension. Perfect, thank you! I'll be getting money in the bank and head down this route, will be sure to report back through the process. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubonjoe Posted June 30, 2020 Share Posted June 30, 2020 21 minutes ago, greggraham said: What about after a 30 day tourist visa entry extension and then the 30 day COVID extension (and then amnesty), same deal? Yes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimn Posted July 1, 2020 Share Posted July 1, 2020 22 hours ago, Huckfi said: Perfect, thank you! I'll be getting money in the bank and head down this route, will be sure to report back through the process. Good luck. Just checking, I assume you are legally married and registered at the Amphur? Village marriage ceremonies do not count. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huckfi Posted July 1, 2020 Author Share Posted July 1, 2020 2 hours ago, jimn said: Good luck. Just checking, I assume you are legally married and registered at the Amphur? Village marriage ceremonies do not count. Yes, thanks for checking! Luckily the US Embassy opened for a week to do notaries a bit back and as I was checking everyday, we were able to get an appointment. A mild pain to get everything in line and registered, but done and out of the way! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanoshi Posted July 1, 2020 Share Posted July 1, 2020 On 6/30/2020 at 5:45 PM, Huckfi said: Perfect, thank you! I'll be getting money in the bank and head down this route, will be sure to report back through the process. The bank account must be in your sole name. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timendres Posted July 1, 2020 Share Posted July 1, 2020 On 6/30/2020 at 4:10 PM, Huckfi said: It will cost 14,900 for the online classes and 20,000 baht to be paid to immigration at time of applying for the visa, giving me a 9 month stay. The 20k to immigration is dodgy. Avoid this route. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sundown Posted July 1, 2020 Share Posted July 1, 2020 I might be wrong but there is no 9 month visa ED. the visa is 3 months and can be extended every 3 months at immigration. The fee for extension is 1900 each but with the needed bribes it will be like 5000 each extension.. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackThompson Posted July 1, 2020 Share Posted July 1, 2020 26 minutes ago, timendres said: The 20k to immigration is dodgy. Avoid this route. Well, as an ED extension is only 90-days, he should check if that includes all 90-day extension "official" and "extra fees," or not. Those are often cited as 1900 "official fee" + 3000 "extra" per-each. If doing this, one would need to know what fees, both official and unofficial, are included in the price. Hopefully, he will get the 60-days "wife extension" from the date of application - not from May 25, when his last stamped-extension ended. I haven't seen reports on these yet - though many have been advised it is possible. If that goes well, he could do a marriage-based extension - though some have reported IOs will not process Non-Os from a "covid extension" - so he could be back to needing an agent to get past that hurdle. @Huckfi - please report back on the 60-day extension, and their response when you ask if possible to do a Non-O based on marriage extension after that. This info could help many. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greggraham Posted July 3, 2020 Share Posted July 3, 2020 On 6/30/2020 at 6:04 PM, ubonjoe said: On 6/30/2020 at 5:42 PM, greggraham said: What about after a 30 day tourist visa entry extension and then the 30 day COVID extension (and then amnesty), same deal? Yes My local immigration sadly said "No". Because I had the COVID extension (using the embassy letter), I cannot get the 60 days for visiting spouse. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubonjoe Posted July 3, 2020 Share Posted July 3, 2020 1 hour ago, greggraham said: My local immigration sadly said "No". Because I had the COVID extension (using the embassy letter), I cannot get the 60 days for visiting spouse. Every office can come up with their own rules. They should of done it. It does not matter what extension you had before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huckfi Posted July 6, 2020 Author Share Posted July 6, 2020 On 7/3/2020 at 3:21 PM, greggraham said: My local immigration sadly said "No". Because I had the COVID extension (using the embassy letter), I cannot get the 60 days for visiting spouse. Which office did you go to? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greggraham Posted July 6, 2020 Share Posted July 6, 2020 1 hour ago, Huckfi said: Which office did you go to? Hat Yai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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