Non Immigrant O Marriage

[sgunn65]

Hi

This may be answered elsewhere in the site so forgive me for asking again, however I cannot seem to find the answer.

I have just got married to my Thai wife. I will be coming back to live in Bkk this year. I know I need a non immigrant O marriage visa but does that mean I can stay for a year or will I have to do visa runs every 90 days? I am confused.

One other question. My wife has her interview for a spouse visa for the Uk on monday. If she is successful she will join me in the Uk. Do we have to stay in the UK for 2 years to get permanent residency or can we come to BKK for extended periods of time?

Once again many thanks for all the advice I get from this site.

Simon

[Martin_F]

You can apply for a non-imm o in the uk for 3 mths or one for 1 year where you have to refresh it by going outside the country every 3 mths.

If you have monthy income of THB40K per month then you can extend you inn imm o for periods of 12 mths.

The income is joint and it can be overseas income.

On the UK visa situation I believe that you have to stay 2 yrs to ILR (indefinate right to remain) but that is a miss namer as if you are out of the country for more than 2yrs the process starts again.

Unless you have been married for more than 3 or 4 yrs in which case you can get immediate ILR.

I believe for uk nationality it is after couple more yrs if married.

Check the Thailand UK forum for info or the home office website.

TH

[Mahout Angrit]

I have just got married to my Thai wife. I will be coming back to live in Bkk this year. I know I need a non immigrant O marriage visa but does that mean I can stay for a year or will I have to do visa runs every 90 days? I am confused.

One other question. My wife has her interview for a spouse visa for the Uk on monday. If she is successful she will join me in the Uk. Do we have to stay in the UK for 2 years to get permanent residency or can we come to BKK for extended periods of time?

If you apply for a multiple entry Non Imm O visa based on marriage to a Thai you will be allowed to enter Thailand as many times as you wish and each time you will be given 90days to stay. In all you can get that to work for you for 15 months leaving 4 times. If you dont want to do visa runs then you must show an income of B40,000 per month in Thailand then you can apply for a visa extension which will allow you to remain in Thailand for 1 year.

If you intend to live in Bangkok why did you apply for a settlement visa for UK? A settlement visa is intended for those who intend to make their life in UK. If you intend to live in Bangkok she should have applied for a visitors visa.

To get ILR (permanant residence) you must prove to the home office that you are living together in UK and intend to continue to do so. You will be expected to present correspondance to both of you to your UK address during the 6 months prior to application and your wife will have to pass a life in UK test. You can spend time outside UK during the LTR period but you must be able to convince the home office it was temporary.

[sgunn65]

I have just got married to my Thai wife. I will be coming back to live in Bkk this year. I know I need a non immigrant O marriage visa but does that mean I can stay for a year or will I have to do visa runs every 90 days? I am confused.

One other question. My wife has her interview for a spouse visa for the Uk on monday. If she is successful she will join me in the Uk. Do we have to stay in the UK for 2 years to get permanent residency or can we come to BKK for extended periods of time?

If you apply for a multiple entry Non Imm O visa based on marriage to a Thai you will be allowed to enter Thailand as many times as you wish and each time you will be given 90days to stay. In all you can get that to work for you for 15 months leaving 4 times. If you dont want to do visa runs then you must show an income of B40,000 per month in Thailand then you can apply for a visa extension which will allow you to remain in Thailand for 1 year.

If you intend to live in Bangkok why did you apply for a settlement visa for UK? A settlement visa is intended for those who intend to make their life in UK. If you intend to live in Bangkok she should have applied for a visitors visa.

To get ILR (permanant residence) you must prove to the home office that you are living together in UK and intend to continue to do so. You will be expected to present correspondance to both of you to your UK address during the 6 months prior to application and your wife will have to pass a life in UK test. You can spend time outside UK during the LTR period but you must be able to convince the home office it was temporary.

Thanks for a very clear answer.

We originally applied for the spouse visa as the plan was to see out my contract (2 years left) before coming back to Bkk. However things have changed somewhat and I have the opportunity to sell my flat and leave earlier, though nothing has been set in stone. Her interview is on monday so as long as that is ok she will be living in the UK at least till the end of the year.

[Mahout Angrit]

We originally applied for the spouse visa as the plan was to see out my contract (2 years left) before coming back to Bkk. However things have changed somewhat and I have the opportunity to sell my flat and leave earlier, though nothing has been set in stone. Her interview is on monday so as long as that is ok she will be living in the UK at least till the end of the year.

There is no reason, if circumstances change like they have with you, that you shouldn't change your mind. However as your wife has to attend an interview then the granting of a settlement visa is by no means certain. As you have paid your money and she wants to live in UK until the end of the year you should continue to push for that visa.

Make sure that your wife doesn't reveal your intended change of plan during that interview, she should continue to stress that you intend to live together in UK. If you are successful you can live in UK for up to 2 years and when you move to Bangkok you simply do not apply for ILR. If your wife subsequently needs to visit UK she can apply for a visit visa.