Visa extension for marriage

[youngster30uk]

I am looking to do visa extension based on marriage for the first time. Looking at the 'agents' sites, they have you believe its difficult and want about 25,000 baht

 

I assume , that as long as I have the required proof of income and legit marriage in Thailand, that it should all be straight forward? right?

 

Can someone confirm

 

I go get 90 day non O

 

1 month from expiry I go to immigration and make application for extension?

 

Any obvious pitfalls/ things I need to be aware of doing it myself ?

 

I currently have an ED visa. Do I need to go and get Non O?

 

 

 

Edited September 30, 2018 by youngster30uk

[ubonjoe]

20 minutes ago, youngster30uk said:

I assume , that as long as I have the required proof of income and legit marriage in Thailand, that it should all be straight forward? right?

You would be applying for a one year extension of stay (visas are not extended) based upon marriage. How difficult it can be depends upon the office where you apply for the extension,

You need 400k baht in a Thai bank in your name only for 2 months or proof of 40k baht income.

My general list of documents required and etc is here, Marriage Extension Requirements 2.pdf

 

20 minutes ago, youngster30uk said:

I go get 90 day non O

You would apply for a single entry non-o visa that will allow a 90 day entry.

21 minutes ago, youngster30uk said:

1 month from expiry I go to immigration and make application for extension?

You could apply for the extension during the last 30 days of the 90 day entry from the non-o visa.

21 minutes ago, youngster30uk said:

I currently have an ED visa. Do I need to go and get Non O?

You would have to check with office where you will be applying to find out if they will allow you to apply for the extension with a 90 day entry from a non-ed visa or near the end of a extension of stay based upon attending school.

[lopburi3]

15 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

48 minutes ago, youngster30uk said:

1 month from expiry I go to immigration and make application for extension?

You could apply for the extension during the last 30 days of the 90 day entry from the non-o visa.

You can not do this without spouse - both must appear and answer questions.

[InsertNameHere]

"I am looking to do visa extension based on marriage for the first time. Looking at the 'agents' sites, they have you believe its difficult and want about 25,000 baht"

 

Typical fee from a lawyer when it costs no where near that to do one(s) self. Paid ฿30k Baht the first time and ฿15k to do the renewal process for me. Till my wife researched and talked with the embassy (Thai) on what we needed to do and bring. Total cost for us was about 5,000 baht. A few bit of running around which I'm sure is why people pay or because they rather not deal with it.

[youngster30uk]

Thanks for the replies. Any pitfalls / things I should be aware of ?

 

 

[InsertNameHere]

2 hours ago, youngster30uk said:

Thanks for the replies. Any pitfalls / things I should be aware of ?

 

 

 

In all only had 1 bad experience out of Samut Sakhon Immigration Office when I went to report and renew the visa where the officer accused us of a fake marriage and that I was lying about my income verification paper from the US Embassy. You will encounter people like this. My only suggestion is to research or talk with the embassy (Thai) when you want an answer and you are unsure. Mind you that the officer you speak with may not be the same with another and certain Providences or offices can deny you or may ask you for more than is required.

[JackThompson]

 

Others are correct that how straightforward it is depends entirely on the office.  Even done correctly, there is a 30-day "consideration" period, and a likely home-visit by Immigration.

 

If done at Chang Wattana Bangkok, it's all exactly as written.  Elsewhere, it varies, because ...

 

7 hours ago, youngster30uk said:

Looking at the 'agents' sites, they have you believe its difficult and want about 25,000 baht

 

Yes, and guess where part of that money goes?  Now you understand why some offices make it difficult.  

 

7 hours ago, youngster30uk said:

I go get 90 day non O

 

Only necessary if the local office won't do the extension from the ED-Visa entry.  In theory, any "Non-" type entry will work, but offices can be difficult when it comes to using ED entries.  But, that issue doesn't mean the office is necessarily bad for the extension, itself. 

One workaround, if things go sideways, is a 1-Year, Non-O Multiple Entry Visa from Savannakhet for 5000 Baht.  See all the details here - it's really easy, and you don't have to deal with a bad office at all - can be a life-saver:

 

 

Hopefully, there is someone with a sense of decency running your local-office, and you can do an ordinary annual extension there.  Good luck.

[youngster30uk]

30 minutes ago, JackThompson said:

 

Others are correct that how straightforward it is depends entirely on the office.  Even done correctly, there is a 30-day "consideration" period, and a likely home-visit by Immigration.

 

If done at Chang Wattana Bangkok, it's all exactly as written.  Elsewhere, it varies, because ...

 

 

Yes, and guess where part of that money goes?  Now you understand why some offices make it difficult.  

 

 

Only necessary if the local office won't do the extension from the ED-Visa entry.  In theory, any "Non-" type entry will work, but offices can be difficult when it comes to using ED entries.  But, that issue doesn't mean the office is necessarily bad for the extension, itself. 

One workaround, if things go sideways, is a 1-Year, Non-O Multiple Entry Visa from Savannakhet for 5000 Baht.  See all the details here - it's really easy, and you don't have to deal with a bad office at all - can be a life-saver:

 

 

Hopefully, there is someone with a sense of decency running your local-office, and you can do an ordinary annual extension there.  Good luck.

My current visa expires on 5 november, so I dont think I have time to get proof of income letter and even try to extend my ED visa based on marriage. seems silly to go to rangoon get a 90 non o and go through the extension process when I can do the above. UbonJoe. I see you are a top poster, is this a fair assesment?

 

[ubonjoe]

7 hours ago, youngster30uk said:

My current visa expires on 5 november, so I dont think I have time to get proof of income letter and even try to extend my ED visa based on marriage. seems silly to go to rangoon get a 90 non o and go through the extension process when I can do the above. UbonJoe. I see you are a top poster, is this a fair assesment?

 

Unless you want to leave the country every 90 days for a new entry getting a multiple entry non-o is not that good of a option. It is not nearly as problematic to get the one year  extension of stay as some people will say (I am on my 11th one).

It should not take more more than a few days get your income letter. It can be up to 6 months old on the date you apply for the extension.

You should at least ask your local immigration office about doing the application with your current non-ed visa entry or extension based upon attending school.

Unless you want to make a trip to Yangon there are other locations to get a single entry non-o visa. Vientiane Laos is good choice.

[Tanoshi]

9 hours ago, youngster30uk said:

My current visa expires on 5 november, so I dont think I have time to get proof of income letter and even try to extend my ED visa based on marriage.

You can apply online for the Income Letter.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/735382/Pension_August_2018.pdf

Takes about 5 days for the return of the letter.

 

Extensions based on retirement or marriage are usually applied for during the last 30 days of your current permission to stay, so anytime between Oct 6th - Nov 5th is ideal.

[JackThompson]

I would break this into 3 possible paths:

• Try to get the extension from your Non-ED
• Try to get the extension after going out for a Non-O Single-Entry
• If all else fails, get the 1-Year Non-O ME Visa.

That is roughly what I went through, only starting with a Tourist entry. 

 

Another alternative is to get things done in Bangkok by moving there during the process (you have to live there to get service there), because the main-office will process everything "by the book" with no surprises.  If I had it all to do again, I would have moved to Bangkok for awhile, so I could use the Chang Wattana office. 

 

But, you don't know what your local office will do or not do, until you try.  If you tell us which office you will be using, maybe someone can provide a report of what happened there recently.

Edited October 1, 2018 by JackThompson

[Moonlover]

16 hours ago, InsertNameHere said:

"I am looking to do visa extension based on marriage for the first time. Looking at the 'agents' sites, they have you believe its difficult and want about 25,000 baht"

 

Typical fee from a lawyer when it costs no where near that to do one(s) self. Paid ฿30k Baht the first time and ฿15k to do the renewal process for me. Till my wife researched and talked with the embassy (Thai) on what we needed to do and bring. Total cost for us was about 5,000 baht. A few bit of running around which I'm sure is why people pay or because they rather not deal with it.

Yes, I endorse the above. The main criteria that governs whether you need to use an agent is money. If you can meet the financial requirements, either by income or capital, there is no need to use an agent.

 

Don't be put off by those who gripe about 'how difficult it is'. The first time can be a bit daunting, but once you get the hang off it, it's just routine paperwork.

 

As mentioned above it's a good idea to have your wife go chat to immigration in advance. We've always found them quite helpful and our first one, Udon Thani, even had a hand-out outlining their requirements.

 

As above, it costs us about 5K baht. Go for it and good luck.

 

ML