Marriage Extension (Revisited)

[bunnydrops]

I may have blown it. I went to find out if I could get the letter from the local bank manager about the funds I have in Bangkok bank. He said he could not but I could transfer the funds to his bank. So I did that I thought, but as it turns out I had to transfer by ATM at 50,000 a day. They can not get the money from the other bank. Anyway without thinking I started doing the transfers-- and then looked at the calendar-- you guessed it I an 3 days shy of the 2 months I need the funds to be in the new account. So I was wondering, I am on the last 90 days of my one year mult non-O. Can I get 90 day extension and then go for a marriage extension during that, or will I have to leave the country and reenter with a new 90 day non-O.

[Maestro]

Instead of withdrawing from the ATM, withdraw cash at the bank counter, where the 50k limit does not apply, then deposit cash in the new account. I think this should work.

[TerryLH]

If your multi entry O is still valid, yes you can exit and enter again for another 90 days.

Apply for the extension during the last 30 days of that extension.

Don't get the letter from the bank until you are ready to extend.

Terry

[Mario2008]

if your visa itself is not expired you can get a new 90 days by simply leaving and re-entering. If the visa itself has already expired you can get a 60 day extension by showing up with your wife, marriage certificate, household registration book and your passport.

[Pib]

You still may be OK. Keep in mind the bank letter does not state how long you had the money in the account...does not state it was in the account X-months to meet visa/extension XYZ requirement. The bank letter really just adds confirmation that you do indeed have a bank account(s) with X-amount of money in the account on day X. I guess the bank letter helps to prevent fraud by an individual from using a fake passbook or just doctoring the passbook when not really having X-funds in the bank...you have to admit entries in a passbook could easily be modified with a dot matrix printer and a computer....and lord knows we hear about fake IDs, passports, etc., all the time. The letter just adds confirmation. It's the entries in the passbook(s) that really prove you did have the minimum amount of money required for the minimum amount of time...and those passbook entries is what the immigration officer really reviews to determine if the money and time requirements have been met.

Heck, late last year I did not have the minimum 800K in a bank account for the required 3 months to get my annual retirement extension of stay because I rolled over the money I had in a Bangkok Bank fixed savings account. The 11 month fixed savings account/promotion I was in had matured and reverted back to earning the lower 3 month fixed acct interest. So, I went into bank to rollover/transfer the money to a new fixed savings account promotion...to whatever the best promotion of the time was. OK, I picked the promotion and thought my passbook account number would stay the same, but no, with a fixed savings account when you transfer all the funds to another fixed savings promotion they close the current fixed acct number/passbook and give you a new acct number and passbook. I didn't realize this would occur until the old acct was closed and I had the new acct/passbook in hand...I thought I was just getting a new passbook issued with the same acct number. So, here I'm left with a new account number with the 800K baht but since its a new acct I won't meet the 3 month time requirement when it comes time for me to apply for my annual extension. The bank rep said I should be able to just show immigration both passbooks (the old and new one) to show that I never dropped below 800K for the preceding 3 months before extension application.

OK, it's time to apply for the extension at Bangkok/Chaeng Wattana Immigration. I go to the bank the day of extension applicaiton and get my bank letter which basically just says I have XXX baht in active account number XYZ on the date of the letter....it does not say anything about a certain minimum amount to meet some visa/extension minimum time requirement....and the letter only addresses my current active account...it does not address the old/closed acct also....why should it because that acct is history. Once again, it's the passbook(s) review by the immigration officer that proves the minimum time and amount requirements. OK, this new account had only been opened for approx 30 days on the day I applied, I handed the immigration officer the bank letter with passbook copy, and the actual active passbook paperwork. She glanced at the bank letter for about one second and then began review of the passbook and spotted I didn't meet the 800K requirement for 90 days before application since the acct was so new.

I then said whoops, I forgot to attached a copy of the old/closed passbook showing the money had been in it for well over 90 days and the money had been transferred same day to the new account number. I explained how I had closed and open another acct and transferred all the money to the new acct same day. That made the immigration officer happy because between the two passbooks it showed the additive amounts exceeded the 800K baht requirement for the 90 days before application date. 15 minutes later I'm walking out the door with my 12 month retirement extension of stay.

So, if between your old acct/passbook and your new acct/passbook you can show through entries in both passbooks you never dropped below the minimum requirement during the 90 days preceding your extension application you should be OK. But I know some immigration offices seem to interpret rules differently because it is Thailand. Good luck.

.then, it's the entries in the passbook(s) that prove to the immigraiton

[fvw53]

Is there any flexibility in the date one has to re-apply for an extension (Non Imm O visa)?

Before I thought I had to make the application one month (30 days) before the expiry date of the ongoing extension, but last year I was told to come back a few days later so that I made my application about 3 weeks before the expiry of the ongoing extension.

Suppose my extension expires on 28 June and I apply for a new extension on 3 June : does the money have to be in the bank two beforehand i.e. on 3 April?

[lopburi3]

Up to 30 days before is the normal requirement so you can do as late as the last day but always best to allow extra time in case a document needs to be obtained. The money seasoning is on the date of application.

[ubonjoe]

Is there any flexibility in the date one has to re-apply for an extension (Non Imm O visa)?

Before I thought I had to make the application one month (30 days) before the expiry date of the ongoing extension, but last year I was told to come back a few days later so that I made my application about 3 weeks before the expiry of the ongoing extension.

Suppose my extension expires on 28 June and I apply for a new extension on 3 June : does the money have to be in the bank two beforehand i.e. on 3 April?

Money has to be in bank for 60 days prior to date you apply for the extension.

Two weeks early is a good enough in advance to do the extension.