Now I know to get a non - O visa because of marriage it's necessary to have 400,000 baht in a bank account in Thailand, but does it matter who's name the account is in ? I've never got round to opening an account here, but my wife has an account with more than that in it, so can we use that or is it going to be necessary for me to open an account, move some money into that and wait 2 months - by which time I'll be due to leave for a while anyway - I presume you get 90 or 60 days to start to give you time to qualify.

must be the applicants bank account only, not joint either.

The money must have been in account for the required period before you apply for the extension of stay.

As said it must be in the Husband's name.

The "under consideration" period is 30 days, you return 30 days after the application is made.

Under consideration is for approval. The money in account time must be met before your application will be accepted.

So if the "under consideration" period is 30 days but you need to have had the money in a Thai bank in my name for 2 months before they reconsider, given that I can't open the Thai bank account before I arrive how do you get round this - come for the first 30 days on a tourist visa/visa exemption then pay to convert this ?

You must have a non immigrant visa entry to extend and they are 90 days - so you enter on such a visa - open account and 60 days later extend. Or you enter on something else and open account and then convert to 90 day non immigrant entry and 60 days later extend. That is the reason it is only 60 days - to allow it to be done on a single visa entry.

Lopburi,

Does the 400,000 have to be sent from abroad or can I use the money that is already in my Thai bank account . I have worked here for years so I would be able to show evidence, if they asked for it.

Also,

A question about the Thai child support procedure

My query is, if my child is 2 years old and his mother and I are married, have property etc, is it possible to obtain this kind of visa or do I have to wait until he is at the age of consent, as I have read on some posts on Thaivisa.

The reason I ask is that the posts I have read refer to the parents not being married, fathers name not on birth cert etc and the parent had to get a court order etc and the child had to been at the age of consent to procede with the visa application?

Thanks,

JJP

The money does not have to come from abroad.

The Thai child procedure is the same provision and has the same requirements as an extension based on a Thai wife. It actually is an extension of stay based on being a family member of a Thai national. You should be able to chose for which reason you ask for an extension (wife or child), but in practise immigration will only focus on the wife, with using the child as extra proof of the marriage being real.

Also for gettitng a visa it doesn't matter, you either show the marriage certifiacte or birth certificate of the child. (But in the neighbouring countries that give out multiple non-O visas they will only do so based on a Thai spouse and not based on a Thai child).

The reason that you read about persons not being married is that they cannot get a visa or extension based on a Thai spouse, so they have to legitimize the child as theirs to be able to get a visa or extension of stay based on teir child. Without legitimizing the child they are legally not the father.