Retirement visa: how about financial obligations for my wife (<50)

[thuisinthailand]

Hello everyone,

I will reach the age of 50 shortly, so when that day will come I am going to convert my current visa for the initial 90 day Non-O, and then afterwards apply for the yearly extension (Long-Stay) at the Immigration office. No questions about that itinerary.

What I do like to know however, is the following. My wife (who has Dutch nationality, like myself) is not yet 50 (she is 46), and I know that I can get a Non-O for her, based on my retirement visa, as we are married. What I do not know, is if the 800K baht obligation is also mandatory for her. In other words: do we need a minimum of 800K baht on our Thai bank account, or is it 800K baht for me, and 800K baht for her (so 1,6 million baht in total)?

If this question has been posted already somewhere here, sorry for asking again, I couldn't find it.

Your answers are much appreciated.

Aldert

[briley]

If your wife gets her permission to stay as your dependent then she does not need any money.

If she gets her own permission to stay then yes she must have her own money.

I have never managed to get a clear answer as to whether you can use a joint bank account with a non-Thai wife to show 800,000 baht or if it has to be in just your name.

If you get an income certificate from your embassy it must be your income in your name.

As an extra you must have a marriage license - not just living together and it will have to be certified.

[Mario2008]

OP only needs to show 800,000 baht for himself, a dependent does not need to show any money in the bank or income. Just proof of the relationship, in essence marriage and that you are on an extension based on retirement.

Joint bank accounts are not allowed, although some immigration offices allow it in case the sum is 1,600,000 baht.

[thuisinthailand]

Many thanks!

[TerryLH]

"I have never managed to get a clear answer as to whether you can use a joint bank account with a non-Thai wife to show 800,000 baht or if it has to be in just your name."

When and where did you ask that question?

What answer(s) did you get?

Thanks

[thuisinthailand]

If your wife gets her permission to stay as your dependent then she does not need any money. If she gets her own permission to stay then yes she must have her own money. I have never managed to get a clear answer as to whether you can use a joint bank account with a non-Thai wife to show 800,000 baht or if it has to be in just your name. If you get an income certificate from your embassy it must be your income in your name. As an extra you must have a marriage license - not just living together and it will have to be certified.

One more question about the marriage license: we have a marriage certificate from the Mayor of Amsterdam in English. And it's a recent one too. Is that sufficient or do we need to have it certified somewhere?

[ubonjoe]

Some immigration offices have been reported as wanting the marriage certificate certified. A self certification by was way of a statement notarized by the embassy that it is factual document will accepted.

You wife will need a non-o visa from an embassy or consulate to get her extension of stay a conversion at immigration is not possible. She can get one a nearby embassy or consulate. It might be best for both of you to go out for non-o visas at the same time. The locations where you can do yours is now limited to 3 (possibly only 2 or 1) locations in the entire country.

[alantheembalmer]

If your wife gets her permission to stay as your dependent then she does not need any money. If she gets her own permission to stay then yes she must have her own money. I have never managed to get a clear answer as to whether you can use a joint bank account with a non-Thai wife to show 800,000 baht or if it has to be in just your name. If you get an income certificate from your embassy it must be your income in your name. As an extra you must have a marriage license - not just living together and it will have to be certified.

My wife and I are both English and we are both on retirement extensions. When we first moved here we were permitted to use a joint account at CW showing in excess of 1.6 million baht. However, we were told about 4 or 5 years ago that this was no longer acceptable, and that they would only accept sole accounts in the future.

[briley]

 

"I have never managed to get a clear answer as to whether you can use a joint bank account with a non-Thai wife to show 800,000 baht or if it has to be in just your name."

When and where did you ask that question?

What answer(s) did you get?

Thanks

 

Different places including Thai visa and the bank, but normally people miss the point my wife is not Thai.

I have used cash in a joint account with an income letter to make the 800K Baht and Chiang Mai accepted that but I now have an account in just my name for the full 800K Baht.

But Mario2008 has given an answer that I believe to be correct. Thanks.

[Dukgae]

so, just to be clear, both husband and wife should get a non-O outside the country, come back and husband applies for extension of stay based on retirement with a sole-name bank account showing 800K or more, then wife (under age 50) can apply for a dependent extension but doesn't need to have her own 800K - is that right? Does the husband have to leave it until he has 30 days left on the non-O to apply for his extension, and will that then leave enough time for the wife to apply before her non-O runs out? What documents does she need for the dependent application other than marriage certificate?

Thanks in advance - I'm asking for some friends who are in exactly this position. I and my husband have our own retirement extensions already as we're both over 50.

[aussieinphuket]

My wife and i have been living here now for about 7 years she was only 39 when we arrived and i was 50... she is a dependent on my retirement visa but they also issue her with a retirement visa..

need thb1.6 mill in the bank but think its now for only 2 months prior to your reapplying or rolling over your retirement visa each time.. to ensure no issues with amount we have a join bank account

so when letter from bank issued it has both names appearing.....

we had no issues each time we visa phuket immigration to roll over the visas each year as long as you have all the correct paper work. i.e. copy of your marriage certificate also, bank statements and

whatever else they may now require...

good luck..

[ubonjoe]

so, just to be clear, both husband and wife should get a non-O outside the country, come back and husband applies for extension of stay based on retirement with a sole-name bank account showing 800K or more, then wife (under age 50) can apply for a dependent extension but doesn't need to have her own 800K - is that right? Does the husband have to leave it until he has 30 days left on the non-O to apply for his extension, and will that then leave enough time for the wife to apply before her non-O runs out? What documents does she need for the dependent application other than marriage certificate?

Thanks in advance - I'm asking for some friends who are in exactly this position. I and my husband have our own retirement extensions already as we're both over 50.

The husband can apply for the extension based upon retirement during the 30 days (45 at some offices) of the 90 day entry from the visa or when the 800k baht has been in the bank for 60 days.

His wife can apply for her extension on the same day he does his. She would need copies of his passport photo page, extension of stay stamp and marriage certificate.

[Dukgae]

Many thanks!

[Nuddy]

Its interesting that not all Immigration offices in Thailand will except a joint account to qualify for the 800,000 even though the account has a balance twice that being 1,600,000 baht.

I am trying to muster my dosh into accounts that are joint with my Thai wife in case of death so that she can withdraw the dosh without the government trying to keep it.

Yeah sure its a risk...but isn't everything.

[Mario2008]

Its interesting that not all Immigration offices in Thailand will except a joint account to qualify for the 800,000 even though the account has a balance twice that being 1,600,000 baht.

I am trying to muster my dosh into accounts that are joint with my Thai wife in case of death so that she can withdraw the dosh without the government trying to keep it.

Yeah sure its a risk...but isn't everything.

I am not sure what is risky about that.

There can be a difference bewteen a joint account (money belongs to both) and an account to which two persons have access. The money belongs to the account owner, with the other person(s) having access to it.

Not sure they have these kind of account in Thailand.

[Big Daddy]

My wife and I are coming over in about 10-11 months time, so thank you all for the infomation. I just hope Thai immigration doesn't change the rules AGAIN before we get our visas.

[thuisinthailand]

Thanks again for the additional comments. But now I am a bit confused. You are all saying that we have to go outside of Thailand in order to obtain a 90-days Non-O visa first. But I was under the impression that it is also possible to convert a Tourist visa into Non-O at Immigration. This discussion is implying so: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/721618-required-documents-for-to-convert-a-tourist-visa-to-non-o-and-then-retirement-extension/

At least it seems that some Immigration offices do such a conversion (such as Bangkok and Chiang Mai).

So, can we (both!) convert a Tourist visa into 90 days Non-O at Immigration (and then afterwards the extension process) or is it really mandatory to get a Non-O first outside Thailand? Or is the conversion from Tourist to Non-O only possible for the retiree (so me, being 50+) and not for my wife (<50) for the dependent Non-O?

Further comments on this much appreciated.

Edited January 1, 2015 by thuisinthailand

[ubonjoe]

Immigration will not do a conversion to a non immigrant visa based upon qualifying for a dependent extension (see my post at #7).

They will do them based upon qualifying an extension based upon retirement.

I suggested both of you going out for the non-o visa so that your wife can get hers sooner rather than waiting until you have your extension.

[thuisinthailand]

All clear now, thank you. Best to both get Non-O outside Thailand first.