Info needed re Non Imm O Issued in the UK

[mallmagician]

Hi Everyone, I am a UK male, married to a Thai for 5 years.

I have done 2 extensions based on marriage here in Chiang Mai. Last year, my father was diagnosed with Terminal Pancreatic Cancer, so last year, to avoid having to worry about re-entry permits each time I needed to visit my father, I went to KL and got a Multi Entry Non O. My Visa runs out May 1st, and ordinarily, I would have left the kingdom and re-entered before that date, and then applied for an extension here in Chiang Mai in the final month of that 90 day entry, for a further year.

HOWEVER - Yesterday I received a call from my mother saying I should come home, as my father is now in decline. I intend to leave Thailand on Wednesday, back to the UK. My concern regarding visas is this:- I dont know how long I will be back in the UK for. I intend to stay in the UK until after my father has passed away, and for a short time to ensure my mother is coping. Therefore, I will almost certainly miss getting back into Thailand before May 1st, in order to take advantage of my Visa.

I have a marriage certicate, copy of wifes ID. Financially, I have 400,000 in Fixed Deposit, and last month, due to me getting thoroughly confused about UK consulates rule changes, I put a futher 400,000 in a seperate fixed deposit. Therefore I have 800,000 total in Bangkok Bank Fixed Deposit accounts.

What are my options at the point I am ready to fly back to Thailand?

Can I get a Multi Non Imm O anywhere in the UK? If so, do I need to prove the 800,000? And if I do need to prove that, will the fact that my fixed deposit books were updated just before I left Thailand be ok? Or would they need to be updated somehow? I do not have my fixed deposits linked to my online banking with Bangkok Bank.

If I can't get a Multi - How quick and easy is it to obtain a single entry Non Imm O based on marriage? What documents are required? I do NOT have an English translation of the Thai Marriage Certificate at present, and obviously do not have much time before I fly to the UK. If I can get a single entry, I can extend that in Chiang Mai upon my return.

Failing the above 2, what are my options? Incidentally, today and tomorrow I have my wifes family staying over, as we have a monk blessing at our house tomorrow, so I am very pushed for available time to sort things. My wife is staying in Thialand whilst I go back to the UK, so she could obtain translations etc if neccesary.

Very Stressed, and confused due to weird disparity in every consul/embassy in the UK stating different things on their website.

PS - As an aside, do people think the requirement for extension based on marriage within the kingdom will be upped to 800,000 rather than 400,000 at some point? This is the primary reason I put that extra money in fixed deposit. But I wont lie, that 400,000 would be very useful if I didn't have to sit on it. Thanks

Edited March 10, 2014 by mallmagician

[mallmagician]

I should add, I am buying a one way ticket to the UK. So when I fly back to Thailand I will be doing so on a one way. Would I have trouble boarding if I dont have certain visa?

[ubonjoe]

You can get a single entry non-o based upon marriage to a Thai at the embassy now with no financial proof. You would not need a translation of the marriage certificate, you would also need a copy of your wife's house book and ID card and/or a copy of her passport photo page.

Only the embassy accepts mail in applications now. You have to go in person to the consulaes.

[ubonjoe]

If you don't have a visa of any kind you can be denied boarding unless you have a ticket out of the country within 30 days.

[mallmagician]

You can get a single entry non-o based upon marriage to a Thai at the embassy now with no financial proof. You would not need a translation of the marriage certificate, you would also need a copy of your wife's house book and ID card and/or a copy of her passport photo page.

Only the embassy accepts mail in applications now. You have to go in person to the consulaes.

Thanks for that, Can I get the Single Entry in person at Liverpool Consulate for example?

That would perhaps be the most convenient to visit at that time.

[Mario2008]

Yes, if in person.

[Upnotover]

The consulates all seem to have different requirements these days. I will myself get (try to) a Non-O multiple in the coming 2 weeks. I have an appointment at the Cardiff consulate. They had earlier emailed me the following;

"To obtain a one year Multiple Non-Immigrant 'O' Visa on the basis of marriage you will be required to submit a copy of your marriage certificate and copy of your partners Thai I.D or passport."

They confirmed the above when I called to make the appointment, and also confirmed no financial information was required, and that they would issue the visa on the spot without having to get authorisation from the Embassy.

Fingers crossed.

[mallmagician]

The consulates all seem to have different requirements these days. I will myself get (try to) a Non-O multiple in the coming 2 weeks. I have an appointment at the Cardiff consulate. They had earlier emailed me the following;

"To obtain a one year Multiple Non-Immigrant 'O' Visa on the basis of marriage you will be required to submit a copy of your marriage certificate and copy of your partners Thai I.D or passport."

They confirmed the above when I called to make the appointment, and also confirmed no financial information was required, and that they would issue the visa on the spot without having to get authorisation from the Embassy.

Fingers crossed.

THanks for this. If you could confirm back on this thread if you are successful, that would be a big help. Im in 2 minds really about Multi or Single Non Imm O, but I would be interested to know if thats an option all the same. I would like to build a history of showing the 400k required for annual extensions at my local office in Chiang Mai, in the hope that that right may be grandfathered if they change the rules within the kingdom. But Im not sure if that is me with wishful thinking.

[ubonjoe]

I don't foresee them changing the financial requirements any time soon. It has been over ten years since the last one and that was mostly an adjustment for the devaluation of the baht and the baht now has greater value now than then (40 vs 32 to the USD).

[mallmagician]

Liverpool Consulate shows this:-

Non-Immigrant Visa category ‘O’ (£50 single entry / £125 multiple entry)
This type of visa is for:-

• People visiting family – i.e. men who are married to a Thai National, along with your visa application you must produce your marriage certificate and a translation of the certificate is required as evidence. A single entry visa is valid for 90 days and can be extended for a further 30 days. A multiple entry visa is valid for 12 months conditional on leaving Thailand for 48 hours every 90 days.
  

(They are saying translation is required)

Can someone confirm it is NOT required?

[Lite Beer]

A lot of the other information is wrong so who knows?

[ubonjoe]

That is probably a Liverpool only measurement. It is not the same as the embassy because they don't have any Thai staff.

Perhaps your wife could get a translation done here and send it to you by email. They are not asking for a certified translation.

[mallmagician]

Thanks everyone. I will bring what I have then call the consuls when in the UK to sort out final requirements. As you say, I could get my wife to get a translation and send it on if required.

Thanks again.

[Upnotover]

As promised, update on my application;

Non-O, 1 year multiple, based on marriage.

Appointment at Cardiff consulate this morning. Took passport, 1 x photo, copy wife's ID (signed) and copy marriage cert and translation. Visa issued within 10 minutes. £125.00. Excellent service Cardiff, thanks!

[enflips]

Renewed my non O in Ranong yesterday had to show 400 000 and certified (duplicate) copies of all documentation.

Looking at the info provided on the thai immigration website, I was led to believe that after having been here on the same non 0 for three connsectutive years, an 'alien' was entitled to apply for a residential permit and associated 5 year multiple entry visa.

The official I spoke to yesterday informed me that "we don't do that anymore .......... too many Russian mafia"

Can anyone provide any further insight into this ? Or am I just a fool for believing a Thai govt. website ?

[ubonjoe]

Renewed my non O in Ranong yesterday had to show 400 000 and certified (duplicate) copies of all documentation.

Looking at the info provided on the thai immigration website, I was led to believe that after having been here on the same non 0 for three connsectutive years, an 'alien' was entitled to apply for a residential permit and associated 5 year multiple entry visa.

The official I spoke to yesterday informed me that "we don't do that anymore .......... too many Russian mafia"

Can anyone provide any further insight into this ? Or am I just a fool for believing a Thai govt. website ?

I don't know which immigration website you got the info from but it was incorrect. Also there is no 5 year visa and has never been.

You have to be on extensions of stay (not visas) for three consecutive years working with a work permit and paying taxes.

See this on immigration website: Criteria and conditions for foreign national residential permit consideration