Wait, no multi non-O based on marriage from London anymore?

[fauxie]

Sorry if I'm slow (haven't checked the forum in months), but is this right? I've browsed a fair few threads and what's slowly rather horribly dawning on me is that I won't just be able to go back to the UK in July for a month or two and while there get a multi non-O based on marriage as I'd planned. Is that about the size of it? I see there's also a financial requirement now (for the single entry), but does this mean showing funds (or income) on the UK side or is the 400k in a Thai bank (account in my name, I presume, can't be the wife's)?

 

This is a bit of a blow right now, but anyway, am I also correct in my understanding that Savannakhet DOES give out multi non-Os based on marriage? Is there a 400k in a Thai bank requirement for this now? I'm now thinking, then, that I'll return to the UK as planned, apply for the single entry, then make plans to go up to Laos within 90 days of arriving back in Thailand in order to get the multi. Is that what I'm looking at now? Thanks for any help/advice. Just trying to get everything 100% clear in my mind as I wasn't thinking anything about all this until but 30 minutes ago so it's a bit of an unwelcome surprise to say the least.

[Denim]

You can come back without any visa at all and get 30 days visa on arrival. Then go to Savannakhet , assuming the multi 0 visa is still on offer there. Either that or go there and apply before your trip to the UK. If you get it before you go at least it will be a worry off your mind. Applying for any kind of visa in the UK now has do be done online and just about everyone agrees it is a real headache.

 

There are always options,even for a Rip Van Winkle.

[Samuel Smith]

5 minutes ago, Denim said:

You can come back without any visa at all and get 30 days visa on arrival. Then go to Savannakhet , assuming the multi 0 visa is still on offer there. Either that or go there and apply before your trip to the UK. If you get it before you go at least it will be a worry off your mind. Applying for any kind of visa in the UK now has do be done online and just about everyone agrees it is a real headache.

 

There are always options,even for a Rip Van Winkle.

If returning on visa exempt, do you have to show onward ticket out of Thailand?

[BritTim]

You are correct. Single entry Non O is available, but no multi any more from the UK. If you want a multiple Non O based on marriage, you can do this in Savannakhet or Ho Chi Minh City. 

Edited February 8, 2020 by BritTim

[fauxie]

5 minutes ago, Denim said:

You can come back without any visa at all and get 30 days visa on arrival. Then go to Savannakhet , assuming the multi 0 visa is still on offer there. Either that or go there and apply before your trip to the UK. If you get it before you go at least it will be a worry off your mind. Applying for any kind of visa in the UK now has do be done online and just about everyone agrees it is a real headache.

 

There are always options,even for a Rip Van Winkle.

 

Cheers for the reply. How about the financial requirements though? If 400k in a Thai bank is required does that need to be in the account for a certain period prior to applying for the visa? I can absolutely do this, though of course it's a bit of a faff. I have no account here as things stand so I guess I'll need to open one well before July in order to be ready. I'll need it if I get the single entry while in the UK, right? I've long since booked up a trip to Vientiane in April, and was then due to return to the UK in July, so don't really see myself going up to Laos again between those trips, though do take your point about it easing some worry if I were to get the multi before going back to the UK.

[steve187]

you can get a single entry from London via online or hull, it has to be pre-approved by London, then collect in person later, i showed copies of my Thai bank account, showing 400,000 thb

 

edit, no financials required for HCMC or savannakhet for multi married non 'O'

Edited February 8, 2020 by steve187

[ubonjoe]

3 minutes ago, fauxie said:

How about the financial requirements though?

None is required at Savannakhet or Ho Chi Minh City.

[fauxie]

1 minute ago, steve187 said:

you can get a single entry from London via online or hull, it has to be pre-approved by London, then collect in person later, i showed copies of my Thai bank account, showing 400,000 thb

 

You mean for Hull collect in person, I assume? Not for London? How long did you have the money in the Thai account? Can't be a fixed rate bond or something like that, right, but can't be touched? I never understand that. You're just supposed to keep £10,000 in a Thai bank year after year?

[fauxie]

2 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

None is required at Savannakhet or Ho Chi Minh City.

 

Thanks. I see. Well, that's a plus, so long as it stays that way. Weird it would be required for just a single entry from London then. That definitely gives me something to think about. Better off getting a tourist visa and going up to Laos after 2 months if I can avoid tying up £10,000 for... forever, it seems.

Edited February 8, 2020 by fauxie

[steve187]

1 minute ago, fauxie said:

 

You mean for Hull collect in person, I assume? Not for London? How long did you have the money in the Thai account? Can't be a fixed rate bond or something like that, right, but can't be touched? I never understand that. You're just supposed to keep £10,000 in a Thai bank year after year?

not sure without looking what Hull want, i just had the 400,000 over there to do a yearly extension later in the year, you send them everything they need by email, its gets approved in a few days and then you collect in person, as soon as the yearly extension is issued you can use the money, get it back in the bank 2 months before the next application.

London is not easy

[Peter Denis]

I just PM-ed you a compilation of some recent posts of TVF members that actually applied for the 1-year Multi-Entry Non Imm O - marriage Visa in Savannakhet, HCMC or Yangon, and did provide a full account of all requirements and practicalities relating to their experience.

To access your PM-messages just click the letter-icon next to your profile when logged in to the Forum.

[fauxie]

2 minutes ago, Peter Denis said:

I just PM-ed you a compilation of some recent posts of TVF members that actually applied for the 1-year Multi-Entry Non Imm O - marriage Visa in Savannakhet, HCMC or Yangon, and did provide a full account of all requirements and practicalities relating to their experience.

To access your PM-messages just click the letter-icon next to your profile when logged in to the Forum.

Thanks, I appreciate that.

 

Looks like I'll get myself a tourist visa from London and I'll have a look at those threads you sent for what I'll be doing once back here again.

[OJAS]

1 hour ago, fauxie said:

Looks like I'll get myself a tourist visa from London

Definitely a better course of action than a visa exemption (as previously advised) IMHO since you should then avoid having to run the risk of being denied permission to board your return flight at LHR without an onward flight ticket out of Thailand within the following 30 days.

Edited February 8, 2020 by OJAS

[swerve]

Harder and harder to stay in LOS.  The screws are continually tightening.  Plan B (and C) is getting more and more likely.

[codebunny]

2 hours ago, steve187 said:

you can get a single entry from London via online or hull, it has to be pre-approved by London, then collect in person later, i showed copies of my Thai bank account, showing 400,000 thb

 

edit, no financials required for HCMC or savannakhet for multi married non 'O'

400,000 in your bank account has nothing to do with Non-Imm 'O' visas applied for in embassies and consulates outside Thailand... it only applies to visa extensions within the country, and only if you're married to a Thai. 

 

  

2 hours ago, fauxie said:

 

You mean for Hull collect in person, I assume? Not for London? How long did you have the money in the Thai account? Can't be a fixed rate bond or something like that, right, but can't be touched? I never understand that. You're just supposed to keep £10,000 in a Thai bank year after year?

The information you have been given here is muddled up and not correct.

You can show your monthly salary in UK bank statements.

Edited February 8, 2020 by codebunny

[lemonjelly]

18 minutes ago, codebunny said:

400,000 in your bank account has nothing to do with Non-Imm 'O' visas applied for in embassies and consulates outside Thailand... it only applies to visa extensions within the country, and only if you're married to a Thai. 

 

  

The information you have been given here is muddled up and not correct.

You can show your monthly salary in UK bank statements.

I’m pretty sure one needs to show 200k for a multi NON-O in Penang, not 400k though.

Edited February 8, 2020 by lemonjelly

[Maestro]

3 hours ago, fauxie said:

...I see there's also a financial requirement now (for the single entry), but does this mean showing funds (or income) on the UK side or is the 400k in a Thai bank (account in my name, I presume, can't be the wife's)?...

 

The money can be in a bank account in your name anywhere in the world.

[steve187]

9 hours ago, codebunny said:

400,000 in your bank account has nothing to do with Non-Imm 'O' visas applied for in embassies and consulates outside Thailand... it only applies to visa extensions within the country, and only if you're married to a Thai. 

 

 

i used the 400,00 in a Thai bank to assist with any financial requirements that Hull wanted for a single entry non imm 'O' visa.

 

so it has everything to do with a visa application in the UK - see here item 6 ''Copies of latest three months bank statements which must show applicant’s name and address.''  taken from here - https://www.thaiconsul-uk.com/non-immigrant-visa-cat-o-married.php

[sandyf]

12 hours ago, fauxie said:

 

Cheers for the reply. How about the financial requirements though? If 400k in a Thai bank is required does that need to be in the account for a certain period prior to applying for the visa? I can absolutely do this, though of course it's a bit of a faff. I have no account here as things stand so I guess I'll need to open one well before July in order to be ready. I'll need it if I get the single entry while in the UK, right? I've long since booked up a trip to Vientiane in April, and was then due to return to the UK in July, so don't really see myself going up to Laos again between those trips, though do take your point about it easing some worry if I were to get the multi before going back to the UK.

I was in a similar problem and back in Nov went to HCMC for a multi non O and it was all very straight forward and no financials required.

I would suggest you book a flight to HCMC before going to the UK and plan to go before the visa exempt expires. As a Brit you do not need a visa for Vietnam and for me the 3800 baht for the flight was a lot easier and cheaper than going to Laos.

[Andycoops]

13 hours ago, OJAS said:

Definitely a better course of action than a visa exemption (as previously advised) IMHO since you should then avoid having to run the risk of being denied permission to board your return flight at LHR without an onward flight ticket out of Thailand within the following 30 days.

IMHO you would be better off getting the ME Non O marriage visa in Savannakhet before you go just in case there is a change of policy and they stop issuing them with no financials required.

[fauxie]

Thanks for the info everyone. That's reassuring about the financial stuff, for now. To Andy, I get your point. It'd mean getting the visa in, say, June, rather than probably October (staying in UK 1-2 months). I guess I have to ask myself how lucky I feel as far as things staying the same or changing. It would be very good to have the visa last until around end of 2021/start of 2022 (I never do extensions, just little jaunts to Luang Prabang, KL, or Penang every 3 months), but I know there is a risk if I leave it until after my trip to the UK. My preferred choice right now would be to continue as planned, then get a tourist visa while back in the UK, have a trip up to Savannakhet already booked (wouldn't I need to show an onward flight if arriving one-way on a tourist visa?) and then go get the 1 year multi up there a couple of months after coming back to Thailand. I think I'll open up a Thai bank account in my name shortly anyway, just in case that's needed in the near future, and I'll need to keep an eye on the situation with the availability of the multi entry and give this some more thought.

Edited February 9, 2020 by fauxie

[Peter Denis]

13 minutes ago, fauxie said:

Thanks for the info everyone. That's reassuring about the financial stuff. To Andy, I get your point. It'd mean getting the visa in, say, June, rather than probably October (staying in UK 1-2 months). I guess I have to ask myself how lucky I feel as far as things staying the same or changing. It would be very good to have the visa last until around end of 2021/start of 2022 (I never do extensions, just little jaunts to Luang Prabang, KL, or Penang every 3 months), but I know there is a risk if I leave it until after my trip to the UK. Still, my preferred choice right now would be to continue as planned, then get a tourist visa while back in the UK, have a trip up to Savannakhet already booked (wouldn't I need to show an onward flight if arriving one-way on a tourist visa?) and then go get the 1 year multi up there a couple of months after coming back to Thailand. I think I'll open up a Thai bank account in my name before I go back to the UK though, just in case that's needed in the near future.

You can squeeze 15 months stay in Thailand out of the 1-year Multi-Entry Non Imm O - marriage Visa (by exiting and re-entering Thailand just before your Visa validity date expires), and you can apply for a 2 month extension at any IO for 1.900 THB, which will make it 17 months.  So even when applying in June 2020, you will be able to have the visa last until November 2021.

Returning to Thailand on a Single-Entry Tourist Visa from your UK trip, will indeed require an onward flight.  But you can buy a 'throw-away' one-way international ticket out of Thailand for as low as 1.000 THB (e.g. HuaHin to KL), so that shouldn't be an issue.

Good idea to already open a thai bank-account, as you might need it when (and if) the axe falls on the 1-year ME Non Imm O-marriage Visa, which would then require you to apply for a 1-year extension of stay for your Non Imm O - marriage Visa at your local IO (and that requires financials on a thai bank-account).

 

[fauxie]

27 minutes ago, Peter Denis said:

You can squeeze 15 months stay in Thailand out of the 1-year Multi-Entry Non Imm O - marriage Visa (by exiting and re-entering Thailand just before your Visa validity date expires), and you can apply for a 2 month extension at any IO for 1.900 THB, which will make it 17 months.  So even when applying in June 2020, you will be able to have the visa last until November 2021.

Returning to Thailand on a Single-Entry Tourist Visa from your UK trip, will indeed require an onward flight.  But you can buy a 'throw-away' one-way international ticket out of Thailand for as low as 1.000 THB (e.g. HuaHin to KL), so that shouldn't be an issue.

Good idea to already open a thai bank-account, as you might need it when (and if) the axe falls on the 1-year ME Non Imm O-marriage Visa, which would then require you to apply for a 1-year extension of stay for your Non Imm O - marriage Visa at your local IO (and that requires financials on a thai bank-account).

 

Ah, ok. But if I were taking the option of waiting and getting a tourist visa first in the UK I would already be booking a flight up to Savannakhet two months after returning to Thailand to get the visa I'm after anyway, so I'd have that onward flight. I have to say I'm now leaning more towards going to get the visa sooner, before returning to the UK. I really do need to go back there for family reasons by July, and with a trip coming up (end of 90 days) to go to Vientiane in April, it looks like a trip to Savannakhet in June is likely.

 

Oh, another option is if the timing is ok with seeing a family member early July, I could book a return here, stay in the UK two weeks, come back in without a visa but with the Suvanakhet trip booked and go up there to get the visa mid to late August. Bit of a wait, but a shorter stay in the UK and no 2 month tourist visa would make it less risky as far as future changes than waiting until October.

Edited February 9, 2020 by fauxie

[Peter Denis]

11 minutes ago, fauxie said:

Ah, ok. But if I were taking the option of waiting and getting a tourist visa first in the UK I would already be booking a flight up to Savannakhet two months after returning to Thailand to get the visa I'm after anyway, so I'd have that onward flight. I have to say I'm now leaning more towards going to get the visa sooner, before returning to the UK. I really do need to go back there for family reasons by July, and with a trip coming up (end of 90 days) to go to Vientiane in April, it looks like a trip to Savannakhet in June is likely.

When you already applied and got the ME Non Imm O - marriage Visa before leaving for UK, you would not need a return or onward flight. 

When you did not apply and return from UK with a Tourist Visa, it sounds logical to book an onward flight to Savannakhet before your 60-day SETV expires.  However, there are very few flights to Savannakhet and they are relatively expensive.  That's why most Savannakhet consulate Visa-visitors go to Mukdahan and then cross the border overland to Savannakhet (which is at the other side of the bordering Mekong-river).

So the cheap throw-away onward ticket required when flying back on an SETV would probably still be your best choice.

[fauxie]

1 minute ago, Peter Denis said:

When you already applied and got the ME Non Imm O - marriage Visa before leaving for UK, you would not need a return or onward flight. 

When you did not apply and return from UK with a Tourist Visa, it sounds logical to book an onward flight to Savannakhet before your 60-day SETV expires.  However, there are very few flights to Savannakhet and they are relatively expensive.  That's why most Savannakhet consulate Visa-visitors go to Mukdahan and then cross the border overland to Savannakhet (which is at the other side of the bordering Mekong-river).

So the cheap throw-away onward ticket required when flying back on an SETV would probably still be your best choice.

Oh of course, sorry. I have been up there to get a visa the one time, but forgot the details. We flew to Mukdahan, went over to submit the application, stayed 2 nights in Savannakhet, then 1 night back in Mukdahan before flying back to Bangkok. You can see how out of touch and complacent I've become in recent years. I need to be on the ball. I'm now weighing up two options - getting the visa in June, or coming back without a visa after a brief UK stay in July and up to Savannakhet within 30 days (sometime in August) to get it.

[steve187]

6 hours ago, Peter Denis said:

Returning to Thailand on a Single-Entry Tourist Visa from your UK trip, will indeed require an onward flight

no onward flight required with a visa , only visa exempt

 

5 hours ago, Peter Denis said:

When you did not apply and return from UK with a Tourist Visa, it sounds logical to book an onward flight to Savannakhet before your 60-day SETV expires.

see above,

 

op you could get a 60 day extension on the tourist visa, before heading to Savannakhet

[Peter Denis]

18 hours ago, Peter Denis said:

Returning to Thailand on a Single-Entry Tourist Visa from your UK trip, will indeed require an onward flight

 

11 hours ago, steve187 said:

no onward flight required with a visa , only visa exempt

 

I was quoting my personal experience (and checked it agian).

When applying for the SETV at the honorary royal thai consulate in Antwerp, Belgium a return-ticket IS required.

It is not required when applying for an METV at that same consulate.

 

Maybe different in other countries...

[steve187]

1 minute ago, Peter Denis said:

 

 

I was quoting my personal experience (and checked it agian).

When applying for the SETV at the honorary royal thai consulate in Antwerp, Belgium a return-ticket IS required.

It is not required when applying for an METV at that same consulate.

 

Maybe different in other countries...

you said  ''Returning to Thailand on a Single-Entry Tourist Visa from your UK trip, will indeed require an onward flight''

 

now you are saying when you applied for a tourist visa, they are 2 different processes.

yes you nay have to have a return ticket to keep the embassy/consulate happy, but you will not need to have a return ticket for the airline or immigration on arrival, best practice is to be clear in what you are posting, not say one thing but mean another, it adds confusion to readers who have limited knowledge of the subject

[Peter Denis]

29 minutes ago, steve187 said:

...

yes you nay have to have a return ticket to keep the embassy/consulate happy, but you will not need to have a return ticket for the airline or immigration on arrival, best practice is to be clear in what you are posting, not say one thing but mean another, it adds confusion to readers who have limited knowledge of the subject

You are correct > A return or onward ticket is not required when entering Thailand on a valid visa.

Many embassies/consulates do require it when applying for an SETV, but indeed not required by border-immigration.

[Nong Khai Man]

On 2/8/2020 at 7:58 PM, steve187 said:

you can get a single entry from London via online or hull, it has to be pre-approved by London, then collect in person later, i showed copies of my Thai bank account, showing 400,000 thb

 

edit, no financials required for HCMC or savannakhet for multi married non 'O'

you can get a single entry from London via online or hull, OR Liverpool & Cardiff I Believe ??