Londongirl

Ahhh, thank you that is a little clearer. Never really had to think much before about property and immirgration laws so I find it extremely mind boggling.

Visa fees? The visa fees are only 1900 baht. There is no income requirement for women married to Thai men. The husband is the legal head of the family and he applies for you, he must show he pays income tax but thats the only income requirement he has for now. So, visa fees are minimal.

Hi SBK

From my limited research I have come up with what I think I would have to do to live and be able to buy a home/business in Thailand.

Apply for a Non-immigrant visa, which would have to be extended at least twice in a year, apply for this visa three years in a row and then I would qualify to apply for Permanent Residance. Of course I think I would have to also show that I have a certain amount of money coming to me each month too.

I didn't think there was a specific visa relating to a spouse of a Thai citizen. I am interested to know exactly which visa you are speaking about that costs so little. As my husband does not hold a well paid job in Thailand and is not likely to if we relocate to Thailand I doubt he could provide for me and our 2 kids. I was told by one Thai lawyer that in Thai family law that everything is owned 50/50 between husband and wife. However foreigners cannot own freehold property so this would exclude my husband from buying. Of course my info may be wrong or out-of-date.

Thank you all for your replies, it nice to know that even though we have different stories there is a similar thread running through them.

As my husband never really mixed with other Thai's until recently, and because we had a small child, he had to really throw himself in the local community (stay and plays, reading groups in the library, etc) but he soon found this uncomfortable (mostly mums in the groups) and boring. However the bonus was that his English progressed (he did attend an ESOL class) and he got to know the country a bit more than Thai students or restaurant workers.

A 9-5 job does not suit my husband, he likes his freedom too much. As well as his part-time job and the kids he side lines in tattooing and bicycle building/maintenance (he calls these hobbies) but does earn him some pocket money and is an outlet of sorts. We have sat down a couple of times to try and discuss what we want for the future but I have come to realise there are numerous factors getting in the way (things I not really comfortable with discussing on a public forum like this, as I am sure you can understand).

I particularly liked your story Bina, there were many aspects that were similar to mine. For example the pipe dream that we will raise funds to buy a business and home in Thailand so that we could settle there within five years (if it had worked we would be there now and I am sure the shoe would be on the other foot!). There is no way we could ever hope to save enough money to do all that, just my visa fees alone would be extremely expensive let alone health insurance and the kids education. My husband has not the first clue about saving and budgeting!

This subject has been discussed before on this website but I thought I would write my story and see what replies I get back. At times I find my current situation very different and sometimes I do not know what I am experiencing is normal or not! There is no other family in our group that is like us though my friends are a hugh support.

I went travelling around SEA when I was 23 on my own and whilst in Chiang Mai fell in with a group of Thai woman (they were friends or relatives of the people that worked at the guesthouse where I was staying at). I noticed that everytime we went out one of my friends younger brother (Pi) would always come too (he worked night security at the guesthouse, night security! What a joke!) and overtime I appreciated his air of mystery and quiteness, the other men that worked at the guesthouse were very loud! I stayed in Chiang Mai a lot longer than I anticipated (3 days turned into a month and a bit) but decided that I still wanted to see other parts of SEA. I really liked the company of my new Thai friends and the continuity (I got bored of the same backpacker conversations night after night!) so after three weeks away I was desparate to get back to Chiang Mai.

Shortly after I returned to Chaing Mai some of my friends noticed the chemisty between myself and Pi and once they pointed it out I noticed it too. Pi would not dare talk to me about such stuff (romance, relationship with a falang woman) but one night at a friends farewell drinks we spent all night together walking along the canal and talking (as much as his limited English and my non-existent Thai would allow) and did not go to sleep until midday the next day. We were soon boyfriend and girfriend and spent the next month or so together until I had to carry on my travelling plans around Australia. Pi was aware of this but still wanted to be with me and was willing to wait until I made it back to Thailand after a year in Oz and sometime back in England to make more money to return to Thailand.

When I got to Oz I realised I was pregnant and after deciding to keep the baby, called Pi to let him know (who was understandably shocked but very supportive, as I knew he would be) and returned to Thailand for a week or so before returning home to the UK to have the baby. We decided that Pi would apply for a tourist visa for the time before and after the baby was born and we had to spend four months apart. After the baby was born we decided to get married, not for particularly romantic reasons but because it would make life much easier to be together as a family and make it easier for Pi to apply for UK visas. Pi did not have a well paid job nor could his family support us and I could not envisage giving birth for the first time in a foreign country where I didin't speak the language and did not have very much money.

Pi then returned to Thailand to apply for a fiance visa, which took about 3 months as he did not have very much money and returned when the baby, Leona, was 5 1/2 months. By this time I had managed to get a very well paid and steady job and when Pi returned we decided that he would stay at home to look after Leona. It saved on childcare costs and meant that family would look after her, not strangers. Leona is now 6 and we also have a 2 1/2 year daughter and Pi has been at home with them all this time, though he now has a part-time job looking after my mum as a carer. I am now looking for part-time work myself and I desparately want to spend time with my girls before they grow up and don't want me around anymore.

Pi and I have found our life very tough, there are numerous hurdles we have had to jump, immigration being one of them, but our current situation is not one we would have naturally chosen. Pi finds it very difficult being the stay-at-home dad, in his head he should be going out to work and providing for us all. I would like a partner who shares everything equally, including household chores. This is not one of Pi's strong points! I find myself working full-time, doing all the housework, managing the household finances and taking the kids to activities. Pi is having a hard-time finding his place in this country and our family, which is totally understandable. There is not much support here for Thai men who look after the kids. He is slowly finding friends and his way around UK life but all of this puts a huge strain on our marriage and home life.

Pi and I loved each very much and have tried various things to get our relationship on track inc. relationship counselling. From my experience Thai men (and perhaps all Thai's) are not very familiar with counselling but Pi is very receptive to it, he realises that if you want to make a relationship to work you have to talk!.

If anyone out there has a similar experience I would love to know.

Sorry for the very long post!

Thank you Boo

My family and I (one wife, one husband, one 3 1/2 year old and one baby) will be in Chiang Mai from October to December and need somewhere to stay. Unfortunately previously arranged accommodation with friends fell through and we are now desparately looking for somewhere else. We would prefer to rent a two bedroom house or apartment but will take a guesthouse if needs be. As neither of us can drive it would be best if we were located in central Chiang Mai. Does anyone know of anywhere? Does anyone know of any good guest houses that are good for families? We are on a tight budget and probably couldn't pay more than £400-£500 for the two months.

Your help would be appreciated.

Hi there,

Today is the first time that I have ever visited the Thai visa website and I was amazed to find other women like me, a farang woman married to a Thai man. It's nice to know I'm not the only one. Everytime I go to the Thai festival in Battersea Park in London I only see Thai women with their farang husbands or boyfriends.

My husband and I have two girls, one who is 3 1/2 and one who is 6 weeks old. My husband also does not speak very much Thai to our children even though I would love for him to speak exclusively Thai to them as there are not many other Thai people around us. As a result our oldest girl has his accent (and pronunciation) when she speaks English! My husband feels strange speaking Thai to them and feels embarrassed, there is nothing I can do to persuade him to change. Sad but I don't want to argue about it forever. My Thai is very limited and I am a poor student of languages. I would like to join a classes, preferably the one at SOAS, but need to money to do so.