Thai Immigration

[PattayaPhom]

Just been watching Border Control UK and the amount of travellers on bogus student visas that get deported on the spot is fun to watch. When I say bogus, they have been granted a student visa in their own country for entry to the UK but they have no intention of studying even though they are registered at a college of some sort..........made me giggle when i thought about the amount of people here on ED Visas that never study yet dont get deported...Thailands immigration is a sham really compared to the numpties at the UK.....I wonder how many UK people here on ED visas that watched this programme agreed with the decision to deport them.....

[bobl]

Here we go again... Let's compare the apples to the oranges...

How many of those trying to enter the UK are there for free housing, social security & health benefits and/or to work. Probably close to 100%

How many of those trying to enter Thailand are there for free housing, social security & health benefits and/or to work. Probably close to 0%

[PattayaPhom]

A UK student visa dosnt allow access to social funding and you are allowed to work part time. Some of the peopl actually had wads of cash in Sterling.

It just made me laugh, either the Thai immigration are not aware of the amount of people on ED visas entering the country that have no intention of studying, or they just dont care.

[samran]

I don't necessarily blame the punters, it is Thai immigration's job to enforce the borders. But what a show we'd have if they did and we could film it.

[saengsureeya]

Quote OP: "I wonder how many UK people here on ED visas that watched this programme agreed with the decision to deport them..... "

And I wonder how many study-visa-holders for the UK are being deported although they actually have the intention to study.

[PattayaPhom]

I don't necessarily blame the punters, it is Thai immigration's job to enforce the borders. But what a show we'd have if they did and we could film it.

That would be something...the UK Border Agency actually asked relevant questions to the course they were studying and it was obvious they hadnt a clue...as most here are studying Thai, you could imagine the amount of people deported if immigration did the simplist test on the Thai language....So Thailand really is quite visa friendly compared to other places.

[samran]

I don't necessarily blame the punters, it is Thai immigration's job to enforce the borders. But what a show we'd have if they did and we could film it.

That would be something...the UK Border Agency actually asked relevant questions to the course they were studying and it was obvious they hadnt a clue...as most here are studying Thai, you could imagine the amount of people deported if immigration did the simplist test on the Thai language....So Thailand really is quite visa friendly compared to other places.

Don't even have to go that far to begin with.

Like a lot of places, I'd very much like the Thai landing card to include the question 'Have you ever been convicted of a criminal offense?'.

That would set the cat amongst the pigeons.

[moe666]

I don't necessarily blame the punters, it is Thai immigration's job to enforce the borders. But what a show we'd have if they did and we could film it.

Talk about crying if Thai Immigration started enforcing immigration rules. We here it everytime on Thaivisa when immigration does enforce the rules, about how much I contribute to Thai economy, how my presents is a cultural boon for Thailand, how it just not right for Thailand to enforce there borders.

[kriswillems]

Everyone knows that the student visa for Thailand is a joke. Even people that never go to the courses get their visa.

That said, I hope the student visa will be there to stay, because at this moment is the last fllback for people that have very good reasons to stay here, but don't meet the requirements.

For instance:

- married people with less that 400K

- people that are living together but can not get married (because the foreign partner doesn't meet the financial requirement put by the embassy, or because one partner is still married and the ex doesn't want to divorce or because they are gay).

- people with (Thai) children that don't have 400K or 800K

Besides this all, I think anyone that stays long in this country (longer that 1 year) should learn the language. It would avoid many misunderstandings and I think it's a good way to show some respect for our host(country).

Edited April 11, 2012 by kriswillems

[lopburi3]

Believe anyone has a heart attack those married or with Thai children do not need to have 400k to obtain visa entry for 90 day periods or 60 day extension of stay - that figure is only for one year extensions of stay - so they do have options other than ED visa.

I am not aware of any Embassy imposed financial requirement for marriage.

[PattayaPhom]

I didnt realise you required 400k in a bank for an 'O' visa..surely that is extensions?....and if you havnt got the money to be with your wife and child here...how are you going to live???...so that rule is there for a good reason......and obtaining an ED Visa with the associated costs and 90 extensions would be in the region of 50k for a year anyway...yes its way of circumventing the system so you can stay here sort of legally...I have always thought the Thai system is very fare to people regarding visas and the ED visa is more proof how lax they are compared to other countries requirments.

[kriswillems]

Believe anyone has a heart attack those married or with Thai children do not need to have 400k to obtain visa entry for 90 day periods or 60 day extension of stay - that figure is only for one year extensions of stay - so they do have options other than ED visa.

I am not aware of any Embassy imposed financial requirement for marriage.

Well, my (western European) embassy specifies a minimum income for those that want to marry with a Thai (You can PM me if you're interested in knowing from which country I am).

Getting a new visa in another country every year or 90 days and/or running to the border every 90 days, is probably also too costly for those that don't manage to put 400K on a bank account. Every husband and/or wife will do this if he/she needs to, but it's not something you would do for fun or with pleasure, and for older people travelling that long can be hard. In this case I think a student visa is better and cheaper and you get also something in return for it. The 60 days extension you get only once.

So, technically there are alternatives, but they are very poor alternatives.

It seems fair to me that people should be able to stay with their family, even if they live a simple life here and a Thai level of income and savings.

For this, and only for this, I am happy with the (misuse of the) student visa.

Edited April 11, 2012 by kriswillems

[Maestro]

Well, my (western European) embassy specifies a minimum income for those that want to marry with a Thai (You can PM me if you're interested in knowing from which country I am) ...

No, let's have this out in the open, not the question what country you are from, which is irrelevant, but let's have a link to the consulate's web page that "specifies a minimum income for those that want to marry with a Thai". As this information is already public on the Internet, there is no reason why it should not be linked to here.

[kriswillems]

Well, my (western European) embassy specifies a minimum income for those that want to marry with a Thai (You can PM me if you're interested in knowing from which country I am) ...

No, let's have this out in the open, not the question what country you are from, which is irrelevant, but let's have a link to the consulate's web page that "specifies a minimum income for those that want to marry with a Thai". As this information is already public on the Internet, there is no reason why it should not be linked to here.

Ok, I had to look for a while. I found information on this website. I didn't find it on the website of the embassy.

http://www.thaiconne....nl/trouwen.htm

and here

http://www.thaifrau.org/heirat/

You can run google translate. They want a certificate of income.

I met somebody in the embassy that has been refused his single paper because he didn't have such a certificate, because he had no income from work - he lived from his savings.

That the income should be a minimum, is something I remember from 10 years ago. I have no prove of it, but I remember it being possibly problematic because I didn't meet the minimum amount (because I was on a one year holiday). I was very worried about it. The embassy was so nice to write down my income from before the start of the holiday (I had prove of this) and I got the papers I needed.

There's also an interview which you can pass or fail, very much seems to depend on the (possibly subjective) judgement of the officer in charge.

I know this is all pretty useless information in this thread. The only thing I wanted to say is that there will always be a group of people with good intentions and good reasons to stay here (because they love their wife/husband/child/gay partner) but that doesn't meet some requirement.

Edited April 15, 2012 by kriswillems

[kriswillems]

Ok, Maestro, found another website:

http://www.leerwiki.nl/Trouwen_met_een_Thaise_onderdaan_volgens_de_Thaise_wet

This website explicitly talks about the minimum income and it is the same amount I was been told.

[Maestro]

Thank you very much, kriswillems, for having gone to the trouble of looking up that information again and post the links. Google translation – cleaned up a bit:

From the Dutch embassy in Bangkok you should get the application form "Capacity to conduct marriage". In addition, you need a broad range of information so you can prove you're qualified to be able to marry a Thai national according to Thai law. The following information (preferably in English) should be provided to the Dutch embassy: Extract of birth certificate obtained from the municipality of birth. Excerpt of the basic municipal administration (GBA) not older than 6 months obtained from the municipality of residence, or last residence in the Netherlands. A statement of your marital status if you already have been married, and that the previous marriage is dissolved. An employer's certificate stating how much you earn and what position you hold, with a minimum income of 40,000 Tbh.

The talk about the need to be "qualified to be able to marry a Thai national according to Thai law" makes it look like the Dutch embassy believes that Thai law has a requirement of a monthly income of minimum 40,000 Baht for a foreigner to be allowed to marry, whereas this requirement is in fact one of two possibilities of satisfying immigration's requirement for a one-year extension of stay for the reason of living with the Thai wife in Thailand. Regardless, the fact is that the embassy has this requirement officially published on its website for the issuance of the essential document a Dutch national needs from the embassy for the marriage, the "Capacity to conduct marriage", in the UK called "Certificate of freedom to marry" and similar names in other countries. I have a feeling that this might be in violation article 9 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

[Mario2008]

The Thai regulations for registering a marriage require that a foreigner must state an income for some reason, but there is no minimum income requirement.

Requiring an income would be both against Thai and international law. Since the income information is required but serves no known purpose it imight also be against the Thai constitution as a violation of a persons privacy.

[kriswillems]

Please note that this information was not published on the website of the embassy (but on another website). But if you'll go to ask them they'll tell you what the minimum is. Maybe international law is the reason why they don't publish it.

You'll also need to do in interview when getting married. This is probably also against international law. In the end it's probably a good thing there are all kind of checks. A side effect is that a small group people with good intentions will fail some tests or requirements. For those people I am happy there's the student visa.

I think we should also not forget that most farang are rich, but there are also people for which 400K for the annual extension or travelling to the border or another country every 90 days is too much money. These people might also love a Thai man/woman. A student visa from the cheapest "institute" might be a fallback for them. I have seen prices as low as 12500B for 1 year. Who are we to judge others people that just love each other and want to stay together?

Edited April 16, 2012 by kriswillems

[Mario2008]

Never heard of an interview beore getting maried. I certainly wasn't required to do an interiew, nor was my wife.

Do not confuse immigration rules with rules to get married at the amphur.

[MJCM]

When we got married last year, they asked my wife a couple of questions at the Amphur.

The questions where something like, how long do you know him etc etc, but I wouldn't call it an interview more like a Chit Chat.

[kriswillems]

Sorry, I am not confusing the rules. Some countries require you to do an interview (at the embassy) before they will give the paper you'll need to take to the amphur to get married.

Normally you'll be interviewed separately and they'll check if your stories match. I don't know anyone that failed the interview, but I know someone that was refused because of his income.

For the visa application (for a visa for my partner for my European country) no interview was necessary.

I guess the rules are just different for different countries.