Buying/registering car in Thailand

[HauptmannUK]

My wife and I split our time between the UK and Thailand.  I have one-year visas (based on marriage to a Thai) from the London embassy.  I do not spend more than three months at a time in Thailand, so have never needed to visit an immigration office and have never had a letter of residence etc.

I plan to buy a car - probably secondhand.  I am most likely to buy the car in Bangkok, but register at either of my wife's addresses (Jomtien and Udon Thani).

Can anyone offer advice on how I would so this, specifically, will the Jomtien Immigration office give me a letter of residence if I walk in there with my wife and she has her local house book?  Do I need to have done a 90 day report before they will give a letter, or will sight of the marriage visa do the trick?

 

Also, will my International Driving Permit suffice or should I get a Thai driving licence given that I own a car in Thailand?

 

Many thanks.

[JAS21]

If you don't do 90Day reports you can't get a letter of residence from Immigration. You may be able to get something suitable from the embassy ... someone will know.

 

Just buy it in your wife's name and YES get a Thai Driving Licence anyway.

[jackdd]

12 hours ago, JAS21 said:

If you don't do 90Day reports you can't get a letter of residence from Immigration.

This only applies to Bangkok.

In for example Udon Thani it's no problem to get the certificate of residence even with a tourist visa. If you have a non-immigrant visa it should also be no problem in Jomtien. Be sure to do a TM30 when you arrive in Thailand and before you request the certificate of residence (you can do the TM30 + request the CoR in one visit)

 

You can use your international driving permit to drive in Thailand, but it's just valid for a year so you have to get a new one every year which is probably kind of annoying (if you buy voluntary insurance they might have their own rules regarding which driving license is valid for them), so you should have it converted to a Thai license (you only have to do the vision / reaction tests)

[MINIMIGLIA]

2 hours ago, jackdd said:

This only applies to Bangkok.

In for example Udon Thani it's no problem to get the certificate of residence even with a tourist visa. If you have a non-immigrant visa it should also be no problem in Jomtien. Be sure to do a TM30 when you arrive in Thailand and before you request the certificate of residence (you can do the TM30 + request the CoR in one visit)

 

You can use your international driving permit to drive in Thailand, but it's just valid for a year so you have to get a new one every year which is probably kind of annoying (if you buy voluntary insurance they might have their own rules regarding which driving license is valid for them), so you should have it converted to a Thai license (you only have to do the vision / reaction tests)

IDP only valid for 90 days here and only for tourists.

[jackdd]

4 minutes ago, MINIMIGLIA said:

IDP only valid for 90 days here and only for tourists.

IDP does not have a 90 day limit in Thailand, it's valid as long as the IDP is valid and people who are here on a temporary permit to stay can use it.

But only a 1949 IDP is valid in Thailand (but that's the one OP will get from the UK, so i didn't mention it), a 1968 IDP is not valid.

[mogandave]

The Thai driver license is cheap and easy, why not get one?

I would put the car in wife’s name.

[HauptmannUK]

Many thanks for the replies guys - very useful.