Changing marriage extension to retirement

[JammG]

Hello all,

I am currently on a non o marriage extension but would like to change over to retirement extension when my current extension runs out. 

I can meet the requirements but have received conflicting info on whether this can be done in country at Cheng wattana, some have said yes it's possible others have said I need to go to Thai embassy/consulate outside of Thailand to obtain a fresh non o before I can then apply for retirement extension. 

Hopefully someone can clarify this for me or someone who has done the same thing would be able to confirm what I need to do. 

Many thanks 

 

[KhunBENQ]

A popular question:

 

https://aseannow.com/topic/1290794-switch-non-imm-o-extension-from-marriage-to-retirement/

 

https://aseannow.com/topic/1246859-can-i-change-from-marriage-to-retirement/

 

...

 

You can. Outside Thailand is nonsense info. No cancel and get new visa necessary.

Edited May 12, 2023 by KhunBENQ

[DrJack54]

OP, you can obtain your extension based on retirement at CW.

Your wife will need to attend. 

[Red Phoenix]

Definitely possible to do it at your local Imm Office when your application for a 1-year extension of stay is due.  It's simply a matter of applying for reason of retirement, instead of for reason of marriage.

Obviously you would need to provide evidence that you meet the higher financial requirements for the 'retirement' application, i.e. evidence of +800K on your personal Thai bank-account seasoned for at least 2 months at moment of application.  And unless you can prove that these funds have been already long time on your bank-account or accounts, you would also have to prove the foreign origins of those funds.   

 

[connda]

Change from Marriage to Retirement?  Easy.
Changing back?  Not so easy.  Give it some thought.

[MJCM]

Good answers above, but please note if your marriage extension (example) expires on May 20th and you apply on May 15th, your next extension expiry date is May 15th of next year and not the 20th 

 

reason being it is a new extension. I did it and it was painless. Done in 20 mins and got the year stamp immediately instead of being under consideration 

Edited May 12, 2023 by MJCM
Added expiry

[JammG]

54 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

OP, you can obtain your extension based on retirement at CW.

Your wife will need to attend. 

55 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

OP, you can obtain your extension based on retirement at CW.

Your wife will need to attend. 

Why would I need my wife to attend? 

So it's not a case of applying 1 month in advance as per marriage extension for an under consideration stamp that's good.

 

Thanks for all the replies so far, puts my mind at rest 

 

[DrJack54]

@JammG you asked...

 

"Why would I need my wife to attend?"

 

Most likely that you were still married during the previous extension.

In any event wife needs to attend. 

[JammG]

Can anyone who has done this confirm wife has to attend? And if so is it for first renewal only?

[MJCM]

1 minute ago, DrJack54 said:

@JammG you asked...

 

"Why would I need my wife to attend?"

 

Most likely that you were still married during the previous extension.

In any event wife needs to attend. 

Exactly. It’s my understanding that your wife needs to be present because to acknowledge that she understands that you are switching.

 

But as TiT, YMMV

[MJCM]

1 minute ago, JammG said:

Can anyone who has done this confirm wife has to attend? And if so is it for first renewal only?

Yep when I did the change wife needed to be present.

 

For subsequent renewals (retirement) you can do it on your own

[MJCM]

6 minutes ago, JammG said:

Can anyone who has done this confirm wife has to attend? And if so is it for first renewal only?

May I ask why are you asking?
 

Are you not together with your wife anymore?

 

Or are you divorced, if divorced you need to let immigration know because the reason for your extension is not valid anymore the day you divorced

Edited May 12, 2023 by MJCM

[Digitalbanana]

7 minutes ago, JammG said:

Can anyone who has done this confirm wife has to attend? And if so is it for first renewal only?

I changed from wife to retirement extension at CW and the wife certainly was not required to attend.

[BritTim]

1 hour ago, JammG said:

Why would I need my wife to attend? 

The main reason is that the officials want to verify that you have been legally in Thailand  up until the point you apply for the retirement extension. If you are divorced, your permission to stay is supposed to be cancelled on the date of the divorce. Having your wife present allows the officials to verify that everything is in order.

[JammG]

Ok no problem, one of the reasons for change is to negate the headache get every year haha. Thanks guys for the replies.

[MJCM]

Just now, Digitalbanana said:

I changed from wife to retirement extension at CW and the wife certainly was not required to attend.

5555 as usual TiT. Mine needed to be present but I am in Buriram, maybe (I guess) someone will say the opposite.

 

Again the joy of inconsistency across IO’s

[Digitalbanana]

1 minute ago, BritTim said:

The main reason is that the officials want to verify that you have been legally in Thailand  up until the point you apply for the retirement extension.

Why would there be anything illegal in staying in Thailand up to the permitted date of extension? What has the wife got to do with anything that is retirement extension related. I am still happily married, but changed to retirement extension and at no time was the wife needed for the retirement change.

[MJCM]

2 minutes ago, JammG said:

Ok no problem, one of the reasons for change is to negate the headache get every year haha. Thanks guys for the replies.

I only changed because I hated the under consideration period. Documents are not that much different and it was easy enough because I had them saved in the PC and just changed the dates

[MJCM]

1 minute ago, Digitalbanana said:

Why would there be anything illegal in staying in Thailand up to the permitted date of extension?

If he got divorced before the extension (marriage) ran out and did not inform IO

Edited May 12, 2023 by MJCM
Added marriage

[BritTim]

Just now, Digitalbanana said:

Why would there be anything illegal in staying in Thailand up to the permitted date of extension? What has the wife got to do with anything that is retirement extension related. I am still happily married, but changed to retirement extension and at no time was the wife needed for the retirement change.

Why respond to a 5-line post before you have read the full post. If you take an extra two seconds to read the explanation why, you can avoid an argumentative post of no value to anyone.

[JammG]

5 minutes ago, MJCM said:

I only changed because I hated the under consideration period. Documents are not that much different and it was easy enough because I had them saved in the PC and just changed the dates

Exactly & the fact I have to drag my wife & child all the way up there which takes all day.

[DrJack54]

3 minutes ago, JammG said:

Exactly & the fact I have to drag my wife & child all the way up there which takes all day.

Couple of posts in thread pointing out change from based on marriage to retirement, did not require wife to be present. 

Quite possible however in the main the wife would need to attend for that change.

 

For ongoing extensions not required. 

[DrJack54]

34 minutes ago, Digitalbanana said:

Why would there be anything illegal in staying in Thailand up to the permitted date of extension?

If divorce occurs then the extension no longer valid.

If the wife dies then extension remains valid. 

[Hakuna Matata]

36 minutes ago, MJCM said:

I only changed because I hated the under consideration period. Documents are not that much different and it was easy enough because I had them saved in the PC and just changed the dates

The most stupid thing to do. What about the mandatory Health Insurance that costs around 50,000.- Baht or more per year?

 

[MJCM]

1 minute ago, Hakuna Matata said:

The most stupid thing to do. What about the mandatory Health Insurance that costs around 50,000.- Baht or more per year?

 

?????? What are you on about. It’s not a Non OA, retirement extension doesn’t have a mandatory health insurance 

[BritTim]

16 minutes ago, Hakuna Matata said:

The most stupid thing to do. What about the mandatory Health Insurance that costs around 50,000.- Baht or more per year?

 

At the current time, an extension of stay based on retirement (unless you entered Thailand with a Non O-A visa) has no health insurance requirement.

[kingstonkid]

3 hours ago, JammG said:

Can anyone who has done this confirm wife has to attend? And if so is it for first renewal only?

When dealing with immigration it is always best to cover all bases.  Wife may not be needed but in the event she is you are covered.  Whose name is house in.  That's one of the things she can alleviate.

[MJCM]

7 minutes ago, kingstonkid said:

Whose name is house in.  That's one of the things she can alleviate.

Good Point.

 

They (IO) wanted, on my change from Marriage -> Retirement the ID card of my Wife and after I got the year stamp I looked into my passport and also noticed a TM30 report automatically done (Wife is the House owner)

[Mutt Daeng]

4 hours ago, MJCM said:

Exactly. It’s my understanding that your wife needs to be present because to acknowledge that she understands that you are switching.

 

But as TiT, YMMV

That is what the officer at Kap Choeng told me when I changed from an extension based on marriage to one based on retirement. That was several years ago. 

Edited May 12, 2023 by Mutt Daeng

[dingdongrb]

4 hours ago, JammG said:

Can anyone who has done this confirm wife has to attend? And if so is it for first renewal only?

I changed from 'marriage' to 'retirement' at the CM IO back in 2016 and my wife wasn't present but I was informed that she needed to have the phone available if the officer was wanting to speak with her. He didn't call her.