"o" Visa Question

[suwa3948]

I married my thai wife in the USA. She has a US green card and a thai passport(still thai citizen). We want to move to Thailand to live. Is my marriage valid for an "O" visa or do I have to re-marry in Thailand?

I wont have any income on a monthly basis but i will have about 150,000 us dollars.

my wife has a home there that we can stay at. Do you see any issues with me getting a 1 year "O" visa?

and if i can get one, whats the procedure for getting another one once the visa reaches a year old?

thanks for any advice.

[Mario2008]

Based on your marriage you can get a non-O visa from the embassy or consulate in the US. This will allow you to enter for 3 months. Once in Thailand you can ask for an extension for 1 year and again every year. This requires however a family income of 40,000 baht a month. You state you won't have any income on a monthly basis, but will you have some income? If so if it is enough for 480,000 baht per year it should be fine.

Given your savings you can apply for a retirement visa if you are 50+.

If you don't meet the criteria you can apply for a non-O, multiple entry visa. With this visa you would need to leave the country every 90 day and come back again. After it expires you would need to go to a consulate or embassy to get a new visa. So this one is unpractical as you have to leave the country every 90 days, but it will still allow you to live here with your wife.

[suwa3948]

what do they need to show proof of income?

could i keep some savings in the USA and have it deposited to my account monthly? im not 50, so i couldnt apply for the retirement visa.

i though i read somewhere that you could apply if you had 800,00 baht in savings?

and what about me being married in the USA, will that be a problem? is it recognized in thailand?

[Mario2008]

Your marriage in the USA is no problem, as long as you have the legal documents of it to proof you are married for real.

I presume you will have income from the US. That means you have to go to your embassy in Bangkok with proof of your income and they will certify that. So the proof is whatever your embassy demands to see.

The following link will give you a summery of the type of visa's and it's requirements for one year extensions.

http://www.lawyer.th.com/National_Police_O...er_Oct_2006.pdf

As you can see there, in the past you could use a deposit of 400,000 baht in a Thai bank account to acquire a non-O based on marriage.

Given your savings of 150,000 US there might be a way to get a one year extension based on investment. With these visa's I'm not familiar.

[suwa3948]

so the 400,00 baht option is no longer in effect? because i will not have any income for the first coupe of years.

thanks for the information! your a good man

[Mario2008]

Correct, the 400,000 baht rule is only applies to people already on a non-immigrant before 2006.

But study the link carefully and look at your options. And I'm sure tomorrow some people wiser than me will also offer you some good advice.

[Lite Beer]

Some people seem to be getting round this by having their Wife pay tax on a 40,000 a month fictitious income. As it can be your Wife's income

With the documents from the tax office they have proof of income.

Failing this you should be able to get a Multy Entry Non O Visa based on your marriage from a consulate in USA. This would give you a stay of up to 15 months but would need a border run every 90 days.

You should be able to get another one in Malaysia when that expires.

Edited June 21, 2008 by Lite Beer

[suwa3948]

So after the the one year I would need to leave to KL or Singapore and apply for another 1 year. How long would I have to be in KL?

[lopburi3]

Apply in morning and issued next workday about noon. But best not to plan until close to date as best choice does change from time to time. Remember such a visa only allows 90 day stays so you have to make border runs to get a new 90 day stay. If you obtain one year extension of stay from Immigration using the 40k per month income you would not have to leave and could continue to get a new one year stay each year that you could prove the income.

[Mario2008]

So after the the one year I would need to leave to KL or Singapore and apply for another 1 year. How long would I have to be in KL?

No. It depends on what you are talking about. With the non-O multiple you would have to leave the country every 90 days and can come right back. As Lite Beer said you can extend this to almost 15 months, by going and coming back just before the visa expires. So this would mean a border run every 90 days and every 15 months going to a Thai consulate or embassy in a neighboring country. There is no minimum time you have to stay abroad.

If you can do by Lite Beer's first suggestion and can show an tax income of your wife of more than 40k, than you can apply for an extension of one year and every year after that. You won't have to go outside the country for that, just apply at a immigration office.

[Dave the Dude]

So after the the one year I would need to leave to KL or Singapore and apply for another 1 year. How long would I have to be in KL?

No, thats not so suwa3948. A VISA can be obtained OUTSIDE of Thailand providing you meet the criteria, but a further 'Extention' to your visa (in other words, what you would need after your initial visa has expired, for future years) can be optained WITHIN Thailand providing you meet the criteria.

Dave

[suwa3948]

Thanks for the replies but now im a bit confused.

I will not be able to show proof of income. I will have about 150K in savings. Im 29, so no retirement visa.

I am married to a thai citizen. So with my current situation what would be the best visa to apply for that would give me the longest stay.

I dont mind leaving every 90 days but I was under the impression you could only do border runs a few times a year.

[Mario2008]

The non-O multiple would be your best option.

The thing you are worrying about only applies to visa exempt entries. On those you can only stay for a maximum of 90 days in a 6 month period. It doesn't apply to visa's.

[Mario2008]

But did you understood Lite Beer's comment? Your wife doesn't need to have an income of 40K, she has to pay taxes over an income of 40K.

[suwa3948]

But did you understood Lite Beer's comment? Your wife doesn't need to have an income of 40K, she has to pay taxes over an income of 40K.

how does that work? Where does she pay and do they ask where the income is coming from.

Sorry Im so freakin clueless on this issue.

Ive spent the past 3 years getting my wife a green card to live here in the USA and now we realize how much we hate it here, so now that we have what we need to stay here; we gotta go through another ordeal to live in Thailand.

[Mario2008]

I'm lucky that I don't have to deal with paying taxes in Thailand myself, so to be honest I haven't got a clue myself how your wife would be able to do this. I have to leave that to persons with who know about Thai taxes.

[Lite Beer]

I haven't a clue either but members have reported doing this. As in everything else here it probably depends on where you stay and where you apply. Thailand is not the USA

Failing that you need a Multi Entry Non Imm O Visa.

Pop over the border every 90 days and come straight back. This would give you 15 months to get something else sorted out. If not sorted you can get another Non Imm O Visa and stay another 15 months and so on, and so on.

[lopburi3]

There is no question/answer if someone reports there personal vending type income and pays tax on it.

For the long term perhaps employment would be a visa option at some point as that 150k is not likely to last for the long term. Inflation is in the double digit range this year and everyone with the desire to live beyond there means. The home expense is actually one of the lower costs here - food is becoming very expensive (even rice) and with the high oil costs is not likely to return. At your age a move like this should be considered very carefully - especially if your future income is dependent on you.