Changed from a retirement visa to a marriage visa last month. Do I have to go through this whole process again next year?

[Bangkok Barry]

21 hours ago, foreverlomsak said:

Return to retirement, not a problem, if Immigration ask say too much paperwork.

My office has tried to get me to convert to a retirement extension, but I have no wish to tie up money to suit their rules. And we aren't the only ones who complain about too much paperwork. Immigration do too, which is why they try to get us to convert, but whose fault is that? Maybe they should campaign within the service to end the nonsense, and at the same time keep a digital record so the same info isn't demanded year after year after year after year. You know, join the 21st century.

 

My sister in law and her Dutch husband live most of the year in Hungary. They both got five year visas with minimal paperwork and no need to renew every year, no need for 90 day reports, no bureaucratic nonsense at all. Thais like to have power over others, at any level. The entire social ladder is dependent on it. Hence the rules.

[steve187]

17 hours ago, AhFarangJa said:

I did my extension based on marriage for the first four years, then it just got ridiculous.

Apart from 76 pages of paperwork, a letter from the local amphor to say we are still married, two sets of picture, outside the house with the house number clearly visible, then change clothes, and take photo by the front door, change clothes, and take photo in the lounge, and yes, we had to have a photo sitting on the bed, again, with different clothes, ( at least we kept the clothes on !!). The final straw was that four days before the visa ran out we had a call from immigration. Now, all photos had to include our Son as well. I went to the office and said, firstly he is dual nationality, and secondly what if he is in Chiang Mai in University. All I got was a shrug of shoulders, and told that is what Bangkok wants now. 

Changed the following year to simple extension to stay, one piece of paper, and a photograph of just me. 

are you saying its one piece of paper for a 'retirement' yearly extension as opposed to 76 pieces for a 'married' one

[Bangkok Barry]

21 hours ago, Will B Good said:

.last year I had a 20 min interview....father's name? Mother's maiden name?.....how many siblings?.....Brother's middle name.....

 

..................AND this was conducted by the same officer we see every year........and we've been married for 17 years.

I had the same treatment earlier this year. The IO actually ignored me, as they do on a home visit, and spoke only to my wife, asking such nonsense such as do I have any brothers or sisters etc. We've been married for 32 years and living in Thailand together for around 27. But he's a nice chap and when I asked if the 'interrogation' was due to the recent arrest of over 100 IOs for being overly helpful to the Chinese, including at his office, he laughed and admitted it was and that the new boss had demanded it. Whether that was a temporary thing I'll find out next time I apply for my next marriage extension. 

[Bangkok Barry]

18 hours ago, Sheryl said:

Marriage extension always involved more steps than retirement extension. In no small part because it has to be sent higher up the chain for approval whereas retirement extensions can be approved on the spot at level of Imm office.

Logically, it should be the other way around, with those married to Thais a shoo-in for permission to live with their wife with minimal fuss. Retirees have no such justification for an extension and their reason for a long-stay is arguably less justified as they may not support a Thai family. Also, again without logic, you don't need to be retired to get a retirement extension.

[daveAustin]

22 hours ago, transam said:

Trolling, those are the words of a lost boy........🤭

 

So tell me, why did you say, you made your bed now lay in it. Do you prefer to have money tied up most of the year, where if a bloke is married he doesn't, just needs to print off a few extra pages.

Now if you do the retirement thing, it is you who should lay in it, I would have thought....😭........................😋

But that's what you're doing though, bruv.

 

 - Monies for retirement: 800k for 5 months down to 400k rest of year... not 'most' of year.

 

Anyhoo, thought it was a witty quip by Mr Stark on commenting laying in one's bed when quoting the bed pics. Never mind. Done marriage, father of Thais, retirement, tourist, bouncing borders, flirted Elite etc etc etc. Empathise with the op farting about with marriage extensions, let alone having to ACTUALLY  being married 😄. But nowt as easy as nipping down immigration for 30 minutes handing one set of paperwork by oneself, sans incriminating pics lol. Most other options are bolllox.

 

[daveAustin]

17 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

Logically, it should be the other way around, with those married to Thais a shoo-in for permission to live with their wife with minimal fuss. Retirees have no such justification for an extension and their reason for a long-stay is arguably less justified as they may not support a Thai family. Also, again without logic, you don't need to be retired to get a retirement extension.

Retirees arguably bung more into the system and our less hassle I guess, while unscrupulous types going the marriage route might be more apt to cheating the system. Doubling the money requirements would separate the men from the boys. 👍

[Longwood50]

23 hours ago, Pinot said:

I'm surprised they didn't want pics of us in bed.

Yours didn't require that?  

[jimn]

I was on a marriage extension for years. At first it was just a case of showing a photo of us outside the house. A few years ago they changed the requirements. At first they needed a photo of us in bed. Now they need 2 photo's to prove that we actually engage in marital activities. Problem is they need different photo's and positions every year. I have bought a copy of the Kama Sutra to give me some new ideas as its getting a bit stressful now at my advanced age of 100 years old.

[sandyf]

19 hours ago, BenStark said:

You pretend that this is only the case with an extension based on marriage, but an extension based on retirement, or based on any other subject, the extension is also dated when the previous one expires, not the date you apply.

You didn't read the post properly, it referred to changing from retirement to marriage.

That is not a renewal of extension but a new application for a different type of extension and will start from date of application.

[Kalasin Jo]

Nope. It's exactly the same every year.

[BlueScouse]

Just done my extension in Ubon. This time they wanted copies of my childrens birth certificates, even though they are 29 and 26 and live in UK.

[BenStark]

34 minutes ago, sandyf said:

You didn't read the post properly, it referred to changing from retirement to marriage.

That is not a renewal of extension but a new application for a different type of extension and will start from date of application.

Maybe try to learn read yourself before accusing other people of no being able to read.

 

One thing that you should notice next year is that, once again

[sandyf]

16 minutes ago, BenStark said:

Maybe try to learn read yourself before accusing other people of no being able to read.

Are you trying to say the post you responded to did not contain this statement.

"(as was, I take it, the case this year because of your switch from retirement to marriage)."

[BenStark]

4 minutes ago, sandyf said:

Are you trying to say the post you responded to did not contain this statement.

"(as was, I take it, the case this year because of your switch from retirement to marriage)."

This is the whole post, now welcome to my ignore list.

 

My time is too valuable to waste on arguing with pedantic idiots

 

One thing that you should notice next year is that, once again, your annual extensions of stay will be dated from when your latest permission to stay expires rather than from when you applied for the extension (as was, I take it, the case this year because of your switch from retirement to marriage)

[Mutt Daeng]

3 hours ago, Muhendis said:

One small point.

KR 2 hasn't been required for a few years now. Immigration office computers have access to that information, but, as we all know, some offices have been known to invent their own set of rules. It might be an idea to check if it is still required next time you apply for your extension. 

Thanks @Muhendis . Useful info. Presumably this is at Buriram IO?

Edit. I see you have already answered this. I should have read the whole thread first before posting.

[khunPer]

On 10/19/2023 at 4:38 AM, Pinot said:

My question is what happens next year? Does this get any easier in the second year? Will they require everything all over again? Thanks.

Yes, and that's why the easy solution is extension of stay based on "retirement", if one can afford...

[AhFarangJa]

8 hours ago, steve187 said:

are you saying its one piece of paper for a 'retirement' yearly extension as opposed to 76 pieces for a 'married' one

Yes. Marriage paperwork is 38 pages, duplicated equals 76. You have to provide every page of your passport that bears a Thai stamp,regardless of how old, copies of marriage papers, affidavits that still married from local amphur, copies of Wife's i.d. , copy of her tabien bahn from home village, copies of our tabien banh for house in Hua Hin, including pages 1, 18, first blank page, and signature page,  copies of our Son's birth certificate, his i.d., house purchase papers, or house contract, three months internet & power bills with my name on, map to house, including google co-ordinates, letter from bank, updated bank book, no later than 24 hours before, photos inside and outside house, wearing different clothes, and finally, all these papers must be placed in the correct order as listed by immigration.

[DJ54]

And this my friends is how pissing contests started…. 
enjoy the weekend… 

[steve187]

2 hours ago, AhFarangJa said:

Yes. Marriage paperwork is 38 pages, duplicated equals 76. You have to provide every page of your passport that bears a Thai stamp,regardless of how old, copies of marriage papers, affidavits that still married from local amphur, copies of Wife's i.d. , copy of her tabien bahn from home village, copies of our tabien banh for house in Hua Hin, including pages 1, 18, first blank page, and signature page,  copies of our Son's birth certificate, his i.d., house purchase papers, or house contract, three months internet & power bills with my name on, map to house, including google co-ordinates, letter from bank, updated bank book, no later than 24 hours before, photos inside and outside house, wearing different clothes, and finally, all these papers must be placed in the correct order as listed by immigration.

seems a lot to me, less than half of that for me at Rayong - kor ror 2, & marriage cert, copy of Wife's i.d and house book, bank letter, bank id page and last 2 months of bank book, photo's, my passport id page, latest visa and extension stamp

i don't see the problem one time one year, office is 10-15 minutes drive from the house, always quiet, less than a hour out of my 365 days retirement . 

 

[Pinot]

On 10/20/2023 at 9:15 AM, Kalasin Jo said:

Nope. It's exactly the same every year.

Thank you. That was what I asked. (sighs)

 

 

On 10/20/2023 at 6:45 PM, DJ54 said:

And this my friends is how pissing contests started…. 
enjoy the weekend… 

Laughs, this got pretty funny. Some people...

 

 

On 10/20/2023 at 7:52 PM, steve187 said:

seems a lot to me, less than half of that for me at Rayong - kor ror 2, & marriage cert, copy of Wife's i.d and house book, bank letter, bank id page and last 2 months of bank book, photo's, my passport id page, latest visa and extension stamp

i don't see the problem one time one year, office is 10-15 minutes drive from the house, always quiet, less than a hour out of my 365 days retirement . 

 

This was Phuket which is always harder and more complicated. At the same time I was doing the marriage visa thing, I also had a new passport I had to get the stamps switched to and a 90 day report was due. This was a three day highly frustrating process. Partially my fault because the requirement checklist was from the previous year and it had gotten increasingly onerous. 

 

My wife did 95% of the talking. I would have thrown in the towel early if it hadn't been for her. We did it. Or at least we think we did. We pick up the approval tomorrow or whatever it is. 

[charleskerins]

On 10/19/2023 at 2:23 PM, AhFarangJa said:

I did my extension based on marriage for the first four years, then it just got ridiculous.

Apart from 76 pages of paperwork, a letter from the local amphor to say we are still married, two sets of picture, outside the house with the house number clearly visible, then change clothes, and take photo by the front door, change clothes, and take photo in the lounge, and yes, we had to have a photo sitting on the bed, again, with different clothes, ( at least we kept the clothes on !!). The final straw was that four days before the visa ran out we had a call from immigration. Now, all photos had to include our Son as well. I went to the office and said, firstly he is dual nationality, and secondly what if he is in Chiang Mai in University. All I got was a shrug of shoulders, and told that is what Bangkok wants now. 

Changed the following year to simple extension to stay, one piece of paper, and a photograph of just me. 

Geezus

[Peciacake]

On 10/19/2023 at 11:18 AM, Ben Zioner said:

Yes you will need everything again. But you can make it easier by getting organised. Keep docs ready to be printed on your computer, then photos,  Kor Ror 2, Bank and off you go.

 

Also use only the 400k in the bank, don't even try the income option, some offices won't do it anyway.

 

I did 7 extensions, took about one day for each, needed also an extra hour or two to get the stamp. But when the LTR came, it was a no brainer,  just got it.

"Also use only the 400k in the bank, don't even try the income option, some offices won't do it anyway."

Is this from personal experience or is it across the board?  What have others experienced with the income option?  Is it a requirement to have 40.0K THB deposited every month or 480.0K (or more) over a 12 month period?

[Ben Zioner]

23 minutes ago, Peciacake said:

"Also use only the 400k in the bank, don't even try the income option, some offices won't do it anyway."

Is this from personal experience or is it across the board?  What have others experienced with the income option?  Is it a requirement to have 40.0K THB deposited every month or 480.0K (or more) over a 12 month period?

I have always done my extensions with the same fixed deposit of 400k, and gotten the bank papers on the day I made my applications, so always straightforward. The part about the offices being "difficult" when processing applications based on monthly income was based on what I have read on this forum. This issue has come up numerous times, I'll let you search.

[Madgee]

I switched from the marriage to the retirement extension 4 years ago after I packed up working in Thailand.

Of course, everyone to their own choice but 'I' can do it, I don't need to drag the missus out of work, I don't need to do the extra paperwork or photos etc. and the 800k stays in a fixed account for emergencies (also it's a small legacy for the step-daughter). 

Worth a mention: 
Remember that if your beloved becomes your ex-beloved then the 'get out of Thailand' becomes a reality immediately, whereas if on a retirement extension, you can remain as an alien in Thailand! 

 

 

[NanLaew]

On 10/19/2023 at 10:24 AM, foreverlomsak said:

Use an agent, at a cost, and I believe since tax has been spoken about it has jumped considerably.

Citation?

 

Speculation?

 

Or idle 'barstool' chatter?

[Ben Zioner]

On 10/19/2023 at 10:35 AM, BenStark said:

Yes I know you switched to marriage extension as well because you're skint. Not me, I can afford to have 800K parked in an account 12 months a year.

Switched to LTR as I can't afford the 800k parked. Only needed  [overseas] health cover and a decent pension.

[Conquerbrqvilok]

That's a terrible switch, you may go for anything else like learning their local language or learning how to punch people easier than a marriage Visa you will need two witnesses with their IDs and blue books and they will interrogate them which may make them refuse to be your witnesses, also don't forget to clean your WC'S as they will take the photos of it, just like in USA when they want to hand a US passport as a final stage instead of a cheap ink in your passport

[Ben Zioner]

On 10/20/2023 at 8:26 AM, Bangkok Barry said:

Logically, it should be the other way around, with those married to Thais a shoo-in for permission to live with their wife with minimal fuss.

It would be if there weren't so many, for immigration purpose", fake marriages around. So French ladies have a succession of African husbands for humanitarian reasons. Watch "Green Card", a good  French/American movie. 

[Bangkok Barry]

4 minutes ago, Ben Zioner said:

On 10/20/2023 at 8:26 AM, Bangkok Barry said:

Logically, it should be the other way around, with those married to Thais a shoo-in for permission to live with their wife with minimal fuss.

It would be if there weren't so many, for immigration purpose", fake marriages around. So French ladies have a succession of African husbands for humanitarian reasons. Watch "Green Card", a good  French/American movie. 

I doubt there are many foreigners involved in fake marriages for the pleasure of staying in Thailand. Again, it's surely the other way around.

[Ben Zioner]

4 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

I doubt there are many foreigners involved in fake marriages for the pleasure of staying in Thailand. Again, it's surely the other way around.

Obviously you don't know the Isaan Farang.