Options for person married to a Thai on a 30 day visa exempt entry.

[Mama Noodle]

I have to do something by April 4th. I know I can extend for 30 days at my local immigration, but I keep hearing from my wifes friend that there is a way to extend my stay based on marriage?
 

I normally just go to Savannakeht for my Non-O visa based on marriage but I was in a hurry to get back here, and then they closed the borders. 

 

Is it possible to extend my stay based on Marriage to a Thai when you are on a 30 day visa exempt stamp? 

 

Can anyone let me know what my options are? I would REALLY like to be able to go to my local immigration tomorrow morning and get some kind of way to stay longer than 30 days. 

 

Im an American Citizen

Local Immigration is Chong Chom 

 

We have a house and I have a Yellow Tambien Baan

 

I do not at this time have 400k in a thai bank nor can show 65k every month into a thai bank but I do have the money to deposit the needed funds if there is a way to get enough time to season it. 

 

If anyone can advise me I would really appreciate it. Im trying to get this done tomorrow before any lock-down insanity. 

[Max69xl]

You can apply for a 60 days extension based on being married to a Thai. 

[Mama Noodle]

1 minute ago, Max69xl said:

You can apply for a 60 days extension based on being married to a Thai. 

What about after that 60 day period is over? Can it be extended again for another 60 days? Can I convert at some point to a 1 year extension of stay? I believe 60 days would give me enough time to season whatever funds are needed. 

[MagnumForce]

I'm kinda in the same both as the OP. My understanding of it is that we can apply for a first extension to the 30 days visa exempt stamp for a further 30 days. Then we can apply for the 60 days extension based on marriage by going back to the Immigration office. That would be a combined 90 days.

 

However, if you apply for the 60 days extension based on marriage first, then you will not get a further 30 days.

 

I am open to correction from those here who are far more knowledgeable than I. 

[BritTim]

Just now, Mama Noodle said:

What about after that 60 day period is over? Can it be extended again for another 60 days? Can I convert at some point to a 1 year extension of stay? I believe 60 days would give me enough time to season whatever funds are needed. 

If worried about what to do from June onward, first talk to Immigration and ask if you can do the 30-day extension, followed by the 60-day extension. Some offices allow this, some do not.

 

If you can only have one or the other, obviously go for the 60 days. After that, it is absolutely impossible to predict what your options will be. Everything is changing rapidly, and you will need to start planning when you have about a week left.

[Max69xl]

10 minutes ago, Mama Noodle said:

What about after that 60 day period is over? Can it be extended again for another 60 days? Can I convert at some point to a 1 year extension of stay? I believe 60 days would give me enough time to season whatever funds are needed. 

You can't extend it another 60 days. If you meet the financial requirements for an extension based on marriage = 400k in the bank 2 months prior to the day you apply for the extension,then it will work. The only other choice if you need more time I guess would be the embassy letter to get another 30 days because of the Coronavirus situation.

[Mama Noodle]

10 minutes ago, BritTim said:

If worried about what to do from June onward, first talk to Immigration and ask if you can do the 30-day extension, followed by the 60-day extension. Some offices allow this, some do not.

 

If you can only have one or the other, obviously go for the 60 days. After that, it is absolutely impossible to predict what your options will be. Everything is changing rapidly, and you will need to start planning when you have about a week left.

 

Thanks for that. 

 

So there is no way to get a 1 year extension from the 30 day entry? 

 

Also, it looks like immigration is allowing multiple 30 day extensions for people due to the virus, would it be better to just extend every 30 days until the borders open again? 

[Max69xl]

16 minutes ago, MagnumForce said:

I'm kinda in the same both as the OP. My understanding of it is that we can apply for a first extension to the 30 days visa exempt stamp for a further 30 days. Then we can apply for the 60 days extension based on marriage by going back to the Immigration office. That would be a combined 90 days.

 

However, if you apply for the 60 days extension based on marriage first, then you will not get a further 30 days.

 

I am open to correction from those here who are far more knowledgeable than I. 

You might be able to use the embassy letter to get another 30 days due to the coronavirus situation. 

[Max69xl]

11 minutes ago, Mama Noodle said:

 

Thanks for that. 

 

So there is no way to get a 1 year extension from the 30 day entry? 

 

Also, it looks like immigration is allowing multiple 30 day extensions for people due to the virus, would it be better to just extend every 30 days until the borders open again? 

If you can obtain the embassy letter,yes. But a 60 days extension based on marriage is a good start. 

[Mama Noodle]

34 minutes ago, MagnumForce said:

My understanding of it is that we can apply for a first extension to the 30 days visa exempt stamp for a further 30 days. Then we can apply for the 60 days extension based on marriage by going back to the Immigration office. That would be a combined 90 days.

 

I have an Australian friend that I work with, and he confirmed to me that he does exactly this all the time. Both at Phuket Immigration and Buriram Immigration. 

[Mama Noodle]

Im working on the embassy letter now as a backup. 

 

Im also going to make a deposit into my Thai bank account to bump me up over 400k baht and will try to get a 1 year extension. Probably won't work, but ill I've it a try. 

 

If that doesn't work then I will try to get the 30 extension then the 60 extension. Holding the embassy letter as a backup. 

[Mama Noodle]

Can anyone tell me what forms I need to fill out and what copies and originals I need to bring? 

 

For the 30 day extension and the 60 day extension.

[Max69xl]

2 minutes ago, Mama Noodle said:

Im working on the embassy letter now as a backup. 

 

Im also going to make a deposit into my Thai bank account to bump me up over 400k baht and will try to get a 1 year extension. Probably won't work, but ill I've it a try. 

 

If that doesn't work then I will try to get the 30 extension then the 60 extension. Holding the embassy letter as a backup. 

Remember that the 400k has to be in the bank 2 months prior to the day you apply for the extension. 

[Mama Noodle]

14 minutes ago, Max69xl said:

Remember that the 400k has to be in the bank 2 months prior to the day you apply for the extension. 

 

I know. Im still gonna try it. At least it'll be there in case I need it later. 

 

The evidence of this money has to be in the bank book or I can use an online statement print out? 

[khwaibah]

1 hour ago, Mama Noodle said:

Local Immigration is Chong Chom 

There is no Immigration at Chong Chom. Surin Immigration is in Kap Choeng. If you'r legally married take your wife with her house book and her ID AND your mirage certificate with 1900 baht and they will give you a 60 day extension 1 time to visit wife. Surin Immigration is about 12 km back up the 214 highway from the Chon Chom Market and crossing that is closed.

[ubonjoe]

To apply for the one year extension you will need a 90 day non immigrant visa (category O) that can be applied for at immigration. 

You would need 400k baht in a Thai bank in your name only on the day you apply for the extension (no need to have it in the bank for 2 months). You would need at least 15 days remaining on you entry or the 30 day extension of it (or the 60 day extension).

Requirements are here. https://www.immigration.go.th/content/service_79

Then during the last 30 days of the 90 day entry from the visa you could apply for the extension. The 400k baht would then need to be in the bank for 2 months.

[BritTim]

5 hours ago, Mama Noodle said:

So there is no way to get a 1 year extension from the 30 day entry? 

It may be possible, if you can meet all the requirements. It works as a two step process:

1. You apply to convert your current tourist entry to a non immigrant entry with a view to a long term extension based on marriage. You must start this process at least 15 days (possibly longer) before your current permission to stay ends. (That can be an extended permission to stay using the 30 day or 60 day extension.) The mechanism is that you are issued a single entry Non Immigrant visa, immediately used, which gives you a fresh 90-day Non Immigrant entry to replace your current tourist entry.
2. Towards the end of the 90 day stay from the conversion step above, you apply for a one-year extension of your permission to stay.

How easy this is will depend to some extent on the immigration office you are using. Non negotiable is your original Thai marriage certificate (it becomes complicated if you do not have one) and financial proof (400,000 baht in the bank or 40,000 baht per month income). You should check with your immigration office for their detailed requirements,

[KhaoYai]

Why do people keep repeating the advice that Ubonjoe has given?

[Mama Noodle]

11 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

To apply for the one year extension you will need a 90 day non immigrant visa (category O) that can be applied for at immigration. 

You would need 400k baht in a Thai bank in your name only on the day you apply for the extension (no need to have it in the bank for 2 months). You would need at least 15 days remaining on you entry or the 30 day extension of it (or the 60 day extension).

Requirements are here. https://www.immigration.go.th/content/service_79

Then during the last 30 days of the 90 day entry from the visa you could apply for the extension. The 400k baht would then need to be in the bank for 2 months.

 

@ubonjoe

 

Please let me know if the following plan will work and if I am understanding you properly. 

 

Since I have less than 15 days left on my current entry, I can not apply for 90 day Non-O visa at this time. 

 

I can apply now for a 60 day extension of my 30 day entry based on marriage to a Thai, and then the next step is to apply for a visa change, no less than 15 days away from the end of the 60 days, to a 90 day Non-O based on marriage. 

 

At the time of applying for the 90 day Non-O I do not need to have the money seasoned for 2 months, but about a month away from the end of the 90 day Non-O I can THEN apply for a 1 year extension of stay and AT THAT TIME the 400k would need to be seasoned in a thai bank in my name. 

 

So: 60 day extension > 90 Day Non-O (Funds do NOT need to be seasoned) > 1 Year Extension (Funds DO need to be seasoned)

 

Is this correct?

[BritTim]

19 minutes ago, Mama Noodle said:

 

@ubonjoe

 

Please let me know if the following plan will work and if I am understanding you properly. 

 

Since I have less than 15 days left on my current entry, I can not apply for 90 day Non-O visa at this time. 

 

I can apply now for a 60 day extension of my 30 day entry based on marriage to a Thai, and then the next step is to apply for a visa change, no less than 15 days away from the end of the 60 days, to a 90 day Non-O based on marriage. 

 

At the time of applying for the 90 day Non-O I do not need to have the money seasoned for 2 months, but about a month away from the end of the 90 day Non-O I can THEN apply for a 1 year extension of stay and AT THAT TIME the 400k would need to be seasoned in a thai bank in my name. 

 

So: 60 day extension > 90 Day Non-O (Funds do NOT need to be seasoned) > 1 Year Extension (Funds DO need to be seasoned)

 

Is this correct?

That is correct. Check with your immigration office for the other details on both conversion and one-year extension.

[Mama Noodle]

55 minutes ago, BritTim said:

That is correct. Check with your immigration office for the other details on both conversion and one-year extension.

 

One more question, what about the 40k per month option? 

 

Can that be something as simple as transferring 40+k thai baht to myself in Thailand every month? 

 

Is there any embassy letter or anything weird needed to justify the money? I will have the 400k this time around but it would be easier to make monthly transfers to myself. 

 

And for how many months do I need to show these transfers before I can use it as proof of income? 

[ubonjoe]

1 hour ago, Mama Noodle said:

I can apply now for a 60 day extension of my 30 day entry based on marriage to a Thai, and then the next step is to apply for a visa change, no less than 15 days away from the end of the 60 days, to a 90 day Non-O based on marriage. 

You could apply for the the visa on the same day you apply for the 30 day extension of your visa exempt if you had the 400k baht in the bank. If you get the 60 day extension it would give your more time to open a bank a account and transfer the 400k baht into the bank. Then up to the last 15 days of the 60 day extension apply for the visa.

You do not need to have the 400k baht in the bank for 2 months wheny apply for the visa.

This is my general list of required documents for the extension. The visa application will require about all the same documents. Marriage Extension Requirements 2.pdf

[Mama Noodle]

10 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

You could apply for the the visa on the same day you apply for the 30 day extension of your visa exempt if you had the 400k baht in the bank. If you get the 60 day extension it would give your more time to open a bank a account and transfer the 400k baht into the bank. Then up to the last 15 days of the 60 day extension apply for the visa.

You do not need to have the 400k baht in the bank for 2 months wheny apply for the visa.

This is my general list of required documents for the extension. The visa application will require about all the same documents. Marriage Extension Requirements 2.pdf

 

Ill do exactly what you mentioned, extend and then immediately apply for the 90 day non-o at the same time. 

 

All I need now is for the stupid banks in Thailand to stop mucking about and show my cash in Thailand. Its left my US account but isn't showing up in my Thai account. 

 

Never happened before and seems to be a country wide problem. What a mess. 

[Peter Denis]

11 hours ago, Mama Noodle said:

1 - One more question, what about the 40k per month option? 

2 - Can that be something as simple as transferring 40+k thai baht to myself in Thailand every month? 

3 - Is there any embassy letter or anything weird needed to justify the money? I will have the 400k this time around but it would be easier to make monthly transfers to myself. 

4 - And for how many months do I need to show these transfers before I can use it as proof of income? 

1 - Yes, you can also apply using the 40K monthly-income transfer method.  For the initial application for the 90-day Non Imm O - marriage Visa only 1 transfer to your thai bank-account needs to be shown.  And when you apply for the 1-year extension of stay, you need to have done at least 2 monthly transfers of 40K.

2 - Yes, when you did choose for that method, you need to continue to transfer 40K to your thai bank-account on a monthly basis - the rules allow an average of 40K per month, as long as the yearly total meets 480K, but some IOs do not allow averaging and require 40K every month.

3 - If you have the 400K at the present moment, that would probably be most convenient as you only need to show that that 400K is in your thai bank-account at the moment of application, and has stayed there for 2 months before applying for the 1-year extension of stay.  The next 10 months there is no need to keep the 400K on your thai bank-account, but if you want to apply again for the next 1-year extension, it needs to be once again 2 months on your thai bank-account before application.

4 - Addressed in #1.

Note: I am not sure whether a pension-statement and/or embassy income-statement is required when using the 40K monthly-income method, but @ubonjoewill be able to confirm whether or not required.

[Max69xl]

1 hour ago, Mama Noodle said:

 

Ill do exactly what you mentioned, extend and then immediately apply for the 90 day non-o at the same time. 

 

All I need now is for the stupid banks in Thailand to stop mucking about and show my cash in Thailand. Its left my US account but isn't showing up in my Thai account. 

 

Never happened before and seems to be a country wide problem. What a mess. 

FYI, there are only transfers from the US that quite often get delayed. Don't blame Thai banks. 

[Matty6969]

Question: how many times can one get an extra 30 days extension to their 30 day visa exempt stamp?

First time done, second time I believe I need a letter from the embassy, third time, etc?

[Mama Noodle]

On 3/25/2020 at 7:27 AM, ubonjoe said:

You could apply for the the visa on the same day you apply for the 30 day extension of your visa exempt if you had the 400k baht in the bank. If you get the 60 day extension it would give your more time to open a bank a account and transfer the 400k baht into the bank.

 

My money finally arrived this morning so I have the required funds. 

 

My only question is how I show them the available funds? Do I need to get a letter from Bangkok Bank? Will an updated bank book and photo copies of the bank book be enough? 

[ubonjoe]

14 minutes ago, Mama Noodle said:

My only question is how I show them the available funds? Do I need to get a letter from Bangkok Bank? Will an updated bank book and photo copies of the bank book be enough? 

A letter from the bank confirming your account and the balance on the day it is done. Copy of updated bank book.

[Mama Noodle]

On 3/26/2020 at 2:40 PM, ubonjoe said:

A letter from the bank confirming your account and the balance on the day it is done. Copy of updated bank book.

 

@ubonjoe

 

I went the other day to Kap Choeng Immigration with 2 packs of paperwork, one for swapping to a Non-O and the other for the 60 day extension based on marriage. 

 

They wouldn't allow anyone inside the immigration office, everyone had to wait outside and a person would come collect paperwork, they had very little time and very little concern for answering questions or giving a <deleted>. 

 

I had some little girl (not an immigration officer) come collect my paperwork, and was trying to ask about my options and she couldn't be bothered, didn't care, so I attempted to give the application to change to a Non-O. About half an hour later an immigration officer came out and said "can not do not have 15 days left" which was expected. 

 

I reapplied with my other packet of paperwork to do the 60 day extension, which I received. 

 

Doing my best to talk to the immigration officers, I tried to ask about changing to a Non-O in a couple of weeks, with the intention of doing yearly extensions after that. They kept asking "who told you you can do that" and "do you have money for 3 MONTHS" 

 

This is all extremely exhausting and stress inducing. 

 

My question to you is:

 

According to the rules, can I change to a 90 day Non-O while on a 60 day extension?? 

I do not need money in the bank for 2 months to get the visa, right? Just money in the bank at the time of applying, and then 2 months at the time of extending? Right? 

 

Lastly, can you or someone please give me a link to the Non-O visa change rules in Thai so my wife can educate herself and be informed when we go back to immigration? 

 

I realize that every office seems to implement and interpret the rules differently, but when I asked about doing all this they told me that I must talk to a supervisor and that they only do the Non-O swap on a "case by case" basis with the supervisor. 

 

I interpreted this as a possible money-grab, which given the circumstances I do not mind, but I need to be as informed as possible. 

 

I plan to go back in about 2 weeks after quarantining at the house to try to change to a Non-O, but its infuriating that I have to drag my 5 months pregnant wife with me and expose her to this madness. 

[ubonjoe]

You can apply for the 90 day non immigrant visa (category O) entry with the 60 day extension to visit your wife since it extended a visa exempt entry.

General requirements are here that can be changed to Thai or English by clicking the buttons at the top of the page.

https://www.immigration.go.th/content/service_79