Non-o Extension based on Marriage changes

[krobert6]

Not sure if it is just my immigration office but apart from 2 copies of all documentation (I only ever see one listed in info on here) the immigration visit now requires 2 guarantors that you are at the documented address - not only written guarantors but they must be present at the immigration office visit.  People work......  Luckily I am in a friendly village but imagine it will be difficult for some to satisfy this new requirement.  Anyone else facing this?

[ubonjoe]

Every office has different requirements.

Some offices do not require witnesses. 

[krobert6]

15 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

Every office has different requirements.

Some offices do not require witnesses. 

First time they have asked for it with me in 5 years - I thought April 1st might have been significant

Edited April 1, 2019 by krobert6

[Myran]

Same in Hua Hin, but luckily you only need one witness here. Be sure to visit the immigration office ahead of time to have all your documents checked (since you don't want to have to bring the witnesses on several occasions).

[littlepe]

Which IO?

[krobert6]

5 minutes ago, littlepe said:

Which IO?

Chiang Saen

[Jim7777]

5 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

Every office has different requirements.

Some offices do not require witnesses. 

I know at my Immigration Office the two witnesses are only required for your first extension unless you move to a different province or something.  So for your next extension next year you shouldn’t need to have witnesses ever again unless you move to a different area or something.  I know for my first extension at my home Immigration Office I needed 2 witnesses who were not related to my wife and I was lucky to find to old guys who knew my wife when she was a little girl still living here.  They had to come to immigration with us and bring their Tamien Baans and their Thai ID cards to verify their identity and to verify that they weren’t related to my wife, and it went really smoothly.  I took them both out to lunch afterwards for their trouble.  One of them is a retired Thai cop I don’t know if that made a difference or not.  

 

At first I was concerned because I was wondering who would be willing to go with us to Immigration from outside our family.  But I spoke to my wife’s sister and she put me in touch with the two older gentlemen that we actually do know from our neighborhood who have known my wife since she was first born here and they agreed to act as our witnesses for immigration.  It wasn’t that hard.  If you and your wife and family really keep to themselves and don’t know very many people then it could be a bit of a challenge finding two witnesses but that’s unusual in Thailand most strong families in Thailand are really close with other families and friends in your local area so it shouldn’t be that difficult.  After I spoke to my wife’s sister I found our witnesses from outside our family really easy.  Maybe find a few people who have known you and your wife for a while and maybe offer to buy lunch or something after your visit to immigration that’s pretty much what I did.  On the way back from Immigration I paid for their gas and took everyone out to eat as my way of saying thanks for their help.  

 

I was told that next year when I do my next extension in 2020 I won’t need any witnesses next time. I’ve been here almost 5 years now but this year was the first year I ever did my own extension myself without using an agent at my actual home Immigration Office so it was as if I was actually doing my first extension and it actually was my first extension done at my home Immigration Office.  So now I’m on the right track thanks to the new Immigration rules.  I’ll never use an agent ever again and I never really needed to in the first place although I’m glad I did for my first extension at least because the first year here the agent took care of transferring our US marriage certificate to a Thai marriage certificate KOR ROR 22, and I have more than one official original copy including one official original copy translated to English.  I have like 4 original copies of our Thai marriage certificate from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs so the agent was definitely useful for my first extension at least but after that I was really wasting money on the agent every year until this year because I do my own extensions from now on.  So now I don’t really feel I need an agent anymore after doing it myself this year.  

 

Anyway yes I had to have two witnesses as well who are not related to my wife just for my first extension only and they had to bring their Tambien Baans and Thai ID Cards with them.  Next year you shouldn’t have to have witnesses again when you do your extensions from now on unless you move to a different area under a different Immigration Office.  I’m assuming that this must be your first extension if you needed the two witnesses.  

 

Ubonjoe advised me that most Immigration Offices will either require the two witnesses or do a home inspection for your first extension and he was right.  

Edited April 1, 2019 by Jim7777

[connda]

Get a yellow Tabien Baan which basically if the official document issued by the Thai government  indicating where you reside. 

But if you need two witnesses plus a yellow Tabien Baan, then we are continuing to document really noxious cases of racism at an institutional level.  I hope that is not the case.  Plus it will be interesting next year when I go back to an extension based on marriage which I originally had for seven years (business visa before that) but then opted for the retirement extension due to less of a paperwork hassle.  So, it make me wonder how much of an administrative hassle they want to make it simply to make a point that foreigners are, well, foreigners.  Personally I'd be happy to fill a passenger van full of villagers who know me, or even a bus - pay for their time and video-document everyone testifying that they have direct knowledge of my 12 year marriage to my wife, that they know my step-son who I raised and my various extended family members, plue they know both myself and wife at active members of our local Buddhist temple.  I can bring the village monks to vouch for me too.  Add pictures of the family including when I ordained myself -- I'd be happy to put on a circus and then publish it on Facebook.

[Mukdahanman]

For me it’s in reverse - I can’t get my Yellow tabien baan book until I get my visa extension ( no witnesses required for extension - first time too)

Edited April 1, 2019 by Mukdahanman

[gunderhill]

7 hours ago, Myran said:

Same in Hua Hin, but luckily you only need one witness here. Be sure to visit the immigration office ahead of time to have all your documents checked (since you don't want to have to bring the witnesses on several occasions).

Witness  does  NOT have to be present  after the first extension, at  Hua  Hin.

[krobert6]

15 hours ago, Jim7777 said:

I know at my Immigration Office the two witnesses are only required for your first extension unless you move to a different province or something.  So for your next extension next year you shouldn’t need to have witnesses ever again unless you move to a different area or something.  I know for my first extension at my home Immigration Office I needed 2 witnesses who were not related to my wife and I was lucky to find to old guys who knew my wife when she was a little girl still living here.  They had to come to immigration with us and bring their Tamien Baans and their Thai ID cards to verify their identity and to verify that they weren’t related to my wife, and it went really smoothly.  I took them both out to lunch afterwards for their trouble.  One of them is a retired Thai cop I don’t know if that made a difference or not.  

 

At first I was concerned because I was wondering who would be willing to go with us to Immigration from outside our family.  But I spoke to my wife’s sister and she put me in touch with the two older gentlemen that we actually do know from our neighborhood who have known my wife since she was first born here and they agreed to act as our witnesses for immigration.  It wasn’t that hard.  If you and your wife and family really keep to themselves and don’t know very many people then it could be a bit of a challenge finding two witnesses but that’s unusual in Thailand most strong families in Thailand are really close with other families and friends in your local area so it shouldn’t be that difficult.  After I spoke to my wife’s sister I found our witnesses from outside our family really easy.  Maybe find a few people who have known you and your wife for a while and maybe offer to buy lunch or something after your visit to immigration that’s pretty much what I did.  On the way back from Immigration I paid for their gas and took everyone out to eat as my way of saying thanks for their help.  

 

I was told that next year when I do my next extension in 2020 I won’t need any witnesses next time. I’ve been here almost 5 years now but this year was the first year I ever did my own extension myself without using an agent at my actual home Immigration Office so it was as if I was actually doing my first extension and it actually was my first extension done at my home Immigration Office.  So now I’m on the right track thanks to the new Immigration rules.  I’ll never use an agent ever again and I never really needed to in the first place although I’m glad I did for my first extension at least because the first year here the agent took care of transferring our US marriage certificate to a Thai marriage certificate KOR ROR 22, and I have more than one official original copy including one official original copy translated to English.  I have like 4 original copies of our Thai marriage certificate from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs so the agent was definitely useful for my first extension at least but after that I was really wasting money on the agent every year until this year because I do my own extensions from now on.  So now I don’t really feel I need an agent anymore after doing it myself this year.  

 

Anyway yes I had to have two witnesses as well who are not related to my wife just for my first extension only and they had to bring their Tambien Baans and Thai ID Cards with them.  Next year you shouldn’t have to have witnesses again when you do your extensions from now on unless you move to a different area under a different Immigration Office.  I’m assuming that this must be your first extension if you needed the two witnesses.  

 

Ubonjoe advised me that most Immigration Offices will either require the two witnesses or do a home inspection for your first extension and he was right.  

Had the immigration visit with the witnesses present at our home - they said it will be the same next and future years - new rules

[krobert6]

13 hours ago, connda said:

Get a yellow Tabien Baan which basically if the official document issued by the Thai government  indicating where you reside. 

But if you need two witnesses plus a yellow Tabien Baan, then we are continuing to document really noxious cases of racism at an institutional level.  I hope that is not the case.  Plus it will be interesting next year when I go back to an extension based on marriage which I originally had for seven years (business visa before that) but then opted for the retirement extension due to less of a paperwork hassle.  So, it make me wonder how much of an administrative hassle they want to make it simply to make a point that foreigners are, well, foreigners.  Personally I'd be happy to fill a passenger van full of villagers who know me, or even a bus - pay for their time and video-document everyone testifying that they have direct knowledge of my 12 year marriage to my wife, that they know my step-son who I raised and my various extended family members, plue they know both myself and wife at active members of our local Buddhist temple.  I can bring the village monks to vouch for me too.  Add pictures of the family including when I ordained myself -- I'd be happy to put on a circus and then publish it on Facebook.

I have a Yellow TB and a pink Thai ID - makes no difference

[Oriental Farang]

Same here in Loei, but the kamnan (head of village) had to be one of the witnesses

[merijn]

In Phuket they only require the witness for the first time extension and the house visit (if done at all) is also only done at the first time extension.

[JimSaints]

Witnesses they want to see and they don't care when you bring witness to them … moronic rules and I had enough here (actually mostly my thai wife - she's more sick of them than me and that's saying something …)

[JackThompson]

19 hours ago, Jim7777 said:

... After I spoke to my wife’s sister I found our witnesses from outside our family really easy.  Maybe find a few people who have known you and your wife for a while and maybe offer to buy lunch or something after your visit to immigration that’s pretty much what I did.  On the way back from Immigration I paid for their gas and took everyone out to eat as my way of saying thanks for their help.  

If in a condo, the condo-security are good witnesses, as they have seen you and your wife living together (for years before we were married, in my case).  Although my extension was denied for an ever-increasing landlord-docs requirement, the witness was fine.  The "night shift" get off about the time you need to go to immigration.  I paid them more than what they are paid for their shift, to spend a couple hours at immigration.

 

If I try for an extension where I live now - out in the boonies - I will get someone with as much local political-power as possible to be a witness.  I am sure this will cost me some whisky and gas-money, but should minimize problems with immigration making up "extra rules" and such.  If immigration demand a payoff to avoid runarounds, this would be a person experienced with how such things are done in this area, what a "fair payoff" in the envelope is, etc.

 

19 hours ago, Jim7777 said:

... most Immigration Offices will either require the two witnesses or do a home inspection for your first extension and he was right.  

Most - maybe.  Sometimes they want these every year - both the witness(es) and home-visits.  Every office can make up whatever it wants to do to punish you for not using their agent-partners to pay them off. 

 

I don't object to the home-visit part, as that is good police-work which could actually deter false-applications.  The "witness" bit is a joke, since you have to pay them anyway (in money or trade) - so could easily be paying them to lie. 

 

If the office is really being a pain and you don't want to pay them off, you can go out for a 1-year Non-O-ME Visa, to avoid all this.  I will continue doing that for now.

[Chongalulu]

If reverting to a marriage visa after a few years retirement visa ,as many will be due to new rules,will it be treated from this perspective ( home visits etc) as a new one or will your previous initial marriage visa be carried over?

[ubonjoe]

28 minutes ago, nchuckle said:

If reverting to a marriage visa after a few years retirement visa ,as many will be due to new rules,will it be treated from this perspective ( home visits etc) as a new one or will your previous initial marriage visa be carried over?

I think it will be considered the same as the first extension. But that would depend upon the office you apply at.