Help with parental visa

[Kenny202]

Got a mate here with kids (sole parent)... too young for retirement extension. Trying to clear something up for him, he seems confused. He entered the country initially from Australia on a tourist 30 day visa, extended another 60 days. Went out of the country to Laos and came back in again....same deal tourist visa / 60 day extension with just over a month to go. SO he's on his second 90 day stretch.

 

If he does not do the parental visa this time, how many times can he come in on back to back 30 day tourist visas / 60 day extensions (90 days)? Next one will be his third one. He seems to have this weird idea all he will have to do is enter from another country (Cambodia walk in). What is the difference between getting a visa between land crossing or flight? Is one easier than the other? What is the limit these days on back to back border hop visas?

 

I thought he would simply be able to extend the visa he has now but apparently the agent telling him he needs to once again leave the country, get a non o and come back in before they can start the 12 month parent visa. I myself a bit confused with O / Non O visas. And by the way. Is the tourist visa he's on now an O, Non O or just a tourist visa? Whats the difference?

 

Appreciate any help, this bloke has no clue and he will end up locked out of the country and his kids stuck here.

Edited June 17 by Kenny202

[DrJack54]

Clear up few things first.

Extensions to visa exempt and tourist visa entry is 30 days .

Are the children Thai nationals.

Is he married to a Thai citizen.

 

He did not enter on a 30 day tourist visa. Seems he entered on visa exempt which provides a 30 day permit. 

 

Here is short thread with some links posted by ubonjoe

https://aseannow.com/topic/1275570-visa-based-on-child/

[Liquorice]

A visa exempt entry grants a stay of 30 days.

A Tourist visa obtained from a Thai Embassy/Consulate grants a stay of 60 days.

In either case, your Immigration status is Tourist.
You cannot extend a visa, you can extend your period of stay for 30 days as a Tourist.

 

To obtain a 1-year extension based on Thai child, you must have Non Immigrant status, so he needs to obtain a Non Imm O visa.

 

Where/who have the children been staying with when he wasn't in Thailand?
Was he married to the Mother of the children when they were born?
Where is the Mother now?

Are the children living with him now?

[Kenny202]

32 minutes ago, Liquorice said:

A visa exempt entry grants a stay of 30 days.

A Tourist visa obtained from a Thai Embassy/Consulate grants a stay of 60 days.

In either case, your Immigration status is Tourist.
You cannot extend a visa, you can extend your period of stay for 30 days as a Tourist.

 

To obtain a 1-year extension based on Thai child, you must have Non Immigrant status, so he needs to obtain a Non Imm O visa.

 

Where/who have the children been staying with when he wasn't in Thailand?
Was he married to the Mother of the children when they were born?
Where is the Mother now?

Are the children living with him now?

He was legally married to the mother. He was doing a 6 month stint working back home, long story short came back for a surprise visit and you can imagine some of the surprises he got. His name is on the birth certificate and they were legally married when the kids were born. They were divorced not long after he came back and he has been taking care of the kids in Thailand last 5 months or so. He also now has sole custody. Waiting on the papers from the court. The kids are Thai nationals, he hasn't done citizenship for them back home yet. Mother around but not sure where. Yes children living with him now and for the last 5 months.

 

I understand now why he needs to leave the country again. I thought he could just extend his tourist visa or whatever he is on now.

Does the first parental visa on a non O work like retirement does (or used to). Where as long as you leave the country in the first year and return the 12 months starts from scratch again? So effectively the first extension you can stretch out nearly 2 years?

 

He must have come in on visa exempt and extended an extra 60 days? (total 90 days). He's done that twice back to back. How many time would he be allowed to do that? He reckons immigration told him he can do that 3 times before they will pull him up. I found that a bit hard to believe

 

Thanks for your help

Edited June 17 by Kenny202

[Tod Daniels]

Well he can only get TWO free visa exempt entries by land in a calendar year (Jan 1 - Dec 31) So once he burns those he's gonna hafta fly in AND run the risk of them thinking he's living here milking free stamps and possibly get denied entry and shipped back out on his dime.

He's getting 60 day "visit thai family" extensions off those free entry stamps <- that's the only 60 day extension there is. He's allowed to get that once per entry.   

He had legal parental rights granted when the children were born, (because he was married to the mother) and as long as he didn't relinquish that in the divorce decree he's fine using the children to get first a 90 day Non-O visa and then a year extension. he'd have to bank 400K baht in a thai bank account in his name only to do either of those.

He needs to go talk to the immigration office where he lives AND he needs to have enough time left on his current stamp to apply for the visa for 2000baht, wait the review period (usually 2 weeks) then go back to get the 90 day Non-O visa inked in. Then he'd wait 2 months and apply for the year extension for 1900baht

 

[Kenny202]

Excellent info thanks 😊

[Liquorice]

4 hours ago, Kenny202 said:

He must have come in on visa exempt and extended an extra 60 days? (total 90 days). He's done that twice back to back. How many time would he be allowed to do that? He reckons immigration told him he can do that 3 times before they will pull him up. I found that a bit hard to believe

Assuming he arrived by air for his first entry, and he's already done a border run for a second entry + 60 day extensions.

He's allowed to do one more land border crossing this year as @Tod Daniels stated + 60 day extension.

 

He can apply for the Non O at Immigration.
400K in a Thai bank account.

At least 15 days permission of stay remaining (dependent on Immigration office).

Procedure here: https://bangkok.immigration.go.th/wp-content/uploads/2022C1_07.pdf 

 

[Kenny202]

48 minutes ago, Liquorice said:

Assuming he arrived by air for his first entry, and he's already done a border run for a second entry + 60 day extensions.

He's allowed to do one more land border crossing this year as @Tod Daniels stated + 60 day extension.

 

He can apply for the Non O at Immigration.
400K in a Thai bank account.

At least 15 days permission of stay remaining (dependent on Immigration office).

Procedure here: https://bangkok.immigration.go.th/wp-content/uploads/2022C1_07.pdf 

 

You're right actually. His first entry was by air, 2nd one by land. Would he be likely to be allowed in again on a visa free 30 days land or air crossing?? That would be three (2 with 90 day extensions) back to back without any period of time in between

Edited June 17 by Kenny202

[Liquorice]

24 minutes ago, Kenny202 said:

You're right actually. His first entry was by air, 2nd one by land. Would he be likely to be allowed in again on a visa free 30 days land or air crossing?? That would be three (2 with 90 day extensions) back to back without any period of time in between

By the letter of law, he's entitled to one more VE entry by land, and unlimited entries by air.

 

3 hours ago, Tod Daniels said:

Well he can only get TWO free visa exempt entries by land in a calendar year (Jan 1 - Dec 31) So once he burns those he's gonna hafta fly in AND run the risk of them thinking he's living here milking free stamps and possibly get denied entry and shipped back out on his dime.

There is his problem. An Immigration official can deny entry if he feels you're spending too long in Thailand without the correct visa type.

 

4 hours ago, Tod Daniels said:

He needs to go talk to the immigration office where he lives AND he needs to have enough time left on his current stamp to apply for the visa for 2000baht, wait the review period (usually 2 weeks) then go back to get the 90 day Non-O visa inked in. Then he'd wait 2 months and apply for the year extension for 1900baht

That is the best advice.

[Mutt Daeng]

13 hours ago, Tod Daniels said:

Well he can only get TWO free visa exempt entries by land in a calendar year (Jan 1 - Dec 31) So once he burns those he's gonna hafta fly in AND run the risk of them thinking he's living here milking free stamps and possibly get denied entry and shipped back out on his dime.

He's getting 60 day "visit thai family" extensions off those free entry stamps <- that's the only 60 day extension there is. He's allowed to get that once per entry.   

He had legal parental rights granted when the children were born, (because he was married to the mother) and as long as he didn't relinquish that in the divorce decree he's fine using the children to get first a 90 day Non-O visa and then a year extension. he'd have to bank 400K baht in a thai bank account in his name only to do either of those.

He needs to go talk to the immigration office where he lives AND he needs to have enough time left on his current stamp to apply for the visa for 2000baht, wait the review period (usually 2 weeks) then go back to get the 90 day Non-O visa inked in. Then he'd wait 2 months and apply for the year extension for 1900baht

 

That's good advice.

[steve187]

i know its in the past, but could he not have done a VE 30 day entry, then a 30 day extension and then a 60 day Thai family extension, but as posted by Tod best to get a yearly family extension

[Kenny202]

Just wondering, and I suspect the guy short on funds....an agent has quoted him a pretty reasonable price for the 1 year parental extension and 15k to do the non O visa transfer (15k). In my experience the first parental extension is the time consuming part. Would he be able to do the Non O application himself fairly easily and save the 15k? Or does he have to show the 400k in the bank at the non O transfer stage as well as the parent visa stage?

 

When I did my first one year OA visa (retirement) in my home country....You could basically extend it out to nearly 2 years by leaving the country and returning within the first year..do a trip in / out right at the end of your first 12 months and it started from scratch with another 12 months. Is the Non O the same or only 3 months?

 

 

[john donson]

an agent for a parental visa? 

 

good luck

 

in my case, it was either impossible, quoted by several 'agents', or one trying to get 60.000 baht...

 

that was before covid and in penang got me a multiple entry... then covid, then old enough for retirement

[Kenny202]

1 hour ago, john donson said:

an agent for a parental visa? 

 

good luck

 

in my case, it was either impossible, quoted by several 'agents', or one trying to get 60.000 baht...

 

that was before covid and in penang got me a multiple entry... then covid, then old enough for retirement

I would have thought so too, there's a ton of work, particularly the first one. I told him to check it wasn't just a hand holding exercise but he says it's the whole deal

Edited June 18 by Kenny202