I Have A Thai Wife 1 Child, Another Coming, What To Do Aboutmy Renewal This Coming April

[KeiranSays]

Hi all,

I got married 5 years ago to a Thai woman. We have one 4 year old daughter. We have another child on the way. 5 years ago...I opened a company with my wife and my English business partner. The company continues to improve today (Exporting Thai Handcraft).

Originally I went to Penang with my partner, 5 years ago, we both obtained a 1 year multi-Non-B visa with the intention to get a work permit. My partner did. However I made the most of my 12 (or 15 if u squeeze it) month Non-B (as u do), before which time me and my wife were expecting our first child. So I extended for 500 baht (at the time at Immigration in Bangkok) my soon to expire Non-B multi for another 12 months based on my marriage. AT the time "all" that was required was I have 400,000 baht in the bank at the time of application. So i did this for 3 years running.

Then in April 2007 when i was going to immigration to renew for another 12 months that would take me through till April 2008, they had changed the law saying that now u needed 400,000 baht in the bank for 3 months leading up to your application. However, they said I was grandfathered in luckily and allowed my application with the 400,000 in the bank for only 48 hours previous to my application. They made me sign to say that I know that for next year(April 2008) I need the 400,000 in the bank for 3 months before my application. Well sorry boys, no can do…….I do not want to get a work permit, as my wife "officially" runs the day to day of our company. I am a Share Holder and one of 3 directors in our company.

Now, I am considering The Wallen School and doing 4 hours a week learning Thai, I can speak some Thai (Should be more by now I know….) I can understand a lot more, I cannot read or write in Thai at all.

Another of my considerations…..My friend a few months ago applied for a marriage extension on his Non B multi visa under again new rules. They told him he needed to prove he had a income of 40K a month from abroad for the next 12 months and have it noted by the brit embassy. Anyone know anything about this? This guy ended up going for a work permit through his own company. (This is I want to avoid)

Or…After reading the Thai Immi website, I gather that I am qualified to apply for residency in Thailand as far as I have been in the country for 3 years or more "in-a-row" on a long term visa'. I also have a Thai wife and child, and another child on the way. I would also pass the Immigration "Back ground check" and "criminal record check". I am not a wanted man…(My wife will tell you that) hahahaha. Problem is, I also need to understand/speak/read and write Thai. Bummer as I can't as I explained above. But how much Thai is required to pass this test anyone know?

Which leads me on to a; Non-ED visa. I was thinking, i could do 12 months at school improving my Thai language skills and then apply for residency, covered…NOT….. if I leave the country to get a new non-ED sticker in my passport, that means I will have voided my extended 5 years stay in Thailand. So I wouldn't then be able to apply for residency…

Has anyone got any suggestions? My intentions here are to tell my story and let people throw it around in the forum so I can get other peeps opinions on this situation.

P.S. I might have my dates mixed up slightly here, but it basically it does describe my situation.

[lopburi3]

1. PR usually also requires a history of tax payments on income of 80k or so per month. Although having wife/child may help do not believe it would negate that expectation completely.

2. You are on a grandfathered provision currently (using 400k in bank). The current requirement is 40k family income. I would expect your wife could meet that if paying her tax. It does not have to be your income.

3. ED 90 day visa extensions will end PR 3 year period and probably end up more expensive that any tax the wife may not be paying. Even if late tax payments can be made for an earlier period and be accepted.

[KeiranSays]

1. PR usually also requires a history of tax payments on income of 80k or so per month. Although having wife/child may help do not believe it would negate that expectation completely.

2. You are on a grandfathered provision currently (using 400k in bank). The current requirement is 40k family income. I would expect your wife could meet that if paying her tax. It does not have to be your income.

Thanks for that...I heard this also somewhere. that it can be my wifes income rather than mine. So does that mean that with me "Officially" earning Zero and with no money in the bank...As long as my Thai wife is earning over 40K (which she is..or could be shall we say via our company), that i could apply and in theory obtain my 12 month extension based on my marriage?

Thanks again.....

[lopburi3]

Yes. She will need tax paperwork to prove the income however.

[KeiranSays]

Yes. She will need tax paperwork to prove the income however.

Hello, Thanks again......Would that be paperwork showing a history of paying tax for a long period of time or could it be based on a recent income that she has say only been paying tax on for 2 months prior my visa renewal application date.

Thanks again....

[lopburi3]

It is likely to be last years tax filing but check with Immigration office you plan to use. Going into tax office and paying past tax does not seem to be a problem and people have reported smiles all around that have gone that route.

[KeiranSays]

It is likely to be last years tax filing but check with Immigration office you plan to use. Going into tax office and paying past tax does not seem to be a problem and people have reported smiles all around that have gone that route.

Hi there,

Ok, right thanks for the help and advise. I have my wife trying to contact them at the moment to see what she can dig up. I will post my continued story here for informations sake.

Thanks again..

[KeiranSays]

Hello there,

current state of affairs.

Well, We have a company, me and my wife are the "Directors" so....

We paid my wifes tax "Late" plus penalties for the last 15 months, So she has been "earning a salary of 40,000 baht per month" from our company.

We applied for my yearly renewal last week before songkran, with all required docs from the revenue department. Immigration accepted my application with no question, all they asked was that i draw a map of where we live......so i did.

They gave me the usual 30 days extension for "consideration" which for the last5 years now has been simple a "technicallity"

Ive to go back early may for the "result"

touch wood everything should go well.

They didnt ask to see my bank book, they didnt ask for any evidence that i have any money anywhere, they accepted my wifes income as "our family income"

My wife did not have to show her bank book, i was worried they would want to see here account statment for the last 12 months to prove she earnt 40grand a month, but they didnt.

Step 1: My wife filled out form: Phor Ngor Dhor #91 and submitted it to the revenue department. Thats form bascially teels them how much my wife earned for the past 12 months. With that information they clauclate how much tax my wife should have paid for the last 12 months. We paid it, they stamped our form Phor Ngor Dhor #91 and handed it back to us with a reciept for payment of the tax.

Step 2: our company had to submit 12 of form Phor Ngor Dhor#1 to the revenue department(one for each month of the last 12 months) This form tells the revenue department how many employees our company has and how much they get paid each month.

Step 3: We went to immgration with an "origional" plus 2 certified copies of our Phor Ngor Dhor #91 form and the reciept for payment of the tax. and one more thing....a letter on headed paper from our company, stamped, certifying that we as a company pay my wife 40,000 per month and have done for the past 12 months at least and this letter also has to state that my wife is still employed and earning from our company at the time of application for my visa.

NOTE: Above i only outlined the forms that immigration wanted to see regarding my wife salary. Of course we still had to submit all the normal stuff, Marriage certs, kids birth certs, copies of passports and my wifes ID card and her copied Tabiene Baan (housing registration book), photos of me and my wife and kids and our house, etc etc

Anyway touch wood all should be fine when go back for the "result" in early may. I will post it here whether successful or not. but as i said for the past 5 years they gave me 30 days or 7 days extension on day of my application for "consideration". But the lady at immigration put clear for me, she said "if we were gonna refuse your application, we would have done it today (on day of apllication)"

KaptainK

[KeiranSays]

Furthermore, you can obtain these required docs from the revenue department even if you wife doesnt work for nayone and doesnt earn salary form a company. Another way to get these forms from the revenue department would be for eaxple, if my wife owned and rented out a house and pulled in at elast 40,000 a month baht and pays tax on it. bascially any income...

[KeiranSays]

Download links for forms we' had to fill out and submit to the revenue department of Thailand.

Phor Ngor Dhor #91: (2 pages) - Phor Ngor Dhor #91 - part 1

Phor Ngor Dhor #91 - part 2

Phor Ngor Dhor#1: (4 pages) - Phor Ngor Dhor#1 - part 1

Phor Ngor Dhor#1 - part 2

Phor Ngor Dhor#1 - part 3

Phor Ngor Dhor#1 - part 4

Please remember this is my story, and suites my exact circumstances. Your circumstances may differ.

Sorry the links were not workin, but they are now, i fixed em.....

[lopburi3]

Thanks very much for the feedback and expect you will not have any problem. This should be valuable information for a number of people who believe themselves to be 'between the cracks' but in reality may easily be able to obtain the required tax documentation.

[KeiranSays]

Thanks very much for the feedback and expect you will not have any problem. This should be valuable information for a number of people who believe themselves to be 'between the cracks' but in reality may easily be able to obtain the required tax documentation.

Yes, this is my thinking too, im sure theres various ways people "could" prove that their thai wife has some sort of income and obtain the required docs from the revenue department. As long as the income is at or above the required "family income amount" which diifers depending on where the foreign male is from. me from Uk it was 40,000 baht, i hear its more for Americans for example.

something i found out also, it would be different if you were a foreign female married to thai male. Different forms, diffrent set of rules...

[lopburi3]

Actually it is 40k for all using family extension of stay - the nationality difference is only for employment extensions of stay.

Believe the forms used are the same but the income requirement is unique to those with Thai wives as below:

(6) In case of the applicant who is

married to a Thai wife, one of them

or both of them need to have the

total annual income that is

averaged out not less than 40,000

Baht per month.

[KeiranSays]

Actually it is 40k for all using family extension of stay - the nationality difference is only for employment extensions of stay.

Believe the forms used are the same but the income requirement is unique to those with Thai wives as below:

(6) In case of the applicant who is

married to a Thai wife, one of them

or both of them need to have the

total annual income that is

averaged out not less than 40,000

Baht per month.

OK