DumbFalang Posted August 30, 2019 Share Posted August 30, 2019 In hindsight, it was a big mistake applying for an extension based on marriage this year. After enduring a month of stress, we decided to withdraw our application and get a non-O instead. Our last 12 marriage extensions went smoothly, so I have taken my eye off the ball with immigration rules. My current visa expires on the 6th of September so I am considering two options: 1. Do a quick border run in Chiang Rai (I'm British and live in Chiang Mai) and come back in on a 30 day tourist visa (on entry) to buy myself some time 2. Go to Ho Chi Min and apply for a non-O multiple entry and have done with it. I don't have 400K in a the bank and I believe my options are Ho Chi Min or Savanakhet. My questions are - if I do the border run - would I be granted a tourist visa on entry even though I have lived in Thailand for the past 12 years? If for some reason I did not get a non-O from Ho Chi Min, would I be granted a visa on entry if I flew in from Vietnam? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterw42 Posted August 30, 2019 Share Posted August 30, 2019 As a Brit there are no VOA options and tourist visa's are not issued on entry. Any entry into thailand without a visa would be the standard visa exempt entry. Your future options would maybe be dependant on whether you can get the 40k income or 400k deposit in order, then start again. Entry, seasoning, extension etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacko45k Posted August 30, 2019 Share Posted August 30, 2019 A Visa Exempt entry will give you 30 days with the potential of a 30 day extension, or a 60 day extension based on visiting your Thai wife. Remember you can only have 2 Visa Exempt land border crossings in any 1 calendar year. Tourist Visas must be obtained outside of Thailand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tifino Posted August 30, 2019 Share Posted August 30, 2019 what happened with the Application? one read displays 'rejection' in the title another read highlights 'withdrawal' in the body after 12* marriage... doing otherwise would bring more questions from them? if you try come back as tourist, have you considered their online system will bleat that you have already too much time inside the country, in the previous 365 days? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DumbFalang Posted August 30, 2019 Author Share Posted August 30, 2019 I have been putting well over 40K into a Thai bank account I opened in February after finding out the usual income verification letter from the British embassy was no longer an option. My problem is that I am self employed and immigration simply cannot get their head around it. I am unable to verify where the money comes from. They keep insisting on a letter from a company verifying my income, then for it to be verified by the British Embassy and then translated into Thai. Even if I had 400K to put in the bank - I would still have the same problem - no way of verifying where the income came from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post glegolo Posted August 30, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted August 30, 2019 Just now, DumbFalang said: I have been putting well over 40K into a Thai bank account I opened in February after finding out the usual income verification letter from the British embassy was no longer an option. My problem is that I am self employed and immigration simply cannot get their head around it. I am unable to verify where the money comes from. They keep insisting on a letter from a company verifying my income, then for it to be verified by the British Embassy and then translated into Thai. Even if I had 400K to put in the bank - I would still have the same problem - no way of verifying where the income came from. Cant you just "create" a income-verification on your own letterhead, bring that to you embassy, get it translated bla bla bla???? Is that really impossibel??? Or do you mean that selfemployed means you working the crops out on your farm, so letterhead is not an option?? glegolo 3 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post DumbFalang Posted August 30, 2019 Author Popular Post Share Posted August 30, 2019 2 minutes ago, glegolo said: Cant you just "create" a income-verification on your own letterhead, bring that to you embassy, get it translated bla bla bla???? Is that really impossibel??? Or do you mean that selfemployed means you working the crops out on your farm, so letterhead is not an option?? It's not impossible - just absolute nonsense..... but it's looking more like I will have to go through with it. Haha - I am actually a self employed software developer and my income comes from mainly the US and Australia. The farm belongs to my wife...... and it's a black hole where all my hard earned income goes ???? 3 1 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtls2005 Posted August 30, 2019 Share Posted August 30, 2019 10 minutes ago, DumbFalang said: I am unable to verify where the money comes from. I believe Immigration's new rules are meant to require verification that the money comes from outside of Thailand, in some sort or periodic fashion, repeatedly/monthly. Otherwise it might look like you are working here, or simply shuffling the same 40,000 back and forth between two accounts. Maybe start to establish a pattern of qualifying foreign transfers ASAP, or fund the 400,000, leave Thailand, re-enter on a TVE, convert to a 90 day, then extend that? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post DumbFalang Posted August 30, 2019 Author Popular Post Share Posted August 30, 2019 Rejected or withdrawn? Well, Bangkok initially rejected the application - requesting a letter from my employer verifying my income. My wife is stressed to the max about the whole thing and when our local immi officer called to tell her, she basically told him to stick the application. 2 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Peterw42 Posted August 30, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted August 30, 2019 17 minutes ago, DumbFalang said: I have been putting well over 40K into a Thai bank account I opened in February after finding out the usual income verification letter from the British embassy was no longer an option. My problem is that I am self employed and immigration simply cannot get their head around it. I am unable to verify where the money comes from. They keep insisting on a letter from a company verifying my income, then for it to be verified by the British Embassy and then translated into Thai. Even if I had 400K to put in the bank - I would still have the same problem - no way of verifying where the income came from. The 400k does not need to come from outside thailand. 9 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DumbFalang Posted August 30, 2019 Author Share Posted August 30, 2019 Just now, Peterw42 said: The 400k does not need to come from outside thailand. Really? - I did not know that. Very interesting... 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnOFphon Posted August 30, 2019 Share Posted August 30, 2019 Been a long time since I did a tourist visa, but..if you enter at a border crossing. like Suvanket..isn't it a 15 day visa? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavisH Posted August 30, 2019 Share Posted August 30, 2019 25 minutes ago, DumbFalang said: I have been putting well over 40K into a Thai bank account I opened in February after finding out the usual income verification letter from the British embassy was no longer an option. My problem is that I am self employed and immigration simply cannot get their head around it. I am unable to verify where the money comes from. They keep insisting on a letter from a company verifying my income, then for it to be verified by the British Embassy and then translated into Thai. Even if I had 400K to put in the bank - I would still have the same problem - no way of verifying where the income came from. It doesn't matter where the 400K came from - it doesn't need to come from overseas. You are self-employed in Thailand? How does that work? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sumrit Posted August 30, 2019 Share Posted August 30, 2019 11 minutes ago, mtls2005 said: I believe Immigration's new rules are meant to require verification that the money comes from outside of Thailand, in some sort or periodic fashion, repeatedly/monthly. With a marriage extension you can work legally (with a work permit) so your income can be earned within Thailand. Extension - Marriage - income requirements, highlighted 1.pdf 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post DavisH Posted August 30, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted August 30, 2019 5 minutes ago, DumbFalang said: Really? - I did not know that. Very interesting... This is correct. If you have the cash, put it in the bank and forget about it. If you are working in Thailand you would need a work permit, and that may raise more questions. I think the 400K is the safest option if you can muster than amount. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtls2005 Posted August 30, 2019 Share Posted August 30, 2019 (edited) 11 minutes ago, Peterw42 said: The 400k does not need to come from outside thailand. But it does have to be "seasoned" for two or three months. And perhaps remain in the account for some period after (3 months?), and of course be at 400,000 some months prior to next year's extension. The OP would be advised to review the relevant police orders which are linked within this sub-forum. Edited August 30, 2019 by mtls2005 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubonjoe Posted August 30, 2019 Share Posted August 30, 2019 5 minutes ago, JohnOFphon said: Been a long time since I did a tourist visa, but..if you enter at a border crossing. like Suvanket..isn't it a 15 day visa? A 30 day visa exempt entry has been allowed at land border crossings for a few years now but they are limited to 2 per calendar year. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sumrit Posted August 30, 2019 Share Posted August 30, 2019 (edited) 2 minutes ago, DavisH said: If you are working in Thailand you would need a work permit And you would be liable to pay Thai income tax on your declared income. Edited August 30, 2019 by sumrit 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DumbFalang Posted August 30, 2019 Author Share Posted August 30, 2019 Thanks Guys - I really appreciate your help. So, let's say I can scrape 400K together and put it in my Thai bank. The problem is it will not have been in there for 2 months prior to the application (isn't that the requirement?) I guess we could phone and ask. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtls2005 Posted August 30, 2019 Share Posted August 30, 2019 If you were to deposit the 400K prior to the expiration if your current extension, you might be granted a provisional extension. I do know someone who did this here in Bangkok recently. I think it was 90 days, after which a one-year extension was granted. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post sumrit Posted August 30, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted August 30, 2019 Just now, DumbFalang said: Thanks Guys - I really appreciate your help. So, let's say I can scrape 400K together and put it in my Thai bank. The problem is it will not have been in there for 2 months prior to the application (isn't that the requirement?) I guess we could phone and ask. Yes, but you could get a 60 day extension for visiting your wife. Not sure exactly how you would start again with a marriage extension from that point though but I'm sure Ubonjoe could answer that for you. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterw42 Posted August 30, 2019 Share Posted August 30, 2019 3 minutes ago, DumbFalang said: Thanks Guys - I really appreciate your help. So, let's say I can scrape 400K together and put it in my Thai bank. The problem is it will not have been in there for 2 months prior to the application (isn't that the requirement?) I guess we could phone and ask. yes, 60 days prior. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post DumbFalang Posted August 30, 2019 Author Popular Post Share Posted August 30, 2019 3 minutes ago, mtls2005 said: But it does have to be "seasoned" for two or three months. Aha.... so that's not an option. Starting to think about the wording for my income verification letter. Perhaps something along the lines of... "I DumbFalang, trading as DumbFalang UK verify that we pay DumbFalang a regular monthly income of Bt40,000" 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DumbFalang Posted August 30, 2019 Author Share Posted August 30, 2019 2 minutes ago, mtls2005 said: If you were to deposit the 400K prior to the expiration if your current extension, you might be granted a provisional extension. I do know someone who did this here in Bangkok recently. I think it was 90 days, after which a one-year extension was granted. Now that is really good news. I think it's time for the wife to make that phone call to our local immi officer, ask him to remove our application from wherever he 'stuck it' and let's all make up. The missus is going to love that. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Essex Reject Posted August 30, 2019 Share Posted August 30, 2019 You don't seem to know much considering you have been here for a 12 stretch? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DumbFalang Posted August 30, 2019 Author Share Posted August 30, 2019 1 minute ago, Essex Reject said: You don't seem to know much considering you have been here for a 12 stretch? Correct. The income verification letter from the British embassy each year made my extensions pretty simple. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Essex Reject Posted August 30, 2019 Share Posted August 30, 2019 Just now, DumbFalang said: Correct. The income verification letter from the British embassy each year made my extensions pretty simple. Fair enough. Btw, if your papers are in order you WILL get a non O from Savannakhet or HCM.. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterw42 Posted August 30, 2019 Share Posted August 30, 2019 (edited) 14 minutes ago, DumbFalang said: Aha.... so that's not an option. Starting to think about the wording for my income verification letter. Perhaps something along the lines of... "I DumbFalang, trading as DumbFalang UK verify that we pay DumbFalang a regular monthly income of Bt40,000" Something like that would probably work, but make it from Dumbfalang incorporated not Dumbfalang the person. Company letterhead, business license numbers etc. Tag the incoming funds as salary so they match the letter. Write the letter in both Thai and english. Edited August 30, 2019 by Peterw42 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DumbFalang Posted August 30, 2019 Author Share Posted August 30, 2019 Just now, Essex Reject said: Fair enough. Btw, if your papers are in order you WILL get a non O from Savannakhet or HCM.. You know what..... my missus is sooooo stressed with the marriage extension that I think this would be the best option for her mental health. We will discuss it and make a decision together. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Essex Reject Posted August 30, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted August 30, 2019 Just now, DumbFalang said: You know what..... my missus is sooooo stressed with the marriage extension that I think this would be the best option for her mental health. We will discuss it and make a decision together. Really? Discuss it? You say she's Thai? My one couldn't care less ???? 1 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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