MBISON

Definitely a lack of planning on my part, I was under the assumption there would be a service I could basically throw money at to fix the problem. I don't have a bank account, but a visa service said they could help me open one for ~10,000 baht (I don't remember the figure). My plans for my stay is to make it as permanent as possible. Will a Non-O marriage visa allow me to stay year round? Can I then just apply for Non-O every year and stay permanently? From what I can glean, it looks like my timeline is this: 1. Re-enter the country on visa-exempt this month. 2. In this visa's time, get married. I realize this has a lot of steps, I'm most likely going to use a service that will help me. My partner if from Nakhon Sawan, if that information is relevant. 3. It was said that I can turn a visa-exempt into a Non-o. I think this requires a bank account, which I do not have. I suspect this is why Rob Browder says I would need to leave the country to get a Non-o first. That would allow me to open a bank account, and then get the 1 year extension. I contacted a visa/immigration business that has a service to open a bank account even under visa exempt, which I may end up doing. I don't mind if I have to re-enter the country another time to make all the steps work, but I prefer not to leave the country. Should I be opening the bank account as soon as possible? The visa service said that Thailand no longer allows foreigners to open a bank account under a visa-exempt, but I can't get a non-o until I'm married, correct? If I have to have a bank account open with 400,000 baht inside of it for 2 months, is that my first concern? Thank you for all the advice, guys. If I'm missing something here, please let me know.

I am willing to get married. I really just want the visa that gives me the easiest access to long term stay. I'm not quite financially there to pull the trigger on an elite visa. I've looked into some agencies that help with marriage. My tentative plan at the moment is to reset my visa exempt this month. That, along with a 1 month extension would give me enough time to get married, I assume. I'm a little fuzzy on the next steps, but then, I would just apply for a non-o immigration visa(?) Would I then leave the country again, and have to apply for the non-o? Or can I just turn my visa exempt into a non-o after obtaining marriage license?

Hello, I am from the USA. I have been with my Thai girlfriend for 10 years, and I am in my early 30's. I have consulted some visa agencies in Thailand, and none have given me a very good option for a long term visa in Thailand. The best suggestion was to pay 90,000 baht for a student visa and that I would have to go to Chang Mai or some nonsense. I am willing to get a marriage visa, but as I understand it, that process takes some time, and is unlikely to get done quickly. I was hoping to get some suggestions from the forum as to what visas would allow me to stay longer term. One visa agency told me to get a Non-O on my next entry to Thailand from Cambodia, but I didn't press for further instructions. When I looked up Non-O visas, it looks like you have to be 50 as an age requirement? Any advice and wisdom would be appreciated. Please and thank you, sirs.