Extension of stay (marriage) and re-entry

[French777]

Hi there

A few questions on the above. I am French and got married in Bangkok to a Thai national early September. I then went to KL and got Non-O Visa (for whatever reason they only granted me the 3M single entry, not the 1 year multiple entries). My wife and I are renting a condo unit. I am about to apply to a 1 year extension of stay based on marriage at the Bangkok immigration office.

1/ Wife : I assume my wife will need to be with me and bring her Tabian baan, not only a copy ?

2/ Witness : browsing the forums, it seems that the presence of a witness is sometimes required
- some say they were never asked that
- some say it is required for the first application
- some say it is always needed, and they must bring their ID card and Tabian Baan
- some say it depends of the immigration office
- some say it depends on the immigration office cashier
Any idea ? (I don't want to bother my witnesses unless it's really needed)
3/ Residency : very blurry too depending on the source
- some say only the 3 pics are needed (1 outside the building / 1 in the flat / 1 in the bedroom)
- some say the winess must be on some of the photos too
- some say we need a copy of the owner ID card / some say not
- some say we need a copy of the declaration owners submit when a foreigner lives in the unit
- some say a map is needed / some say not / some say it bust be hand-made (i.e. no google map)
Any idea ?
4/ Funding : I am unemployed but have more than 400kTHB in a Thai Bank for over a year
- is a copy of the bank book needed or does the bank statement do ?

Last but not least : re-entry

5/ Assuming I get my 1 year extension of stay, does that change the status of my visa to a Multiple Entry one or do I have to go for the ridiculous re-entry permit thing every single time I want to go abroad and come back within that year ?

The system seems to be built to milk the cow (sorry, I meant "farang") to death by multiplying the steps/fees and to maximise the number of employees needed in the administration to check unnecessary, redundant, and privacy-intrusive documents, so I assume the answer is yes, I will have to go through that every single time I want to visit my family in France, but just double checking...

[ubonjoe]

Kl does not do multiple entry visas. Only Savannakhet Laos and Penang will do them.

You wife must be with you when you apply to do a statement.

Only a copy of your wife's registry in the tambien ban is needed. They will be page one and the page she is listed. Also a copy of her ID card.

No witness will be needed at Chaeng Wattana immigration. They will do a home visit during the 30 day under consideration period.

The photos vary by office. You will need some of both of you together in and around the condo. One must show you both outside the condo showing t's number. I have seen some reports of some offices wanting a photo outside the condo building showing its name and/or address. It is best to have to many photos than not enough that way immigration can pick out the ones they want.

You will need a copy of your rental agreement with a copy of the owners house book and ID card attached. (You should have the original with you).

You will need a map to your condo from the nearest main road or street.

You will need a letter from your bank confirming you account and the balance in it. It can be no older than the day before you apply. You will need copies of you bank showing the funds have been in the bank for 2 months. The bank book must be updated on the day you apply.

You will need a copy of your marriage certificate and a recently updated Kor Ror 2 marriage registry,

All copies must be signed.

After you get your one year extension stamp you can apply for a multiple re-entry permit for a fee of 3800 baht baht. It will allow unlimited entries for the year your extension is valid for.

[French777]

Thanks a lot UbonJoe - very comprehensive and very clear !

Just a couple questions more :

- I am on a short (3 month) contract for my condo, which finishes end of this month - could it be a problem ?

(althouth there is a clause in it which says if I want to continue renting after that, the rent will be lowered)

- For the owner's house book and ID card (originals+copies) - we went through an agency and have actually never met the owner. Any way to get around that ? Is the home visit announced and outside office time or am I going to be confined at home for the 30 days ?

Cheers

[ubonjoe]

The length of your rental agreement should not matter. But if you will moving before the end of the 30 days it could be a problem.

You should contact the agent about getting the copies needed from the landlord or they may to issue something that will satisfy immigration.

They will contact you to tell you when they will be doing the home visit. It will be during normal office hours.

[French777]

Just a quick update for the benefit of the community, as my dossier was refused by Chaeng Wattana immigration today for a reason I had not read about in any of the forums I have looked on so far.

My wife and I turned up with all the above documents (and more in the bag, just in case...). After queuing/waiting 4 hours (litterally) we finally reached one of the desks. After examination of the dossier, we were told to come back an other day because our condo rental contract was signed by the agency on behalf of the owner and not by the owner itself.

- yes we had the ID card of the owner (original and photocopy)

- yes we had the documents from the owner concerning the house registration

- no, showing them an updated version of the contract during the control visit was not good enough

- yes, my wife (who works in a school) has to take yet another day of unpaid leave and come back with me next time too

And on a more "personal thoughts" side, sick and tired of that shit. I have displayed as much patience and compliance as one can toward that system. I've done my best but at this point I can only join the huge community of foreigners who have lost any form, kind or shape of respect for this corrupted administration and their bunch of undergraduate paper-scribblers who spend their time inventing new rules on the go, never published of course, to force people losing as much time and money as they possibly can. I can only join this vast community of foreigners who came to the conclusion that it is just (1) faster (2) simpler and (3) cheaper NOT to follow the legal ways but just play with the system by getting new tourist visas or visa-exemptions every month or so for years.

[Bredbury Blue]

Bit late for the OP but I always find this list reasonably comprehensive when I apply for extension

http://www.samutprakanimmigration.go.th/list-of-documents-for-support-thai-wife/

[oncearugge]

"(1) faster (2) simpler and (3) cheaper NOT to follow the legal ways but just play with the system by getting new tourist visas or visa-exemptions every month or so for years."

Sure throw the toys out of the pram and have a tantrum.

I am sure you will never believe that many of us never have a problem extending our stay in Thailand.

Enjoy the visa runs.

[French777]

Actually I do belive some don't have a problem extending their stay. As we were queuing we saw a guy giving money to one of the employees in the office - that employee came back 5 minutes later with a tray full of coffees and lates which she shared with her colleagues. "Surprisingly" enough that guy who gave the money to the employee only showed his passport at the desk - no form, no photocopies, no other document whatsoever and had his stamp in 20 seconds (maybe that's what I should have done?).

Please don't get me wrong, I would like to believe the standards are are there or there-about, but so far all what I have seen tells me it is nowhere near. Though my education and moral will probably still get me to just follow that new rule and provide the added piece requested for no valid reason, rationality and reason definitely tell the visa run way would be faster, simpler and cheaper indeed.

[JoeW]

Actually I do belive some don't have a problem extending their stay. As we were queuing we saw a guy giving money to one of the employees in the office - that employee came back 5 minutes later with a tray full of coffees and lates which she shared with her colleagues. "Surprisingly" enough that guy who gave the money to the employee only showed his passport at the desk - no form, no photocopies, no other document whatsoever and had his stamp in 20 seconds (maybe that's what I should have done?).

Please don't get me wrong, I would like to believe the standards are are there or there-about, but so far all what I have seen tells me it is nowhere near. Though my education and moral will probably still get me to just follow that new rule and provide the added piece requested for no valid reason, rationality and reason definitely tell the visa run way would be faster, simpler and cheaper indeed.

You mean he paid 1,900 THB for the application and got his come back within 30 days stamp?

Don't be to quick to judge someone just because you saw something. I have done my extensions at Samut Prakan, Bangkok and Sakhon Nakhon and bribery was never an option.