I was asking a question about UK when a separate question occurred to me as I typed. My wife (khun Thai, of course) was quite ill recently, happily now better.

 

But what if she died?

 

Does Immigration just shrug, cancel my marriage extension and throw me out? Or is there a less brutal procedure after bereavement? (Or indeed does it vary from one IO to another!?)

They let you stay till the end of your

current extension...after that you need to find some other visa option.

7 minutes ago, isaanistical said:

I was asking a question about UK when a separate question occurred to me as I typed. My wife (khun Thai, of course) was quite ill recently, happily now better.

 

But what if she died?

 

Does Immigration just shrug, cancel my marriage extension and throw me out? Or is there a less brutal procedure after bereavement? (Or indeed does it vary from one IO to another!?)

If you have a child you could get a dependent visa, or a retirement one if you're old enough. 

as people correctly pointed out IF you are on an extension of stay based on having a thai spouse and your spouse dies you can stay until your current extension runs out. At that time you'd have to either apply for a new yearly extension for a different reason (retirement, raising thai child, etc) OR you'd have to leave the country get a different visa to come back. ..  

It's only if you are divorced that your marriage extension instantly ends.  As soon as the divorce is final, your extension will be invalid.  But if the spouse dies, then you're allowed to stay until the end of that extension.

2 hours ago, isaanistical said:

I was asking a question about UK when a separate question occurred to me as I typed. My wife (khun Thai, of course) was quite ill recently, happily now better.

 

But what if she died?

 

Does Immigration just shrug, cancel my marriage extension and throw me out? Or is there a less brutal procedure after bereavement? (Or indeed does it vary from one IO to another!?)

well,  happened to a friend of mine, needed to use an agent to get a retirement visa/ extension when his marriage extension ended, which unfortunately was the next month
note also land/house in her name needs cant be put in ur name BUT u can get a court order thta ur the executor of her land/vehicle's an although the land , technically needs be sold within 1 year, they can NOT force you to  sell it at a lower price than u think its worth
my friend has had his house and other land for sale for nearly 3 years now

17 hours ago, zzzzz said:

well,  happened to a friend of mine, needed to use an agent to get a retirement visa/ extension when his marriage extension ended, which unfortunately was the next month

That was just bad luck timing, there was no way he could have gotten the 800k seasoned for the required 2 months to switch reasons for his extension from marriage to retirement. 

 

It can indeed happen 😞 

1 hour ago, Tod Daniels said:

It can indeed happen 😞 

Hardly bears thinking about. Perhaps time to take a bit of care of the old girl - after all, she's been with me so long she's almost like one of the family!

On 9/28/2025 at 12:02 PM, johng said:

They let you stay till the end of your

current extension...after that you need to find some other visa option.

or find a new wife quickly

On 9/29/2025 at 12:12 PM, isaanistical said:

Hardly bears thinking about. Perhaps time to take a bit of care of the old girl - after all, she's been with me so long she's almost like one of the family!

Are you referring to your pet dog .. l/or your missus ???

Off topic replies removed

On 9/28/2025 at 6:59 AM, isaanistical said:

I was asking a question about UK when a separate question occurred to me as I typed. My wife (khun Thai, of course) was quite ill recently, happily now better.

 

But what if she died?

 

Does Immigration just shrug, cancel my marriage extension and throw me out? Or is there a less brutal procedure after bereavement? (Or indeed does it vary from one IO to another!?)

As others say, you need to find another form of extension of stay; if you are 50+ years old "retirement" might be a solution; if you are working here you'll instead need a non-B visa.

 

An important supplementary comment: Make a last will – can be important for both parts living together, especially if there is property in Thailand – the Thai law only grants the spouse 50%, if there is no will.

On 9/28/2025 at 1:42 PM, BrandonJT said:

It's only if you are divorced that your marriage extension instantly ends.  As soon as the divorce is final, your extension will be invalid.  But if the spouse dies, then you're allowed to stay until the end of that extension.

If divorced but have a kid, can one get a visa based on dependence for the child?

13 minutes ago, advancebooking said:

If divorced but have a kid, can one get a visa based on dependence for the child?

Yes. 

However has some requirements. You need to be legal father etc and also child in your care. 

On 9/28/2025 at 12:02 PM, johng said:

They let you stay till the end of your

current extension...after that you need to find some other visa option.

Yes - make sure to tell her not to die too close to the end of your extension - dark-humor, but sadly true.  They don't even give you a bleeping 6-mo or year to sort things out.

 

I would say, if you don't have 800K to let-rot in a low-interest account, take out life-insurance for 1M Baht - so can also cover funeral expenses and a retirement-extension.  Bad timing could still have you doing a border/visa-run or two, though.

6 hours ago, Rob Browder said:

Yes - make sure to tell her not to die too close to the end of your extension - dark-humor, but sadly true.  They don't even give you a bleeping 6-mo or year to sort things out.

 

I would say, if you don't have 800K to let-rot in a low-interest account, take out life-insurance for 1M Baht - so can also cover funeral expenses and a retirement-extension.  Bad timing could still have you doing a border/visa-run or two, though.

or use an agent,  no problem  🙂