Non-Immigrant O visa questions

[scroggins]

Hi all,

 

My (Thai) wife and I are looking to relocate to Thailand from the US, but I have a few questions about how exactly it will work.

 

My understanding is that I will first be granted a 90-day non-immigrant O visa, which will then be converted to one-year residence visa after I've submitted the necessary documentation in Thailand. The primary concern I have is with regard to the requirement to hold 400,000 baht in a Thai bank account prior to converting the non O visa. It has been many years since I've resided in Thailand, so I do not currently have a bank account there in my name.

 

Obviously, it doesn't seem practical to open a bank account and deposit the funds on the first day in the country, so it doesn't seem like it would be possible to meet the 90-day requirement on the initial non-O visa. Is there any flexibility on this? I'm hoping to avoid having to make two trips to Thailand (with a 14-day quarantine each time).

 

Thanks in advance for any info/advice provided.

Edited September 9, 2021 by scroggins

[Mike Teavee]

As you mention 400K I'm assuming you'll be getting a Non-Imm O on the basis of being married (to a Thai), in which case the money only needs to be in the bank on the day you apply for the 1 year extension. 

 

If you are getting a Non-Imm O on the basis of "Retirement" then you will need 800K in the bank for 2 months prior to applying for the extension so your 90 day single entry will give you approx 1 month to sort out a bank account/deposit the funds. 

Edited September 9, 2021 by Mike Teavee

[scroggins]

19 minutes ago, Mike Teavee said:

As you mention 400K I'm assuming you'll be getting a Non-Imm O on the basis of being married (to a Thai), in which case the money only needs to be in the bank on the day you apply for the 1 year extension. 

 

If you are getting a Non-Imm O on the basis of "Retirement" then you will need 800K in the bank for 2 months prior to applying for the extension so your 90 day single entry will give you approx 1 month to sort out a bank account/deposit the funds. 

Yes, I would be applying based on marriage - sorry for not making that clearer. 

 

So basically I would have up to 90 days to open an account and deposit the funds after I've arrived? That is great news if true.

 

What would be the process for our son? He is eligible for dual citizenship, but currently only has a US passport.

 

Thanks for your help.

[Mike Teavee]

Yes, for the extension based on marriage the monies only need to be in the bank when you apply for the extension so you would have approx 90 days from arriving to set-up the account & deposit the funds. 

 

I would have thought that the best option for your son would be for him to get his Thai passport before making the move if possible but if not, his age will have some bearing on what options are available (e.g, a school age child should be able to piggy back on your Non-Imm O as a dependent but not so if your son is an adult). 

 

 

[steve187]

1 hour ago, Mike Teavee said:

As you mention 400K I'm assuming you'll be getting a Non-Imm O on the basis of being married (to a Thai), in which case the money only needs to be in the bank on the day you apply for the 1 year extension

that is wrong, the options for you as you are married to a Thai national are

1/ enter on a visa exempt entry which will give you a 30 day entry stamp,

2/ a tourist visa which will give you a 60 day entry stamp, both of which can be extended by a 30 day 1,900 thb extension (once only),

 

 again both can be converted within Thailand to a non immigrant 'O' visa, (once only) this is where the 400.000thb has to be in the bank and can be seasoned for a few days only,  this visa will give you a 90 day permission to stay stamp when it is issued. this visa is really issued as part of a 2 part process to obtain a 1 year 'married' extension, when the 400,000thb needs to have been seasoned for 2 months, this extension is applied for in the last 30 days of the 90 day permission to stay stamp.

there is also a 60 day visit Thai wife extension which is obtainable once per entry into Thailand,

if you obtain the non imm 'O' visa outside Thailand you go straight to Appling for the yearly extension in the final 30 days of the 90 day entry you will get on arrival into Thailand, you can use the 'wife' 60 day extension to allow extra time for the 400,000thb to be seasoned. if married outside Thailand there are more hoops to jump through to obtain the yearly extension

 

as stated above your son will need to aarive in Thailand on a THai passport in order to avoid him having to obtain a yearly extension as a returning Thai national 1,900thb, 

all extension in Thailand are 1,900thb, the conversion non imm o visa is 2,000thb 

Edited September 9, 2021 by steve187

[Mike Teavee]

10 minutes ago, steve187 said:

that is wrong, the options for you as you are married to a Thai national are

1/ enter on a visa exempt entry which will give you a 30 day entry stamp,

2/ a tourist visa which will give you a 60 day entry stamp, both of which can be extended by a 30 day 1,900 thb extension (once only),

Thanks... My bad, I was getting confused between applying for the original Non-Imm O in-country and getting the initial extension.... 

 

@Scroggins, as @Steve187 has correctly stated, if you get your Non-Imm O before arriving you will need to put the money in the bank at least 60 days before applying for the extension, if this is going to be a timing problem then you have the other options he mentions of arriving Visa Exempt or a Visa to visit your Wife & converting to a Non-Imm O in-country. 

 

As far as your Son is concerned, I think the cut-off date is 20 for him to be a dependent on your visa but again, recommend that you get his Thai passport before moving if at all possible.  

 

[scroggins]

Thanks guys, this is all extremely useful information.

 

If conversion is indeed possible, the easiest option may be to just get a tourist visa, but are they still being issued in the time of covid?

 

Our son is only 6 months old, and when we contacted the embassy here it sounded as if it would take several months to obtain his passport, with a required trip to the embassy in NYC.

[ubonjoe]

Rather than applying for a non-o visa at immigration after arriving you could apply for a non-o visa based upon marriage to a Tha that will allow a 90 day entry when your arrive. That will ve you time make it easier to open a bank account and have the 400k baht in the bank for 2 months to apply for the one year extension based upon marriage.

Info is here on the NY consulate website (the embassy is in Washington DC). https://www.thaicgny.com/eng-version-for-visa/visa-service/doc-non-im-famvisit/

Your son can get a emergency travel document that will not ace a lot of time and then get a passport here.

Info here: https://www.thaicgny.com/บร-การกงส-ล-consular-services/บร-การงานหน-งส-อเด-นทาง/เอกสารเด-นทางฉ-กเฉ-น-emergency-travel-document/

Have you registered you sons birth at the consulate? If not see: https://www.thaicgny.com/บร-การกงส-ล-consular-services/งานทะเบ-ยนราษฏร/แจ-งเก-ด-birth-certificate/

 

[asiaexpat]

From my experience:

1. Apply for Non-O Visa in home country based on Thai wife showing funds in home country.

2. Enter Thailand on Non-O that gives 90 days stay.

3. Open Bank account within 30 days and deposit 400K

4. After funds are in account for 60 days apply for one year extension based on Thai wife.

5. Get Under consideration stamp

6 After 30 days return for final extension stamp.

[ubonjoe]

24 minutes ago, asiaexpat said:

1. Apply for Non-O Visa in home country based on Thai wife showing funds in home country.

That depends upon the embassy or official consulate where it is applied for. Some only want the standard equivalent of 20k baht needed for a visa application. The official consulate where he will ba applying wants $700 to be proved.

 

24 minutes ago, asiaexpat said:

4. After funds are in account for 60 days apply for one year extension based on Thai wife.

The rules state 2 months not 60 days. Sixty days can be more or less than 2 months.

[cardinalblue]

This is what I would do….come in on a non 0 90 day visa and convert it to a one year marriage extension…

 

you will need to have the money in a Thai bank minimum entire time of two months before the day you apply for the extension…if longer than 2 months the better…that means cannot go under the 400k at any time prior to applying…immigration requires various documents from the bank and copies of your bank book as well as a certified letter from the bank on the day yes on the day you turn in your application to verify you have had the 400k in bank for at least 2 months…

 

you can apply for the extension just before it expires as it gives you the necessary time to establish a bank account…it cannot be a joint account but in your name only…

[kiwikeith]

7 hours ago, scroggins said:

Thanks guys, this is all extremely useful information.

 

If conversion is indeed possible, the easiest option may be to just get a tourist visa, but are they still being issued in the time of covid?

 

Our son is only 6 months old, and when we contacted the embassy here it sounded as if it would take several months to obtain his passport, with a required trip to the embassy in NYC.

When we got a passport for out son approx at the same age, we had to go to the NZ Thai embassy in Wellington, as the mother is Thai no problem they said.

But if the father is Thai it involves more scrutiny.

The Passport was issued within a few hours no problem.

I also have renewed my sons passport in BK at Wattana, and was issued the next day.

Your probably better off to enter on a visa exempt, they will give you 45 days if you need MIQ.

Then apply for the 90 day marriage Non O ,15 days before your exempt expires, and also the visa exempt can be extended once, to give you more time.

[phetpeter]

Hmm, why not get a 1 year multi entry visa based on marriage "o" visit, then you can apply for extension after 15months or any time between. Sure you would have under normal circumstances have to pop out of the country every 3 months.(good excuse to visit neighbouring countries) This also will stop getting stressed in the first few months. Your son can also have the same while you sort his paper work out in Thailand. Adjusting paperwork and bank accounts etc, will otherwise give you many an unhappy moment and stress but, will stop them telling you go home etc. as you can walk out take a long deep bearth and come back to the office later without worrying about visa  problems.

[ubonjoe]

12 minutes ago, phetpeter said:

Hmm, why not get a 1 year multi entry visa based on marriage "o" visit, then you can apply for extension after 15months or any time between. Sure you would have under normal circumstances have to pop out of the country every 3 months.(good excuse to visit neighbouring countries)

But his is not normal times. Border crossings are closed and it appears it will be some time before they open. Not much stress to apply for a one year extension of stay at immigration.

Most of the paperwork for his son has to be done at the embassy in the country he was born in. After getting here there would very little that has to be done.

[phetpeter]

of course one would assume he is in no great rush to come, and will wait for restrictions to ease, we waited in the UK for our daughter to receive her own UK passport and NI number, which has to be with babies eyes fully open, between 3 to 6 months old. Thai citizen passport etc., was done in Thailand, but, the  birth registered at Thai embassy. I then came out on a 1yr multi entry, just in case I needed to return quickly to the UK for anything, But, didn't! Still this is the site of various forms of advice, and I have finished my online lessons and just trolling around waiting for the late comers LOL

[ubonjoe]

9 minutes ago, phetpeter said:

I then came out on a 1yr multi entry, just in case I needed to return quickly to the UK for anything

The embassy in London has not issued multiple entry non-o visa for over 2 years now. They stopped issuing them when they started using the e visa website.

[scroggins]

Thanks for the replies, all - lots of useful information here, even if some of it is conflicting ????

 

14 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

That depends upon the embassy or official consulate where it is applied for. Some only want the standard equivalent of 20k baht needed for a visa application. The official consulate where he will ba applying wants $700 to be proved.

Can you elaborate on this? Does this just mean my wife needs to show a Thai bank account with at least 20k baht in it? I hadn't heard of this requirement before.

 

6 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

Most of the paperwork for his son has to be done at the embassy in the country he was born in. After getting here there would very little that has to be done.

We were hoping to avoid a trip to NYC if we could help it, but I also don't want to arrive in Thailand only to find we don't have the necessary documents to complete the process there. Is there a way to do it, as far as you know?

Edited September 10, 2021 by scroggins

[BritTim]

4 hours ago, scroggins said:

Can you elaborate on this? Does this just mean my wife needs to show a Thai bank account with at least 20k baht in it? I hadn't heard of this requirement before.

No. When applying for a visa at a Thai consulate overseas, any financial proof they require is most often satisfied by showing the funds in a local bank account. @ubonjoe is telling you that the official US consulate that will be used require showing $700, usually in a US bank account (though this is flexible).

[scroggins]

24 minutes ago, BritTim said:

No. When applying for a visa at a Thai consulate overseas, any financial proof they require is most often satisfied by showing the funds in a local bank account. @ubonjoe is telling you that the official US consulate that will be used require showing $700, usually in a US bank account (though this is flexible).

Ah, ok. That's obviously not an issue. Thanks for clarifying.

[ubonjoe]

8 hours ago, scroggins said:

We were hoping to avoid a trip to NYC if we could help it, but I also don't want to arrive in Thailand only to find we don't have the necessary documents to complete the process there. Is there a way to do it, as far as you know?

Edited 8 hours ago by scroggins

Have you registered your child's birth at the consulate in New York City? That cannot be done here in the country.

[brianthainess]

On 9/10/2021 at 9:22 AM, ubonjoe said:

That depends upon the embassy or official consulate where it is applied for. Some only want the standard equivalent of 20k baht needed for a visa application. The official consulate where he will ba applying wants $700 to be proved.

 

The rules state 2 months not 60 days. Sixty days can be more or less than 2 months.

Maybe some I.O. differ but in Trat; 60 DAYS.

[ubonjoe]

7 minutes ago, brianthainess said:

Maybe some I.O. differ but in Trat; 60 DAYS.

It also states 2 months with the 60 days in parenthesis.

 

This is what it states in clause 2.18 of immigration order 327/2557. When I write rules that is what I am referring to not something a local office made up.

"(6) In the case of marriage to a Thai woman, the alien husband must earn an average annual income of no less than Baht 40,000 per month or must have no less than Baht 400,000 in a bank account in Thailand for the past two months to cover expenses for one year."

 

[BritTim]

1 hour ago, brianthainess said:

Maybe some I.O. differ but in Trat; 60 DAYS.

I think you are confusing the application for a one-year extension of your permission to stay in Thailand with the application for a single entry Non O visa from a consulate in the US. The requirements (and what you are requesting) are totally different.

[scroggins]

On 9/10/2021 at 8:44 PM, ubonjoe said:

Have you registered your child's birth at the consulate in New York City? That cannot be done here in the country.

No, we haven't. We were hoping to take care of all of that in Thailand, but it sounds as if that's not possible?

The process to register the birth here was somewhat daunting... the instructions on the website aren't very clear, but it looks like we need stamps from three different government entities, followed by two trips to NYC. Does that sound accurate?

[ubonjoe]

19 minutes ago, scroggins said:

No, we haven't. We were hoping to take care of all of that in Thailand, but it sounds as if that's not possible?

It is not possible here at a Amhoe or Khet.

The only way to do it while here is through the Department of Consular Affairs of the MFA. The will assist and accept the application and forward it to the Thai embassy in the country where the child was born.

 

22 minutes ago, scroggins said:

The process to register the birth here was somewhat daunting... the instructions on the website aren't very clear, but it looks like we need stamps from three different government entities, followed by two trips to NYC. Does that sound accurate?

If aware of the requirements the birth registration should of been started and done shortly after birth.

The part that takes the most time is getting the birth certificate legalized by the state where you child was born and the US department of state. 

Info is here on the consulate website in Thai. https://www.thaicgny.com/บร-การกงส-ล-consular-services/งานทะเบ-ยนราษฏร/แจ-งเก-ด-birth-certificate/

More info on the certification of the birth certificate is here. https://www.thaicgny.com/บร-การกงส-ล-consular-services/งานน-ต-กรณ/ร-บรองเอกสารของต-างประเทศ/

[scroggins]

On 9/11/2021 at 9:52 PM, ubonjoe said:

It is not possible here at a Amhoe or Khet.

The only way to do it while here is through the Department of Consular Affairs of the MFA. The will assist and accept the application and forward it to the Thai embassy in the country where the child was born.

Thanks for the info. We did not realize the process was so complicated until recently, and somewhat naively assumed we could do everything when we arrived in Thailand.

 

If we went the route you describe here (through the Department of Consular Affairs at the MFA), is it safe to assume they would still require the same documents (triple-stamped birth certificate)?

 

Thanks.

[ubonjoe]

9 minutes ago, scroggins said:

If we went the route you describe here (through the Department of Consular Affairs at the MFA), is it safe to assume they would still require the same documents (triple-stamped birth certificate)?

Yes

You would still need the state and state department certifications.

[scroggins]

OK, we'll get that started now. Thank you.