Is the fact that that I have been supporting my Thai "fan", her two children and mother since 1995, sufficient grounds for obtaining some type of Non-Immigrant - O visa under which the minimum income rule is relaxed? Given the following details, would that qualify as "special circumstances" for granting an "O" visa?

I am a South African citizen, aged 72, who came to Thailand in 1994 as Accounting Manager for a petroleum company, and currently hold a retirement visa granted in August 2002 by reason of a 400,000 Baht bank balance and a monthly pension of approximately 32,500 Baht (when I took early retirement in 1991 my South African pension was equal to 90,000 Baht a month, but since then the South African Rand has devalued 300%).

I read that "For a foreign spouse of a Thai national to live in Thailand permanently you need a steady income. There are no hard and fast rules regarding this. There is no "minimum income" like there is for a retirement visa."

Does that rule only apply to permanent resident permits, and if I am married to my Thai lady?

I have the following documentation:

- an affidavit from an attorney substantiating our long term relationship.

- a letter from my pension fund administrators verifying my pension.

- proof from my pension fund administrators that I have named my Thai lady as beneficiary to my pension when I die, whereby she will receive 2/3rds of my pension for the rest of her life.

- bank transfer forms showing that I deposit 15,000 Baht into her bank account each month.

The reason for my query is that, while my pension is sufficient to live on and support my Thai family, I may not have sufficient cash to meet the 400,000 Baht requirement when I re-apply next year. So I would like to clarify my options well before then, in case I have to leave Thailand permanently when my visa expires.

Thai law does not recognise defacto relationships at all. Thus you need to rely on the retirement visa, or marry the lady. It may be that you could find a sympathetic immigration officer  prepared to exercise discretion in requirements because you are certainly doing ' the right thing ' by the lady.  Remember that the  Department wants a letter from your bank stating that you have the reqired amount in the account as at the date of application, not average balances over the past 12  months. A little creativeness might see you over the hurdle long enough to get the letter from the banker.

If you are legally married you only need to show 200,000 Baht in the bank plus your pension coming in.