I am over 50 yo and married to a Thai. We are having a house built currently. We plan to spend 3-8 months a year in Thailand. My question is : Is there any advantage in getting one type of visa over the other ?

Retirement is easier. Should you have a divorce you don't lose the permission to stay. I know it is not the first thing to think of, but these things do happen.

No hassle with home visits from immigration or having to proof that you are really married, no waiting period for the approval of an extension of stay based on marriage.

Disadvantage is that for retirement you will need to show B 800.000 in the bank, or an affidavit of a higher income/month B 65.000.

For an extension based upon marriage that is B 400.000 or an income of B 40.000 (if my memory serves me well)

Overall an extension of stay based on retirement is much easier, not just for you but for immigration too, they prefer it actually.

So if you can meet the financial requirements for an extension based upon retirement, go for that one.

Edited July 22, 201411 yr by Carib

Retirement is easier. Should you have a divorce you don't lose the permission to stay. I know it is not the first thing to think of, but these things do happen.

No hassle with home visits from immigration or having to proof that you are really married, no waiting period for the approval of an extension of stay based on marriage.

Disadvantage is that for retirement you will need to show B 800.000 in the bank, or an affidavit of a higher income/month B 65.000.

For an extension based upon marriage that is B 400.000 or an income of B 40.000 (if my memory serves me well)

Overall an extension of stay based on retirement is much easier, not just for you but for immigration too, they prefer it actually.

So if you can meet the financial requirements for an extension based upon retirement, go for that one.

"affidavit of a higher income/month B 65.000." Is a US IRS tax return sufficient?

If you are in the States applying at the one of the Thai Embassy's, the tax return may work. Just follow the directions found on their website and it will explain what you need but forget the "notary part". Some forms of proving income can not be notarized and they know that, example Soc Sec statement downloaded from the web. If you are in country then you'll need to get a US Embassy Income statement.

There are several experts here that will chime in. They will give you the scoop.

For extensions, as mentioned, you get an income letter from your embassy. You need a new letter each year.

Right now, for the US, you fill out a form and the embassy officer has you swear the info is true. They currently don't ask for documented proof, but you should have that information available in case it is asked for.

If you decide you want to work here, you won't be able to get a work permit on a visa or extension for retirement, but the Labor Office will issue them for extensions for marriage.

Are asking about getting a visa from an embassy or consulate or an extension of stay at immigration.

If you only plan on short stays you could get a multiple entry non-o visa based upon on marriage that would give you 90 entries for a year.

If prefer the extension of stay (it is not a visa) based upon retirement you would do a income affidavit at the embassy showing an amount in dollars equal to 65k bath or more.

Before traveling you should get a single entry non-o visa based upon marriage. You can get this at the embassy or any of the 3 official consulates. You would only be able to get one for being 50 or over at one of the honorary consulates.

How difficult is it to change an extension based on retirement to an extension based on marriage?

I use income for the financial requirement and, for a small part of the 65k baht, I use rental income from a house in the UK.

Due to a change of tenants the house was empty for two months and that got me thinking. If the house wasn't rented out during the three months prior to my next extension my remaining income would be around 8-10k baht short. The simplest solution would be to change to an extension based on marriage but would Immigration make that difficult for me to do?

How difficult is it to change an extension based on retirement to an extension based on marriage?

I use income for the financial requirement and, for a small part of the 65k baht, I use rental income from a house in the UK.

Due to a change of tenants the house was empty for two months and that got me thinking. If the house wasn't rented out during the three months prior to my next extension my remaining income would be around 8-10k baht short. The simplest solution would be to change to an extension based on marriage but would Immigration make that difficult for me to do?

They would.allow it.

But don't forget that based on retirement you cna also use a combinaiton of yearly income plus money in the bank in Thailand. If they together total 800,000 you cna get your extension.

So if you come 10,000 a month short but have 120,000 in a bank in Thailand you cna still get the extension based on retirement. You would need a letter from the bank and an updated bank book to rpoof the money in the bank.

How difficult is it to change an extension based on retirement to an extension based on marriage?

I use income for the financial requirement and, for a small part of the 65k baht, I use rental income from a house in the UK.

Due to a change of tenants the house was empty for two months and that got me thinking. If the house wasn't rented out during the three months prior to my next extension my remaining income would be around 8-10k baht short. The simplest solution would be to change to an extension based on marriage but would Immigration make that difficult for me to do?

If you don't show enough income to do the extension based upon retirement they could not do anything other than to allow you to do it based upon marriage..