Multiple-Entry Non-O Visa Based on Marriage during COVID-19

[transam]

44 minutes ago, time2093 said:

Why is it a load, If immigration is going to stick by their guns and implement that people on Non O visas only available option is to extend their visa if the boarders dont open up any time soon its going to be real wake up call to many guys here.

Firstly, an extension is not a visa, just permission to stay. 

Us on Multi -O's do not need a wake-up call....We fully understand our predicament...????

[Nong Khai Man]

15 hours ago, CFCjeff said:

My non o  has also now expired and i have already used my 60 day extension, going to speak to my local office this week but if the borders stay shut what can they do ? 

I must admit im worried, i dont want to go back to the UK, my home is here with my wife and daughter.

Saying you should have got a 1 year extension doesnt help, for many reasons lots of us were content to border hop every 90 days.

I just hope immigration sympathize with our situation and offer a solution, as it stands at the moment i have no idea whats going to happen.

I just hope immigration sympathize.....You are JOKING Ain't yer,Jeff ??

[eltel]

Sorry if i missed it, but can someone tell me what documents I need for the 60-day extension of stay. I will ask at my local office when open but would like the info before hand.

 

thanks

[ubonjoe]

3 minutes ago, eltel said:

Sorry if i missed it, but can someone tell me what documents I need for the 60-day extension of stay. I will ask at my local office when open but would like the info before hand.

Your wife will have to be with you apply.

Marriage certificate and a copy of it. Copies of your wife's house book registry and ID card

Some office will also want recent printout of your Kor Ror 2 marriage registry that can be requested at any Amphoe.

A completed TM7 form with a 4 X 6 cm photo attached. Copies of your passport photo page, visa, entry stamp and TM6 departure card.

[eltel]

Sorry if i missed it, but can someone tell me what documents I need for the 60-day extension of stay. I will ask at my local office when open but would like the info before hand.

 

thanks

[eltel]

Ubonjoe

 

Thank you

[Peter Denis]

28 minutes ago, mancub said:

Be most grateful if you could find the time to forward said doc to myself also .I use Transferwise but am unsure of which copy/statement my IMO ( Ubon) are likely to accept....if any !! Thanks in advance.

Done, and you are welcome!

[AgMech Cowboy]

20 hours ago, steve187 said:

you are covered by the amnesty and near to the 26th Sept as a one off on each entry you can obtain a 60 day extension, you are better off than a lot of other categories of visa holder

@steve187 It's not a matter of who is better off than others, etc. The thread is directed at the Non-O multi-entry visa holders and not as a competition with other visa types. Rattlesnake is looking at the picture (viewpoint) of just this group.

16 hours ago, brain150 said:

Multiple entry visas are for people who are not supposed to live in Thailand !

@brain150Nay, nay, nay!! Use your brain, Brain. It is/was idea for people who live in Thailand and traveled a lot, or as in the example giving by rattlesnake, some people (teachers come to mind) might be living on less than B40k per month with their wife and not have B400k to stick in an account.

18 hours ago, Keyser Soze666 said:

if the borders are open by the time you need to leave you can go and get another one, if not, then you will either have to go onto an ext or onto overstay.

@Keyser Soze666 I hope it will be that simple, but the Covid19 insurance, COE, medical exams and COVID test requirements that have to be met to fly-in will also need to be adapted to the border 'crossings'.  My visa is good until December and am not that worried, but for many, it's an immediate problem.

 

@rattlesnake It's a good topic. Thanks for trying to put a focus on just our group, but I think we'll have no real way forward until the immigration dept and government focus on the border issues with both the Thai's and local foreign national's crossing and the M.M.L.C country's border requirements. Can you imagine going to Laos for a Non-O, quarantine for 2 weeks, apply for visa (2 says), cross back to Thailand and quarantine for 2 weeks (plus having all the medical exams and certificates). Or anything like it for just a new 90 day permit to stay stamp. So, yeah, it's a big issue for us.

 

I've been going this route for years, because I traveled and worked outside Thailand. Because of the experiences to just get a 60 day extension at Pathum Thani Immigration Office (PT IO), I've never seriously considered the requirement to have to go out there (the PT IO) every 90 days. Heck last December I could have extended my 90 permission to stay by another 60, but chose to drive to Savannakhet instead and renew the Non-O a little sooner than 'I had too'.

 

I'm lucky that I 'qualify' to get an Extension based on marriage financially, but my wife will raise a stink if she has to go out to the PT IO, sit around half or all day and put up with the woman at the front desk, the officers and me. And then be home for a house 'inspection'. A chill goes down my spine just thinking about it.

 

[SePl]

Don't worry and just do nothing ! current amnesty extension is far to be the last one...

 

 

[AgMech Cowboy]

4 minutes ago, eltel said:

Sorry if i missed it, but can someone tell me what documents I need for the 60-day extension of stay. I will ask at my local office when open but would like the info before hand.

 

@eltelI see ubonjoe must have supplied you a list. I will add that it will also depend on the IO that you attend. Pathum Thani required financial statements and a bunch of other docs a couple of years ago when I went out for a 60 day extension. I was told they could only give me 7 days when I gave them the 'standard' set of requirements. I then started pulling out the 'additional' documents required for the original visa and the IO said, "ok". (PITA) And that's not the first time it had happened to me so I was 'prepared'.

[Keyser Soze666]

6 minutes ago, AgMech Cowboy said:

@steve187 It's not a matter

 

I'm lucky that I 'qualify' to get an Extension based on marriage financially, but my wife will raise a stink if she has to go out to the PT IO, sit around half or all day and put up with the woman at the front desk, the officers and me. And then be home for a house 'inspection'. A chill goes down my spine just thinking about it.

 

That is precisely why I have never done it and always got non O's.

 

Maybe I'm lucky that I recently turned 50 so if border crossings are out the window for the forseeable I can go now down the retirement route which is a lot 'less' hassle than the marriage ext.

[Peter Denis]

51 minutes ago, james.d said:

Thank you again Peter,

 

Yes, l am married to a Thai national.

To avoid confusion from my side, if the border reopens before the 26th Sept for example 1st September, do I leave the date it reopens or could leave the country maybe 24th Sept?

HI, you are presently on the Amnesty extension so you can stay till 26 September.

When the borders open before that date, you can exit any time convenient for you before that 26 September deadline.  And that would allow you to either re-enter Visa Exempt (providing you with a 30-day permission to stay) or apply at Savannakhet for a new 1-year ME Non Imm O marriage Visa (as your present one will expire 5 August).

But if the borders are not open before 26 September (or when border-crossing would invoke draconian measures like mandatory quarantaine at both sides of the border, mandatory covid-19 insurance, mandatory health-certificates, etc.) you can still 'play your Joker'.

I.e. applying for the 60-day extension of stay for reason of visiting your thai wife.  Don't use it now already, but wait till the last week before the end of the Amnesty and if then is clear that border-openings are unlikely or highly inconvenient, you could then apply for it.

Please note that you need to be 'officially' married to a thai national, as a Village Marriage doesn't provide you with the required Kor Ror 3 (thai marriage certificate) and Kor Ror 2 (certificate of thai marriage registration).  

[Nong Khai Man]

2 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

They already have, in many locations. As far as I know, even in the region there are only two places they can be obtained, and both London and Paris after demanding applications only be made on-line have no provision for a ME. Just part of the slow turning of the screw to rid the country of foreigners, along with the demand for health insurance for some that may be impossible for them to get due to their age.

 

I really don't know what Thailand has against foreigners living in the country and spending money, mostly sourced from abroad. And nor does anyone else I know. Just another example of Thai logic, I suppose.

I really don't know what Thailand has against foreigners living in the country and spending money, mostly sourced from abroad. And nor does anyone else I know.........They'd be LOST Without Us......IMHO !!

[Nong Khai Man]

2 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

The OP was asking about the situation for those who would find it difficult to meet those financial requirements (and I've read on this site that the UAE will only grant you a visa if you are a resident of the UAE). The only places in the entire region where you do not have to have the (as the OP said, possibly challenging) financial requirement are Savannakhet and HCM City. No matter what the law says. Each office makes up its own rule (ie the 40,000/400,000 is either required by law or it isn't).

It annoys me that I can live very comfortably on 20,000 a month after buying a house here when the baht was in the toilet, yet the government demands a minimum of 40,000. Fortunately for some, a very limited number of consulates decide to ignore that nonsense for whatever reason known only to them.

It annoys me that I can live very comfortably on 20,000 a month after buying a house here when the baht was in the toilet.....Not Comfortably But as I'm on a Very Reduced Pension We can SURVIVE On about 12000 Baht a Month....

[NoshowJones]

18 hours ago, rattlesnake said:

"if the borders are open by the time you need to leave you can go and get another one, if not, then you will either have to go onto an ext or onto overstay."

 

It's the "you will have to go onto overstay" part I am talking about, and which made me start this topic. A government can't force people who have been residing legally in the country to go on overstay because they can't leave due to force majeure circumstances. I just can't see that happening. Maybe they will grant extensions on a case-by-case basis, i.e. ask to see stamps in your passport which prove you usually leave the country every 90 days.

"I just can't see that happening." This is Thailand, anything can happen. The government and their Immigration have absolutely no compassion where expats and tourists are concerned.

[Peter Denis]

34 minutes ago, transam said:

Firstly, an extension is not a visa, just permission to stay. 

Us on Multi -O's do not need a wake-up call....We fully understand our predicament...????

Maybe you do, but there are many on a ME Non Imm O Visa whose permission to stay already expired and also did use up their 60-day extension of stay, who are scrambling now for advice on how to proceed when wanting to stay in Thailand if borders are still closed by end of the Amnesty.

[NoshowJones]

17 hours ago, FarFlungFalang said:

Any suggestions on what those various options might be if the visa and 60 day extension have expired as I was informed that my only option was to leave Thailand before 26th Sept to get a new visa?

The Thai government take 5000 Bt from you for this ME Visa based on marriage, if they close their borders, it is up to them to sort something out for you if things are the same on 26th Sept. But hey, this is Thailand, and they are not interested if fairness to anyone but themselves.

[transam]

4 minutes ago, Peter Denis said:

Maybe you do, but there are many on a ME Non Imm O Visa whose permission to stay already expired and also did use up their 60-day extension of stay, who are scrambling now for advice on how to proceed when wanting to stay in Thailand if borders are still closed by end of the Amnesty.

Hence, the thread, and hopefully immigration reads our woes and thinks about it...Perhaps even our Embassy's could put their subjects problems forward, caused through no fault of their own...

[rattlesnake]

24 minutes ago, AgMech Cowboy said:

@rattlesnake It's a good topic. Thanks for trying to put a focus on just our group, but I think we'll have no real way forward until the immigration dept and government focus on the border issues with both the Thai's and local foreign national's crossing and the M.M.L.C country's border requirements. Can you imagine going to Laos for a Non-O, quarantine for 2 weeks, apply for visa (2 says), cross back to Thailand and quarantine for 2 weeks (plus having all the medical exams and certificates). Or anything like it for just a new 90 day permit to stay stamp. So, yeah, it's a big issue for us. 

I agree. It's too early to speculate, we need to see first what the pandemic situation is. If there is indeed a second wave coming up (Vietnam is already re-implementing restrictions) then the Thai government will have no choice but to extend the amnesty, maybe not to tourists (who presumably want to go home anyway) but to all long-term visa holders with no distinction.

 

In any case this topic now gives people a dedicated space to discuss. I know some people are worried and distressed about the situation and it's always nice to know you're not alone.

[Peter Denis]

1 hour ago, Nong Khai Man said:

Me Too !! So Next Suggestion Please !!

Addressed in post #47

[FarFlungFalang]

38 minutes ago, transam said:

Hence, the thread, and hopefully immigration reads our woes and thinks about it...Perhaps even our Embassy's could put their subjects problems forward, caused through no fault of their own...

If Immigration do read our woes here maybe we should throw in a few comments about what a wonderful job they are doing and how kind and compassionate they are to counter some of the more negative comments about them.I have encountered some very nice,friendly and helpful people in immigration over the years and I also understand there are language barriers which complicate things sometimes as well as the fact that some of them don't know all the rules and seem to find it difficult to say "I don't know I'll just go and check" preferring to say "not possible" instead.They are all people with people problems who hold considerable power over our choices especially in these trying times where humankind seems to have lost it's mind.

Edited July 28, 2020 by FarFlungFalang

[homemade514]

3 hours ago, Peter Denis said:

- Applying for a 1-year extension of stay based on your original Non Imm O Visa, but that requires that you meet the 2-months seasoning requirement of your funds on a thai personal bank-account.

As we are already 28 July you cannot meet that 2-month requirement anymore (if you did not start with it) when using the money-in-bank method, as the latest possible date for application is 25 September.

But you can still meet the requirement by using  the monthly income transfer method, which would require you to transfer at least 40K (marriage application) or at least 65K (retirement application) in the months of August and September.  It is actually recommended to also do one such transfer in July, because some IOs - incorrectly - require 3 monthly-income transfers.

You would also need to provide evidence of the foreign origins of these transfers, and might be asked to also prove the source of the monthly foreign income you transferred.

i thought it was 12 months proof for the 40k method.... how only 2?

[sometimewoodworker]

4 minutes ago, homemade514 said:

i thought it was 12 months proof for the 40k method.... how only 2?

For the first extension it is documented as 2 months income, for subsequent extensions it is 12, but some offices will require more.

[rattlesnake]

47 minutes ago, FarFlungFalang said:

If Immigration do read our woes here maybe we should throw in a few comments about what a wonderful job they are doing and how kind and compassionate they are to counter some of the more negative comments about them.I have encountered some very nice,friendly and helpful people in immigration over the years and I also understand there are language barriers which complicate things sometimes as well as the fact that some of them don't know all the rules and seem to find it difficult to say "I don't know I'll just go and check" preferring to say "not possible" instead.They are all people with people problems who hold considerable power over our choices especially in these trying times where humankind seems to have lost it's mind.

Excellent point.

 

It's also worth remembering, while dealing with IOs for our visa problems, that in Thailand state officials are entitled to (and expect) marks of respect, we should dress well (e.g. hide any tattoos), shave well, be soft-spoken, never show annoyance/ frown, interrupt or "try to explain" etc., let our wives do the talking, only speak if we are spoken to, nod, wai and our chances of success are mutiplied considerably. I know for a fact that IOs do have leeway and are able to accommodate somewhat if they want to, but often they get annoyed by foreigners' attitudes which they interpret as arrogance and rudeness. I know lots of you already know this but a quick friendly reminder never hurt anyone.

[GeorgeCross]

1 hour ago, possum1931 said:

The Thai government take 5000 Bt from you for this ME Visa based on marriage, if they close their borders, it is up to them to sort something out for you if things are the same on 26th Sept.

 

hahaha hadn't thought of it this way. come on Thailand where's the customer service?!

 

[Max69xl]

On 7/27/2020 at 3:19 PM, keith101 said:

I am in the same situation and there seems to be no real clarification on exactly what we are supposed to do , i will be going into my local IO and see what they have to say but they are the reason why i am on this type of visa despite showing them a bank statement showing all my Pension payments the lady behind the desk decided to not acknowledge 2 payments taking me below the required amount to qualify .

If you're married the financial requirement is an average of 40k/month instead of at least 65k/month. A bit easier to meet. Do you have any savings in a Thai bank? You might be able to use the combination method. 

[Max69xl]

2 hours ago, rattlesnake said:

I agree. It's too early to speculate, we need to see first what the pandemic situation is. If there is indeed a second wave coming up (Vietnam is already re-implementing restrictions) then the Thai government will have no choice but to extend the amnesty, maybe not to tourists (who presumably want to go home anyway) but to all long-term visa holders with no distinction.

 

In any case this topic now gives people a dedicated space to discuss. I know some people are worried and distressed about the situation and it's always nice to know you're not alone.

"then the Thai government will have no choice but to extend the amnesty, maybe not to tourists (who presumably want to go home anyway) but to all long-term visa holders with no distinction."

Long-term visa holders are not affected by the amnesty, and 90 days ME visa holders are officially not long-term stayers. 

[sandyf]

6 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

It annoys me that I can live very comfortably on 20,000 a month after buying a house here when the baht was in the toilet, yet the government demands a minimum of 40,000.

I am the same, with my own home and no children we can get bye very easily on 20,000/ month.

It wouldn't be particularly difficult to implement a reduction of say 20% on the income requirement for those that could prove they live rent free.

[rattlesnake]

1 hour ago, Max69xl said:

"then the Thai government will have no choice but to extend the amnesty, maybe not to tourists (who presumably want to go home anyway) but to all long-term visa holders with no distinction."

Long-term visa holders are not affected by the amnesty, and 90 days ME visa holders are officially not long-term stayers. 

They are valid 1 year so they are long-term visas.

[ubonjoe]

1 minute ago, rattlesnake said:

They are valid 1 year so they are long-term visas.

Correct but they do not allow a long stay in Thailand. The only long stay visas are the Non-OA, Non-OX, Thai Elite and etc.