New Regulations For Extensions Of Non-immigrant Visas

[taichiplanet]

thanks Issaan Law for the translation, looks like it may be a bit easier for us married to thai ladies, interesting on the 15 day visa run now, that will effect some expats surviving on visa runs.

thanks again

jimmyyy

just had a mate come back from a border run to Cambodia. He is on a one year vsa so the 15 day rule wouldn't effect him. He did ask and was told that the 15 day rule had been 'suspended' for the time being. Seems they've come to their senses!

[ubonjoe]

I am not sure it has been suspended would be the correct term. I think they have not gotten the new rules yet or are just not enforcing it yet. I think immigration still has some kinks to work out on the enforcement side of things.

Like how do they handle non border runners who have been in a country for a period of time and have traveled to the border to leave.

They are enforcing it on the Burma border. But how many people travel within Burma to leave across a border.

Edited December 7, 2008 by ubonjoe

[Mario2008]

The immigration bureau posted 2 notices on its website yesterday, but both are in Thai.

It are just small notices, no rule changes.

[Wally4]

I find it puzzling that a single retired foreigner needs Baht 800,000 in a Thai Bank whereas a 'married to a Thai' retired foreigner only needs Baht 400,000. Twice the number of people but half the amount in the bank. Are they assuming that a single retiree will spend far more on his social activities than a married retiree ?

[grantbkk]

I find it puzzling that a single retired foreigner needs Baht 800,000 in a Thai Bank whereas a 'married to a Thai' retired foreigner only needs Baht 400,000. Twice the number of people but half the amount in the bank. Are they assuming that a single retiree will spend far more on his social activities than a married retiree ?

This should not be puzzling at all. This is Thailand! You have to go with the flow. All they really need is one respected person in the meeting room where this stuff is tossed around. Someone with cognitive abilities unheard of in Thai boardrooms. Just one person to lay out the ramifications of the next stupid rule or law and the downstream consequences of their actions. Not going to happen so enjoy the ride.

[laidback]

It would seem to indicate that in the case of an alien who has legally married a Thai woman, and can show 400,000 Bhat in a correctly seasoned bank account, they will be granted a permission to stay of one full year, without the necessity to do any sort of border run every 90 days, which I believe used to be part of the marriage visa deal... Am I right, or have I misread it ?

Murg

You are correct

I am married legally to a Thai women and I have never had to do a 90 day border run. I report to the immigration office every ninety days and get my passport stamped.

[Mario2008]

I find it puzzling that a single retired foreigner needs Baht 800,000 in a Thai Bank whereas a 'married to a Thai' retired foreigner only needs Baht 400,000. Twice the number of people but half the amount in the bank. Are they assuming that a single retiree will spend far more on his social activities than a married retiree ?

No, they just have more relaxed rules for people married to a Thai national to protect their family live.

[lemsip]

I no I have to apply for extensions 30 days before visa runs out but is this 30 day before the 1yr date or can I still get my last 90 days visa run and apply before that runs out/I have a 1yr multi "O" the end date been 07-05-09,but as everybody Knows you can get 15 months out of it.I want to Apply for 1yr extension based on Marriage.

[Mario2008]

It would seem to indicate that in the case of an alien who has legally married a Thai woman, and can show 400,000 Bhat in a correctly seasoned bank account, they will be granted a permission to stay of one full year, without the necessity to do any sort of border run every 90 days, which I believe used to be part of the marriage visa deal... Am I right, or have I misread it ?

Murg

You are correct

I am married legally to a Thai women and I have never had to do a 90 day border run. I report to the immigration office every ninety days and get my passport stamped.

You don't get your passport stamped, you report every 90 days your address which at most immigration offices can also be done by mail.

[Maestro]

You apply for the one-year extension of stay during the last 30 days before your permission to stay, not your visa, runs out. Therefore, you can do one last border run the day before your multiple-entry non-O visa expires, get again permission to stay for 90 days, then during the last 30 days apply for your extension.

--

Maestro

[Rabeang]

You apply for the one-year extension of stay during the last 30 days before your permission to stay, not your visa, runs out. Therefore, you can do one last border run the day before your multiple-entry non-O visa expires, get again permission to stay for 90 days, then during the last 30 days apply for your extension.

--

Maestro

And when do we have to apply for our second one year extension? Do you have to have a certain amount of days left or can I apply in the last week before my current extension expires?

[Maestro]

Again during your last 30 days of your permission to stay, ie of your extension period.

--

Maestro

[mgjackson69]

I find it puzzling that a single retired foreigner needs Baht 800,000 in a Thai Bank whereas a 'married to a Thai' retired foreigner only needs Baht 400,000. Twice the number of people but half the amount in the bank. Are they assuming that a single retiree will spend far more on his social activities than a married retiree ?

In the first case you are applying for an extension of stay based on "Retirement"

In the second you are applying for an extension of stay based on marriage to a Thai national

Different circumstances

In the first case you are potentially here on your own, no spouse or his/her family to help look after you if needed.

In the second case, I think Immigration is making the (perhaps erroneous) assumption that you and/or your spouse are working...and also that, as is normal in the Thai culture, your spouse's family will help you if needed.

Makes sense to me

[lemsip]

Thanks for the info Maestro.

[Lite Beer]

Again during your last 30 days of your permission to stay, ie of your extension period.

--

Maestro

'Yes. You can do it on the last day if you wanted to. But always better to do early in case of any problems.

[Rabeang]

Thanks everyone. I've been wondering when I should take the wife and head to immigration again.

[chiangmaibruce]

God forbid it if the seperate immigration offices will have there own interpretations again .....

Yes well at Chiang Mai immigration they are wanting the min 40,000 month income AND the min 400,000 in the bank for the non-imm (have thai wife) visa renewal. They even have this requirement written in a printed colour brochure they hand you. This pre-dates the current change we are discussing but I am pretty sure they will still ask for both (I only visited their office a week or so ago - and spoke to two different members of staff). Satisfying both will be a pain in the @ss. Any tips anyone?

[Lite Beer]

God forbid it if the seperate immigration offices will have there own interpretations again .....

Yes well at Chiang Mai immigration they are wanting the min 40,000 month income AND the min 400,000 in the bank for the non-imm (have thai wife) visa renewal. They even have this requirement written in a printed colour brochure they hand you. This pre-dates the current change we are discussing but I am pretty sure they will still ask for both (I only visited their office a week or so ago - and spoke to two different members of staff). Satisfying both will be a pain in the @ss. Any tips anyone?

I would have said to try somewhere else. But now they want you to use your local office.

You could try showing them the rules in Thai.

[benjamat]

This is excellent news for all retirees over 60. From now on they only need 200 000 baht in save account or 20 000 Baht income.

It has always been like this.

Can someone clarify please.

For someone with thai wife.

At age 50. Required 40,000 b/month or 400,000 b in bank for 2 months.

At age 60. Required 20,000 b/month or 200,000 b in bank for 2 months.

I didnt see this in the document.

[Jingthing]

This is excellent news for all retirees over 60. From now on they only need 200 000 baht in save account or 20 000 Baht income.

It has always been like this.

Can someone clarify please.

For someone with thai wife.

At age 50. Required 40,000 b/month or 400,000 b in bank for 2 months.

At age 60. Required 20,000 b/month or 200,000 b in bank for 2 months.

I didnt see this in the document.

Isn't this another one of those grandfathering clauses for people who got in at a lower level and have kept continuous extensions since then? I think so.

[thaibreaker]

2.4 In the case of tourists:

Permission will be granted for a period of not more than 30 days at a time but not exceeding 90 days in total, counting from the entry date.

(1) The alien has obtained a tourist visa

(2) The alien must not be of the nationality or type restricted by the Performance Follow-up Committee attached to the Immigration Bureau.

I am a bit confused here, doesn`t this show that this is the end of the 60 days tourist visa, only 30 days in the future?

With a possibility of 2 extensions of 30 days each?

That should mean one more stamp and one more cost of 1900 bath, or what?

[bloody tiger]

God forbid it if the seperate immigration offices will have there own interpretations again .....

Yes well at Chiang Mai immigration they are wanting the min 40,000 month income AND the min 400,000 in the bank for the non-imm (have thai wife) visa renewal. They even have this requirement written in a printed colour brochure they hand you. This pre-dates the current change we are discussing but I am pretty sure they will still ask for both (I only visited their office a week or so ago - and spoke to two different members of staff). Satisfying both will be a pain in the @ss. Any tips anyone?

I am surprised by this post as I definately never had to have 400K in the bank as well as the monthly income. I actually have found the immigration staff at chiang mai most exellent and competent and also very acomodating for any problems. My experience with Chiang mai immigration has mainly been over the last 4 years. I have had unpleasant experiences at other immigration centres over the last 25 years or so.

So my advice to you would be:

Friendly attitide

If you have to quote, best to quote from the immigration website as opposed to TV( although the official immigration site hasn't got the new order yet!!)

Bring the wife (normally required anyway)

Bring the kids if you have them......You'd be surprised how much this will help any "borderline" issues which have to be decided by the officer.

Once again...FRIENDLY ATTITUDE.....its no different to any other job in the world, if u pee them off it will only become harder to achieve your goal.

best of luck

[simon43]

For the option to obtain a 1 year visa extension based upon support of a Thai child, the fact that the 50 years old requirement is removed will get me out of a fix, since I'm 49.5 and - since 3 weeks ago when my O visa expired - I have been 'juggling' visa on arrivals (ie only 15 days each time now).

Is the requirement to have 400,000 baht in the bank the same as for a retirement extension? Ie, it has to be in the bank account for 3 months prior to application for the visa? I do not have 400k right now, but hope to start a new job soon which will improve my finances! Could I obtain this visa extension if I simply borrow 400k and put it into my Thai bank account now - and then repay the lender a few weeks later? (My new job should make next year's visa extension quite viable).

If the above is possible, how do I proceed from a 15-day tourist visa exemption entry through to obtaining this 1-year visa extension?

Thanks

Simon

[Mario2008]

2.4 In the case of tourists:

Permission will be granted for a period of not more than 30 days at a time but not exceeding 90 days in total, counting from the entry date.

(1) The alien has obtained a tourist visa

(2) The alien must not be of the nationality or type restricted by the Performance Follow-up Committee attached to the Immigration Bureau.

I am a bit confused here, doesn`t this show that this is the end of the 60 days tourist visa, only 30 days in the future?

With a possibility of 2 extensions of 30 days each?

That should mean one more stamp and one more cost of 1900 bath, or what?

No, it is about extension. You can only extend a tourist visa till a maximum of 90 days and not more then 30 days at a time. (For some countries a tourist visa is only 30 days, they can extend it twice with 30 days).

[Mario2008]

For the option to obtain a 1 year visa extension based upon support of a Thai child, the fact that the 50 years old requirement is removed will get me out of a fix, since I'm 49.5 and - since 3 weeks ago when my O visa expired - I have been 'juggling' visa on arrivals (ie only 15 days each time now).

Is the requirement to have 400,000 baht in the bank the same as for a retirement extension? Ie, it has to be in the bank account for 3 months prior to application for the visa? I do not have 400k right now, but hope to start a new job soon which will improve my finances! Could I obtain this visa extension if I simply borrow 400k and put it into my Thai bank account now - and then repay the lender a few weeks later? (My new job should make next year's visa extension quite viable).

If the above is possible, how do I proceed from a 15-day tourist visa exemption entry through to obtaining this 1-year visa extension?

Thanks

Simon

The rules say 400,000 at the bank or 40,000 income a month. As you are now on a visa exempt entry you might be able to get a new 60 day extension of stay based on family visit. Note that to qualify for an anual extension there is no mention of how long the money must be in the bank. Just try it, as nobody knows how they will enforce this rule.

[LivinginKata]

For the option to obtain a 1 year visa extension based upon support of a Thai child, the fact that the 50 years old requirement is removed will get me out of a fix, since I'm 49.5 and - since 3 weeks ago when my O visa expired - I have been 'juggling' visa on arrivals (ie only 15 days each time now).

Is the requirement to have 400,000 baht in the bank the same as for a retirement extension? Ie, it has to be in the bank account for 3 months prior to application for the visa? I do not have 400k right now, but hope to start a new job soon which will improve my finances! Could I obtain this visa extension if I simply borrow 400k and put it into my Thai bank account now - and then repay the lender a few weeks later? (My new job should make next year's visa extension quite viable).

If the above is possible, how do I proceed from a 15-day tourist visa exemption entry through to obtaining this 1-year visa extension?

Thanks

Simon

Simon, I've heard that you get your visa sorted out by virtue of your volunteer service with the tourist police......

[Lite Beer]

As you say there is no mention of any seasoning of the 400,000. Unlike the Thai Wife Option. One has to assume that it is not required. However Immigration Officers may well have their own view on this.

[simon43]

Livinginkata - I wish! The lack of supporting letters from my police bosses has already caused 2 other volunteers to leave Thailand because they were unable to get a 'volunteer visa'...

Mario2008, I just finished a 60 day extension to visit my son, and I believe that extension is a once-only option. But with these visa changes and the likelyhood of new employment in the near future, my situation is looking a little better!

Simon

[LivinginKata]

Hey Simon, I'm just back from Phuket immigration. Applied with old regs i.e joint 40K income & joint bank account money. Officer discretion was used (no tea money) plus I had a lot of supporting paperwork and years of WP time. No dramas, good service, application accepted....

[Mario2008]

Livinginkata - I wish! The lack of supporting letters from my police bosses has already caused 2 other volunteers to leave Thailand because they were unable to get a 'volunteer visa'...

Mario2008, I just finished a 60 day extension to visit my son, and I believe that extension is a once-only option. But with these visa changes and the likelyhood of new employment in the near future, my situation is looking a little better!

Simon

Not sure aboput the once only option. I don't see it as a once in a life time option. As far as I understand you only get one extension, but hard to stay if you leave the country and come back you can't get a new extension based on this. It is not against the rules, but as usual will depend on your local immigration.