Confused-marriage Visa Rules!

[comproez]

Thanks Lopburi..

[Artisi]

I definitely think it's time that Thai wives with foreign husbands started demanding equal treatment from the Thai authorities.

Does anyone know of another developed or transitional country where a national of that country is denied the right to have their foreign husband join them permanently (e.g. take up residency)? Of course, many countries DO check that the marriages aren't 'convenience' marriages - and fair enough. So what - have interviews, etc, and as long as the guy isn't a criminal or child molester, grant him Permanent Residence - tie it to the marriage licence - whatever. I seriously can't think of any other country where a man is denied to move to and live permanently in the country of his spouse.

It gets really, really ridiculous when you're the father of a couple of kids born in Thailand - but you only have the right to 'apply' to 'visit' your wife and kids - denied from working in all but a select few fields - and then whacked with big annual visa fees.

Thailand needs to get beyond this 'visa' stuff and start treating Thai women who've married foreigners with a bit more dignity - or watch them move away to Western countries (and Sing, HK, Japan, Taiwan) with the sami-farangs. If the Hi-So Thais were afraid of the 'farang competition' for local business before - watch what happens when the Thai-Farang kids come back from the USA, Canada, Aus, etc. with their perfect English and good education. It is in the Hi-So Thai community's best interest to let the thai-farang couples settle here - and struggle along with everyone else.

Here is a good example - of the inequality of the rules as they now stand.

An aquaintance of mine has been in Thailand for 15 years, married to a Thai lady all this time with a 13 year old son from this marriage. He has always held good teaching positions with appropriate visa's and w/permits but has never been able to come up with the Bht 400 000 needed under the old system or the 40,0000 / month under the new rules - what other teacher being paid by the Thai government can / could ever get to these levels on saving or income - and with him being away from his own country his pension doesn't reach this level either - so what is the outcome if he now wants to apply for a marriage visa and not be tied to employment contracts and to step back a bit and semi-retire -- seems like he can not, so he will have to pack his bag and leave his wife and child behind to fend for themselves.

All I can say is well done Thailand - the new hub of broken marriages.

[Maestro]

...so he will have to pack his bag and leave his wife and child behind to fend for themselves.

Who says he has to leave his wife and child behind?

---------------

Maestro

[Artisi]

...so he will have to pack his bag and leave his wife and child behind to fend for themselves.

Who says he has to leave his wife and child behind?

---------------

Maestro

so how does he qualify for a visa to stay ?

[yaimar]

Tax etc, please forgive yaimar again . I go this week to imm: for my one month check /1st . for a renewal of spouse visa. I dont see any problems , But advise please . In the past I have shown 400,000, In the bank/letter plus 40,000 per in the bank book,plus the wife and proof we live together, etc, I am ok with this , BUT I have never paid tax ??[here] other than on the interest . its shown in the book, Should I be paying tax on the 40,000 also. pensions. ? plus I am thinking /would like, to change to retirement . say from next month , if the 3 months check in applies,[ during that period.] I would ask the imm:officer if I could do that. so the APPLICATION would be new /OCT/NOV COULD I USE THE 400,000. PLUS INCOME 40,000 TO QUALIFY . 800,000.

yes for the retirement

pLUS I have never had a letter from my embassy, re pensions , I was just asked 9 years ago, proof for proof of retirement pension. card/ and pages printed out from my home/bank account ,showing state and private pensions, were accepted as proof of income. over the years the letter from the bank and photocopies of bankbook,were the only need for the money, I submitted this in september ,. Should I seek to change ,

Letter from the Embassy is what they like to see along with the proof.

www.sunbeltasiagroup.com

*235 Thank you Sunbelt. walked in to Imm:yesterday and was stamped for 1 year there and then,[haviing waited one month] was much pleased at not having to go twice more. But I am known there, Tried to ask the Officer.about change but he was ??. worried ??/ about my friendly approach. in front of many. I think, [He once Made a donation to our kids charity ] so have just looked it up from your selves, will do asap. plus see the consul for a chit thanks again Yaimar

[Maestro]

...so he will have to pack his bag and leave his wife and child behind to fend for themselves.

Who says he has to leave his wife and child behind?

so how does he qualify for a visa to stay ?

Let me rephrase the question. Who says he cannot take his wife and child with him when he packs his bags and leaves Thailand?

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Maestro

[mekongmarcus]

My wife is self employed,running a small salon.Does she have to file a PND#1 each month for us to get the visa extention or is it different for the self employed?

Edited October 31, 2006 by mekongmarcus

[Casanundra]

...so he will have to pack his bag and leave his wife and child behind to fend for themselves.

Who says he has to leave his wife and child behind?

so how does he qualify for a visa to stay ?

Let me rephrase the question. Who says he cannot take his wife and child with him when he packs his bags and leaves Thailand?

---------------

Maestro

No one is saying he cannot take his wife and kid out with him but surely the answer to that one comes at the end of the spouse application process he makes at his embassy (which is always at cost) and who is to say they will approve it on the first run in.

The cost of taking the wife and a kid back to the west is inhibitive to say the least and if the poor chap cannot afford to stay in Thailand then the chances are he cannot afford to drag the wife and kid back to his home country either.

A recent case proves this point. A guy has been here for 20 odd years, he was born in the UK, left when he was 6 years old to live in OZ, all his family are in OZ and he decided to repatriate back there as Thailand no longer wants him. He asks OZ to accept him and his Thai family only to be told that although he had lived in OZ most of his life, which included a stint in the OZ army, that he is not actually an OZ national because they never did the paperwork of making him an OZ national. Therefore he has to apply for immigration to what is in effect his own country. They then went on to inform him that had he been making the application as a single guy he would be granted immigration to OZ no problems. but as he had a Thai wife and kids then they are sorry but he will be rejected using the family principal for their reason (meaning that by allowing her in they may be obliged to let her extended family in as well which at the moment includes two chickens and a buffalo). He could of course go to the UK but as he left when he was 6 years old he doesn't particularly feel that he has any connections with the UK.

So in this case he is doomed to make a choice of leaving Thailand without his wife and kids, to going back to a country he doesn't even know or to putting up with silly rules Thailand who don't want him either.

Talk about being in Limbo land.

Edited October 31, 2006 by Casanundra

[Artisi]

...so he will have to pack his bag and leave his wife and child behind to fend for themselves.

Who says he has to leave his wife and child behind?

so how does he qualify for a visa to stay ?

Let me rephrase the question. Who says he cannot take his wife and child with him when he packs his bags and leaves Thailand?

---------------

Maestro

You are way, way-off the discussion, nobody was talking about him taking his family out of Thailand, the subject was his inabilty of being able to stay in Thailand with his family due to the new visa regulations which preclude him because of the inability to meet the wages / savings needed after many years of support etc.

[rainman]

so if you're currently holding a one-year extension (like me) and its expiring early next year, i would still just need to show 400k in the bank? and with the new rules, i need to show them 400k in the bank every 3 months or just once a year?

[Sunbelt Asia]

so if you're currently holding a one-year extension (like me) and its expiring early next year, i would still just need to show 400k in the bank? and with the new rules, i need to show them 400k in the bank every 3 months or just once a year?

You show it once a year, with the 400K being in the bank account for three months prior to the renewal of the extension. Until you get the one year extension, you should not touch the funds. In other words if you get a "under consideration stamp" after you apply for the renewal, don't spend these funds. Only when you get the one year extension, should you do so. Then you top it up back to 400K, three months prior to to next renewal.

www.sunbeltasiagroup.com

[Toni]

I will double check on Monday but this is more a case by case situation, where you plead your case rather than getting a black and white rule that is only 400K or 40,000 Baht income. o I retired early. Not to brag or anything but I have enough assets back home to lead many many lives of luxury in Thailand with my wife and my future kid, she is preganant now. But I don't have proof of income of of 40000 bahts a month, but can show I wired in Thailand nearly 10 million in past 4 years, and also can show I have joined family assets in bonds, mutual funds, and also real estates back home that worth thousands times as required. Any advice from Thai experts?

www.sunbeltasiagroup.com

"Re-confirmed, combinations of income and money in the bank are still allowed for applicants prior to Oct 1st."

To-day my first step to a “married visa” was granted with a 3-months non visa after showing the required paperwork based on bankbook, letter from the bank and minimum 400.000 Baht. I started the procedure September 28 as I can proof with my passport. I stayed skeptical about obtaining the final year’s visa. And to-day I stumbled indeed with the rest of the procedure in room 101. NO, here are the new rules after October 1st!

After my question why because I started procedure September 28 her answer was short: “that’s another department. Here we stick to the new rules.”

Is this the famous “officers’ interpretation allowed” or has the different “departments” in the same body different rules?

Is there a feasible possibility to address a complaint as they let you know after you have done the final apply?

INTERPRETATION, BUROCRATION OR ARBITRARY?

"Is this the famous “officers’ interpretation allowed” or has the different “departments” in the same body different rules?"

As I did not complied anymore I had to take steps I wanted to take but in a later stadium, not over-hasty and forced!

Result: I just received my "year-visa" but.....YES!, until coming September because......I started the whole procedure in.........September!

Now I understand also the logic, when one is familiar with the behavior of certain officers in Emigration, to take more tickets than one to be able to loose one turn when the specific officer is known as...... to be served by another one!

I also understand now during my hours of waiting why a certain officer has to push various times her button although more than enough "clients" are waiting.

[billd766]

...so he will have to pack his bag and leave his wife and child behind to fend for themselves.

Who says he has to leave his wife and child behind?

so how does he qualify for a visa to stay ?

Let me rephrase the question. Who says he cannot take his wife and child with him when he packs his bags and leaves Thailand?

---------------

Maestro

No one is saying he cannot take his wife and kid out with him but surely the answer to that one comes at the end of the spouse application process he makes at his embassy (which is always at cost) and who is to say they will approve it on the first run in.

The cost of taking the wife and a kid back to the west is inhibitive to say the least and if the poor chap cannot afford to stay in Thailand then the chances are he cannot afford to drag the wife and kid back to his home country either.

A recent case proves this point. A guy has been here for 20 odd years, he was born in the UK, left when he was 6 years old to live in OZ, all his family are in OZ and he decided to repatriate back there as Thailand no longer wants him. He asks OZ to accept him and his Thai family only to be told that although he had lived in OZ most of his life, which included a stint in the OZ army, that he is not actually an OZ national because they never did the paperwork of making him an OZ national. Therefore he has to apply for immigration to what is in effect his own country. They then went on to inform him that had he been making the application as a single guy he would be granted immigration to OZ no problems. but as he had a Thai wife and kids then they are sorry but he will be rejected using the family principal for their reason (meaning that by allowing her in they may be obliged to let her extended family in as well which at the moment includes two chickens and a buffalo). He could of course go to the UK but as he left when he was 6 years old he doesn't particularly feel that he has any connections with the UK.

So in this case he is doomed to make a choice of leaving Thailand without his wife and kids, to going back to a country he doesn't even know or to putting up with silly rules Thailand who don't want him either.

Talk about being in Limbo land.

Could he not apply for a visa on the grounds that he is living with his child? I seem to remember that if you are successful then you have no need to show funds though you do have to be over 50 to apply.

[thamdee]

Is it possible to extend this marriage visa every year. If married with a thai woman and having a non'o' visa of a year, can a person changed this visa for a marriage visa? Or is this a stupid thing to do? Because the requirements for the marriage visa looks more easy?

[lopburi3]

1. There is no such thing as a "marriage visa".

2. A non immigrant O visa can be issued to visit family for up to 90 days and a multi entry type has a one year validity and can be used for unlimited entry/exit up to 90 days each stay.

3. A non immigrant visa can be extended on a yearly basis inside Thailand at an Immigration office if you are married and have a family income of 40k baht per month. For those living in Thailand and meeting the requirements it is the smart thing to do. This is often called a marriage visa but is really an extension of stay.