mania Posted April 6 Share Posted April 6 (edited) Just wondering if anyone has info on this We always visit our home in Thailand for 3 months a year My wife is Thai & I always get the Non-Imm Type O visiting family 90 day visa It has always been these requirements listed below For the purpose of visiting family (Type “O”) - When submitting application include: - Your actual passport - valid for at least six more months (18 more months if applying for multiple-entry visa) and passport must have some blank visa pages - include a copy of the "picture/information" page of the passport - Two recent passport-type photos - Copy U.S. Permanent Resident card or long-term U.S. Visa (does not apply to U.S. passport holders) - Completed visa application [download] - Recent bank statement showing at least $700 US - Copy of airline tickets or e-ticket and... To visit as a spouse of a Thai nationality, Fiance and Fiancee are not eligible for this category. - A copy of a valid and effective marriage certificate. - A copy of Thai passport /or Thai I.D. of the spouse. - A letter from the spouse verifying that the applicant and the spouse are still married and the purpose to visit Thailand. But today as I get ready for our yearly trip & visit the US LA site I see the requirements have changed & quite a bit But what is odd is if your visiting a Non Thai Family show $1000 but if visiting Thai family show $15,000 ? Non-Immigrant Type “O” Visiting family - (thaiembassy.org) Required documents to upload in the system (Large and clear JPEG or PDF format) to stay with non-Thai family residing in Thailand (more than 60 days): Passport Biodata Page or Travel Document (Must be valid within 6 months from travel date) Photograph of the applicant, taken within the past six months Document indicating current location (driving license, bank statement, or proof of stay) A copy of a recent saving or checking bank statement with an ending balance of no less than $1,000 per person or 2,000 per family that shows the applicant's name and date. In case of submitting a family bank statement, proof of relationship (i.e. birth certificate, marriage certificate) must be provided Personal details of a family in Thailand, e.g. valid government-issued ID card, Passport and Thai visa page, work permit or stay permit in Thailand Proof of relationship to a family in Thailand (immediate family only), e.g. A copy of marriage certificate/birth certificate/certificate of adoption Required documents to upload in the system (Large and clear JPEG or PDF format) to stay with Thai family residing in Thailand (more than 60 days): Passport Biodata Page or Travel Document (Must be valid within 6 months from travel date) Photograph of the applicant, taken within the past six months Document indicating current location (driving license, bank statement, or proof of stay) Recent bank statement showing the applicant's name and ending balance of no less than $15,000 or proof of monthly income of not less than $1,500/month) along with the current bank statement showing incoming income Personal details of a family in Thailand, e.g. valid Thai ID card or Thai Passport Proof of relationship to a family in Thailand (immediate family only), e.g. A copy of marriage certificate / birth certificate / certificate of adoption Anyone recently get a 90 day visa based on Married to a Thai know anything about this? Also does it matter which I choose since in reality we stay with each other in our home not family Thai or non-Thai Lastly I am wondering if it is all just better these days to go Tourist visa 60 days then extend? I have always done Non-Imm Type O as it was better for banking etc Any Help Appreciated Edited April 6 by mania Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post ChaiyaTH Posted April 6 Popular Post Share Posted April 6 (edited) Seems it is slowly a standard now everywhere to ask this insane requirement of money sum even people just obtain a single entry child or marriage visa. I still cant believe this is really true too, i even considered before moving back to europe for a few years due to business and then just obtaining these visa’s hassle free: would make zero sense to then need and deposit or show 400k baht or similar at all. it is easier to just come as a tourist at this point…. Edited April 6 by ChaiyaTH 1 1 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mania Posted April 6 Author Share Posted April 6 After further investigation........ Actually going to the Thai E visa site where we got last years visa from... Official Website of Thailand Electronic Visa (thaievisa.go.th) It shows that while it is still way more expensive to choose visiting/staying with Thai family vs non Thai it is still quite different It seems like they have confused visiting a Thai Family with the requirements for yearly extension based on marriage? I will have to try contacting on a working day. To stay with non-Thai family residing in Thailand (more than 60 days) Financial evidence: amount of no less than 30,000 THB, e.g. bank statements, sponsorship letter To stay with Thai family residing in Thailand (more than 60 days) Financial evidence showing monthly income of no less than 40,000 THB or having the current balance of 400,000 THB, e.g. bank statements, proof of earnings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mania Posted April 6 Author Share Posted April 6 (edited) 5 minutes ago, ChaiyaTH said: Seems it is slowly a standard now everywhere to ask this insane requirement of money sum even people just obtain a single entry child or marriage visa. I still cant believe this is really true too, i even considered before moving back to europe for a few years due to business and then just obtaining these visa’s hassle free: would make zero sense to then need and deposit or show 400k baht or similar at all. it is easier to just come as a tourist at this point…. I know right? Look at what I just posted I am really even more confused than ever hehehe 😉 Edited April 6 by mania 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChaiyaTH Posted April 6 Share Posted April 6 (edited) 3 minutes ago, mania said: I know right? Look at what I just posted it is really even more confused than ever hehehe 😉 Meanwhile she (the miss), can get a 6 months and then 5 year visa for entire europe, based on the chavez agreement (cant split parents from children). no money proof, no complicated nothing. After 2 times she even be resident / passport holder. Edited April 6 by ChaiyaTH 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChaiyaTH Posted April 6 Share Posted April 6 5 minutes ago, mania said: After further investigation........ Actually going to the Thai E visa site where we got last years visa from... Official Website of Thailand Electronic Visa (thaievisa.go.th) It shows that while it is still way more expensive to choose visiting/staying with Thai family vs non Thai it is still quite different It seems like they have confused visiting a Thai Family with the requirements for yearly extension based on marriage? I will have to try contacting on a working day. To stay with non-Thai family residing in Thailand (more than 60 days) Financial evidence: amount of no less than 30,000 THB, e.g. bank statements, sponsorship letter To stay with Thai family residing in Thailand (more than 60 days) Financial evidence showing monthly income of no less than 40,000 THB or having the current balance of 400,000 THB, e.g. bank statements, proof of earnings I dont even get this logic as a non-o by default is 90 days, and they mention 60 days or less while one could then get a tourist visa hassle free….. they lost it! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post mania Posted April 6 Author Popular Post Share Posted April 6 (edited) 3 minutes ago, ChaiyaTH said: Meanwhile she (the miss), can get a 6 and then 5 year visa for entire europe, based on the chavez agreement (cant split parents from children). no money proof, no complicated nothing. After 2 times she even be resident / passport holder. Same as my wife...came to USA in 2007 allowed 6 months same as you said no cash etc etc Then got two year visa... after that a 10 year perm residence visa ...one year into that she took test for citizenship & got her US Passport/citizenship Social Security etc etc Wish it was reciprocated in Thailand Edited April 6 by mania 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChaiyaTH Posted April 6 Share Posted April 6 8 minutes ago, mania said: Same as my wife...came to USA in 2007 allowed 6 months same as you said no cash etc etc Then got two year visa... after that a 10 year perm residence visa ...one year into that she took test for citizenship & got her US Passport/citizenship Social Security etc etc Wish it was reciprocated in Thailand Is just insane to then not be able and get a 90 day visa hassle free, while various nationalities even get that on arrival for tourism. Im not even joking, at this point doing the tourist visa and arrivals is even easier for long stayers almost. It makes me especially sick for those with child visa’s, as of literally taking care of a Thai minor. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caldera Posted April 7 Share Posted April 7 5 hours ago, mania said: It seems like they have confused visiting a Thai Family with the requirements for yearly extension based on marriage? I don't think that they're confusing the requirements, but that nowadays the view seems to be that such a Non-O visa is primarily issued to people who will use it to apply for an extension. Their conclusion is that the requirements for the extension - except for the money seasoning - need to be met for the visa application already. That's quite insane, but embassies and consulates closer to Thailand (e.g. Savannakhet, Vientiane and Phnom Penh) have applied that "logic" since quite a while already. So yes, for a family visit, nowadays a tourist visa seems to be the way to go. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post TroubleandGrumpy Posted April 7 Popular Post Share Posted April 7 Come as a tourist and then extend. Check again next time to see if it has changed back. When dealing with Thailand always tak the simpler/easier method - never look for logic or reason (it will drive you insane). 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mania Posted April 7 Author Share Posted April 7 (edited) 19 minutes ago, TroubleandGrumpy said: Come as a tourist and then extend. Check again next time to see if it has changed back. When dealing with Thailand always tak the simpler/easier method - never look for logic or reason (it will drive you insane). Well yes that is one option...whether or not it is easier is debatable ..Having lived in Thailand for many years ...now that we don't we prefer to not step foot in Immigration if at all possible 😉 That aside we also have plans to do some banking things that do not go easy on a tourist visa if at all. Sent an email to them will see how they respond on Monday Edited April 7 by mania Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TroubleandGrumpy Posted April 7 Share Posted April 7 2 minutes ago, mania said: Well yes that is one option...whether or not it is easier is debatable ..Having lived in Thailand for many years ...now that we don't we prefer to not step foot in Immigration if at all possible 😉 That aside we also have plans to do some banking things that do not go easy on a tourist visa if at all. For those living in Thailand, I agree it is best to avoid Immigration as much as possible. The OP visits Thailand for 3 months every year - he is better off (now) getting a 60 day Tourist Visa from home and then one Extension when here. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mania Posted April 7 Author Share Posted April 7 33 minutes ago, TroubleandGrumpy said: For those living in Thailand, I agree it is best to avoid Immigration as much as possible. The OP visits Thailand for 3 months every year - he is better off (now) getting a 60 day Tourist Visa from home and then one Extension when here. Thanks but I am the OP & have to disagree 😉 We are on vacation to our home where we go every year for three months & would not consider a trip to Imm part of any vacation Also as I mentioned a few times already we do some banking with Thai mortgages etc & a tourist visa does not fly in banks when doing that type of paper works as a foreigner. I need a valid Non Imm visa in my PP when doing paper work Last but not least it is also a hassle explaining to many airlines leaving the USA if your return trip date is after your visa expiration so again not easier having a 60 day visa & a 75+ day return date. Some understand some do not But thanks for the input. If it all gets to be too much of a hassle we will skip this year no problem as we have other options too. But really I think Imm has a error on their website & will find out on Monday when they open The requirements for Type O Non Imm to visit family is exactly right when visiting Non Thai family but obviously confused when visiting Thai family. I think they have confused it with 1 year extension because those requirements listed are exactly that as I had to comply with those for many years....ie: 400k THB in bank or 40k per month income 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TroubleandGrumpy Posted April 7 Share Posted April 7 1 hour ago, mania said: Thanks but I am the OP & have to disagree 😉 We are on vacation to our home where we go every year for three months & would not consider a trip to Imm part of any vacation Also as I mentioned a few times already we do some banking with Thai mortgages etc & a tourist visa does not fly in banks when doing that type of paper works as a foreigner. I need a valid Non Imm visa in my PP when doing paper work Last but not least it is also a hassle explaining to many airlines leaving the USA if your return trip date is after your visa expiration so again not easier having a 60 day visa & a 75+ day return date. Some understand some do not But thanks for the input. If it all gets to be too much of a hassle we will skip this year no problem as we have other options too. But really I think Imm has a error on their website & will find out on Monday when they open The requirements for Type O Non Imm to visit family is exactly right when visiting Non Thai family but obviously confused when visiting Thai family. I think they have confused it with 1 year extension because those requirements listed are exactly that as I had to comply with those for many years....ie: 400k THB in bank or 40k per month income I hear you - my bad. When you said you lived in Thailand for years I assumed you were not the person who visits for 3 mths a year. It does not look to be a mistake by LA - I just visited the Thai Evisa website we use in Aust - see below: That is done by the Dept Foreign Affairs in Thailand - so if there is a mistake it came from them. Official Website of Thailand Electronic Visa (thaievisa.go.th) 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Upnotover Posted April 7 Share Posted April 7 1 hour ago, mania said: But really I think Imm has a error on their website & will find out on Monday when they open I've read several accounts recently of 400k being required for a single non-O (family). I myself needed to show 800k for a single non-O (retirement) from London in February. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post soi3eddie Posted April 7 Popular Post Share Posted April 7 (edited) FWIW and may or not work for the OP, a good friend of mine in the UK needed a Visa for Thailand to stay 90 days. He's married to a Thai lady. He, at 76yrs, was totally flumoxed by the e-visa website. I agreed to help him and he emailed me pictures of all the documents (passports, statements etc.). The main thing that wasn't clear was the financial requirements. It appeared that the amounts were applicable to 1 year visa or extension of stay amount (£10,000GBP) but he wanted only 90 days. I went ahead and filled out the visa application for him and uploaded all the documents (even though his income and bank balance was much lower than specified). Within 3 days he was granted the 90 day marriage e-visa and entered Thailand with no trouble a few weeks later. I beleive the website to be misleading and confusing. Edited April 7 by soi3eddie 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChaiyaTH Posted April 7 Share Posted April 7 2 hours ago, mania said: But really I think Imm has a error on their website & will find out on Monday when they open The requirements for Type O Non Imm to visit family is exactly right when visiting Non Thai family but obviously confused when visiting Thai family. I think they have confused it with 1 year extension because those requirements listed are exactly that as I had to comply with those for many years....ie: 400k THB in bank or 40k per month income Doubt they confuse anything, it is the latest to ask 400K baht when applying for the non-o visa's at many places. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liquorice Posted April 7 Share Posted April 7 10 hours ago, mania said: Actually going to the Thai E visa site where we got last years visa from... Official Website of Thailand Electronic Visa (thaievisa.go.th) It shows that while it is still way more expensive to choose visiting/staying with Thai family vs non Thai it is still quite different It seems like they have confused visiting a Thai Family with the requirements for yearly extension based on marriage? I will have to try contacting on a working day. To stay with non-Thai family residing in Thailand (more than 60 days) Financial evidence: amount of no less than 30,000 THB, e.g. bank statements, sponsorship letter To stay with Thai family residing in Thailand (more than 60 days) Financial evidence showing monthly income of no less than 40,000 THB or having the current balance of 400,000 THB, e.g. bank statements, proof of earnings The E-visa is a universal site, so whether applying in the USA or the UK, the requirements are the same. The Thai Embassy, London also gives the same information. https://london.thaiembassy.org/en/page/spouse-and-family-visa To stay with non-Thai family residing in Thailand 4. Financial evidence: amount of no less than 30,000 THB (£700), e.g. bank statements, sponsorship letter - Applicant’s recent official UK/Ireland bank statement shows your name, address (Screenshots are not accepted) To stay with Thai family residing in Thailand 4. Financial evidence showing monthly income of no less than 40,000 THB (£1,000) or having the current balance of 400,000 THB (£10,000), e.g. bank statements, proof of earnings 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liquorice Posted April 7 Share Posted April 7 2 hours ago, soi3eddie said: FWIW and may or not work for the OP, a good friend of mine in the UK needed a Visa for Thailand to stay 90 days. He's married to a Thai lady. How long ago was that. There have been recent changes to the financial requirements. Too many runners with not enough funds to cover emergency medical bills? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soi3eddie Posted April 7 Share Posted April 7 2 hours ago, Liquorice said: How long ago was that. There have been recent changes to the financial requirements. Too many runners with not enough funds to cover emergency medical bills? Mid february 2024 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mania Posted April 7 Author Share Posted April 7 (edited) Thanks everyone for the replies 🙏 On the one hand I guess it could be an error but on the other hearing reports of others not even using the e-visa system being asked for similar financials does make one wonder I guess I should not be surprised that it is all clear as mud TIT after all 😉 On the other hand I guess I could also see with recent events how they may try to screen those requesting 90 day visa's more closely & try to bypass the visa agent fake funds routs for those extending to one year BUT.....the big but for me is why does the stay with non Thai family show rates that are basically as they always were? Albeit up to $1000 from $750 previously. I guess truth be told I could call my wife non-thai family also since she has dual US/Thai citizenship (hahaha kidding) Anyway thanks for all the replies again & I will update when I hear back from Thai Imm Edited April 7 by mania Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mania Posted April 8 Author Share Posted April 8 Well I did get a reply in my email today from the Visa Department of the Royal Thai Consulate-General, Los Angeles 😉 This is after I detailed the problem & compared staying with a non Thai family for $1000 vs a Thai family for $15,000 Here is a copy & paste of their detailed full explanation..... Why am I not surprised? 🙄 BTW: Nothing has changed on the E-Visa site. It is still as above 1k vs 15k to visit On 4/8/2024 7:25 AM, Royal Thai Consulate General Los Angeles (Visa Section) wrote: Quote VISA regulation has updated. Please check Thai E-VISA website regarding which type of VISA is best for your scenario. Visa Department Royal Thai Consulate-General, Los Angeles 611 N. Larchmont Blvd. 2nd Floor, Los Angeles CA 90004 Tel: 323-9629574 Email: visa(at)thaiconsulatela.org 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChaiyaTH Posted April 9 Share Posted April 9 18 hours ago, mania said: Well I did get a reply in my email today from the Visa Department of the Royal Thai Consulate-General, Los Angeles 😉 This is after I detailed the problem & compared staying with a non Thai family for $1000 vs a Thai family for $15,000 Here is a copy & paste of their detailed full explanation..... Why am I not surprised? 🙄 BTW: Nothing has changed on the E-Visa site. It is still as above 1k vs 15k to visit On 4/8/2024 7:25 AM, Royal Thai Consulate General Los Angeles (Visa Section) wrote: What a surprise, same I asked a question today at a counter, and she just gave me a zero relevant answer, as her superior was watching, I guess she just wanted to pretend she spoke fluent English to me, and as I walked away, that confirmed to her superior she spoke fluent English.... Standard replies, why, nobody with brains is looking at our emails or listens to what we say, it is always zombie sheeps who are taught to not question a single think, let alone to use their brains to their capacity (which still would be little but enough), to solve the issue or answer a simple question. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mania Posted April 11 Author Share Posted April 11 (edited) This is so funny I had to post.... So as I said they answered my one email with that canned answer to which I replied....just wondering why the difference of 40k baht to stay with Non Thai vs 400,000 to stay with Thai...perhaps it is an error? Their reply Please stop spamming our email. In this case I would suggest to apply for NON-O staying with Thai family which is YOUR WIFE family. 555 I ask one question of their canned answer & that is spamming hahahah Two emails total! Hahah Then the answer is to just use the 400,000 baht visa to visit 90 days... PERIOD Not the usual 40k baht (which BTW you can use to visit non Thai's???) yeah I will jump right on that 😉 Stick a fork in me..It'll come out clean... I'm done 🤣 Edited April 11 by mania Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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