Hi,

I'm from England and in Thailand (Bangkok area) on a Non-O Multi (12 months) visa. I arrived in December and I'm not at a retirement age.

I am looking to get a marriage extension for 12 months so that I don't have to go out of the country every 90 days. We don't have any children.

I was originally looking to apply for the extension and use my wife's salary as proof of the 40,000 baht per month limit but that option no longer seems possible.

My wife called the immigration office and was told that I need 400,00 baht in the bank or get a stamp from the embassy to show that I earn that amount in the UK.

My wife also said that we would be interviewed? What type of questions will be asked?

Can somebody tell me what I have to do to prove UK income? I can get information from my company in the UK but what would I need from the UK embassy?

Would it be advisable to get the information for the UK salary or is it better to just move some money to a bank here?

Another issue is that I plan to also set up a company here and use that to 'contract' out the work I do for the UK company. I plan to set up the business with my wife's family due to the need to have Thai employees. I will then get a work permit to work for this company. The company I am employed by in the UK only has a UK office so I can't get a work permit for now.

Regarding banking, is there any recommended bank to use? i.e. fast service, better exchange rates? Note that in the future I plan to move money to Thailand on a monthly basis because the UK company will be invoiced to send payment to the family business in Thailand.

Thanks

Hi,

I'm from England and in Thailand (Bangkok area) on a Non-O Multi (12 months) visa. I arrived in December and I'm not at a retirement age.

I am looking to get a marriage extension for 12 months so that I don't have to go out of the country every 90 days. We don't have any children.

I was originally looking to apply for the extension and use my wife's salary as proof of the 40,000 baht per month limit but that option no longer seems possible.

My wife called the immigration office and was told that I need 400,00 baht in the bank or get a stamp from the embassy to show that I earn that amount in the UK.

My wife also said that we would be interviewed? What type of questions will be asked?

Can somebody tell me what I have to do to prove UK income? I can get information from my company in the UK but what would I need from the UK embassy?

Would it be advisable to get the information for the UK salary or is it better to just move some money to a bank here?

Another issue is that I plan to also set up a company here and use that to 'contract' out the work I do for the UK company. I plan to set up the business with my wife's family due to the need to have Thai employees. I will then get a work permit to work for this company. The company I am employed by in the UK only has a UK office so I can't get a work permit for now.

Regarding banking, is there any recommended bank to use? i.e. fast service, better exchange rates? Note that in the future I plan to move money to Thailand on a monthly basis because the UK company will be invoiced to send payment to the family business in Thailand.

Thanks

You can apply for the extension within the last 30 days of any of your entries.

Yes you need 400,000 in the bank or 40,000 monthly salary. For the Embassy you need anything that proves your income. Payslips. contract, anything. Putting 400,000 in a Thai Bank would be easier but with the exchage rates at the moment it will not be cheap. It has to be in the bank 60 days before you apply.

As for getting a bank account you will have to keep trying different banks and branches until you find one that will accept you.

These are the rules for extensions. You need 2.18(6)

You and your Wife will be interviewed to make sure that you do actually live together. You also have to supply photos of the two of you in and around the house and a map showing the way to your house. They may pay a visit.

You will be given a 30 under consideration stamp and have to return in 30 days to get your extension.

Once succesful you have to report your address to Immigration every 90 days.

Quote:

You can apply for the extension within the last 30 days of any of your entries.

Yes you need 400,000 in the bank or 40,000 monthly salary. For the Embassy you need anything that proves your income. Payslips. contract, anything. Putting 400,000 in a Thai Bank would be easier but with the exchage rates at the moment it will not be cheap. It has to be in the bank 60 days before you apply.

As for getting a bank account you will have to keep trying different banks and branches until you find one that will accept you.

These are the rules for extensions. You need 2.18(6) Police_Order_2008.pdf ( 104.89K ) Number of downloads: 3

You and your Wife will be interviewed to make sure that you do actually live together. You also have to supply photos of the two of you in and around the house and a map showing the way to your house. They may pay a visit.

You will be given a 30 under consideration stamp and have to return in 30 days to get your extension.

Once succesful you have to report your address to Immigration every 90 days.

Are this the only documents that I need to bring to The Immigration Office?

Is there anyone who can tell me what more documents I need to bring with me from my home country, The Netherlands.

Do I have to bring a birthcertificate etc. Do I have to translate the documents in to Thai and do I have to legalise these documents. Where do I have to legalise these documents.

I hope anyone can give me some answers because these information is difficult to found.

Thanks

Wim

Passport. Wife's ID Card and House Registration, Proof of income or money in a Thai Bank.

Are this the only documents that I need to bring to The Immigration Office?

Personally, I am submitting:

Covering Letter in Thai from wife

Passport

Signed copy of passport

TM7 application form x2 & photos

ID card

Signed copy of ID card

Bank book (savings account in my name with over B400K)

Signed copy of bank book

Letter from bank

Photos of us around the house

Medical certificate

Signed copy of wife's passport

Marriage certificate

Signed copy of marriage cert

Tabien Baan

Signed copy of Tabien Baan

Map of address

Photos of wedding

Copy of Foreign Exchange transaction form (showing funds from abroad)

Edited January 21, 200917 yr by jamesjdaly

Are this the only documents that I need to bring to The Immigration Office?

Personally, I am submitting:

Covering Letter in Thai from wife

Passport

Signed copy of passport

TM7 application form x2 & photos

ID card

Signed copy of ID card

Bank book (savings account in my name with over B400K)

Signed copy of bank book

Letter from bank

Photos of us around the house

Medical certificate

Signed copy of wife's passport

Marriage certificate

Signed copy of marriage cert

Tabien Baan

Signed copy of Tabien Baan

Map of address

Photos of wedding

Copy of Foreign Exchange transaction form (showing funds from abroad)

Your wife has to go with you so scratch the letter. Also scratch the medical certificate. Wedding photos are also not needed. The foreign exchange proof also.

Thanks, Joe. However in another post, better safe than sorry as I live quite a way from Suan Plu. I take it there was no reply to your e-mail to Immi??

Thanks for the replies.

Although the exchange rate isn't so good for now; I think it may be easier to just transfer the 400,000 baht once I can get a bank account open. Although I can get the info about my salary I think it could lead to problems about the work permit and being in Thailand for 1 year with a UK salary and no work permit.

In the future once I get the business set up with the family and then the work permit, I'd be able to go down the 40,000 salary route.

For now, I'll look at going out of the country when the first 90 days are up (maybe a weekend to Singapore or Hong Kong with the wife) since I won't have the 60 days for the 400,000 being in the bank before then.

Just out of interest, does anyone know if there is the equivalent of a Thai 'shell' company that could be used as an 'employer'? Only asking because my work is in a quite rare area of IT which is not very popular in Thailand; due to that getting a job with a Thai company would be very difficult. However due to it's rarity, my UK employer wants to keep me; hence the current plan of setting up the business with the family here. For my actual work; I would use a VPN connection to the UK office and then to the mainframe systems.

…Just out of interest, does anyone know if there is the equivalent of a Thai 'shell' company that could be used as an 'employer'? …

The Thai company would need four Thai employees, the company would have to employ you and you would have to pay Thai income tax.

Get a letter from your UK employer confirming your salary, with that go to the UK embassy for the so-called embassy letter, with that embassy letter go to the immigration office and get your annual extension for living with your Thai wife. Or put 400k into a Thai savings account for the required period before the application date for extension of stay, whichever you find more convenient.

--

Maestro

The Thai company would need four Thai employees, the company would have to employ you and you would have to pay Thai income tax.

--

Maestro

Thanks for the reply. I understand and accept those rules. As I mentioned earlier on, my intention for now is to set up a business with family members and be employed by that company.

My UK employer would prefer to pay an 'invoice' to a Thai company than have someone overseas but still paying UK tax.

I was just curious because coming from an IT background and also working as a contractor for some of the time; I am used to 'shell' companies in the UK and the IR35 tax rules; I was just curious to know if there was such a thing as a Thai agency that operates as a 'shell' company for foreigners to be employed by.

One other question ... is there such a thing as a minimum wage in Thailand? i.e. for the 4 Thai employees of the company how much money would they need to earn each month?

Thanks

Thanks for the reply. I understand and accept those rules. As I mentioned earlier on, my intention for now is to set up a business with family members and be employed by that company.

My UK employer would prefer to pay an 'invoice' to a Thai company than have someone overseas but still paying UK tax.

I was just curious because coming from an IT background and also working as a contractor for some of the time; I am used to 'shell' companies in the UK and the IR35 tax rules; I was just curious to know if there was such a thing as a Thai agency that operates as a 'shell' company for foreigners to be employed by.

One other question ... is there such a thing as a minimum wage in Thailand? i.e. for the 4 Thai employees of the company how much money would they need to earn each month?

Thanks

Since you are married to a Thai the number of employees is reduced to 2 and other financial requirements are also cut in half.

The best option would be to contact a legal firm to assist with setting up the company or even a business set up by your wife.

Yes there is a minimum wage.

You might also post a new topic on the business forum to get more answers to your questions.