Obtain Marriage Visa in USA, or travel to Thailand and obtain later?

[revgreen]

Just wondering which is easier. From my understanding it's quite hassle-free to get a marriage visa in Savanakhet. Easier than sending the documents to a US consulate? We are moving in May.

 

Also what are the financial requirements? Am I correct in understanding that 1.5 million/year is suffice? Are there rules around how that is obtained? Mine would be deposited to a US bank account and then transferred to a Thai account.

[overherebc]

Really need more info'

Wife is Thai?

1.5 million baht ?

Married where?

Over 50 years old?

[overherebc]

If you are over 50 look at getting an O-A visa in the USA, if used correctly it would last virtually two years and means you could keep your money in the USA? until you get really settled and or the exchange rate for the baht ( might ) improve.

[revgreen]

On 1/29/2019 at 5:11 PM, overherebc said:

If you are over 50 look at getting an O-A visa in the USA, if used correctly it would last virtually two years and means you could keep your money in the USA? until you get really settled and or the exchange rate for the baht ( might ) improve.

My wife is Thai

We were married in America

I'm not over 50, or anywhere close to it

[ubonjoe]

It would best to get a visa before starting your trip. Without a visa you only need get a 30 day visa exempt entry and may need a ticket out of the country within 30 days of arrival to board your flight to here.

Not hard to get single or multiple entry non-o visa based upon marriage to a Thai.

Not sure where you are getting the 1.5 million number from.

You can apply for a one year extension of stay based upon marriage if you have 400k baht in a Thai bank for 2 months or proof of 40k baht income.

[overherebc]

43 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

It would best to get a visa before starting your trip. Without a visa you only need get a 30 day visa exempt entry and may need a ticket out of the country within 30 days of arrival to board your flight to here.

Not hard to get single or multiple entry non-o visa based upon marriage to a Thai.

Not sure where you are getting the 1.5 million number from.

You can apply for a one year extension of stay based upon marriage if you have 400k baht in a Thai bank for 2 months or proof of 40k baht income.

In light of recent events getting a 1 year multi 0 visa would be the way to go if his local embassy/consulate issues them.

[ubonjoe]

42 minutes ago, overherebc said:

In light of recent events getting a 1 year multi 0 visa would be the way to go if his local embassy/consulate issues them.

Why?

The only change for an extension based upon marriage is for the proof of income if you cannot get proof from your embassy.

[overherebc]

26 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

Why?

The only change for an extension based upon marriage is for the proof of income if you cannot get proof from your embassy.

Yes, I agree, at the moment it is.

[4evermaat]

You can get single entry non-o (marriage to Thai national or retirement) at virtually all Thai Embassies/consulates/honorary consulates in the US and most countries, including Laos.

 

You can get multiple entry non-o (marriage to Thai national) at all Thai Embassies or Official consulate in the USA (home country), or Savannakhet, Laos, or Penang, Malaysia or Kota Bharu, Malaysia.  Not sure about Vietnam or Indonesia. Savannakhet requires no financial proof.

 

You can get multiple entry non-o (retirement) from Thai Embassies or Official consulate in the USA (home country), or Penang Malaysia.  Not sure about Kota Bharu or other locations..

 

You can get multiple non-o-a (long-stay retirement) from Thai Embassies or Official consulate in the USA (home country).

[revgreen]

13 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

It would best to get a visa before starting your trip. Without a visa you only need get a 30 day visa exempt entry and may need a ticket out of the country within 30 days of arrival to board your flight to here.

Not hard to get single or multiple entry non-o visa based upon marriage to a Thai.

Not sure where you are getting the 1.5 million number from.

You can apply for a one year extension of stay based upon marriage if you have 400k baht in a Thai bank for 2 months or proof of 40k baht income.

I was thinking perhaps of just a normal tourist visa to get me enough time to arrive and settle, then pursuing a Non O. Mostly because some of the things (eg medical check) are going to be difficult and expensive to get where I live.

 

I thought 1.5 million was the necessary yearly income for Non O. But looking at the requirements it looks like 1.2 million?

 

ACcording to local consulate -

 

1. Original Passport
2. Visa application form completely filled out (With three photo’s passport-size photographs (2″x2″) (photocopy or photo taken from Photostat will not be accepted).
3. Additional Application Form for Non-Immigrant Visa O-X (download).
4. A copy of bank statement (from Thailand financial institutions only) and a letter of guarantee from the bank with bank’s contact information showing a deposit of the amount equal to and not less than 3 million Baht.  Please note that such minimum amount must be maintained at least one year after receiving the visa  or  A copy of bank statement (from financial institutions located in Thailand only) and a letter of guarantee from the bank with bank’s contact information showing a deposit of the amount equal to and not less than 1.8 million Baht and proof of annual incomes of not less than 1.2 million Baht per year.  (Once the applicants enter Thailand, they must have accumulated money deposited in Thai bank located in Thailand not less than 3 million Baht within 1 year.)
5. A letter of verification stating that the applicant has no criminal record (verification shall be valid for not more than three months and issue from a state only).
6. A medical certificate showing no prohibitive diseases as indicated in the Ministerial Regulation No.14 (B.E. 2535) certificate shall be valid for not more than three months (download).
7. Health insurance plan as listed on website http://longstay.tgia.org.  Coverage requirements for outpatient treatment of not less than 40,000 Baht and inpatient treatment of not less than 400,000 Baht.
8. Visa processing Fee of US$400.00
9. In case of accompanying spouse, a copy of marriage certificate must be provided as evidence including items number 1-8.

So the criminal record and the medical check are both a pain in the ass to get. That's why I was wondering if I could dodge some of that by going to a consulate in Laos or something. I can get those documents and I have nothing that would prohibit me from getting the visa, it's just another hassle I'm trying to avoid in the midst of preparing to move my household and pets across the world.

 

Next questions - I spent 5 years living in Thailand. Lots of various Tourist and Non B visas from my time there. I've been in America for the past 2 years. Would it be prudent to get a new passport (even though I still have 3 years and a dozen pages left)? Not sure if they would be iffy to issue another visa with that amount already in there. Never had any issues before however.

[ubonjoe]

9 hours ago, revgreen said:

I was thinking perhaps of just a normal tourist visa to get me enough time to arrive and settle, then pursuing a Non O. Mostly because some of the things (eg medical check) are going to be difficult and expensive to get where I live.

That is the requirements for a non-ox visa for retirement. You can apply for a standard single entry non-o visa based upon marriage to a Thai.

See: https://thaiembdc.org/consular-services/non-immigrant-visas/non-immigrant-visa-category-o/

You can get a single entry at the embassy or any of the consulates in the states. A multiple entry non-o can only be applied for at the embassy or one of the official consulates in New York, Chicago or Los Angeles.