Perhaps this is well known to others on TV. Went to Change Wattana today to do an extension of stay as my original OA permission was expiring. I elected to do the extension of stay based on marriage. This avoids the long term deposit requirement and Thai health insurance (I have excellent global coverage from my home country). To my surprise, I was refused. This was verified by two separate IOs and their supervisor. The reason given is that since I entered Thailand on an OA (retirement) visa, I need to do the first one year extension of stay based on retirement before I can do subsequent extensions based on marriage. Be warned those that are on their original OA visas.

 

To their credit, the IOs did suggest I get the 60 day COVID amnesty extension so I don't have to fly back to North America to apply for the O visa right away (plus the 14 days quarantine there, 14 day quarantine back here, seven RT-PCR tests, COE, 100K COVID insurance, etc.). Sadly, for one month I was off on the income average provision (did two transfers in a different month) and also short on the aging requirement for THB 800K so I cannot do a retirement extension. Bottom line, I should have prepared for the worst case scenario of a retirement extension vs. assuming I could to a marriage extension.

 

For those interested in stats. I did my 90 day report online. Submitted last Friday morning and was approved this Monday around Noon. Also, queue today at CW based on a 8:15am arrival was exactly one hour to see an IO in the "L" section.

I do recall a very similar thead fairly recently.

 

Of course I can't find it.

you could also do a 60 day visit Thai wife extension, that would give you 4 months here, maybe by then land borders will be open, to enable a fresh entry on a visa exempt, followed by a conversion to non 'O'

21 hours ago, PDP11 said:

To my surprise, I was refused. This was verified by two separate IOs and their supervisor. The reason given is that since I entered Thailand on an OA (retirement) visa, I need to do the first one year extension of stay based on retirement before I can do subsequent extensions based on marriage. Be warned those that are on their original OA visas.

 

The same happened to me this morning in Phuket - with an extension based on marriage denied up front.   I am also on a Type-OA and married to a Thai woman. This is also my 1st extension on my Type-OA.

 

I have the +80K in a Thai account since I arrived in Thailand I year ago, but my excellent pension subsidized Health Insurance (which covers both my wife and myself) is not on the Thai approved Health Insurance company list.  My Health Insurance has great coverage and is so inexpensive, it would be a mistake to 'give it up'. So I am now looking for the most inexpensive 'throwaway' health insurance I can get for myself (as a 67-year old) for one-year, so to meet the Thai Health Insurance requirement for a 'retirement' extension. 

Edited January 28, 20215 yr by oldcpu

If there is still an issue at the end of the 60-day Covid extension, this might be a justified case of engaging an agent who can overcome the 800k baht seasoning requirement, and other money issues, for the retirement extension.