About me:

US Citizen

40 years old

Married to Thai citizen

 

 

The wife and I are planning on returning to Thailand in November.  We are planning on moving there (not a vacation).  So, I'm looking into the visa options for myself and to the best of my knowledge I would get a non-immigrant O visa and while I'm in Thailand apply for the extension based on marriage.  Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong about that.

 

Now, my questions have to do with actually getting the marriage extension.

 

As I understand it;

The Non O is 90 days valid (starting from date of application or approval?)

To apply for the marriage extension have either 40,000 baht p/m validated income or 400,000 baht in the bank.  (We will do the latter 400k)

The marriage extension allows you to open a Thai bank account.

You must have the money (400K) in your bank 2 months prior to application for extension (some places I read say 3 months).

 

So questions are;

If the non-o is valid for 90 days is that enough time to file for the extension?

If yes, what bank do I need to have 400K baht in, if I cannot open a Thai bank account until I get the extension?

I'm also seeing conflicting information on if you need to constantly have that 400K in the bank or if it's only one and done.  So would appreciate some clarification on that.  

 

If everything goes according to our 'plans', we would be in BKK for about a week and then we are off to our baan in Sisaket.  So also if it's better to do this all in BKK?  Is it better for me to go with an agent?

Well, thanks in advance for taking the time to read this, any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

 

 

90 days is definitely enough if you can put 400K in a Thai bank for at least 2 months.

 

The trouble is opening up a bank account to put your money before getting your marriage extension.

OP, you pretty much have it covered. 

If you enter visa exempt that gives you a 30 day stamp.

You asap apply for non O marriage.

That visa gives you a 90 day permission of stay.

You would require 400k in Thai bank in your name on the day you apply.

After 2 months you would apply for 12 month extension in the last 30 days of your permit.

Obviously some other documents re proof of marriage, photos etc are required.

You would be best to obtain the non O and extension where you live and not Bangkok.

As above poster mentioned... the issue is to open the bank account.

No as straight forward as one would imagine and some folk use an agent for that. 

1 hour ago, EricTh said:

The trouble is opening up a bank account to put your money before getting your marriage extension

That's correct but note he requires the bank account for the non O so it's actually step 1. 

Non O Visa will give you 90 days from day of entry.

Money has to be in a Thai bank in your name only.

In the bank for 2 months before applying.

Once you get the extension you can use all the money providing you replace it 2 months before you apply again next year.

Apply in Sisaket as you have to return after 30 days to get the stamp.

 

Biggest problem will be opening the bank account. Not easy anymore.

Where were you married? Thailand or U.S?

37 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

That's correct but note he requires the bank account for the non O so it's actually step 1. 

That's incorrect. I just noticed that the OP,s plan is to obtain his non O outside of Thailand. 

Indeed the bank account can be opened with a non O.

OP your 90 day permission of stay will commence the day you enter Thailand. 

Your plan is fine. You could consider visa exempt entry also..

I suggest you apply for a single entry non-o visa at the Thai embassy in Washington DC or the one of 3 official  consulates for region of the US you live in. Getting the visa in before arriving will make it easier to open a bank account.

Map showing areas of responsibility for the consulates. https://thaiembdc.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Royal-Thai-Embassy-Washington-D.C..png

Requirements for the non-o visa is here. https://thaiembdc.org/2020/07/11/foreigners_family/

You will apply for the visa online and get a stickerless visa by email.

This is my general list of required documents for the one year extension is here. Marriage Extension Requirements 2.pdf

 

5 hours ago, Loinx22 said:

If yes, what bank do I need to have 400K baht in, if I cannot open a Thai bank account until I get the extension?

My wife had an account with Bangkok Bank, so when the time came to get my personal account for visa extension purposes last May, naturally we went to the same bank,

They required way to many document that were difficult to get at the time because of covid restrictions, so we tried Kasikorn bank and we opened an account with no problem , We used the 400k method also and getting the nessacery document from Kasikorn was a breeze.. 

/. 

if you were married outside of Thailand there are lots of extra hoops to jump through, if you need more time to get the seasoning of the money sorted you can do a once per entry 60 day visit Thai wife extension,

24 minutes ago, sirineou said:

They required way to many document that were difficult to get at the time because of covid restrictions, so we tried Kasikorn bank and we opened an account with no problem

Exactly my experience. 

Even with an existing bank account in Thailand and extensions to a non O, Bangkok Bank required ridiculous things such as residence certificate etc.

Kasikorn no problem at all. 

I had a lease but don't recall them taking much notice of it. 

I'm in the process right now.

First I enquired at the banks and was told I needed my name on a house registration (tabien bahn) to open up a bank account.  Then we visited the local administration, and were told I needed to have a yearlong visa to have my name on the registration. Then we visited Immigration. They called the local administration and explained that I couldn't get a yearlong visa without the bank account and hence the tabien bahn. They issued me a new 3 month visa so that I would have time to complete the process.

About 6 weeks and 8 visits later, I was issued a yellow tabien bahn and a pink Thai ID card for non-Thais. A few of the visits took the entire afternoon and you'll need family members and the local village chief to visit and verify who you are.

I've opened a bank account at Kasikorn (only Bangkok Bank and Kasikorn will open acccounts for foriegners) and am in the process of transferring money $2000 a day until I reach the THB400,000 I need. If your wife has a Thai bank account you might look into transferring the money to Thailand before you leave and save yourself a lot of fees.

I may need to get another 3 month visa as there is less than 2 months left on mine.

It's getting closer. Hope the info helps

 

 

 

I paid Siam Legal to open my bank account with Bangkok Bank. 

 

I knew  opening a bank account was a problem area and had no intention of allowing it jeopardize my application.

 

 

17 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

I paid Siam Legal to open my bank account with Bangkok Bank. 

 

I knew  opening a bank account was a problem area and had no intention of allowing it jeopardize my application.

 

 

Good option especially for those entering visa exempt and obtaining a non O.

Think agents charge 4-4500 baht..

27 minutes ago, BoonMeePakNam said:

I may need to get another 3 month visa as there is less than 2 months left on mine

You have a non O marriage? 

You cannot get "another 3 month visa" 

You could obtain 60 day extension to visit wife. 

4 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

Good option especially for those entering visa exempt and obtaining a non O.

Think agents charge 4-4500 baht..

Absolutely......all done and dusted within two hours (on a very busy day).

 

I think, if we had paid extra, we didn't even have to go to the bank.

49 minutes ago, steve187 said:

if you were married outside of Thailand there are lots of extra hoops to jump through, if you need more time to get the seasoning of the money sorted you can do a once per entry 60 day visit Thai wife extension,

Yes a lot more hoops,check it out first

2 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

 

I think, if we had paid extra, we didn't even have to go to the bank

Not sure. 

I know there are 2 prices.

One you go by yourself with them having arranged the account and slightly more if a representative goes with you. 

 

 

 

2 hours ago, Lite Beer said:

Non O Visa will give you 90 days from day of entry.

Money has to be in a Thai bank in your name only.

In the bank for 2 months before applying.

Once you get the extension you can use all the money providing you replace it 2 months before you apply again next year.

Apply in Sisaket as you have to return after 30 days to get the stamp.

 

Biggest problem will be opening the bank account. Not easy anymore.

Where were you married? Thailand or U.S?

We were married in NY USA.  I understand that we have to go somewhere in Thailand (forget the name of it) to take care of that.

1 minute ago, DrJack54 said:

Not sure. 

I know there are 2 prices.

One you go by yourself with them having arranged the account and slightly more if a representative goes with you. 

 

 

 

Yes....correct....that rings a bell now.

 

Being a cheap Charlie and having a Thai wife, we went over the road to do it ourselves.

6 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

Yes....correct....that rings a bell now.

 

Being a cheap Charlie and having a Thai wife, we went over the road to do it ourselves.

I assume Bangkok Bank.

Most agents use.them which is painless and one of the most popular with expats.

New change recently with wise only doing transfers of up to 50k with some banks. BB and Kasikorn being 2 exceptions. 

Something folk opening new account should be aware of..

Thanks for all the replies.  Helps a lot!

16 minutes ago, Loinx22 said:

We were married in NY USA.  I understand that we have to go somewhere in Thailand (forget the name of it) to take care of that.

You will need to register your foreign marriage at a Amphoe to get a Kor Ror 22 marriage registry that immigration requires.

The biggest problem is getting your US marriage certificate legalized. You can do a self certification of it a the US embassy in Bangkok by doing a affidavit. Then have it translated to Thai and certified by the Department of Consular Affairs of the MFA in Bangkok.

If you have time to do it before leaving the US to prevent any problems in the future. That requires the secretary of state for the state where your marriage was done and then the US department of state and then the Thai embassy or one of the official consulates to stamp it. General info is here on the NY consulate website. https://www.thaicgny.com/บร-การกงส-ล-consular-services/งานน-ต-กรณ/legalization/

20 minutes ago, Loinx22 said:

Thanks for all the replies.  Helps a lot!

I sent a private message...should be in your mailbox on the envelope icon, top right of the page.

1 hour ago, Loinx22 said:

We were married in NY USA.  I understand that we have to go somewhere in Thailand (forget the name of it) to take care of that.

Before you get here , see if the NY Thai embassy would translate and notarize your marriage certificate there,(Give them a call) We did not and had do it here and it was a hassle because we had to send it to the Bagkok  US embassy, and we are in Khon Kaen, And also find out from the Thai embassy how you can have your US passport translated to Thai and to register your marriage here you would need your passport translated and notarized, (at least we did) , so check to see if they will that for you also. 

And make sure you get an international drivers license at the AAA, you will need that to get your Thai drivers license.

We had to leave the US on a two day notice , They had just changed the quarantine requirement from 7 days to 15 days if arriving in Thailand after May 6th as it is we made it here May 4th LOL. and because of that we did not have time to do all of the above in the US,  and it was a bit of a hassle doing it here. 

 

5 hours ago, Will B Good said:

I paid Siam Legal to open my bank account with Bangkok Bank. 

 

I knew  opening a bank account was a problem area and had no intention of allowing it jeopardize my application.

 

Same here. It is a really good option and in the overall picture the price for doing it isn't that big. I entered on a 90-day Non-O, and back then there was the 14-day hotel quarantine. So time was of the essence.

Was told by Krungsri yesterday that they will let expats on retirement visas open a savings account but not those on marriage visas. I presume this is because they believe retirees will hold more money in their account than family extensions which is not entirely accurate but more likely on balance of probabilities. I do recall that BB didn't want to give me an account on a marriage extension but changed their minds when I told them how much my pensions ammounted to

I opened an account with the Krungsri bank last year without any problem and I have an extension based on marriage.

I opened a Thai bank account on a tourist visa-exempt status in Phuket back in 2016.  

 

While in Phuket at that brief time (max 30 days - actually it was for less), my Thai wife and I were staying in a small condo owned by my wife's brother, and upon arrival in Phuket, the next day we immediately went to Phuket immigration and obtained a letter indicating my residence while in Phuket was my wife's brother condo. The letter (with a passport sized picture on it) was good for one month. Some nominal fee was charged.

 

I wanted to go to the tourist area of Patong beach to open a bank account (as I read that had a better chance to find a bank to accept foreigners on 'visa-exempt' status), but my wife dislikes that area, and she insisted we try Phuket town first.

 

We then started visiting the branches of various Thai banks in Phuket town, where the 1st 3 refused to let me open account, but the 4th, Bangkok Bank in Phuket town, were happy for me to open an account with them - especially after I explained I needed an account not only for Visa purposes (eventually) but also because I wanted to purchase a condominium and it was easier if I had a bank account in Thailand to facilitate that purchase.    Having my Thai wife with me, to translate at times, helped a lot.

 

It would not have been possible thou, without the letter from Thai immigration.

 

So my view is it is possible to open a bank account (even when under a Tourist visa exempt status) but some preparation and determination is needed (and willingness to keep trying when 1st few efforts fail).

13 hours ago, sirineou said:

Before you get here , see if the NY Thai embassy would translate and notarize your marriage certificate there,(Give them a call) We did not and had do it here and it was a hassle because we had to send it to the Bagkok  US embassy, and we are in Khon Kaen, And also find out from the Thai embassy how you can have your US passport translated to Thai and to register your marriage here you would need your passport translated and notarized, (at least we did) , so check to see if they will that for you also. 

And make sure you get an international drivers license at the AAA, you will need that to get your Thai drivers license.

We had to leave the US on a two day notice , They had just changed the quarantine requirement from 7 days to 15 days if arriving in Thailand after May 6th as it is we made it here May 4th LOL. and because of that we did not have time to do all of the above in the US,  and it was a bit of a hassle doing it here. 

 

Thanks, I was wondering about the driving license also!

16 hours ago, Will B Good said:

I paid Siam Legal to open my bank account with Bangkok Bank. 

 

I knew  opening a bank account was a problem area and had no intention of allowing it jeopardize my application.

 

 

How much did Siam Legal charge you? And which Thai bank was that for, please?