Married To A Thai Man-get A B Visa Or An O Visa?

[janetplanet]

Hi I'm new to this Forum and completely out to lunch on this visa issue... . I'm married to Thai man and have one child. Spent the last 1 1/2 years doing the Visa Run thing, while pregnant and then with a young baby...total nightmare...need I say more? Now I'm back in Canada for a visit and setting up a job in Thailand before heading back. When I go to the Thai Embassy here am I getting a Non-Imm. B Visa or an O Visa?? Why did no one at the Borders or Sathorn Bangkok ever tell me to get an O Visa when I was in Thailand?? They issued me a Non-Imm. B Visa.

Please explain Forum.

thanks

[Lite Beer]

Janet. You can get a Non O Visa and extend it in Thailand on a yearly basis. As you have a Thai Husband it is easy to do this. No financial requirements for you. Unlike us men married to Thai Ladies. You will not then need to do border runs. You will just need to report to your local immigration office every 90 days.

You can get a work permit with a Non O Visa.

Have a word with SBK on the ladies forum. She is in the same boat as you.

[PoorSucker]

Janet. You can get a Non O Visa and extend it in Thailand on a yearly basis. As you have a Thai Husband it is easy to do this. No financial requirements for you. Unlike us men married to Thai Ladies. You will not then need to do border runs. You will just need to report to your local immigration office every 90 days.

You can get a work permit with a Non O Visa.

Have a word with SBK on the ladies forum. She is in the same boat as you.

And according to the Thai constitution men and women are equal.

[janetplanet]

Hi I'm new to this Forum and completely out to lunch on this visa issue... . I'm married to Thai man and have one child. Spent the last 1 1/2 years doing the Visa Run thing, while pregnant and then with a young baby...total nightmare...need I say more? Now I'm back in Canada for a visit and setting up a job in Thailand before heading back. When I go to the Thai Embassy here am I getting a Non-Imm. B Visa or an O Visa?? Why did no one at the Borders or Sathorn Bangkok ever tell me to get an O Visa when I was in Thailand?? They issued me a Non-Imm. B Visa.

Please explain Forum.

thanks

I have more questions, please help me. If I am in Canada now and doing my Visa stuff at the Thai Embassy here and then going to Thailand to start working as a teacher is it better to get an O Visa or a B Visa? My husband isn't here with me so maybe I'm missing some of the paperwork? Why did no one tell me this before when I went to Immigration at Sathon??

thanks

[Maestro]

Get a non-immigrant visa category O (non-O visa, for short). This will allow you to apply for and receive a work permit for your teaching job.

--

Maestro

[janetplanet]

Maestro,

I contacted the Thai Embassy in Ottawa and told them I'm married to a Thai and they said to get a Non-Immig. B Visa, also when I was in Bkk 6 months ago and my husband, my daughter and me went to Sathorn and were directed to the second floor, gave the officer our marriage certificate, they issued me a Non-Imm. B Visa.... . I'm sorry but i don't understand all of this...???

[astral]

Maestro is right, the O visa is the usual visa for a person who is married to a Thai.

Go the embassy and apply for an O visa, all you should have to show is you marriage certificate

and a copy of you husband's passport.

You only need a single entry.

Once you arrive in Thailand you will be able to get the initial 3 month stamp extended for one year.

The company or school where you plan to work will also be able to get a work permit for you, with the O visa.

[janetplanet]

Maestro,

I contacted the Thai Embassy in Ottawa and told them I'm married to a Thai and they said to get a Non-Immig. B Visa, also when I was in Bkk 6 months ago and my husband, my daughter and me went to Sathorn and were directed to the second floor, gave the officer our marriage certificate, they issued me a Non-Imm. B Visa.... . I'm sorry but i don't understand all of this...???

I'm in Canada at the moment and don't have a copy of my husband's passport. Have some copies of his ID card or something like that....will that do? Still doesn't explain to me why no one told me to do this at Sathorn or Thai Embassy in Ottawa??

[bina]

janet, why do u expect anyone in an immigration office to actually explain anything to you?? i am doing the visa thing for my thai husband here and believe me, no one tells me anything. ever. that is why there are forums. to spread the word. and every person has to invent the wheel. thais i think are not to used to dealing with farang ladies and thai men. even their wording in their english language site for marrying thais is written as for thai woman marrying foreign males. there is nothing there about foreing female and thai male for visa/money info.

they often dont know. so u have to do all the research. come prepared. smile. be pleasant. have all the documents, plus extras that u might need. it seems that tabian baan and amphur tax payment slips are requirements or could be requirements.

if u cant deal with this sort of paperwork style, how are u going to work there? thais in general are bad at beuracracy, and also seem to make up the rules according to if they are having a 'bad hair day' or not; and how they interpret the rule, etc.

if u are planning to teach, u'd better go to the teaching threads also if u havent already, to see all the stories.

and if u expect your husband to help u with paperwork, well, i wish u luck, if he is anything like mine or some othe the other women's husbands, they are useless with officialdom. and if he's a country boy like mine, then beyond useless.

i wish u luck,

bina

israel

[janetplanet]

janet, why do u expect anyone in an immigration office to actually explain anything to you?? i am doing the visa thing for my thai husband here and believe me, no one tells me anything. ever. that is why there are forums. to spread the word. and every person has to invent the wheel. thais i think are not to used to dealing with farang ladies and thai men. even their wording in their english language site for marrying thais is written as for thai woman marrying foreign males. there is nothing there about foreing female and thai male for visa/money info.

they often dont know. so u have to do all the research. come prepared. smile. be pleasant. have all the documents, plus extras that u might need. it seems that tabian baan and amphur tax payment slips are requirements or could be requirements.

if u cant deal with this sort of paperwork style, how are u going to work there? thais in general are bad at beuracracy, and also seem to make up the rules according to if they are having a 'bad hair day' or not; and how they interpret the rule, etc.

if u are planning to teach, u'd better go to the teaching threads also if u havent already, to see all the stories.

and if u expect your husband to help u with paperwork, well, i wish u luck, if he is anything like mine or some othe the other women's husbands, they are useless with officialdom. and if he's a country boy like mine, then beyond useless.

i wish u luck,

bina

israel

Well thanks Bina you are certainly forthright in your opinions. I have been living and working in Asia for the past 5 years so I have plenty of experience with bureaucracy but I have NEVER dealt with the complete retardation, rudeness, corrupt, lazy, and ill informed attitudes that I have been dealing with in Thailand in any other Asian country that I have lived in and there have been at least 3 others! Why do I expect to get answers from Immigration and/or Thai Embassies abroad?? Because that is what they are being PAID TO DO!! I really love the way Thai's proudly wear their ironed yellow shirts and show such homage to the King yet have absolutely no idea what they are talking about as such in their positions. I don't believe that Thai's are any less intelligent than any other people so IT MUST be some sort of 'power trip' or something along those lines. Perhaps it is a language barrier? Perhaps, they feel that falang should feel obligated to them?

Good luck to me and good luck to us all!

Edited November 9, 2008 by janetplanet

[Lite Beer]

Janet. I am afraid only the Embassy will be able to tell you what you need to supply to get this Visa. Can your Husband scan or fax any copies to you ?

If you do draw a blank at the Embassy you can always get a Tourist Visa and change it to a Non O Visa at Immigration in Thailand. You need to go to Immigration with at least 21 days remaining on it and they will change it to a Non O. (2,000 Baht) 2 months after you can apply for the yearly extension (1,900 Baht).

Please do not take this the wrong way but do not visit Immigration with the attitude you have explained here.

Smile , be polite and I am sure they will help you.

[ubonjoe]

Maestro,

I contacted the Thai Embassy in Ottawa and told them I'm married to a Thai and they said to get a Non-Immig. B Visa, also when I was in Bkk 6 months ago and my husband, my daughter and me went to Sathorn and were directed to the second floor, gave the officer our marriage certificate, they issued me a Non-Imm. B Visa.... . I'm sorry but i don't understand all of this...???

I'm in Canada at the moment and don't have a copy of my husband's passport. Have some copies of his ID card or something like that....will that do? Still doesn't explain to me why no one told me to do this at Sathorn or Thai Embassy in Ottawa??

I cannot not explain to you why all the wrong information was given. You can get a work permit with a non-o visa.

A copy of your husbands ID card should be enough. If you are short something maybe somebody could do a scan of it and email it to you or send a fax.

You might find one of the other consulates to be easier to deal with than Ottawa. If you go to the near the bottom of the following webpage you will find a list of other consulates. Ottawa and Vancouver are official conulates the others are Honorary conulates these can normally be much easier to deal with.

Link: http://www.magma.ca/~thaiott/visa3.htm

After returning to Thailand the following link is to the police order that covers visa extensions. Page 8 clause 7.17 is the one that applies. In the basis for consideration column 1 to 3 and under documents required 1 to 4 are the only ones that apply to you. Link:http://www.immigration.go.th/nov2004/2notice/rtp606EN.pdf

Thai version of order: http://www.immigration.go.th/nov2004/2notice/rtp606.pdf

Edited November 10, 2008 by ubonjoe

[janetplanet]

So basically you are telling me that if I am married to a Thai and am going back to Thailand to work it is preferable for me to get an O Visa than a B Visa? What is the difference if i will be issued a Work Permit shortly after arriving?

[Lite Beer]

So basically you are telling me that if I am married to a Thai and am going back to Thailand to work it is preferable for me to get an O Visa than a B Visa? What is the difference if i will be issued a Work Permit shortly after arriving?

The Visa and annual extensions are easier.

Also your Immigration status will be reliant on your marriage not your job.

If you lose your job you will have to leave Thailand on the day your employment ends. Or go to Immigration and apply for a 7 day extension (1,900 Baht).

If it is all based on your Marriage you will have no problems if you lose your job.

Especially for you as a lady. It is so easy to do.

[sbk]

I've covered this in the thread in the Ladies forum as well but will reiterate here.

The consulates and embassies don't really understand how things work inside thailand, from my experience. It sounds to me like you told them you plan on working and in their limited experience, you must have a non-B to work. Well, you don't. You must smile and be patient and don't give them any extraneous information. Do not tell them you plan on working. Only tell them that you have a Thai husband and you would like a non-imm O based on marriage to a Thai national. And tell them nothing more. They don't need to know and it will only confuse the issue.

The work permit will be dealt with by the employer. The one year extension on a marriage visa is far easier and makes much more sense than a non-B where you will have to do border runs every 90 days.

I don't recall showing a copy of my husband's id card when I applied in the US for a non-O a few years ago. However, an ID card should suffice, I would think, not every Thai person has a passport.

[Mario2008]

It is not the ID they want, but the marriage certificate as proof that you are married to a Thai. A note from the spouse asking for a visa is always handy.

[bina]

janet: i live in the middle east; its the same attitude same style same shit....and i guess i lost my american manners after 25 yrs in the holy land... ) even my husband is getting 'attitude' , a change from polite and quiet smiley thai bannork boy...

grin and bear it. as long as thailand stays chauvanistic, thats fine by me if we ever have to move there as husband nor i will ever make the type of money needed for the male farang female thai style visa requests.

bina

israel

[Boo]

The others are right, just ask for a O visa based on marriage, the work permit is dealt with inside thailand & as lite beer & sbk say, if you lose your job, having an O visa based on marriage will mean you aren't forced to exit the country on the same day you lose your job.

As to the consulates & emabassies, well TiT, they are following an archaic & confused system, that one person knows the right way & the person sitting 2 desks away doesn't is basically a lack of training & a very mixed up & cofused set of "rules" that can & are often, interpreted in different ways.

As lite beer & bina said, drop your expectations, be sure in what you want, smile & keep your opinions of how they are messing up to yourself, if you don't you will get no where & end up frustrated to boot. If you plan on being around for the long haul then this will make your life a lot happier

[janetplanet]

The others are right, just ask for a O visa based on marriage, the work permit is dealt with inside thailand & as lite beer & sbk say, if you lose your job, having an O visa based on marriage will mean you aren't forced to exit the country on the same day you lose your job.

As to the consulates & emabassies, well TiT, they are following an archaic & confused system, that one person knows the right way & the person sitting 2 desks away doesn't is basically a lack of training & a very mixed up & cofused set of "rules" that can & are often, interpreted in different ways.

As lite beer & bina said, drop your expectations, be sure in what you want, smile & keep your opinions of how they are messing up to yourself, if you don't you will get no where & end up frustrated to boot. If you plan on being around for the long haul then this will make your life a lot happier

Thanks Forum!!! You are a great help and have given me some peace of mind. I will walk into the Thai Embassy in Canada with a smile this week and ask for a Type O Visa. I have my marriage certificate, I have a photocopy of my husband's registration 'blue book'?, and I found a photocopy of his passport:)!! So, then I will head to Thailand in a month from now, I have a job offer, I meet them then they arrange a work permit and that is that?

I am so relieved...I was a complete and utter idiot last year...pregnant, unmarried and in Thailand on a Tourist Visa...we went through so much heartache and border runs....with a new baby...oh god...I want to forget...did I mention the long-tail breaking down in the middle of the ocean in Ranong while my husband was waiting on the other side with our newborn..? and I was nursing...! Let's hope things will only get better.

[Lite Beer]

hope things will only get better.

I'm sure they will.