Changing from a non o based on retirement to non o based on marriage

[essex boys]

Hi all, im currently living in Thailand on a non o visa ( and subsequent extensions) based on retirement, all my stamps and extensions etc are in my uk passport, I have dual nationality so I also have an Irish passport, im pencilling in april 2025 (not sure of exact date yet) to get married, my extension of stay expires on the 24th may 2025 , this is in my uk passport but I want to get married in April using my Irish passport but if I go to the Irish embassy in Bangkok I don’t have any entry stamps or anything related to Thailand in my Irish passport, my question is will they refuse to deal with me because I don’t have any entry stamps or visas in my Irish passport, I have everything in my uk passport.

 

just a bit of clarification, im here on my uk passport which runs out in June 2025, I want to use my Irish passport as the embassy do the letters regarding income for immigration and they are a lot easier to deal with than the uk embassy, also my Irish passport expires in 2029.

my plan was to apply for an appointment with the Irish embassy to get my affirmation to marry sorted out, get married in April then leave Thailand in may just before my extension of stay runs out, have a week or so in Vietnam then return in my Irish passport and start the process of my non o based on marriage and eventually an extension of that…sorry it’s about long winded but it’s hard to explain in a typed question.

looking forward to any advice 

many thanks

[sometimewoodworker]

48 minutes ago, essex boys said:

I have dual nationality so I also have an Irish passport, im pencilling in april 2025 (not sure of exact date yet) to get married, my extension of stay expires on the 24th may 2025 , this is in my uk passport but I want to get married in April using my Irish passport but if I go to the Irish embassy in Bangkok I don’t have any entry stamps or anything related to Thailand in my Irish passport, my question is will they refuse to deal with me because I don’t have any entry stamps or visas in my Irish passport, I have everything in my uk passport.

It is rather unlikely that anyone here can answer your questions definitively.

Your best course of action is to contact the Irish embassy, it is possible that they may have a phone number that they will answer. As you have Irish nationality the embassy will certainly talk to you, if they can assist you is a rather different question 

 

My opinion is that even if it is no problem for the Irish embassy it could easily be a problem for the ministry of foreign affairs and the Amphur or Ket where you wish to get married. You will have to prove that you are in Thailand legally, if you provide your Irish passport you cannot prove you are here legally, if you provide your U.K. passport you will be required to get married as a U.K. citizen as passport details are required on the marriage documents.

You probably have enough time to take a flight out of Thailand to cancel your current extension (unless you have a reentry permit) and return with a new Non-O visa on your Irish passport. 
To swap passports you must fly out of Thailand, you cannot do a land crossing   

 

Note the above is not based on first hand knowledge, I could be wrong but doubt that I am

[DrJack54]

OP, thinking your issue is with trying to get married in Thailand while your stamp for permission of stay is in UK pp.

It may be that you have to exit Thailand and kill off the non O. 

Return to Thailand visa exempt on your Irish pp.

Subsequently get married. 

The visa exempt would provide 60 day stamp. 

Can be extended by 30 or 60 if married at that point..

Obtain a non O based on marriage from your visa exempt entry and subsequent 12 month extension. 

 

[essex boys]

@DrJack54 @sometimewoodworker thank you both for your responses, I will call the embassy on Monday to seek some advice but I’m thinking the same as you gents that I will have to leave Thailand  on my uk passport and then return after a week or so on my Irish passport and get the 60 day visa exempt stamp and then start the  process. The only fear I have is that the Irish embassy have a questionnaire that you have to fill in supplying my details and the ‘ prospective wife/ partner details ‘ you have to submit this online to be given an appointment to go to the embassy with your paperwork, part of this questionnaire suggests that you should submit the questionnaire up to four months before your marriage, they also ask for a date of that marriage ceremony,maybe I should submit the questionnaire and put a marriage date of say June 2025 that might give me time to leave Thailand in may then return on my Irish passport end of may get the 60 day stamp and then perhaps my appointment with the Irish embassy will fall in the 60 day stamp period….i will try a phone call to the embassy On Monday and seek some clarification, I will update this post on Monday.

[essex boys]

This is a screenshot of the recommended times to allow for the application, looks like I could apply in say February then by the time I return to Thailand after leaving on the 23rd may when my extension expires , I should get stamped in in a 60 day visa exempt so that when I go to the embassy for my appointment I will have a correct stamp in my Irish passport 

 

[DrJack54]

6 minutes ago, essex boys said:

This is a screenshot of the recommended times to allow for the application, looks like I could apply in say February then by the time I return to Thailand after leaving on the 23rd may when my extension expires , I should get stamped in in a 60 day visa exempt so that when I go to the embassy for my appointment I will have a correct stamp in my Irish passport

Sounds like a workable plan.

Here is a site I ran into.

Most likely just confirms what you have already researched

https://www.ireland.ie/en/thailand/bangkok/services/marriage-and-civil-partnership/

[essex boys]

@DrJack54 yes I have been on that site, it’s the Irish embassy site and that’s where you have to fill in the questionnaire, strangely enough when they list the documents you need to send to the embassy before you get your affirmation of freedom to marry, they list the usual, birth certificate etc these have to be the originals but regarding my Irish passport all they want is a photocopy of it, no mention of photocopy of the visa and extension pages…

[DrJack54]

4 minutes ago, essex boys said:

but regarding my Irish passport all they want is a photocopy of it, no mention of photocopy of the visa and extension pages…

Umm might mean you can obtain affirmation of freedom to marry.

Without entry stamp in your Irish pp.

Keep us updated as I have read similar situations to yours. 

Good luck 

[essex boys]

6 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

Umm might mean you can obtain affirmation of freedom to marry.

Without entry stamp in your Irish pp.

Keep us updated as I have read similar situations to yours. 

Good luck 

I will be calling the embassy on Monday to seek advice from them, once I have an answer from them I will update this thread 

[sometimewoodworker]

9 hours ago, essex boys said:

This is a screenshot of the recommended times to allow for the application, looks like I could apply in say February then by the time I return to Thailand after leaving on the 23rd may when my extension expires , I should get stamped in in a 60 day visa exempt so that when I go to the embassy for my appointment I will have a correct stamp in my Irish passport 

Returning or trying to return on a visa exempt stamp is IMHO a bad idea, as is waiting until your current extension finishes if you want to keep your original timeline. A couple of days in Vientiane to get a visa is, in my opinion, easier than spending the same time (you will not be able to return on the same day from Laos unless you are paying for a visa trip van) and coming back visa exempt. Of course the requirement for a couple of days outside Thailand may not be the same if you fly or if you use a different exit point. I am only familiar with the Vientiane embassy requirements and Nong Kai border. You can get a train directly to Vientiane from Bangkok now so it’s an easy boarder to reach.

 

This is due to to the likely requirement that you are on a Non immigrant visa or extension, it was certainly the case when I got married, though of course being Thailand the requirements maybe different today.

 

Of course if your timeline is completely flexible and you need to get the maximum time from your existing extension and consider the ฿800 that you will have to abandon by cancelling your extension important then your proposal is certainly workable.

[DrJack54]

1 hour ago, sometimewoodworker said:

A couple of days in Vientiane to get a visa is, in my opinion, easier than spending the same time (you will not be able to return on the same day from Laos unless you are paying for a visa trip van) and coming back visa exempt.

Where did "couple of days in Vientiane to get a visa " come from.

What type of visa are you referring to? 

Non O marriage? 

All visas obtained in Laos are now eVisa. 

The timeframe for approval at this point uncertain. 

[sometimewoodworker]

50 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

Where did "couple of days in Vientiane to get a visa " come from.

What type of visa are you referring to? 

Non O marriage? 

All visas obtained in Laos are now eVisa. 

The timeframe for approval at this point uncertain. 

The couple of days is the minimum time for a land border crossing for Vientiane if returning visa exempt.

i was unaware that the time for issuing a visa had drastically altered and the Thai embassy does not seem to know that the approval time is unclear unless you mean between if it is 10 and 15 working days

 

of course this makes the process untenable for anyone who is not planning for a long visit to Laos and makes my suggestion in my previous post void