2 hours ago, thailand49 said:

For two years they stopped coming to his house but his year they had his wife scan some code on the desk, that they will communicate through this code, when they decide to make a visit they will notify her when that happens he has to run to the bank and update his bank book.

This year told him he must untouch the 400,000 baht 4 months after his date, and must be intact 4 months prior to application!

Well that's very interesting ( disturbing) info ...they had my wife scan the line code with her phone at Jomtien this Tuesday too and said there might be extra stuff required or a longer wait this year as head office had told them to be 'more strict', they have always come to visit us at home but during the Covidiocy they did not come into the house we sat outside in the garden while they interviewed the witness...at least this year we got the nicer of the 2 immigration officers raking over the piles of rainforest, thank the Buddha for small mercies 😋

20 minutes ago, hotandsticky said:

I have 400k sitting in K Bank and I have also been transferring 40k p.m. on the first - as a prelude to my 2027 extension.

If your manually doing the transfers OK, but if you set up automatic transfers then as already stated the 1st or 30th of each month is not advised due to weekends, holidays, which can impact the date the transfer is received. Setting a date mid month is more advisable.

13 minutes ago, johng said:

Well that's very interesting ( disturbing) info ...they had my wife scan the line code with her phone at Jomtien this Tuesday too and said there might be extra stuff required or a longer wait this year as head office had told them to be 'more strict', they have always come to visit us at home but during the Covidiocy they did not come into the house we sat outside in the garden while they interviewed the witness...at least this year we got the nicer of the 2 immigration officers raking over the piles of rainforest, thank the Buddha for small mercies 😋

Jomtien is a known rogue office and makes requirements up as it goes along.

I had one home visit for my my very first extension based on marriage.
Never had any further visits and never had to file a new TM30 for the previous 10 years.

I agree with the others in this thread who have commented that the process of applying for an extension based on marriage isn't particularly difficult and isn't anymore difficult than applying for a retirement extension, and it has the benifit of not tieing up b800k AND allows you to work.

The only disadvantage of a Marriage extension over a Retirement extension for me personally, is I have to return to the imm office 30 days later to get the stamp in my passport (which is a 2hr round trip) so a minor inconvenience.

Apart from (1) go get K.R.22 marriage certificate from Amphur office 15mins drive away, (2) go get bank letter/statement [samasrequirement as for a Retirement extension] and (3) prepare photos of family (take photos, put joegs in to Word, print...easy), everything else I  provide is a photocopy of whatever i provided in the previous year so not onerous.

I know some people have had and dread home visits, but we've never had one yet in +20 years in this house.

The 'Support Thai wife' extension has allowed me to work here for over two decades.

B400k tied up for only 2+1months is also very reasonable.

Therefore, in my opinion, if you have the option of Marriage or Retirement, the former is the better option.

6 hours ago, connda said:

- I need to go to the Amphur to get a K.2. We do it during a regular outing to get groceries. Takes about 10 minutes.

Apologies - I missed which Amphur you go to? When I went to the Phuket Amphur, it was always a zoo, with a typical 90 minute or more wait - plus a 20 minute drive there and a 20 minute drive back home.

I was told by some Thai friends of my wife, the waits at the Phuket Amphur were always lengthy for practically anything. Mind you that was a few years back ... maybe its changed today.

7 hours ago, connda said:

Running around to get paperwork? Really.

- I need to go to the Amphur to get a K.2. We do it during a regular outing to get groceries. Takes about 10 minutes.
- We need to go to a photoshop to get picture printing. Like the K.2, we do this on a normal shopping day. Takes about 5 minutes.
- Then a trip to the bank at Big C where we do some of our shopping. I have to update all of my bank books for the US annual FBAR report which I do during that trip to the bank. The trip the bank takes maybe 15 minutes and then do some shopping while we're there.

- I've got a scanner/printer and do all my own copies.

Trust me - I'm not "running around for days" to get paperwork.

Some folks make this sound like some horror show to get a extension based on marriage. Trust me, it is not.

Glad you can narrow it down to such a short time frame for us to believe for sure it won't be that short at immigration, the wait for them to visit etc etc.

7 hours ago, thailand49 said:

Glad you can narrow it down to such a short time frame for us to believe for sure it won't be that short at immigration, the wait for them to visit etc etc.

Exactly. The visit alone would be a deal breaker for me.

Let alone all the other junk.

Some have lost sight of the OP posts.

Seems 1. The 800k in Thai Bank is not an issue and 2. He doesn't wish to work.

It's a no brainer = retirement extensions.

As pointed out earlier... I use income method (without embassy letter) the OP can do likewise at some point

10 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

Exactly. The visit alone would be a deal breaker for me

Why so?

They just want to check that you are living where in you say and that you are living in a marriage situation (i.e. with thai spouse). Nothing to worry about if you are, just show them some of your possessions.

1 hour ago, Bredbury Blue said:

Nothing to worry about if you are, just show them some of your possessions.

Everyone is different.

I for one wouldn't fancy home visit to my residence.

Also you have to be available during under consideration period.

As I pointed out using income method no need to maintain funds in back.

The big advantage with marriage extension is that with the addition of work permit you can work.

The OP does not wish to.

21 hours ago, oldcpu said:

Apologies - I missed which Amphur you go to? When I went to the Phuket Amphur, it was always a zoo, with a typical 90 minute or more wait - plus a 20 minute drive there and a 20 minute drive back home.

I was told by some Thai friends of my wife, the waits at the Phuket Amphur were always lengthy for practically anything. Mind you that was a few years back ... maybe its changed today.

Not sure about which one of Phuket`s Amphur you are talking, but last year I got my Kor Ror2 at Thalang Amphur in about 15 minutes.

2 hours ago, aluc said:

Not sure about which one of Phuket`s Amphur you are talking, but last year I got my Kor Ror2 at Thalang Amphur in about 15 minutes.

Google Maps calls it the "Muang Phuket District Office" in downtown Phuket ...corner of Yaowarad Rd and Mae-Luan-Rd / Thungkhar-Rd.

Possibly we picked a bad time of the day ... but my wife's Thai friends stated, it doesn't matter what time of the day. In fact, we were told a 90-minute wait was an excellent time.

On 3/13/2026 at 3:12 PM, Bredbury Blue said:

The 'Support Thai wife' extension has allowed me to work here for over two decades.

Sorta irrelevant isn't it.

The OP does not plan to work in Thailand.

10 hours ago, oldcpu said:

Google Maps calls it the "Muang Phuket District Office" in downtown Phuket ...corner of Yaowarad Rd and Mae-Luan-Rd / Thungkhar-Rd.

Possibly we picked a bad time of the day ... but my wife's Thai friends stated, it doesn't matter what time of the day. In fact, we were told a 90-minute wait was an excellent time.

in amphur "Kathu", it is usually less crowded also.

14 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

Sorta irrelevant isn't it.

The OP does not plan to work in Thailand.

When several people were posting their comments / views on married extensions (vs Retirement), I joined in. Hopefully others who might have the option (like me) between the two extension options and are considering, will read the various posts and it will help them make a decision, with a major plus point of married extension being the possibility of getting a Work Permit and working here. I read so often people knocking married extensions, a few people have contributed reasons in favour of them. Threads also tend to meander from OP posts, which is a good thing so long as comments are positive and helpful.

So no i don't think it was sorta irrelevant.

4 minutes ago, Bredbury Blue said:

When several people were posting their comments / views on married extensions (vs Retirement), I joined in. Hopefully others who might have the option (like me) between the two extension options and are considering, will read the various posts and it will help them make a decision, with a major plus point of married extension being the possibility of getting a Work Permit and working here.

Indeed. My view is if one is retired with a Thai wife, and has adequate financial means, and if one also prefers not to go the LTR visa route, then the non-immigration type-O visa, with annual extensions (of one's permission to stay) for reason of retirement, is a GREAT way to go.

If one has a Thai wife, and one's funds are a bit tight, and if one wishes to keep open the option of working (regardless of one's age) then the non-immigrant type-O visa, with annual extensions (of one's permission to stay) for reason of marriage, is a good way to go. Why Type-O and not OA? In that case (with Thai wife) one could also go for a Type-OA (with subsequent extensions of one's permission to stay for reason of marriage), but that IMHO sort of depends on the stability of one's marriage and on the health of one's Thai wife (if she is up in years). Having to change from a Type-OA to a Type-O due to a marital crisis (divorce or death of one's spouse) is not the sort of stress one may wish to add to their life.

The Type-O/OA (with extensions of permission to stay for reason of marriage), as many noted, does open the possibility for working in Thailand for one on that Type-O/OA Visa. And financial requirements for Type-O/OA visa permission to stay extensions for reason of marriage (to a Thai) are less than for reason of retirement.

If I may add - one thing I like about Thailand is the different Visa options that are available.

15 hours ago, oldcpu said:

Google Maps calls it the "Muang Phuket District Office" in downtown Phuket ...corner of Yaowarad Rd and Mae-Luan-Rd / Thungkhar-Rd.

Possibly we picked a bad time of the day ... but my wife's Thai friends stated, it doesn't matter what time of the day. In fact, we were told a 90-minute wait was an excellent time.

It really depends who is in front of you in que.

Two or three years ago, there were two couples getting married before me, and it would take some good 2-3 hours, at least one staff came to me and told to go get a lunch and come back after 2 hours.

There are 3 or 4 for desks at Thalang Amphur and that one which I have to use is always less busy than others, so I believe that desk is only for marriage related things.

15 minutes ago, aluc said:

It really depends who is in front of you in que.

Two or three years ago, there were two couples getting married before me, and it would take some good 2-3 hours, at least one staff came to me and told to go get a lunch and come back after 2 hours.

There are 3 or 4 for desks at Thalang Amphur and that one which I have to use is always less busy than others, so I believe that desk is only for marriage related things.

Those comments certainly justify my recommendation to try and book your day.

We visited the local amphur office with our papers and agreed the date on which to come - in the following week. That was important because only the Nai Amphur can sign off Farang marriages.

I only hope that those who fulsomely sing the praises of their marriage extensions as being the very best thing since sliced bread when compared to the retirement extension won't have the misfortune of encountering situations akin to those experienced by the OP's of these 2 threads:

https://aseannow.com/topic/1312545-death-of-spouse-effect-on-my-marriage-visa/

https://aseannow.com/topic/1381784-90-reporting/

15 minutes ago, OJAS said:

I only hope that those who fulsomely sing the praises of their marriage extensions as being the very best thing since sliced bread when compared to the retirement extension won't have the misfortune of encountering situations akin to those experienced by the OP's of these 2 threads:

https://aseannow.com/topic/1312545-death-of-spouse-effect-on-my-marriage-visa/

https://aseannow.com/topic/1381784-90-reporting/

Don't misunderstand a decision to accept additional paperwork for a marriage extension for whole-hearted support as the best option. Retirement extensions are easier - period.

I choose the marriage extension option because I don't want to hold more than 400k for my first extension and I only want to bring in 40k p.m. on a regular basis.

I will put up with a small amount of paperwork and a wait for approval to the extension.

(If the wife dies I will either marry again or go the retirement route - at the moment I am considering the Wealthy Pensioner option).

On 3/14/2026 at 3:12 AM, DrJack54 said:

Exactly. The visit alone would be a deal breaker for me.

Let alone all the other junk.

Some have lost sight of the OP posts.

Seems 1. The 800k in Thai Bank is not an issue and 2. He doesn't wish to work.

It's a no brainer = retirement extensions.

As pointed out earlier... I use income method (without embassy letter) the OP can do likewise at some point

DrJack54, there's much talk in this thread about 'home visits' but I recall an 'announcement' of ceasing these if the couple have 10yrs+(?) extensions and the wife is over 46(?) years old ???

This certainly seems to now be the case at Pathum Thani Office as since its 'introduction', we have not received a home visit these past 2 years, with IO verbally confirming "no home visit required. "

Perhaps if you too recall this, you could point members to the relevant article/post on AN referring to this.

I'm fully aware of the wide variations and 'interpretations' made by numerous Imm. Offices throughout the provinces, on ANY matter relating to Extensions !

Maybe it's only being adhered to by Pathum Thani.....but very welcome it is!

Addendum to my last post.

As I reported earlier on our latest extension....no home visit BUT a (never asked for previously) photo taken out in the street showing out 'whole' house & land, with my wife and I standing out the front.

This was taken by my stepdaughter, whole was luckily still around, and sent on LINE immediately to the lady IO who requested it. (received with a cheery LINE Thank you sticker)

So, still checking that we live in the same house (18years), together, which they have in their records.....eg. dozens of photos of same place!