PiMi

22 hours ago, BritTim said:

That is a new one, and seems like complete BS.

 

If you are currently here on a tourist entry (TR visa or standard visa exempt) there are various Non Immigrant visas you can apply for an Immigration. In no case is an embassy letter the only way of qualifying for them.

 

If you are already on a Non Immigrant entry, there are many possible extensions you may qualify for, as listed in https://aseannow.com/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=804079. Again, an embassy letter is never a 100% requirement, though it can be useful as proof of income.

 

Only if you are in Thailand on a Special Tourist Visa, Visa On Arrival, Transit Visa or pursuant to some bilateral agreements, could an embassy letter be  100% required as part of an application at an immigration office for a new visa or extension.

Thank you for this. I appreciate it. Odd thing was, she said a lot of things were necessary, but also added that the decision is up to the individual agent I dealt with. Nothing like clear standards!

1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

I think she was mixing up a 60 day covid 19 extension and a 60 day extension to visit you wife.

A letter from your is embassy is certainly not a requirement to apply for a extension.

Go back to immigration and try to talk to somebody else.

 

Thank you, UbonJoe. I'll do that. 

13 hours ago, BritTim said:

Assuming you have not used it since the last entry using the Multiple Entry Non O visa, you are entitled to a one-time 60-day extension to visit your Thai spouse. This is very easy, requiring no financial proof.

This conflicts with what the immigration officer told me. She said I would need a letter from my embassy justifying the reason for such a visa/extension. Perhaps she didn't understand me, or perhaps I didn't understand her. That would be the perfect fix for this. 

22 minutes ago, BritTim said:

This puzzles me. Why did you switch to an extension of stay based on working at all? Why do you think you need an agent to switch back to an extension based on marriage (assuming that is what you want to do)? Assuming you have the termination letter from your employer, it should be possible to do the cancellation of the extension based on working and application for the new extension based on Thai spouse on the same day. I have no doubt an agent can do it, but they will probably charge you a lot, and their help should be unnecessary.

My 1 year non-O for marriage expired in October. I was working, so instead of putting 400k back in the bank, I just switched to the non-B. Back then I thought I'd just continue working with the school. They offered me a new contract, but I had to decline. Anything I say about that could be construed as complaining about the Thai public education system (policies etc), so I'll leave it at that. 

I'm considering the agent because I don't have enough time to show 400k THB in a bank to apply for the non-O. Unless you know a way around the requirement of 60-day seasoning for the funds, I don't know of any other choice I have. 

2 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

OP, where are you located and what is history on extensions for your current stay.

What options are available for your situation. 

Agents can only do so much.

The couple you refer to have extensive review history.

In Bkk. March 2020 got a non-O ME visa in Savannakhet. October 2020 converted to standard 1-year non-O for marriage at CW. October 2021 converted to Non-B for teaching (was already teaching with a WP and the non-O). 

Both have said they can do the conversion. We cancel the non-B, get the 7-day extension and apply for the non-O marriage visa. That'll add 30 days for the consideration period. Then pick it up. Seems simple. Prices are similar (Thai Visa Centre is 3k baht more). 

3 minutes ago, audaciousnomad said:

Is Malaysia now open? I heard it was proposed, but not yet. If it is indeed open, that's excellent news!
For sure Cambodia, Singapore and Philippines are open with no quarantine for fully vaxed people. Of the three, only Philippines has no test-on-arrival policy.

They open on April 1st, with some stips of course for the Covid thing. Not an option for me, as I need to leave 31 March. >.<

Looks like agent feed will be cheaper (and much more convenient) than taking a trip outside the country and coming back. Anyone ever use either of these two businesses? TIA for your feedback. 

For anyone interested, I called CW and the immigration officer I spoke with said in order to convert the Non-B I'm currently on to any other type of visa, or apply for an extension of any kind, I need a letter from my consulate explaining or justifying the need for the conversion/extension. Naturally, and in line with the end of income verification letters, the embassy does not/will not provide any such letter. Looks like I'm heading out of Thailand for at least a little while. The odd/sad thing is, I'm retired from the military and have official government documents to prove this and prove my monthly salary (well in excess of the 40k monthly requirement). These aren't good enough. I need a letter from the embassy that won't provide it verifying my income. They won't verify the income even though that pension is paid from the same government that pays them. The actually could verify this, but won't. Grr... No quarantine requirements in Malaysia, so I'm thinking about heading there. Wish me luck, and thanks again for all the responses and information.  

3 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

Vientiane only issued single entry non-o visas in the past. Even a single entry would give a person a 5 months stay by extending the 90 days it allows for 60 days to visit their wife or child.

Savannakhet did not mention a multiple entry non-o visa before but did issue them. 

I got one of those at Savannakhet on my last trip there (March 2020), then converted to 1-year non-O for marriage in October 2020. At the one year mark, I converted to the non-B because I was already working with a WP. 

Thanks to everyone for responding. I really appreciate it. 

13 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

Since you have not used the 60 to visit wife you can obtain that and hopefully have time to season the funds to obtain extension.

You do realize that after under consideration period you can withdraw the money.

Simple option. 

I just assumed that you didn't have the funds. 

Should have done it already. 

We will ask about that when my wife calls Immigration on Monday. If that's an option and I can do it at CW, then it definitely makes things a lot easier and opens up some additional options. Thank you for the information. I appreciate it. 

18 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

That's why I asked. 

As that's the path I had in mind.

Have you used the 60 day extension to visit Thai wife.

Just buying time to have land borders an option.

Assume your over 50. You could consider extension based on retirement with use of agent. 

You could consider Phnom Penh for a non O marriage.

Here is thread of someone recently doing that.

 

 

 

Thanks for the tip on Phnom Penh. I'll look into that. I have not done a 60-day extension for visiting my wife, but we will ask about it. Wife is working today but will contact Immigration on Monday to try and sort this out. Thanks again for the tip. 

4 minutes ago, Moonlover said:

OK, come on. Is that 'can't' or 'won't?' If the honest answer is 'I don't have 400K, then say so and we can move on to alternatives. But if you do have 400k knocking around, then it really is your simplest answer. There's nothing difficult about a marriage extension and once done you can relax.

I have it, but this visa ends at the end of this month, and as I read, the money must be in the account for at least 60 days before you submit the application anyway, so as far as I'm aware, its not a viable option.
 

8 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

OP, how did you last enter Thailand. 

What type of non O can you obtain.

I returned from Laos (Savannakhet in March 2020 cross the friendship bridge. I had a 1 year spousal visa (leave every 90-days requirement) then took a job as a teacher and am on a non-B for teaching. That ends this month, so I'm trying to find my options. I don't find any information that answers my specific questions, so I reached out here. I am married, but I'm not comfortable dropping 400k baht in a Thai bank for 90 days to get the Non-O marriage visa from Chaeng Wattana. Can't convert the current non-B to an ed visa, so... not sure at all what to do. 

I scanned through the topics and didn't see this precise question (I am a lil blind), but does anyone know if we can cross at NongKhai or Mukdahan toprocess a tourist or non-O visa application? If so, what are the requirements to get into Laos for these purposes?

Thanks in advance. 

Thank you to everyone for your responses, the correction/clarification and answering my questions. I really appreciate it. 

At CW, no one mentioned to me or my wife anything about a home visit. I live in a condo in Bang Sue not too far from the new train station, so I suppose my wife's family or the Juristic Person office here would have to be the witnesses to my living here full-time. I'm just grateful to know that the chance of being denied the extension is so low. 

One other question... now that they've checked the paperwork, including the bank book and letter from the bank showing the properly-seasoned 400k baht, do I need to leave that money there until the extension is approved, or am I now free to use that money? 

Thanks again to everyone. 

I went to CW today to convert my Non-O ME visa to a one-year Non-O for marriage and wanted to share the experience. Maybe something will help others and maybe someone can answer a question or two for me as well. 

They made us process a standard 30-day extension first, which they didn't tell us until we were called to process the conversion. So... back out with 3 or 4 more forms to fill out, including one for my wife. They checked those forms and then told us to wait at a different counter. We waited there almost 90 minutes before speaking with the Immigration officer. My wife is super organized and had triple checked all our form requirements. We knew we had all required forms for the 1 year non-O for marriage, but of course they checked every line, every picture, every line of my bank book etc and had us sign more forms including an acknowledgement form about the penalties for overstay. Once they were satisfied with our documents, they took my 1,900 baht, stamped a paper and stapled it in my passport. They told me wife we should come back on OCTOBER 8th to find out if the visa was granted. 

That's the meat of the update, as it were so here's my questions: 1 month to process the Visa? I imagine they're pretty heavily tasked about now, but I'm a bit surprised about that long of a wait. My major concern is... this extension ends on October 10th. If they do not approve the visa and the borders are still not open (quite likely IMO), I'll have to make arrangements to leave Thailand on just 48 hours notice. Am I wrong? If I'm wrong, can you explain that process to me?

Thanks everyone. I hope this helped someone. If these posts are meant for a different thread, my apologies. I'm not here on the daily so I would have missed an update like that. 

To piggyback on @phungo's question... for the 400k baht in the bank does anyone know how the immigration offices (specifically CW) count 2 months? Will 60 days suffice? July and August both have 31 days in the month and I transferred the 400k baht into the bank on July 10th. By the two month rule, the money has to be there until September 10th, but if they "accept" 60 days, then the seasoning requirement is met on September 8th. Then, of course, your current visa or official extension (not amnesty) must have 15 remaining days of validity to process the Non O 1-year marriage visa. I'm trying to make sure I time everything correctly. Sorry if this is old hat or addressed elsewhere that I did not see. 

I understand @Trillian's post, regarding this being a USD issue. Transnational purchases of materials and commodities must occur in USD. Either way, its particularly tricky for Thailand right now, IMO. Easing allows for more liquidity, but puts the baht in peril with respect to its stability as a currency. Stability in the Thai baht is a key factor in attracting and retaining foreign investment here so... I haven't searched for an answer to this but... has the BoT made mention of a target they want to achieve and maintain regarding the strength of the Thai baht? Will easing only be seen in the form of lower interest rate loans to large corps? 

I am watching and trying to learn as much as I can about Thai real estate trends. I'm of the opinion the real economic impact of all this COVID BS won't rear its ugly head for another few months yet, and that when this happens, the RE market won't be spared. I only hope we have enough saved to be legitimate players in the better markets. I do wonder however, just how far behind the curve I am with understanding how big a part saving face will play in buying distressed properties in the future. 

@crickets are you ineligible for a 60-day extension before the amnesty ends? If not, perhaps getting the extension will save you potential headaches (overstay, fines etc). Then you will "for sure" meet the 60-day requirement for your funds to be in the bank. The other consideration is that you must have at least 15 days remaning on your active visa (stamps that expired during amnesty are not considered active, according to the lady we spoke with at immigration). In other words, you might not meet the visa requirements for a conversion if you do not get an extension prior to the end of amnesty. Food for thought. 

On 7/4/2020 at 4:57 PM, noosard said:

I got my O visa  60 day extension which is valid till 15 Aug

I am planning on doing 1 year extension now rather than hoping for an easy border run or flight

Considering no country nearby is open to anyone easily yet

I have a 1-year non-O multiple entry visa for marriage purposes good until March 15th next year. I'm supposed to stamp out of Thailand every 90 days, which I should have done on June 15th but couldn't and am covered by amnesty. Do you have the same visa as I do? Did you get a 60-day extension at Chaeng Wattana? What was the fee? Sorry for all the questions. We can't seem to find anything reliable on google and both my wife and I are getting a bit nervous about being separated, and paying a ton for quarantine in two different countries when I leave and return. 

Wife and I knew each other right around 18 months before we got married. We took about 3 months just getting to know each other. We dated for 2 months, then had a relationship for 13 months before getting married. She was 35 when we met, never married and no kids.