Extension Based on Marriage

[OJAS]

3 hours ago, safarimike11 said:

I may add: A good few years ago - maybe 10 to 15 - there used to be a tall Swedish gentleman who worked/was always present in the entrance of (then Pattaya/now Jomtien) immigration. He also spoke fluent Thai and English. I remember asking him one day on his thoughts of me changing my retirement extension to a marriage visa. (I had then been married to my Thai wife for a few years). His answer was "don't do it". I shall always be grateful for his advice.

 

And, had you been minded NOT to follow his advice, you would almost certainly have encountered stiff resistance from IMM on the grounds that processing extension applications for marriage entails much more work for them (on account of the need to refer these to Divisional HQ for final approval) than for retirement (which can be approved on the spot).

 

[MangoKorat]

A further question regarding the 400K in the bank.  It is my intention to change to the income method for my second extension - I will have to have an income of 40k per month to maintain my work permit in any case. However, it has long been my intention to keep a similar figure (£10k) as my 'insurance policy' should I ever have to return to the UK permanently.

 

The intention was to keep the £10k in a UK bank as the interest on Thai accounts is pitiful.  I might just though, keep it in a Thai account as a sort of back up should there be any problems with the income method. Does anyone know of a Thai account that pays reasonable interest and is of a type acceptable to immigration?

[DrJack54]

2 hours ago, MangoKorat said:

Does anyone know of a Thai account that pays reasonable interest and is of a type acceptable to immigration?

Thai interest rates, are lousey. 

You could consider a FD account. 

If you opt for that then why bother with income method. 

[Rob Browder]

23 hours ago, IvorBiggun2 said:

Immigration offices make up the visa laws as they see fit. I'm on a Marriage Extention and every year I have to show my 3 childrens birth certificates, ID cards and photo's inside and outside of the house. Can someone please tell me as to what age does this cease?

They make marriage extensions a PITA, because it is a lot of work to process them.  Basically, reaching age 50 (+ not working in Thailand) is when this annual nightmare can end - but only if you either meet the higher financials, or use their agent to skip the requirements.

[Liquorice]

On 6/5/2025 at 10:55 AM, IvorBiggun2 said:

Immigration offices make up the visa laws as they see fit. I'm on a Marriage Extention and every year I have to show my 3 childrens birth certificates, ID cards and photo's inside and outside of the house. Can someone please tell me as to what age does this cease?

Sounds as though your extension is being processed based on Thai family, rather than just Thai spouse.

 

Who told them you had children in the first place?

[Liquorice]

15 minutes ago, Rob Browder said:

They make marriage extensions a PITA, because it is a lot of work to process them.  Basically, reaching age 50 (+ not working in Thailand) is when this annual nightmare can end - but only if you either meet the higher financials, or use their agent to skip the requirements.

I'll be submitting my next extension based on Thai spouse next week.

Changed from retirement to Thai spouse 8 years ago without any grief.

 

Most encounters I've experienced with an issue with an extension application based on Thai spouse have been the fault of the applicant not submitting the correct documents.

[IvorBiggun2]

34 minutes ago, Liquorice said:

Who told them you had children in the first place?

 

The Tabiian Baan (Blue Book) which is a requirement to obtain a 'Marriage Extension'.

 

Quote

In Thailand, the house registration book is called Tabien Baan (ทะเบียนบ้าน). It's an official booklet issued by the local government, used to register the address and residents of a house or apartment. 

 

[Liquorice]

9 minutes ago, IvorBiggun2 said:

The Tabiian Baan (Blue Book) which is a requirement to obtain a 'Marriage Extension'.

You probably gave them a copy of every page of the Tabien Baan, which would include every Thai registered at that address, but not necessarily living there, so your IO assumed you were applying based on Thai family, rather than just Thai spouse.

The financial requirements are the same.

 

All you needed to supply is the front page detailing the address, then the first page with your wife's details as the 'householder'.

[IvorBiggun2]

Before someone can get a Thai ID card they must be registered in a Blue Book. Which is what we did. So everytime I do a Marriage Externtion I have to declare all occupants registered at the house. Or is that wrong?

[Rob Browder]

1 hour ago, Liquorice said:

I'll be submitting my next extension based on Thai spouse next week.

Changed from retirement to Thai spouse 8 years ago without any grief.

 

Most encounters I've experienced with an issue with an extension application based on Thai spouse have been the fault of the applicant not submitting the correct documents.

Myself and others reporting here have not had that experience.  I had all listed documents, copies, etc required every time, at every application - plus "undocumented" things they asked for, which they seemed annoyed I could provide, thanks to reading reports here / being forewarned.  I never used an agent, never broke their laws, dressed nice, no tattoos, even.  

 

Thank God I'm 50 now and not working in Thailand any more, so never have to live though any of that, again.

[Rob Browder]

1 hour ago, Liquorice said:

You probably gave them a copy of every page of the Tabien Baan, which would include every Thai registered at that address, but not necessarily living there, so your IO assumed you were applying based on Thai family, rather than just Thai spouse.

The financial requirements are the same.

 

All you needed to supply is the front page detailing the address, then the first page with your wife's details as the 'householder'.

The requirements are different - no "seasoning" of the 400K is needed for child-based family extensions. 

As he is married, they will not let him file for a child-based extension.  Foreigners are penalized with more-strict requirements for being married to the mother of one's children. 

They often add "undocumented requirements" to make it more difficult / refusing to accept the application without them, in my and other's experience.

[Liquorice]

1 hour ago, IvorBiggun2 said:

Before someone can get a Thai ID card they must be registered in a Blue Book.

Thais yes, foreigners no.

 

1 hour ago, IvorBiggun2 said:

So everytime I do a Marriage Externtion I have to declare all occupants registered at the house. Or is that wrong?

You only need to declare the wife registered in the Tabien Baan (homeowner) if your extension is based purely on Thai spouse.

By giving them all the family registered in the TB, I'm sure they've processed your application based on staying with Thai family.

[TaoNow]

For me, the main reason to do the retirement extension (versus the marriage ext) is the ability to be totally self-reliant.  

 

Processing the retirement extension requires only you, the ex-pat, and your Thai bank account.  No one else needs to be involved, and that reduces potential complications or mishaps.

 

In general, I think successful, retired ex-pats -- wherever they settle, should be able to do all the necessary administrative procedures required by the adoptive country.

 

If, having mastered those procedures, the ex-pat may then wish to use the services of an agent or other helper to save time in preparing the documentation, standing in line, or other nuisance.

 

But, in sum, Rule #1 of a successful overseas retirement is this:  Know the local rules, and be able to fully comply with those rules on your own, with no help or involvement of anyone else.

[Liquorice]

39 minutes ago, Rob Browder said:

The requirements are different - no "seasoning" of the 400K is needed for child-based family extensions. 

@IvorBiggun2 hasn't applied based on Thai children > section 2.18 Clause 5

He applied under section 2.18 Clause 6 > Thai spouse but given them details of all the children, which wasn't actually required.
Immigration will just repeat that process each year now.

[Liquorice]

1 hour ago, Rob Browder said:

Myself and others reporting here have not had that experience. 

Folks only report when they've had an issue, rarely are non issue reports posted.

[IvorBiggun2]

6 minutes ago, Liquorice said:

He applied under section 2.18 Clause 6 > Thai spouse but given them details of all the children, which wasn't actually required.
 

 

To get my childrens ID cards I had to register them in the Blue Book. At immigration my wife has to show her Blue Book every year which records all Thais living at her house. So on that basis immigration requires to see their ID.

[Liquorice]

23 minutes ago, IvorBiggun2 said:

 

To get my childrens ID cards I had to register them in the Blue Book. At immigration my wife has to show her Blue Book every year which records all Thais living at her house. So on that basis immigration requires to see their ID.

Your wife could also have other family members registered in her TB.
Would Immigration also request their ID.

 

The fact is if you're applying based on Thai spouse and have to show 400K deposited for 2 months in a Thai bank account, then the children are not part of the application and should not be part of the process.

[IvorBiggun2]

21 minutes ago, Liquorice said:

then the children are not part of the application and should not be part of the process.

 

I absolutely agree. So come August I'm not going to declare my children and we'll see what happens.

[johng]

45 minutes ago, IvorBiggun2 said:

I'm not going to declare my children and we'll see what happens.

They ask my wife and I every year if we have children..even though we are both now near pension age 😋

[MangoKorat]

10 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

Thai interest rates, are lousey. 

You could consider a FD account. 

If you opt for that then why bother with income method. 

Because of the interest rate and the fact that should a UK bank go bust my money (max £85k per account) is protected. I also believe that the UK's rules on fraud, should anyone access my account, are likely to be much better than those in Thailand where many things are governed by 'Caveat Emptor' principles. With a UK account, as long as I can show that I have not revealed my personal details, PIN etc. to a fraudulent party, the bank has to refund any money obtained by fraudulent means.

 

I have to show an income of at least 40k baht per month to maintain my work permit in any case.

[Liquorice]

1 hour ago, MangoKorat said:

Because of the interest rate and the fact that should a UK bank go bust my money (max £85k per account) is protected. I also believe that the UK's rules on fraud, should anyone access my account, are likely to be much better than those in Thailand where many things are governed by 'Caveat Emptor' principles. With a UK account, as long as I can show that I have not revealed my personal details, PIN etc. to a fraudulent party, the bank has to refund any money obtained by fraudulent means.

With a Fixed Term Deposit account, the interest rates are higher than the Savings accounts, plus a debit card isn't issued for it.
To withdraw funds, you have to physically go in the branch with the bankbook and your ID.
It also prevents those 'accidental' withdrawals that take you under the financial requirements.