New Rules For Marriage Visa Extensions

[Mobi]

Tonight I received a call form a lady in Bangkok whose company used to help me with my annual retirement visa extensions when I lived in Bangkok.

She was quite concerned, because the last time we spoke I had told her that I was thinking of changing from a retirement extension to a marriage visa extension.

She warned me that new rules are coming in for farangs applying for extensions based on marriage to Thais. She said one of the new requirements was that they must also hold a work permit - in other words they must be gainfully, and legally employed in Thailand.

This does not affect me as I still have my retirement extension.

She may have got it wrong - but her company spends every day at Suan Plu, arranging and extending visas and she clearly has some high up contacts in immigration.

Has anyone else heard about this?

Sunbelt?

Edited November 23, 2006 by Mobi D'Ark

[Lite Beer]

Tonight I received a call form a lady in Bangkok whose company used to help me with my annual retirement visa extensions when I lived in Bangkok.

She was quite concerned, because the last time we spoke I had told her that I was thinking of changing from a retirement extension to a marriage visa extension.

She warned me that new rules are coming in for farangs applying for extensions based on marriage to Thais. She said one of the new requirements was that they must also hold a work permit - in other words they must be gainfully, and legally employed in Thailand.

This does not affect me as I still have my retirement extension.

She may have got it wrong - but her company spends every day at Suan Plu, arranging and extending visas and she clearly has some high up contacts in immigration.

Has anyone else heard about this?

Sunbelt?

A load of rubbish

[Cyberstar]

She's probably a bit singleminded concerning the - by regular readers so - wellknown rule that new applicants needs income of 40K a month because 400K in the bank no longer counts. However, the income can be earned by the wife alone or the income can all come from abroad. No workpermit required in these cases.

[Mobi]

Well you're both probably correct, but I wouldn't totally dismiss it out of hand. She was sufficiently concerned to call me at 7 at night, it is her business after all, and she did say that the work permit rule has not come in yet - I think she said next year.

Anyway - no skin off my nose - only passing it along for what it's worth.