I just found out a friend of mine from the UK who was staying on a 1 year marriage visa does not have the 400k needed to renew. His visa expires on the 31st of March and he is not sure what his options are, so I told him I would help him find out.

Has anyone else had this problem or know what his best recourse is? Based on his circumstances, he expects his financial situation to change in about 6 months whereby he should then be able to meet the 400k requirements on a yearly basis.

thanks

I would go to immigration with the normal paperwork several weeks prior to the end of his current extension and explain the situation and offer and proof that he may have. It may not be possible to extend but it is worth the try and he will have plenty of time to take option II.

He can travel to Penang and obtain a multi entry O visa based on his marriage certificate and perhaps a copy of wife ID card that will allow him to remain in Thailand 90 days at a time. When he gets his finances in order again he can apply for a new extension of stay during the last 30 days of any entry.

They are very strict with the 400,000 requirement. I don't think there will be any exception. If you are planning to get your PR, you need to have the extension for 3 years consecutively and this cannot be "broken", otherwise you need to start all over again.