I'm a 60 year old US citizen currently living in Shenzhen China.  My Chinese wife is 35 years old.  I would like to move with my wife to Thailand.  I don't think any of the requirements will be a problem for ME to obtain a retirement visa.  Does anyone know what issues there would be for my wife to get a visa?  What kind of visa would she need to get?

 

A few other questions:

Is the 800K baht requirement necessary for each married partner?  i.e. 800 for me and 800 for my wife = 1,600,000?

Can the 800K baht be an equivalent about kept in a foreign currency?  i.e. can I deposit $25K USD in a Thai bank and not convert it to Baht?

 

Thanks!

6 minutes ago, Blooter said:

Does anyone know what issues there would be for my wife to get a visa?  What kind of visa would she need to get?

Your wife will need to get a Non-Immigrant ‘O’ visa as your spouse. Once you’re both in Thailand you will apply for an extension of stay based on retirement and your wife will apply for an extension of stay as your spouse. She effectively piggybacks your permission to stay.

 

9 minutes ago, Blooter said:

Is the 800K baht requirement necessary for each married partner?  i.e. 800 for me and 800 for my wife = 1,600,000?

You only need 800K to meet the requirements for your extension of stay. Your wife doesn’t need to meet any financial requirements.

 

10 minutes ago, Blooter said:

Can the 800K baht be an equivalent about kept in a foreign currency?  i.e. can I deposit $25K USD in a Thai bank and not convert it to Baht?

Yes. Immigration will accept foreign currency accounts.

Thank you so much elviajero!  Your response is very helpful.  Cheers ?

Now I have met a many senior citizens of 60 with Chinese wives of mid thirties. Seems a magic number.

800k x 2 plus legal fees should do the trick. Plus legal fees because no one likes to go through the hustle of running hundred times to the Immigration office with bundles of translated documents and a legal translator.

Wanna get a good old lawyer who knows the system? I know him from 1976. He still is there, bit grey though and now affluent. Used to work from under the Highway overpass at Soi 1 Sukhumvit, nowadays on Silom Road.

But I don't give a hoot said the nightowl.

africasiaeuro

 

5 minutes ago, africasiaeuro said:

Now I have met a many senior citizens of 60 with Chinese wives of mid thirties. Seems a magic number.

800k x 2 plus legal fees should do the trick. Plus legal fees because no one likes to go through the hustle of running hundred times to the Immigration office with bundles of translated documents and a legal translator.

Wanna get a good old lawyer who knows the system? I know him from 1976. He still is there, bit grey though and now affluent. Used to work from under the Highway overpass at Soi 1 Sukhumvit, nowadays on Silom Road.

But I don't give a hoot said the nightowl.

africasiaeuro

 

Why waste money on a lawyer.

Stupid post.

3 minutes ago, africasiaeuro said:

Plus legal fees because no one likes to go through the hustle of running hundred times to the Immigration office with bundles of translated documents and a legal translator.

That is a extreme exaggeration of the facts. Many people have done it themselves with only one or 2 trips to immigration and certainly no need for a translator.

there is a royal thai consulate in guangzhou that serves guangdong and hainan.

http://www.thaiembassy.org/guangzhou/

 

also one in nanning.

http://www.thaiembassy.org/nanning/

 

both are very good at responding to email.

Thank you all so much for your responses.  I'm just starting the process so all this info is very useful for me.  I will make a trip next week to Chiang Mai and open a bank account to get the ball rolling.  I understand the money needs to be in the account for a couple months before they will issue a visa.  Fortunately flights on AirAsia are very inexpensive coming from Macao so getting there is quite easy.

1 minute ago, Blooter said:

Thank you all so much for your responses.  I'm just starting the process so all this info is very useful for me.  I will make a trip next week to Chiang Mai and open a bank account to get the ball rolling.  I understand the money needs to be in the account for a couple months before they will issue a visa.  Fortunately flights on AirAsia are very inexpensive coming from Macao so getting there is quite easy.

Unless you are able to get a non-o visa before leaving China it will be a two part process to get your extension.

First you would have to apply for a 90 day non immigrant visa (category O) entry at immigration. The 800k baht will only need to be in the bank on the date your apply (not 60 days). Requirements are here. https://www.immigration.go.th/content/service_80

Then during the last 30 days of the 90 day entry from the visa you would apply for the one year extension or when the 800k baht has been in the bank for 60 days.

You wife will not be able to apply for a non-o visa until you have the non immigrant visa issued. She would have to apply for it in China since for the basis for her extension there is no allowance for her to apply for the visa at immigration. 

Where did you get married? If China I highly suggest you get your marriage certificate legalized there since that will be a requirement when she applies for her extension.

2 hours ago, africasiaeuro said:

800k x 2 plus legal fees should do the trick.

Totally false information - wife would not qualify for retirement extension even if she wanted.  Only one 800k bank deposit is required.  There are no legal fees.  Cost of any extension of stay is 1,900 baht.

39 minutes ago, Blooter said:

Thank you all so much for your responses.  I'm just starting the process so all this info is very useful for me.  I will make a trip next week to Chiang Mai and open a bank account to get the ball rolling.  I understand the money needs to be in the account for a couple months before they will issue a visa.  Fortunately flights on AirAsia are very inexpensive coming from Macao so getting there is quite easy.

A

 

39 minutes ago, Blooter said:

Thank you all so much for your responses.  I'm just starting the process so all this info is very useful for me.  I will make a trip next week to Chiang Mai and open a bank account to get the ball rolling.  I understand the money needs to be in the account for a couple months before they will issue a visa.  Fortunately flights on AirAsia are very inexpensive coming from Macao so getting there is quite easy.

Hi Blooter, I am in almost the same situation as yourself, I am in Dongguan and entered Thailand on a visa excempt which I transferred to a Non O in Bangkok. It’s very difficult to get such avisa from thai embassy in Guangzhou.

the immigration in Nonthaburi accepted my Chinese marriage certificate no need for translation? One thing I heard is that monies deposited in your thai account must be proven to have come out of Thailand 

good luck

17 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

Unless you are able to get a non-o visa before leaving China it will be a two part process to get your extension.

First you would have to apply for a 90 day non immigrant visa (category O) entry at immigration. The 800k baht will only need to be in the bank on the date your apply (not 60 days). Requirements are here. https://www.immigration.go.th/content/service_80

Then during the last 30 days of the 90 day entry from the visa you would apply for the one year extension or when the 800k baht has been in the bank for 60 days.

You wife will not be able to apply for a non-o visa until you have the non immigrant visa issued. She would have to apply for it in China since for the basis for her extension there is no allowance for her to apply for the visa at immigration. 

Where did you get married? If China I highly suggest you get your marriage certificate legalized there since that will be a requirement when she applies for her extension.

As I said I'm early in the process.  I will start my research with the link you listed above.  Thanks for the additional clarification.

We've been married 3 years.  It was done by the China state marriage bureaucracy so the certificate is all in order...

Cheers

22 hours ago, elviajero said:

and your wife will apply for an extension of stay as your spouse.

But would it not be an extension of stay as his dependant in her case, strictly speaking? I was under the impression that spousal extensions were only available to those married to Thai nationals.

2 minutes ago, OJAS said:

But would it not be an extension of stay as his dependant in her case, strictly speaking? I was under the impression that spousal extensions were only available to those married to Thai nationals.

You are referring to 2 entirely different extensions.

In this case it is for being the spouse of person who has a extension of stay based upon retirement. It is often referred to as a dependent extension.

You are also using the wrong name for an extension based upon being married to a Thai. It is not a spousal extension.

 

3 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

You are referring to 2 entirely different extensions.

In this case it is for being the spouse of person who has a extension of stay based upon retirement. It is often referred to as a dependent extension.

You are also using the wrong name for an extension based upon being married to a Thai. It is not a spousal extension.

 

I am aware of the differences, thank you, and was merely seeking to point out that @elviajero's wording could have given a misleading impression to the OP.

5 hours ago, OJAS said:

On 8/11/2018 at 6:22 AM, elviajero said:

and your wife will apply for an extension of stay as your spouse.

But would it not be an extension of stay as his dependant in her case, strictly speaking? I was under the impression that spousal extensions were only available to those married to Thai nationals.

No, because dependancy doesn't come in to it. His wife would qualify for an extension based on relationship, which in her case is being his spouse.

 

2.20 In the case of being a family member of an alien permitted a temporary stay in the Kingdom under Criteria 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.5, 2.6,

2.7, 2.10, 2.12, 2.13, 2.14, 2.15, 2.16, 2.17, 2.21, 2.22, 2.26, or 2.29 hereof or Section 34(1) (2) and (7) including family of alien granted non- immigration visa which contains “A” letter at the end of visa code, (applicable only to parents, spouse, children, adopted children, or spouse’s children) except for Non- Immigrant code L-A:

 

5 hours ago, OJAS said:

5 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

You are referring to 2 entirely different extensions.

In this case it is for being the spouse of person who has a extension of stay based upon retirement. It is often referred to as a dependent extension.

You are also using the wrong name for an extension based upon being married to a Thai. It is not a spousal extension.

 

I am aware of the differences, thank you, and was merely seeking to point out that @elviajero's wording could have given a misleading impression to the OP.

I chose my wording deliberately so not to mislead. Once the OP has an extension of stay his wife would qualify for an extension simply for being his wife ("spouse").