“Marriage” Visa Expiring While Abroad But Need to Come Back to Thailand

[suzannegoh]

I may need to go to the US for medical treatment in January.  The treatment will last about two months.  I’m in Thailand now on an OA visa and that was extended the last time on the basis of marriage, and a re-entry permit that will expire in March.  Probably I’ll still be in the US when it expires.  The question then is how to get back into Thailand.  I guess that I could apply for a brand new non-Imm O visa while in the US but that sounds like a massive hassle and if the Covid19 rules don’t change by then coming back into Thailand as a “tourist” might not be possible.  So I’m wondering, is there any way that I can get my current visa extended, or a new non-Imm visa issued, while still in Thailand, roughly 4 months before my current visa & re-entry permit expires? 

[ubonjoe]

Do have a extension based upon marriage to a Thai or one that is based upon being the spouse of person on an extension based upon retirement.

If married to a Thai you could apply for a single entry non-o visa and apply for a certificate of entry if still required when you return.

[glegolo]

But isn´this talk about VISA completely meaningless. In these times of Covid-19 I thought that you have to apply for entry to Thailand through thai-embassy in your home-country no matter what you have, or NOT have in your passport.

 

Or have I missunderstood this...

 

glegolo

[suzannegoh]

37 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

Do have a extension based upon marriage to a Thai or one that is based upon being the spouse of person on an extension based upon retirement.

If married to a Thai you could apply for a single entry non-o visa and apply for a certificate of entry if still required when you return.

Yes, married to a Thai. Can that non-o visa that you mention be applied for from within Thailand before I leave the country and while my current visa is still valid or would I have to apply for it at the Thai Embassy in Washington DC?

[suzannegoh]

21 minutes ago, glegolo said:

But isn´this talk about VISA completely meaningless. In these times of Covid-19 I thought that you have to apply for entry to Thailand through thai-embassy in your home-country no matter what you have, or NOT have in your passport.

 

Or have I missunderstood this...

 

glegolo

If the rules don`t change by then (March) , my understanding was that I would need to apply for a COE from the Thai Embassy in Washington DC and I would have to apply for a new visa if my old one had expired.

[ubonjoe]

3 minutes ago, suzannegoh said:

Yes, married to a Thai. Can that non-o visa that you mention be applied for from within Thailand before I leave the country and while my current visa is still valid or would I have to apply for it at the Thai Embassy in Washington DC?

You would not be able to apply for a new extension of stay before the leaving the country.

You would apply for the non-o visa that the embassy in DC or one of the official consulates in New York, Chicago or Los Angeles.

[glegolo]

1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

You would not be able to apply for a new extension of stay before the leaving the country.

You would apply for the non-o visa that the embassy in DC or one of the official consulates in New York, Chicago or Los Angeles.

So what are you saying Joe.... If you have a valid VISA, wharever sort, and you belong to the groupe of people that are allowed into Thailand, you can use that VISA and just apply for COE and fix the Covid-test, thats all??

 

glegolo

[ubonjoe]

20 minutes ago, glegolo said:

So what are you saying Joe.... If you have a valid VISA, wharever sort, and you belong to the groupe of people that are allowed into Thailand, you can use that VISA and just apply for COE and fix the Covid-test, thats all??

It would have to be a non immigrant visa issued based upon a qualifying reason for entering the country or a valid extension of stay with a re-entry permit.

[suzannegoh]

On 11/7/2020 at 3:36 PM, ubonjoe said:

You would not be able to apply for a new extension of stay before the leaving the country.

You would apply for the non-o visa that the embassy in DC or one of the official consulates in New York, Chicago or Los Angeles.

And if applying in the US, would that require mailing my marriage documents, my passport, and my spouse's passport to the Thai Embassy and then waiting for them to mail back those things, a visa, and a COE?  That sounds problematic for someone who is only visiting the US because it might require being holed up in a hotel room waiting for the mail to come back.  There must be some sort of work-around. 

[ubonjoe]

36 minutes ago, suzannegoh said:

And if applying in the US, would that require mailing my marriage documents, my passport, and my spouse's passport to the Thai Embassy and then waiting for them to mail back those things, a visa, and a COE?  That sounds problematic for someone who is only visiting the US because it might require being holed up in a hotel room waiting for the mail to come back.  There must be some sort of work-around. 

Only your passport would need to be sent for the visa application. Signed copies of your marriage certificate and your spouses ID card and house book would be accepted.

At this time the embassy and official consulates are only accepting mailed in applications. 

[suzannegoh]

2 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

Only your passport would need to be sent for the visa application. Signed copies of your marriage certificate and your spouses ID card and house book would be accepted.

At this time the embassy and official consulates are only accepting mailed in applications. 

Thanks, that’s valuable info.

One other thing.  Do you happen to know how early I’d be able to apply for a non-Imm O in the US if I already have a valid non-Imm OA with a re-entry permit that expires at the end of March?  It seems likely that my medical treatment will be finished a couple of weeks before the re-entry permit expires but, if Thailand still has quarantines in effect, by the time my quarantine was finished my present visa would have expired.  If I have to wait for the old visa to expire before they issue a new one then that would probably mean spending at least a couple of more weeks in the US.

[ubonjoe]

11 minutes ago, suzannegoh said:

Do you happen to know how early I’d be able to apply for a non-Imm O in the US if I already have a valid non-Imm OA with a re-entry permit that expires at the end of March?

The embassy website states to do the certificate of entry at least 15 days before the day you will be traveling.

There should not be a problem to apply for the visa since it will allow a longer stay than your re-entry permit will allow.

Info is here about the process. https://thaiembdc.org/2020/07/11/foreigners_family/

[suzannegoh]

On 11/9/2020 at 12:26 PM, ubonjoe said:

The embassy website states to do the certificate of entry at least 15 days before the day you will be traveling.

There should not be a problem to apply for the visa since it will allow a longer stay than your re-entry permit will allow.

Info is here about the process. https://thaiembdc.org/2020/07/11/foreigners_family/

I have another question if you don’t mind.  I have an OA visa that was last extended on the basis of marriage and a re-entry permit that expires March 30, 2021.  Let’s supposed that I managed to get onto a flight to the US that lands in Bangkok on March 29.  Would they let me in and give me 90 days to either extend the visa or leave the country again?  If that was the case then maybe I wouldn’t need to apply for a new non-Imm visa while I’m in the US.

[ubonjoe]

1 hour ago, suzannegoh said:

Would they let me in and give me 90 days to either extend the visa or leave the country again? 

No

You would only be stamped in to March 30th.

You would need to apply for a single entry non-o visa to get a 90 entry and then apply for a new one year extension.