Marriage Visa : Same Questions Year After Year Or A Bit Of Common Sense?

[KhunLing]

I'm in my mid 30's and I've been married now for just over seven years. My wife has both Thai and Australian citizenship. She speaks fairly fluent english etc. We've spent most of our married life living in Australia.

My wifes got a very good career here, which is one of the reasons we've returned.

Anyway, we've got every imaginable piece of paperwork (we had to do all this in Australia also...i.e. prove we are for 'real'. Thankfully in Aus, that was once and once only).

All the proof of our time together...joint bank accounts...phones...hey, EVERYTHING because we actually have lived together for all that time / actually do love each other / actually are a normal married couple (been great mates for well over a decade)

So...my question is this:

We need to do all the paperwork for my marriage visa. I have no problem with doing all that...

However, are we going to have to do this EVERY year?

I mean, when we've been married 20 years are we still going to have to march off down there annually and 'prove' we are legitimate?

Or does common sense apply at some stage? i.e "hey, they're a normal married couple...we don't need this guy to sign statements about how much time they spend together every year."

I have to say that we've never had ANY trouble with Immigration and they've been pretty cool. The Mrs having a good career + owning her own house etc seems to help.

I actually don't even mind going to see them. I'm just wondering if we'll have to do this even when we are grey and old...?

It just seems a bit silly. I can understand they need to check if couples are 'legit' and a couple married 2 months etc may raise alarm bells...

But once you've been married a decade etc...surely 10 years together etc is kind of all the proof anyone would need?

[BARRYT]

I'm in my mid 30's and I've been married now for just over seven years. My wife has both Thai and Australian citizenship. She speaks fairly fluent english etc. We've spent most of our married life living in Australia.

My wifes got a very good career here, which is one of the reasons we've returned.

Anyway, we've got every imaginable piece of paperwork (we had to do all this in Australia also...i.e. prove we are for 'real'. Thankfully in Aus, that was once and once only).

All the proof of our time together...joint bank accounts...phones...hey, EVERYTHING because we actually have lived together for all that time / actually do love each other / actually are a normal married couple (been great mates for well over a decade)

So...my question is this:

We need to do all the paperwork for my marriage visa. I have no problem with doing all that...

However, are we going to have to do this EVERY year?

Hi

How are you doing we also have been married 8 years we have not as yet applied for a marriage visa as we have a small 5 yr old child and we are limited to how long we can stay at any one time, the plan was to move to thailand in the next 5 years when our daughter was at the secondary stage in school as in Phimai where we have land and plan to build there is a international school we were planning to send her. and i was then going into semi retirement of 6m in Phimai and 6m in Englang in partime employment. i have read so much and nothing seems to make any sence. i cannot even gat a desision from the Thai Embassy in London do you know any thing?.

Barryt

I mean, when we've been married 20 years are we still going to have to march off down there annually and 'prove' we are legitimate?

Or does common sense apply at some stage? i.e "hey, they're a normal married couple...we don't need this guy to sign statements about how much time they spend together every year."

I have to say that we've never had ANY trouble with Immigration and they've been pretty cool. The Mrs having a good career + owning her own house etc seems to help.

I actually don't even mind going to see them. I'm just wondering if we'll have to do this even when we are grey and old...?

It just seems a bit silly. I can understand they need to check if couples are 'legit' and a couple married 2 months etc may raise alarm bells...

But once you've been married a decade etc...surely 10 years together etc is kind of all the proof anyone would need?

[Nikkijah]

You could apply for permanent residency, that might be the 'end of it'

Other than that I'm afraid I'm totaly useless

[bkk_mike]

So...my question is this:

We need to do all the paperwork for my marriage visa. I have no problem with doing all that...

However, are we going to have to do this EVERY year?

Yes - as long as you live here, you'll have the yearly reporting thing to do, until they decide to change the rules to take into account the waste of immigration's time in dealing with long-term residents. (i.e. Probably 20 years - when civil service pay levels should have risen quite a lot, and some bean-counter works out exactly how many immigration officers they could get rid of if they made the checking less onerous for people who'd been here 5 years already...)

Personally, from what I've heard about the runaround involved in getting PR/Nationality, it's only worth it if you're American, and earn a LOT of money, and are trying to get out of paying US taxes. (America's an odd country, in that it taxes citizens that don't live there...) (A certain Pizza chain owner springs to mind...)

I will admit - getting a visa for Thailand is a lot easier than getting a visa for a country in the west. Staying in Thailand definitely seems a lot more involved especially after the first year or two, where, in the west, they basically ignore you from then on...

Edited September 14, 2006 by bkk_mike

[lopburi3]

As long as you use the "support Thai wife" option you both will have to make visits under current policy. That is another reason to consider using "retirement" when you are age 50 or over.

[vinny]

See also Required documents, Visa Extension.

[KhunLing]

As long as you use the "support Thai wife" option you both will have to make visits under current policy. That is another reason to consider using "retirement" when you are age 50 or over.

Thanks all for the replies. I've got 15 years until I hit 50, so i can't take that option etc.

The whole 'supporting a Thai wife", having to show 400 000 a year doesn't seem logical. I mean, she's got a degree + PG studies + her own house + a good job.

Oh well, them's the rules...