Retirement Visa - Incl. Family

[eddi]

In a couple of days I will be in Thailand with my wife. We intend to get 30 day visas on arrival stamps at BKK airport.

Then I'll go to the immigration office in Pattaya and apply for a 1 year retirement visa for myself (age over 50. 800K in bank for 3 months)

Does anyone know if my wife, non Thai, under 50, can be included on my visa application.

If not, does she have to leave Thailand at the end of the 30 days or is there another way for her to stay longer

Hope I'm not the only one to have a non Thai wife, maybe I should go for an upgrade!

[Lite Beer]

In a couple of days I will be in Thailand with my wife. We intend to get 30 day visas on arrival stamps at BKK airport.

Then I'll go to the immigration office in Pattaya and apply for a 1 year retirement visa for myself (age over 50. 800K in bank for 3 months)

Does anyone know if my wife, non Thai, under 50, can be included on my visa application.

If not, does she have to leave Thailand at the end of the 30 days or is there another way for her to stay longer

Hope I'm not the only one to have a non Thai wife, maybe I should go for an upgrade!

First. If you are going to Thailand without a Visa with a one way ticket they may not let you on the flight.

Second. You will be applying for a 12 month extension not a visa.

Third. You have to go to Immigration with at least 21 days on left on your stay to change to a Non O Visa. With this Non O Visa you can then apply for the 12 month extension.

Fouth. Once you have this extension your Wife can apply for a 12 month extension as your dependent.

These are the extension rules. Yout Wife will need 2.20. You need 2.22

Sometimes they will do both steps in one go. Other times you will have to change to the Non O Visa and wait 2 months before applying fot the 12 month extension.

Your Wife may have to leave and get a Visa from a neighbouring country, only Immigration can tell you that.

It would be a lot easier if you both arrived with a Visa. Preferably a Single Entry Non O Visa. But a Tourist Visa will do.

[astral]

Lite Beer is right, you will have problem boarding the aircraft with only a one way ticket.

Visit the Thai Embassy in Jakarta and apply for a tourist visa.

This gives you a 60 day entry stamp. Then at least 21 days before it expires you

can convert to the O visa and get the retirement extension.

Your wife also will get the extension also as your dependent.

[eddi]

Thanks guys, I arrived at BKK, no problem with one way ticket, immigration did not ask to see any ticket.

I'm off to Pattaya Immigration on Wednesday to try to get 2 simultaneous retirement visas ( well one for me plus one dependent)

I'll report back the results afterwards as it might be of interest to other guys in a similar position.

As they say, a problem shared is a problem solved.

[icequeen]

Good luck, I have an extension as a dependant of my husband who is on an extension based on retirement, it has been a painless experience for us the last two years in Jomtien, If you are a British subject the British consulate will check your paperwork for you free of charge (they are just up the road from the immigration office in Jomtien) this may be worth doing as it is your first time, they just check you have everything you need and put it in the order that the immigration officer prefers. Last month we were in and out within 15 miinutes with a slip to collect our passports the next day.

[eddi]

icequeen you are right, very straight forward at Pattaya immigration, it did not take long to get my retirement visa though I had to pay an extra THB 2000 for a non O visa as I entered on a 30 day visa on entry stamp. ( Not a requirement when I tried for a retirement visa in 2007)

However, they would not do the same for my wife, apparently she has to leave within 30 days, go to a Thai Embassy and get a 90 day non immigrant O visa then come back.

Then she can apply for a 1 year extension as my dependent, needs to get a medical report here as well (only for female dependents?)

I hope when that's done that she can get her 1 year extension without delay, fortunately the immigration office is only a block away so it's easy to go back several times if necessary.

[lopburi3]

The requirement to pay 2,000 baht has always been required for issue of visa or change from tourist visa - only if you entered on a non immigrant visa do you just have to pay the TM.7 1,900 baht fee.

She will need to take proof of your extension of stay when she applies for the non immigrant visa. Once she returns with that should not be more than a normal TM.7 application for the matching extension of stay (although they might ask her to wait until less than 30 days remaining - so good to ask before she pays for the medical). Have no idea why a medical is being asked as it is not a normal dependent requirement AFAIK. But dependent of retirement clause wife is a gray area in the law, and was blocked for awhile, so probably not a good idea to question it.

1. Application form 2. Copy of applicant’s passport 3. Copy of the passport of the alien who has been permitted to stay in the Kingdom 4. Copy of documents proving relationship, such as a marriage certificate, a birth certificate, registration of child legitimization, household registration certificate, child adoption registration certificate, or other evidence from the government or relevant agency

[icequeen]

Maybe the medical certificate is something new at Pattaya, I believe they have a lot of new officers. It wasn't a requirement when I did mine last year, but nevertheless it's not really anything to worry about.

[Jingthing]

The OP mentioned the medical certificate needed for dependent "as well" which indicates he thinks it is required for a retirement extension. It is not required. Also, for the money seasoning using 800K in Thai bank account it only needs to be there TWO MONTHS, not three months for the FIRST extension.

[InterestedObserver]

However, they would not do the same for my wife, apparently she has to leave within 30 days, go to a Thai Embassy and get a 90 day non immigrant O visa then come back.

Then she can apply for a 1 year extension as my dependent, needs to get a medical report here as well (only for female dependents?)

This answers the question as to whether or not a person is able to change an entry stamp into a Non-Immigrant visa for the purposes of becoming a retiree dependent. Chiang Mai would not allow a previous poster to change a tourist visa into a non-immigrant visa, now Jomtien has followed suit with an entry stamp. There is no provision in the rules for a retiree dependent to get a non-immigrant visa in Thailand.

[lekatai]

I am in a similar position to the OP,but there are a few differences which maybe someone with similar experience can clear up.I will soon be going to Vietnam to bring back my (Vietnamese) wife and our new baby.We got married in Vietnam last month,and the baby was born there.Both will have Vietnamese passports.I live here(Pattaya) on a 12 month Non Imm "O" extension based on retirement,which needs to be renewed again in early July.What I was planning on doing is to get them both single entry Tourist Visas in HCMC,and when we get here,(and after I have renewed my visa),change both of their Tourist Visas to Non Imm "O" and then get those visas a 12 month extension as dependants of mine,together with multiple exit/re-entry stamps.Any documents relating to the marriage and birth of the baby will be in Vietnamese,with Vietnamese Government certified translations into English. What I don't know is a) will their visas run concurrently with mine,or be valid from 12 months from the date they are issued.b)Do I need to get the marriage certificate and babys birth certificate translated into Thai?,if so can I have that done here in Pattaya c) would there be any advantage in getting them Non Imm "O" visas in HCMC if they will issue them. d) is the procedure and cost the same for the baby as well as my wife.? If anyone has any information to cover these points I would be grateful.Thanks