I'm currently living in Thailand on a "Thai Wife" retirement visa.  I've heard somewhere that it may be possible for my own Thai daughter, who is currently working in Bangkok, to sponsor me and therefore not needing me to show the 400k bank deposit as a condition for my retirement visa. Can anyone confirm this, and if so, what are the requirements.

I have never heard of a "Thai Wife" retirement visa. I assume you mean a extension of stay based upon marriage to a Thai.

There is a line in clause 2.18 of the police order for extensions that states it is possible but I have not heard of anybody doing it yet.

 

"(5) In the case of parents, the father or mother must maintain an average annual income of no less than Baht 40,000 per month throughout the year or must have deposited funds of no less than Baht 400,000 to cover expenses for one year.
In case the father of mother requests to be under maintenance of children, the age of father or mother must be 50 years of age or over."

Source: Police Order 327/2557  basis for extension of stay

 

There is no mention of the requirements to do it. I am almost certain you would have to be living with your daughter and she might have to prove she is financially able to do it. I suggest you contact immigration about it.

 

Yes, 

2 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

I assume you mean a extension of stay based upon marriage to a Thai.

Yes, that's correct. 

 

4 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

In case the father of mother requests to be under maintenance of children, the age of father or mother must be 50 years of age or over."

I am 62 , so that shouldn't be a problem.  I'll get in touch with immigration as you suggest...

 

Thank you.

5 hours ago, ewc270956 said:

Yes, 

Yes, that's correct. 

 

I am 62 , so that shouldn't be a problem.  I'll get in touch with immigration as you suggest...

 

Thank you.

 

Please update us with what you are told.

Will do...

I don't know if all this Thai child thing is still valid, I read somewhere that for instance getting a visa to support your Thai child has been rescinded.

5 minutes ago, soalbundy said:

I don't know if all this Thai child thing is still valid, I read somewhere that for instance getting a visa to support your Thai child has been rescinded.

There has been no change to the police order. The extension is not to support your child. It is based upon being the parent of a Thai.

Perhaps you are confusing some embassies or consulates not issuing a non-o visa with a extension of stay issued at immigration.

On 9/29/2018 at 4:54 PM, ubonjoe said:

I have never heard of a "Thai Wife" retirement visa. I assume you mean a extension of stay based upon marriage to a Thai.

There is a line in clause 2.18 of the police order for extensions that states it is possible but I have not heard of anybody doing it yet.

 

"(5) In the case of parents, the father or mother must maintain an average annual income of no less than Baht 40,000 per month throughout the year or must have deposited funds of no less than Baht 400,000 to cover expenses for one year.
In case the father of mother requests to be under maintenance of children, the age of father or mother must be 50 years of age or over."

Source: Police Order 327/2557  basis for extension of stay

 

There is no mention of the requirements to do it. I am almost certain you would have to be living with your daughter and she might have to prove she is financially able to do it. I suggest you contact immigration about it.

 

I asked this question to a Thai immigration lawyer and he told me the child dependency only lasts until the child is 18 (why 18 and not 20? - but he insisted 18) After 18 the father needs to have the 800K and use the normal retirement extension. I was confused by this as well as I also thought that a child could sponsor the parent using the 400K method,however this seems to be a really grey area and appears to be open to individual Immigration office.

 

If anyone knows about this with more accuracy, please post as this would be my ideal extension preference.

On ‎9‎/‎29‎/‎2018 at 4:54 PM, ubonjoe said:

In case the father of mother requests to be under maintenance of children, the age of father or mother must be 50 years of age or over."

The term 'under maintenance of children' is quite confusing here. Does it mean that the parent(father in my case) will be under the sponsorship of his child? That is the child takes SOLE responsibility for the support of the parent? Can someone clarify?

1 hour ago, ewc270956 said:

The term 'under maintenance of children' is quite confusing here. Does it mean that the parent(father in my case) will be under the sponsorship of his child? That is the child takes SOLE responsibility for the support of the parent? Can someone clarify?

 

I think the meaning is clear. In Thailand, parents (especially a single surviving parent) will often live with their child (and grandchildren) when they get old. The children support them. The parent helps out in a number of ways, including childcare. This extension is intended for a foreign parent living in such a traditional Thai family unit. Whether you would get the extension in practice, I think, would depend on the individual immigration official, and whether it seems credible to them that your child is supporting you. Apart from your family relationship, I doubt there would be any specific requirements.

13 hours ago, Formaleins said:

I asked this question to a Thai immigration lawyer and he told me the child dependency only lasts until the child is 18 (why 18 and not 20? - but he insisted 18) After 18 the father needs to have the 800K and use the normal retirement extension. I was confused by this as well as I also thought that a child could sponsor the parent using the 400K method,however this seems to be a really grey area and appears to be open to individual Immigration office.

As I wrote before it is not based upon child dependency. It is based upon being the parent of Thai.

There is not written age limit for a parent to get the extension. Some offices will state the child cannot be older than 20 years old for the parent to get an extension but that is not correct. They are apparently misreading clause 2.18 of the police order and using number (4) that does have the age limit for a non Thai child of a spouse or parent to get an en extension of stay.

The line about a parent being under the maintenance of their child would appear to mean getting full support from them not just meeting the financial requirement for them.

6 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

The line about a parent being under the maintenance of their child would appear to mean getting full support from them not just meeting the financial requirement for them.

Thanks

Quote

ubonJoe

for clearing this up. 

The wife and I will be visiting our Immigration office this week to find out exactly what we need to do.

6 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

The line about a parent being under the maintenance of their child would appear to mean getting full support from them not just meeting the financial requirement for them.

That's what I hoped it would mean! Luckily for me, my daughter was born in Thailand and holds full Thai nationality. She's currently  working at the UN in Bangkok.  I do hope I can use this method to get my new 1-year visa extension. Will keep you updated...

After visiting the immigration office in Korat in order to clarify the 'Thai child' sponsoring a non-Thai parent, it was made clear that the ONLY time this option can be exercised is either if the Thai wife is deceased or  the Thai wife and foreign husband are legally separated. So, there you go. I cannot use this option. Pity, as it would REALLY be beneficial to me. Ah well. Will have to continue with the 400k in bank option!