Marriage Visa....

[ant1970]

I am a British guy aged 33 currently in BKK. If I marry with a Thai national and eventually/ultimately get a visa for being married to a Thai national (is this called a marriage visa?).

Do the requirements to have a work permit to legally work remain the same? Or does having a "marriage visa" alter the situation with regards a work permit?

[britainmal]

Actually,you need to obtain a work permit

separate from your marriage visa. A marriage visa

only means

in Thailand you can stay in Thailand because you are married, but not for working. You can obtain both non-immigrant O and b separtely and the work permit.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Actually,you need to obtain a work permit

separate from your marriage visa. A marriage visa

only means

in Thailand you can stay in Thailand because you are married, but not for working. You can obtain both non-immigrant O and b separtely and the work permit.

In the case of a person married to a Thai and holding a non-immigrant O class visa, a work permit can be obtained on that visa.

[Pepe']

Actually,you need to obtain a work permit

separate from your marriage visa.  A marriage visa

only means

in Thailand you can stay in Thailand because you are married, but not for working.  You can obtain both non-immigrant  O and b  separtely  and the work permit.

In the case of a person married to a Thai and holding a non-immigrant O class visa, a work permit can be obtained on that visa.

Hi Doc,

I am married to a Thai. The quoted posts are a good explanation of facts.

Just one other questuion. Do I still have to post the "security deposit" I think it's 800,000 bhat now, in a Thai bank or invest 3 million if I am married to a Thai?

[Indo-Siam]

Here is the full sequence in relation to marriage to a Thai, and work with a work permit:

If you have official marriage registration documents, you can apply for a non-immigrant Class O spouse visa, issued at a Thai diplomatic post outside Thailand. In your home country, you can probably get a one-year multiple-entry visa. Within SE Asia, many embassies will only give a third-party national a 90-day single entry.

Upon entering Thailand, you will receive a 90-day entry permit from an Immigration official at your point of entry into Thailand.

With this non-immigrant entry permit, and specified documents from the employing company, and a medical exam certificate, and documentation of your university degree, and a couple of photos - you can apply for a work permit. It takes about one week for the approved work permit to be issued. Its expiration date will coincide with the expiration date on your entry permit - so about 11 weeks after issuance.

At the end of your 90 days, you must depart Thailand - and your work permit is terminated. If you have a one-year multiple-entry visa, all you need do is make a border crossing. Then reenter Thailand, and apply for revalidation of your work permit. This is possible as long as you time your border run so that you get back to the work permit office before the date on which your initial work permit would have expired. If you can do this, then work permit can be revalidated in a few minutes, with just minor paperwork - instead of having to resubmit a full packet.

Your objective should be to obtain a long-term entry permit extension, so that you can also get a long-term work permit (the work permit will always expire no later than expiration date on underlying entry permit).

A long-term entry permit can be obtained on the basis of having a work permit - but only if your employer meets qualifying criteria, three of which are:

1) For each foreigner employed with long-term work permit, employer must have 2,000,000 baht registered and paid in capital.

2) For each foreigner employed with long-term work permit, employer must have at least four Thai employees on the books.

3) Employer must be paying you a minimum qualifying salary, which varies by nationality (50,000 baht per month for Europeans and ANZAC types, 60,000 baht per month for North Americans and Japanese)

If your employer meets these criteria, you may apply for a long-term extension based on employment. The application takes about 10 weeks to be approved, and along the way, you get a series of 30-day "under consideration" entry permit extensions - meaning that your passport must return for a new stamp every 30 days, and every time you get such a stamp, you must obtain a matching work permit revalidation ('pain in the posterior).

But - if you have a Class O entry permit, and your wife can accompany you to Immigration, and you can afford to remit from overseas 400,000 baht (this figure effective July 2004) into a Thai bank account - then you can apply for an extended entry permit on the basis of supporting a Thai spouse. In Bangkok area, this type of extension has recently been taking only 40 days - meaning you have to go through only one interim work permit revalidation, in addition to the final, long-term work permit revalidation. Once you have this type of extension, you simply return to Work Permit office and get a long term work permit - they do not care about capitalization level, number of Thai employees, or your salary - but it is a good idea to paid enough (about 30,000 baht per month) to ensure that you are paying at least 18,000 baht per year in personal income taxes.

That's the story. Good luck!

Steve Sykes

Managing Director

Indo-Siam Group

Bangkok

[email protected]

www.thaistartup.com

[lopburi3]

As Steve says; marriage allows you to apply for and obtain a visa for family visits under the class "O" category and this can be used as the non-immigrant visa requirement for a work permit. But any work permit requires a job and meeting of the conditions as he points out.

For original poster you can obtain the above visa after your marriage and if you have verifiable income from overseas you can extend that visa after the first 60 days on a yearly basis without a work permit. If you need to find work here you can, on a case by case basis, extend for up to 9 months for your job search according to recent information from Link. As Steve also pointed out there are very few jobs available that can provide a work permit that do not require higher education documents.

Basic is marriage allows non immigrant visa to be issued for you to visit family in Thailand but is not intended for you to live here unless extended on basis of work permit or overseas income. You seem to be on the verge of a very big step so try to get everything in order. Unless you have good employment here it is expected that the husband would take wife to his country to earn support if at all possible.