Greetings, I have been working in a telco in Thailand for several years. However, this telco is not delivering an effective technology relative to solutions from other suppliers located in SG, China etc. So the Thai company is likely to not renew my WP at the end of the year.

Now I want to stay in Thailand. I have a partner in Petchabun province and I have invested several million baht into a working farm. We have lived together (living in Bangkok and Petchabun) for around 8 years - but never actually got around to being married.

My need is to be able to stay in Thailand going forward. I will likely be employed (but it may be with an SG employer) - and I want to be able to be resident in Thailand.

So my question to the experts is......is marriage to my Thai partner the best and easiest option? And if so what would you experts suggest as the best steps to take?

I look forward to your feedback.

Many thanks.

If you've been working for three years or more on visa extensions, you could apply for permanent residency, even if unmarried. Do it while you've still got a work permit and a job.

It is not clear whether your new employer would have you work mainly in SG or in Thailand. In this latter case,  he should provide you the documents for a new WP, and with that you should be able to continue as you have done until now - non imm-B visa extensions.

Or, if your budget allows, you could consider an elite visa but I believe that would disqualify you from working in Thailand.

 

If you have been with your gf 8 years but haven't married, there must be reasons? Not my business, but personally I wouldn't consider a visa extension as an incentive to marry. Anyway, you would still be subject to the yearly extensions. Obtaining permanent residence is possible and you might qualify in principle, but from what I read it's not easy nor fast nor would it grant you full citizen rights.

 

A consultation with a visa lawyer would be a good idea, considering you have already invested millions.

 

 

If you contemplated marriage, that would give the option of applying for an extension based on marriage.

Financial requirements are an income of 40,000 baht per month, OR 400,000 baht deposited in a Thai bank for 2 months prior to the date of application.

A marriage extension allows employment, and you can apply for the WP separately.

In the event employment ceased, the marriage extension isn't affected.

 

I wouldn't advocate getting married just for the sake of an extension, but you should be aware of the options available to you.

Edited August 17, 20187 yr by Tanoshi

1 hour ago, arithai12 said:

It is not clear whether your new employer would have you work mainly in SG or in Thailand. In this latter case,  he should provide you the documents for a new WP, and with that you should be able to continue as you have done until now - non imm-B visa extensions.

Or, if your budget allows, you could consider an elite visa but I believe that would disqualify you from working in Thailand.

 

If you have been with your gf 8 years but haven't married, there must be reasons? Not my business, but personally I wouldn't consider a visa extension as an incentive to marry. Anyway, you would still be subject to the yearly extensions. Obtaining permanent residence is possible and you might qualify in principle, but from what I read it's not easy nor fast nor would it grant you full citizen rights.

 

A consultation with a visa lawyer would be a good idea, considering you have already invested millions.

 

 

Permanent residency is straightforward provided you meet the eligibility criteria. Should be ok for the OP if he's lived and worked here for many years, so long as he's still in work when he applies and has unbroken visa extensions and tax returns for the past 3 years. 

 

When I got my permanent residency, it was a huge weight off my mind not to have to worry about ever changing visa rules ever again, even though it's not citizenship. Hold permanent residency for 5 years and you can apply for citizenship even if not married. 

 

The OP could also consider marrying and then he might be able to apply for citizenship bypassing permanent residency altogether if he meets the requirements and is still in work. 

1 hour ago, arithai12 said:

It is not clear whether your new employer would have you work mainly in SG or in Thailand. In this latter case,  he should provide you the documents for a new WP, and with that you should be able to continue as you have done until now - non imm-B visa extensions.

Or, if your budget allows, you could consider an elite visa but I believe that would disqualify you from working in Thailand.

 

If you have been with your gf 8 years but haven't married, there must be reasons? Not my business, but personally I wouldn't consider a visa extension as an incentive to marry. Anyway, you would still be subject to the yearly extensions. Obtaining permanent residence is possible and you might qualify in principle, but from what I read it's not easy nor fast nor would it grant you full citizen rights.

 

A consultation with a visa lawyer would be a good idea, considering you have already invested millions.

 

 

Using lawyers to apply for Thai visas is a waste of time and money. All they do is ask you to prepare the same documents that you'd otherwise have had to prepare anyway, charging you a fortune for adding no value whatsoever. Some claim to have clout but none do.

2 minutes ago, dbrenn said:

Permanent residency is straightforward provided you meet the eligibility criteria. Should be ok for the OP if he's lived and worked here for many years, so long as he's still in work when he applies and has unbroken visa extensions and tax returns for the past 3 years. 

 

When I got my permanent residency, it was a huge weight off my mind not to have to worry about ever changing visa rules ever again, even though it's not citizenship. Hold permanent residency for 5 years and you can apply for citizenship even if not married. 

 

The OP could also consider marrying and then he might be able to apply for citizenship bypassing permanent residency altogether if he meets the requirements and is still in work. 

I can understand your relief but permanent residency can be , and has been, withdrawn at a whim so it is not as secure as you may think it to be.

46 minutes ago, Esso49 said:

I can understand your relief but permanent residency can be , and has been, withdrawn at a whim so it is not as secure as you may think it to be.

That's not true. Once it's granted, permanent residency stays with you for life, unless you're daft enough to commit crimes or get involved in politics. Give me one example of a foreign expat who had it 'taken on a  whim'. There are none.

On 8/17/2018 at 4:55 AM, dbrenn said:

If you've been working for three years or more on visa extensions, you could apply for permanent residency, even if unmarried. Do it while you've still got a work permit and a job.

Many thanks here. 

To all the responses - many grateful thanks.

All your advice deeply appreciated. I am nearly at the 3 year point - and have the tax payment evidence for the last 2 years - plus getting close to the meeting the 3rd year.

I will action your advice starting tomorrow.

Warmest regards.

ความปรารถนาดีมาก

It is my understanding that permanent residency can only be applied for in a window usually in December. However document collation needs to be started way in advance in order to be prepared.

To all the responses - many grateful thanks.

All your advice deeply appreciated. I am nearly at the 3 year point - and have the tax payment evidence for the last 2 years - plus getting close to the meeting the 3rd year.

I will action your advice starting tomorrow.

Warmest regards.

ความปรารถนาดีมาก