Changed My Retirement Extension To Extension Based On Marriage.

[Artisi]

Yesterday at Phitsanulok Immigration office I applied for a visa extension based on marriage to a Thai national - previously I was using retirement extension and prior to that employment.

We, (wife and I) visited the office about 1 week back to ask what was required - we came away with what I thought was a short list.

For me

2 x copies of

passport detail

usual info. for extension

bank book detail

bank letter

For wife

2 x copies of

Id card

Govt. employee card

address book

marriage detail (includes 1 special form from city hall)

4 photos of house (1 showing house number - 1 with us in front - the other we took inside weren't used)

Map showing house ( I used a Google map and marked on ther location)

for son

2 x copies

birth certificate

address book

All up it took about 45 minutes including interview of myslf and wife.

No problems encounterd - very polite immigration officer - his only complaint was writers cramp from all the paper he had to fill out. There was some extra photo copying required that he did on our behalf - we re-imbursed the costs of this service to everyones satisfaction .

Return in 1 month for result.

[petewan]

You were very lucky as this was not my experiance at pattaya. The female imigration officer was not at all polite in fact she said and i quote, why you not let wife fill in (you stupid ). may have got her on a bad day

but i had to return three times to get my passport back .I was told its not back from Bangkok each time.

so i have gone back to retire visa . Quick and easy and pleasant officer each time.

[Nomad97]

You were lucky. While visiting Kap Cheown a month or so ago the guy next to me was trying to get the same extension to his visa based on marriage. He said to me that this was his 5th visit and things were not looking too good on that day either. And he had presented a folder of information that was nearly 2 inches thick. Some you win, some you lose.

[simple1]

You were very lucky as this was not my experiance at pattaya. The female imigration officer was not at all polite in fact she said and i quote, why you not let wife fill in (you stupid ). may have got her on a bad day

but i had to return three times to get my passport back .I was told its not back from Bangkok each time.

so i have gone back to retire visa . Quick and easy and pleasant officer each time.

With immigration at Jomtien I wanted to apply for visa extension based upon marriage (married 17 years) & I was actively discouraged by the female officer at the back of the room. She said don't you have 800k baht for retirement visa and showed me a pile of marriage extension requests with all the paperwork attached. Not so subtle hint that she considered it a major pain in the neck to process. Got the retirement visa within 15/30 minutes.

[keeniau96]

Here in Phuket the immigration officers are usually very decent and minimum hassles, even as the chief is a cast-iron biddy who is a real bottleneck in taking breaks with a huge stack of applications to examine and approve still in front of her. I have been getting retirement extensions for ten years now, and two years ago came in with the stack of info (copies, photos, etc) for marriage extension (married now for 8 years). The officer looked at the stack, looked at my embassy letter and bankbook and almost ordered me to drop the marriage option and just go for the usual retirement version. "Much work, you wait, better not do". So did just that, just regular extension which he zipped through in a few minutes (then had to wait for her majesty to check and chop, almost an hour).

[thaigold]

Keenlau96 is correct. To do the husband / wife visa creates a mountain of work for both Thai immigration and the applicants. Just do a regular retirement visa and be done with it.

The only reason I can see for seeking the marriage visa is if the spouse cannot reach the 65,000 baht income level. Then the marriage visa is the proper avenue to a yearly visa.

[asiaexpat]

Some of us desire to keep the option to work(volunteer) open, so an extention of stay based on Thai wife works best.

[JohnC]

And if your wife pre deceases you then you have Seven days to get a new visa!

[Mario2008]

And if your wife pre deceases you then you have Seven days to get a new visa!

Immigration will be lenient and in the case of your Thai wife dying doesn't expect you to immediatly leave the country. There are no rules regarding this, but in practise you can stay a lot longer then 7 days without being on overstay etc.

[Artisi]

Just to finalise this story from my side, yesterday went to Immigration with passport (1 month after applying), together with 90 day paperwork (due) and re-entry application.

Arrived 8.20am and was asked to sit at the desk at 8.25 - all completed in a very pleasant manner including a bit of a chat about life in general and travel plans back home to see family over xmas / new year -- walked out the door just before at 8.45, now that's what I call good service.

[TommoPhysicist]

Don't let a lazy immigration officer force you to apply for a extension of stay you don't want.

If you ever want a chance at citizenship (when/if they relax the rules) or a work permit, then you need a marriage extension. They paperwork THEY have to do is really not YOUR problem.

[gmac]

Don't let a lazy immigration officer force you to apply for a extension of stay you don't want.

If you ever want a chance at citizenship (when/if they relax the rules) or a work permit, then you need a marriage extension. They paperwork THEY have to do is really not YOUR problem.

I don't think it is so much laziness on their part more the fact that unless you are applying in Bangkok the local officer has no discretion regarding the paperwork you submit. It's very much like the situation faced by the foreigner applying for the extension, they have to jump through the hoops set by Bangkok and accordingly pass those hoops on to the applicant. I'm sure they don't like having applications turned down for lack of paperwork which they then need to resubmit anymore than the foreigner likes being asked for an extra piece of evidence each time he applies. Hence the push to get retirees to go the retirement route which is within their power to grant, rather than the marriage visa which is not.

[TommoPhysicist]

Don't let a lazy immigration officer force you to apply for a extension of stay you don't want.

If you ever want a chance at citizenship (when/if they relax the rules) or a work permit, then you need a marriage extension. They paperwork THEY have to do is really not YOUR problem.

I don't think it is so much laziness on their part more the fact that unless you are applying in Bangkok the local officer has no discretion regarding the paperwork you submit. It's very much like the situation faced by the foreigner applying for the extension, they have to jump through the hoops set by Bangkok and accordingly pass those hoops on to the applicant. I'm sure they don't like having applications turned down for lack of paperwork which they then need to resubmit anymore than the foreigner likes being asked for an extra piece of evidence each time he applies. Hence the push to get retirees to go the retirement route which is within their power to grant, rather than the marriage visa which is not.

Marriage extension is there for a reason .... you are married to a Thai national.

It really isn't any business of the local immigration officer, it you are married, you get it.

(It also removes the opportunity for the local immigration officer to be bribed)

[mancub]

I'd imagine that a " renewal " based on marriage would not incur as paperwork on behalf of Immigration , as I'd hope they'd have all relevant details on record , so they should't be so reluctant to help ?

Can anyone confirm this ? I know ,of course, that I will still have to submit all the completed forms .

[lopburi3]

All extensions of stay will require full paperwork and if Thai Wife the wife will also have to appear with ID card/home register every time. It will still require an approval at higher level and a second visit to obtain the actual extension of stay.