5 hours ago, BritManToo said:

3 or 4 months in Chiang mai, as you need it in the bank 2 months before you apply, and they don't let you take it out until after your passport is stamped with the new extension.

some offices require that but the norm is in the bank for 2 months only.

2 hours ago, Thaidream said:

I am questioning the fact and yes it is a fact that  American; UK and other EU countries allow a Thai spouse to prove financials via  money in the bank; assets such as a home; husbands  job salary and also a sponsor.

for a yearly extension of stay for a non Thai husband of a Thai women, a deposited sum of 400,000 Baht for 2 months is required or an income of 40,000 baht per month, for the non Thai wife of a Thai man no financials are required for the same yearly extension

 

for non UK citizen wife ( the same rules apply to husband of a UK citizenwife) of a UK citizen husband, the UK citizen husband has to show an income of i believe £18,600 or a lump sum of £62.500 or a combination of the 2, no property is allowed in the financials, that is for a 30 month ( i believe) visa. no potential income of the wife is allowed, the cost of the visa is £1,523, against a yearly charge in Thailand of about £45.00

 

who is making it harder for a couple to be together, the Thai system is fairly easy, the UK system is b*oody hard work, and requires the wife to speak English, yes down the line the wife can become a British citizen, but at a huge cost.

To the best of my knowledge no where does it state that you have to leave the country for 1 minute, 1 hour, 1 day, 1 week etc.

Before you fulfil the requirement to re-enter to keep to the rules the ME Non O (marriage) was issued to you with in the first place.

16 hours ago, hank69 said:

out/in at nong khai last week (within the hour) stamped back in as normal.

 

Would it be fair to say the Cambodian borders are the worst, followed by Malaysian? 

Several off topic, bickering, baiting and etc posts have been removed. Time to get back on topic and stop the bickering.

This topic is about Thai visas not those for other countries.

On 1/28/2020 at 10:07 AM, Matzzon said:

Wow! You are really in the know! It allows a person to travel??? No, it tells a person that they must travel to another country every 90 days, if they do not extend for 60 days at an immigration office. Like stated before in this thread, and as I tried to explain, people get problems just because they try to do the classical border run (go and back in 10 minutes). If they just stay over night all is fine.

Just don´t tell me that something allows a person to do something, when it is in fact a condition for the type of visa this thread regards.

A person married to a thai national, who lives long term, one year and longer, in Thailand, who does not seek a long stay visa, or extension, designed for people who live one year or longer in Thailand, and instead seeks multiple renewal of 90 day visas using border runs is attempting to abuse a system that requires income conditions to be met to stay long term in Thailand. The Gov of Thailand, would naturally, and with reason, hold such people as suspect in their intensions and motivations.

Edited January 30, 20206 yr by WalkingOrders
To word

38 minutes ago, WalkingOrders said:

A person married to a thai national, who lives long term, one year and longer, in Thailand, who does not seek a long stay visa, or extension, designed for people who live one year or longer in Thailand, and instead seeks multiple renewal of 90 day visas using border runs is attempting to abuse a system that requires income conditions to be met to stay long term in Thailand. The Gov of Thailand, would naturally, and with reason, hold such people as suspect in their intensions and motivations.

Years and years of 90 day Non-os, no Thai official has ever suggested I get an extension.

No need to suspect my motivations, I'm here to bang younger women, drink beer and raise my kids.

 

Only 1 immigration officer ever spoke to me on the way in (Aranyaprathet/Poipet), all the rest stamp, stamp in.

I've never done border bounces, I like a nice holiday in a friendly country, was in Saigon for a week earlier this month, booked a week in Phnom Penh for April.

Edited January 30, 20206 yr by BritManToo

40 minutes ago, WalkingOrders said:

A person married to a thai national, who lives long term, one year and longer, in Thailand, who does not seek a long stay visa

Eeeh, but last time I checked a Non-O ME is considered to be one of the long stay visas.

On 1/28/2020 at 8:49 PM, EricTh said:

There is no financial requirement for non-O multiple entry visa other than the 1900 baht fee.

it costs $200.

2 hours ago, Matzzon said:

Eeeh, but last time I checked a Non-O ME is considered to be one of the long stay visas.

 

The term "long stay" is officially used on the websites of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and some Thai embassies and consulates and on visa stickers only for the non-immigrant visa category O-A.

 

The maximum period of stay granted upon each entry into Thailand is one year with the multiple-entry O-A visa, but only 90 days with the multiple-entry non-O visa.

On 1/29/2020 at 6:18 AM, jacko45k said:

Would it be fair to say the Cambodian borders are the worst, followed by Malaysian? 

At the current time, I would say yes, though not all land crossings for a specific country are equally (un)friendly. For several years, all the crossings from Laos have been reliable for entry as long as you are not in violation of any official regulations. Occasionally, individual borders with Myanmar have been iffy. As always, this is subject to change without notice.

On 1/30/2020 at 10:47 AM, WalkingOrders said:

Quote

A person married to a thai national, who lives long term, one year and longer, in Thailand, who does not seek a long stay visa, or extension, designed for people who live one year or longer in Thailand, and instead seeks multiple renewal of 90 day visas using border runs is attempting to abuse a system that requires income conditions to be met to stay long term in Thailand. The Gov of Thailand, would naturally, and with reason, hold such people as suspect in their intensions and motivations.

You misunderstand.  
The marriage visa is a one year visa. It just limits permission to stay for 90 days at a time. If you cross the border and re-enter, you are granted an additional 90 days. There is no abuse in doing that, it is just how the visa functions. If they do not wish to grant that permission to stay on each arrival, then they could very easily change the policy to make extension mandatory without stealth changes in policy which can be conveniently "worked around" with 2000 baht in a brown envelope.     

 

If they want to make that change, I'm fine with that. It's not trampling my rights. It is however, unethical and unfair to stealthily implement the change and spring fines on people at the border, and my post here is simply to warn people of the possible risk of what up until now, has always been A-OK with immigration officials here.
 

It's amazing how many people can view the same clear facts and yet come up with ludicrous interpretations. BritManToo put the simple truth in plain words:

On 1/28/2020 at 8:33 AM, BritManToo said:

OP was extorted by a corrupt border immigration official, that's all there was to it.

Should have asked for an official appeal form (TM11).

The IOs came up with an arbitrary and illegal policy at the border. Then they pocketed money in order to provide the OP with the stamp to which he is legally entitled. A crime was committed.

 

Then we get all this "yeah, but..." tangential rambling from the Salty Squad and their sympathizers about what the OP did wrong. The OP did nothing wrong. The terms of his visa allow him unlimited entries into Thailand with a 90-day permission to stay upon entry. If you disagree with the terms of that visa, so be it.

 

On 1/27/2020 at 11:36 PM, jimn said:

I agree that your treatment is appalling however the guy does have a point. Doing a border bounce every 90 days although legal is not what its designed for. If you are living here full time, you really should be on an extension of stay based on marriage.

On 1/28/2020 at 9:35 AM, john terry1001 said:

So you've been living in Thailand for FIVE YEARS on non O visas and border runs. That's not what a non O visa was designed for.

Oh? Does the visa allow it? Yes. Is there any law or regulation prohibiting it? No. So what are you doing professing on what the visa was "designed for?"

On 1/28/2020 at 9:35 AM, john terry1001 said:

It's designed for 'temporary stay' and/or a stepping stone in the process to obtaining a one year extension of stay at Immigration. It's people abusing the system and doing the same/similar process to you that is likely to eventually result in a further tightening of the rules and make it even more difficult for other genuine non O holders. eg: land border crossings have already been limited to two per year for visa exempt. Applying the same/similar rules to include non O visa holders (max of two land border runs per year) would likely stop you abusing the system and, I'm sure that option has not been lost on the powers that be.  

Show me some evidence that it's designed only as a "stepping stone" for an extension of stay. It's not relevant, but it'd make your victim-blaming 50% less offensive. 

 

There is no "abusing" the system here, as the OP's behavior was legal and reasonable. It's offensive to label a person's actions "abusive" absent any fraud or conduct that violates the rules. It's abusive to come in on tourist visas/exemptions and work. It's abusive to enter into a sham marriage for immigration purposes. You know what's abusive? IOs deciding that they don't like the rules and imposing their own. Asking for money in order to do your job per the rules? That's criminal.

On 1/28/2020 at 11:23 AM, sucit said:

I think it is very difficult for us to figure out exactly what a non o me was designed for, unless you were a fly on the wall back in the day when the thais came up with the concept.

 

This is really pretty simple. You can enter Thailand on non o's as many times as you like. Each time you enter you get 90 days. So if someone had a non o me and goes to cambodia everyday for work, this is all perfectly legit. To say someone who crosses over and back just a few times a year is somehow doing something out of order is just wrong as i see it. 

Exactly.

On 1/28/2020 at 7:49 AM, WalkingOrders said:

A multi entry visa allows someone to leave and come back its not meant as replacement to 90 day reporting. It allow someone to travel, home or otherwise, who is living in Thailand with a longterm type O.

Irrelevant. Your point is moot once you concede that the visa allows it.

 

The OP is not even trying to avoid 90-day reporting. He does not have legal permission to stay longer than 90 days.

 

And actually, the TM6 entry card does the same function as a 90-day report. That's why you are required to report 90 days after arrival, and the clock resets if you leave the country and re-enter.......by filling out a TM6.

 

On 2/5/2020 at 1:39 AM, thaistuff said:

If they want to make that change, I'm fine with that. It's not trampling my rights. It is however, unethical and unfair to stealthily implement the change and spring fines on people at the border, and my post here is simply to warn people of the possible risk of what up until now, has always been A-OK with immigration officials here.
 

Right on. Thank you for sharing. Sorry about your experience.

 

I think your sentiment--if they want to change the rules, that's fine...just follow your own rules unless/until you change them--is shared by many of us. Thai authorities have the right to make the rules, and the authority to change them. Sadly, they wind up doing this awkward dance where they don't change anything, and individual officials wind up making things up on their own. At best, this causes inconsistency, uncertainty, and a negative impact on the lives of thousands of foreigners (and the associated hit to Thailand's image/economy). At worst, it enables corruption.

 

The chances of things improving are reduced by the apologists in the Salty Squad, who provide cover for Thai authorities. "See, there are plenty of good farang who are OK with the system!" they are encouraged to think. "It's just the whining troublemakers who don't want to respect our rules who complain!" 

 

It's far too rare to read reasonable thoughts from posters here who have no issues, but sympathize with those who do.

• "My extension always go smoothly because my Thai wife does the paperwork and our local office is helpful, but not everyone has that and I wish other offices would get their act together."
• "My employer has a great relationship with the local office, so they handle the 90-day reporting for us. But it's absurd that other people have to make a costly/time-consuming trip for something that should just require a few clicks online."
• "I qualify for a retirement visa/extension, but it's unfortunate that the system isn't set-up to allow other long-stay tourists who just want to spend time here and are helping the economy."
• "I never have any problems flying in, but I've read enough stories here to know that some IOs are stricter than others, and some even deny people on false grounds ("insufficient means of support") simply because they think someone has spent too much time in country. They really need to clarify the rules and/or crack down on abuses of authority."

Instead it's "I never have any problems, so it must be your fault. Now get out so I can feel more special."

On 1/28/2020 at 4:31 AM, gk10002000 said:

I was always a bit confused why having a O visa, people were still making 90 day border runs. I just assumed they could and would do one year extensions, similar to O visa holders that do retirement extensions but don't make 90 day border runs.  Reading some of the posts above, I think I now understand.

 

 

 

or not all ppl have 400k in the bank..