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Changes Affecting 'married To Thai' Visas.


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Posted

I have just applied to renew my annual 'Married to Thai' visa at Jomtien Immigration and was very nearly caught out by what appears to be a new requirement.

For your information I have two accounts with 'Bangkok Bank' namely, a regular 'Current Account' with funds in Thai Baht and also a 'Foreign Currency Account' with funds in Sterling. Both my bank and Jomtien Immigration have previously confirmed that funds from these accounts can be used jointly to qualify for the minimum financial requirements which are necessary for this type of visa. However, when I submitted my application last week it became apparent that they were only interested in verifying that the balance in the 'Foreign Currency Account' had not fallen below the required minimum for the past two months. When I pointed out the additional funds in the current account, this was dismissed and I was informed that only one bank account can now be used for visa applications. Fortunately, more by luck than judgement, I had sufficient funds in the 'Foreign Currency Account' to qualify, despite the lousy exchange rate!

I was not entirely convinced that the officer checking my documents was correct with her interpretation of the financial requirements (as detailed above) and when my wife and I were called for our interview with a more senior officer I took the opportunity to clarify the situation. In short, I was informed that the big boss in Bangkok now wants applications processed this way, end of story.

I would like to think that if my 'Foreign Currency Account' had failed to meet the minimum financial requirements then the additional funds in my 'Current Account' would have been taken into consideration but, who knows?

I am assuming these changes are very recent as the last time I visited the immigration office to do my ninety day reporting the officers were still saying that funds from both my bank accounts could be combined when applying for my new visa. This would give me a healthy bank balance comfortably in excess of the required minimum which is generally considered advantageous when visas are under consideration.

Even now, as I am relaying the details of my interview I am starting to think there must have been a misunderstanding and perhaps this is a classic case of "lost in translation". In view of this, I have just double checked what was said to my wife in Thai and everything mentioned above is correct.

Clearly, if you are planning on using funds from more than one bank account when applying for your next visa, you may wish to make further enquires with your Immigration Office.

Posted

When i got my first Retirement visa over a year ago at soi 5 Jomtien they would only accept one account and it had to be a savings a/c with instant withdrawl advailable .

Posted

This post has raised an issue with me

I am not married and have a 1 year retirement visa. Jomtien insisted that to obtain the visa the bank account must be a savings account in Thai baht and that a foreign currency account in English pounds was not acceptable

Now it seems for married visa the opposite is true

Can anyone clarify this because I am thinking of getting married

John

Posted
This post has raised an issue with me

I am not married and have a 1 year retirement visa. Jomtien insisted that to obtain the visa the bank account must be a savings account in Thai baht and that a foreign currency account in English pounds was not acceptable

Now it seems for married visa the opposite is true

Can anyone clarify this because I am thinking of getting married

John

As long as the foreign currency account is in Thailand you can use it to obtain a one year extension. Accounts outside of Thailand cannot be used.

Barry

Posted

Just wanted to emphasize that my original post is directed specifically to 'Married to Thai' visas and not 'Retirement' visas.

I mention this as I don't want to cause any confusion to holders of 'Retirement' visas.

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