How To Go About Getting A Marriage Visa

[Skidley]

I am looking at what is required to get a marriage visa.

I am currently married to a Thai lady now for 4 months. In total we have been together for 3+ years.

I work outside Thailand in the Middle East (country doesn't have a Thai emabassy) on a rotation of 5 & 3 weeks. Have been coming into thailand on a 30 day stamp.

We are currently building a house and I have my own bank account and a joint account with my wife. Also we have morgage from the bank for building the house in both names.

The reasons I am looking at getting a marriage visa is so I can obtain drivers license and when my stays in Thailand will be longer than 30 days.

Questions are:

1. Do I require a tourist visa from outside the country before hand, which has to be used to apply/extend for the marriage visa.
2. Can my income from ouside Thailand be used in leu of the 400,000 in the bank for two months. (Bank accounts fluctuate due to the house build). Also can the joint account be used or does it solely have to be my name.
3. How long does it take to process the visa as i have to leave about 3 weeks after my arrival each trip. Can the process be done while I am out of the country after application and finalised after I return the next time.
4. What list of documentation do i require for the application.

Thanks in advance for all information.

[Lite Beer]

There is no Marriage Visa.

You are probably talking about a 12 month extension of stay based on having a Thai Wife.

You need a Non Imm Visa to start with but it is possible with a Tourist Visa or a 30 day stamp. This would require an extra step to upgrade to a Non Imm Visa.

The money in the bank has to be there for 2 months. It has to be in an account in your name only.

You can use your salary if it is more than 40,000 Baht a month. You would need a letter from your Embassy verifying this.

When applying you will be given a 30 day under consideration stamp.

You have to return to Immigration in 30 days to collect the extension.

You might be better off with a Multi Entry Non Imm O Visa. This would give unlimited entries for a year with a max. of 90 days each entry.

[lopburi3]

The extension of stay would not seem a good fit for you are as you would not be able to return after 30 days with that schedule.

Much better to obtain a multi entry non immigrant O visa (which allows unlimited entry of up to 90 days for one year). That you would have to obtain from a Consulate overseas. There are Consulates serving the middle east that can be used for this or you could visit KL in Malaysia during a trip home (perhaps with wife) and obtain there. They would require copy of marriage certificate/wife ID card and home register signed/dated and proof of 100k somewhere. Submit in morning and pickup next afternoon.