Immigration Officer Says 90 Days

[saeanao]

Last February I asked questions on extensions to a non “O” visa, the replies I received at that time said basically that I could get a 60 day extension to a non “O” visa based on marriage, and if I deposited 400K in the bank for 60 days I could get a one year marriage visa.

I deposited the 400K on the 24 February, planning on leaving Thailand in mid May, and therefore with sufficient time to meet the 60 day requirement to qualify for a marriage visa.

I went down too the immigration department on Wednesday to get a 60 day extension to my non “O” visa.

I also picked up the application form with a list of documents I must submit for a one year marriage visa, the immigration officer said that I must have 400K in the bank for 90 days to qualify for a marriage visa?

In the list of documents I need to submit with this visa application, it quite clearly states I only need “not less than 400K in the Bank for 2 months”

So have the rules changed from 60 to 90 days, or is this immigration officer mistaken??

If the rules have changed, I have from August last year, one million Baht in a fixed deposit/joint account with my wife.

Can I use this account to meet the financial requirements to obtain a one year marriage visa.

[Lite Beer]

Last February I asked questions on extensions to a non “O” visa, the replies I received at that time said basically that I could get a 60 day extension to a non “O” visa based on marriage, and if I deposited 400K in the bank for 60 days I could get a one year marriage visa.

I deposited the 400K on the 24 February, planning on leaving Thailand in mid May, and therefore with sufficient time to meet the 60 day requirement to qualify for a marriage visa.

I went down too the immigration department on Wednesday to get a 60 day extension to my non “O” visa.

I also picked up the application form with a list of documents I must submit for a one year marriage visa, the immigration officer said that I must have 400K in the bank for 90 days to qualify for a marriage visa?

In the list of documents I need to submit with this visa application, it quite clearly states I only need “not less than 400K in the Bank for 2 months”

So have the rules changed from 60 to 90 days, or is this immigration officer mistaken??

If the rules have changed, I have from August last year, one million Baht in a fixed deposit/joint account with my wife.

Can I use this account to meet the financial requirements to obtain a one year marriage visa.

The rule is 2 months but some Immigration offices are saying 3 months.

1M Baht in a joint acc? Only Immigration can answer that. Their logic may well be 5k is yours and 5k is your Wife's.

[caf]

The rule is 2 months but some Immigration offices are saying 3 months.

1M Baht in a joint acc? Only Immigration can answer that. Their logic may well be 5k is yours and 5k is your Wife's.

I believe it is 60 days on first application, 90 days on renewal. and 800k for non-marriage visas (eg retirement)

The immigration officer may be wrong but that does not mean youn can challenge it by showing him the regulations. TIT. It doesnt work like that.

Any other posters confirm?

[Lite Beer]

The rule is 2 months but some Immigration offices are saying 3 months.

1M Baht in a joint acc? Only Immigration can answer that. Their logic may well be 5k is yours and 5k is your Wife's.

I believe it is 60 days on first application, 90 days on renewal. and 800k for non-marriage visas (eg retirement)

The immigration officer may be wrong but that does not mean youn can challenge it by showing him the regulations. TIT. It doesnt work like that.

Any other posters confirm?

No. The Official Law is 2 months for the Marriage Extension.

For the Retirement Extension it is 2 months for the first application and 3 months thereafter.

(6) In case of marriage with a Thai lady, the husband who is an alien must have an average annual income of not less than 40,000 baht per month or a money deposit in a local Thai bank of not less than 400,000 baht for the past 2 months for expenses within a year.

[lopburi3]

The published directive says 2 months for marriage. For retirement it is 2 months first time and 3 months thereafter. I suspect marriage should have read the same (as it allows issue of non immigrant visa/time for issue of extension for first time applicants). It seems many are getting told 3 months for marriage by the officers. Also they seem to not accept joint accounts at all anymore from a number of reports here. Anyone used a joint account in last few months?

[Marcati]

The rule is 2 months but some Immigration offices are saying 3 months.

1M Baht in a joint acc? Only Immigration can answer that. Their logic may well be 5k is yours and 5k is your Wife's.

I believe it is 60 days on first application, 90 days on renewal. and 800k for non-marriage visas (eg retirement)

The immigration officer may be wrong but that does not mean youn can challenge it by showing him the regulations. TIT. It doesnt work like that.

Any other posters confirm?

No. The Official Law is 2 months for the Marriage Extension.

For the Retirement Extension it is 2 months for the first application and 3 months thereafter.

(6) In case of marriage with a Thai lady, the husband who is an alien must have an average annual income of not less than 40,000 baht per month or a money deposit in a local Thai bank of not less than 400,000 baht for the past 2 months for expenses within a year.

Lite Beer is right, however, the account has to be in your name ONLY. No joint accounts accepted. I had a similar problem when I first applied for mine. I had money in the country for 18 months prior to my wedding, but then had to move it to an account of my own in order to get the 1 yr extension based on marriage.

[saeanao]

Well I guess I will go down there and just hope for the best, all my paper work is OK and all the immigration officer's I saw on Wednesday were friendly.

[moneyshot]

Has the 400k in the bank rule changed in the last year? I was under the impression new applicants could not use the money in the bank but needed to show 40,000/month income...

I hope this is the case as getting a letter from the embassy is a pain in the butt.

[Lite Beer]

Has the 400k in the bank rule changed in the last year? I was under the impression new applicants could not use the money in the bank but needed to show 40,000/month income...

I hope this is the case as getting a letter from the embassy is a pain in the butt.

It changed November 25th.

[lopburi3]

Yes the requirements changed a few months ago. It is back to husband income or bank deposit only.

[Lite Beer]

Lite Beer is right, however, the account has to be in your name ONLY. No joint accounts accepted. I had a similar problem when I first applied for mine. I had money in the country for 18 months prior to my wedding, but then had to move it to an account of my own in order to get the 1 yr extension based on marriage.

Agree but in the past they have allowed retirees to use joint accounts if they have double the required amount deposited. I wondered if they would do the same with the marriage extension.

[moneyshot]

Thanks guys :-)

[saeanao]

Has the 400k in the bank rule changed in the last year? I was under the impression new applicants could not use the money in the bank but needed to show 40,000/month income...

I hope this is the case as getting a letter from the embassy is a pain in the butt.

This will be my first application for a marriage visa so what does this mean?

I need 400K in the bank or show an income of 40K per month?

I see from other posts that there is a waiting time between submitting your application and getting a reply from immigration, how long does it usually take?

[lopburi3]

It means you must either have 400k in a Thai bank account for the last 2-3 months (never going below) or you need 40k income (with work permit if from Thailand). If income from outside as outlined on a letter from your Embassy.

There is normally a 30 day under consideration extension and recently you have received the final at the end of that period (although it used to take much longer).

[saeanao]

Lite Beer is right, however, the account has to be in your name ONLY. No joint accounts accepted. I had a similar problem when I first applied for mine. I had money in the country for 18 months prior to my wedding, but then had to move it to an account of my own in order to get the 1 yr extension based on marriage.

Agree but in the past they have allowed retirees to use joint accounts if they have double the required amount deposited. I wondered if they would do the same with the marriage extension.

using the 1 million account would be my best option, I will try and ask immigration directly, but as others have said getting a reply from them could be problematic.

[BigSnake]

Hmmmmmm!! confusing

[saeanao]

It means you must either have 400k in a Thai bank account for the last 2-3 months (never going below) or you need 40k income (with work permit if from Thailand). If income from outside as outlined on a letter from your Embassy.

There is normally a 30 day under consideration extension and recently you have received the final at the end of that period (although it used to take much longer).

OK, so this is how it looks for me at the moment, I deposited the 400K on 24 February and will have two months or 60 days by 24 April, if I apply on that date, and they accept my application, I may have to wait until the 24 May before they reply.

I am due to depart Thailand on the 25 May.

The 30 day under consideration extension would get me to the 23 May, and I assume would cancel out my present visa, good until 8 June.

This is beginning to look unrealistic.

Thanks for all the replies; I will keep you informed as to the outcome.