2nd Extension Of Stay, Income Or Not ?

[riobryan]

hi friends, went to a immigration office this week inquiring what i need for my 2nd extension of stay for marriage which expires next month, expecting him to say just have 400,000 baht in the bank for 3 months.

he starts asking me if i have a business or if my wife is working, on my reply being no, he then ses you need to get your income verified by your government.

when asking him about the visa requirements on the immigration website his answer is "thats no good''.

anyway i will take a copy of the immigration rules and regs there next week and ask to see someone more senior and will let everyone know the outcome.

Edited December 16, 2006 by riobryan

[Maestro]

Because you already had an annual extension based on marriage before October 1, 2006 you can continue to get extensions based on 400,000 Baht in the bank. New is that this amount must be in your account for at least 3 months prior to the application. Paragraph 7.17(6) of National Police Order 606/2006 applies to your case.

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Maestro

[tgeezer]

hi friends, went to a immigration office this week inquiring what i need for my 2nd extension of stay for marriage which expires next month, expecting him to say just have 400,000 baht in the bank for 3 months.

he starts asking me if i have a business or if my wife is working, on my reply being no, he then ses you need to get your income verified by your government.

when asking him about the visa requirements on the immigration website his answer is "thats no good''.

anyway i will take a copy of the immigration rules and regs there next week and ask to see someone more senior and will let everyone know the outcome.

Next time why not just tell him how you feed your family? he is entitled to know. If you slapped 400k cash on the table he could think that you were drug running or pimping for instance. There is working illegally and illegal work,a visitor may not do either. Having provided for married foreigners to stay long-term it is strange that there is no provision made for them to earn money. This gap in legislation and the encouragement given to visitors to visit is perplexing. Perhaps we are supposed to take the misses out of the country to live in ours until we reach the magic age of fifty when things become a lot more simple. I do not mean to imply that you do not qualify,but much of this forum would be unecessary if the majority of posters did. Assuming that you don't qualify, the wife can always be the 'breadwinner' I would think. You will never win an argument quoting the rules even if you appear correct. Keep calm do not argue; asking to speak to someone superior is saying that the official you are speaking to is inferior, and his superior is unlikely to support you because of a possible loss of face. I believe there is an "Immigration Commission" set up to appeal cases, but you must be 'fireproof'. I realize that you a probably an 'old hand' at this so forgive me if I sound smug. I read about the 90 days in six months on the Immigration website and it is not new, but posters seem surprised by it, is it because few people resorted to it in the past and it was not enforced? Sorry getting off the point, which is, if you can be nice to the official, keep him or her from taking an entrenched position, give a plausible story you will get the visa, they suspect cheating but are happy if you appear not to be.

[Maestro]

Having provided for married foreigners to stay long-term it is strange that there is no provision made for them to earn money.

Tgeezer, your above information is wrong. Thai laws and regulations do allow foreigners, married or single, to work in Thailand, with a work permit. Thousands of foreigners work in Thailand legally under these provisions.

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Maestro

[tgeezer]

Having provided for married foreigners to stay long-term it is strange that there is no provision made for them to earn money.

Tgeezer, your above information is wrong. Thai laws and regulations do allow foreigners, married or single, to work in Thailand, with a work permit. Thousands of foreigners work in Thailand legally under these provisions.

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Maestro

Phew! Thanks, it wasn't for information though, sorry about that, I infer then that there is another type of visa in which case, do you still need 400,000Bt . It all gets confusing when things are so 'organic', or is it 'un-organic'?

[riobryan]

hi friends, went to a immigration office this week inquiring what i need for my 2nd extension of stay for marriage which expires next month, expecting him to say just have 400,000 baht in the bank for 3 months.

he starts asking me if i have a business or if my wife is working, on my reply being no, he then ses you need to get your income verified by your government.

when asking him about the visa requirements on the immigration website his answer is "thats no good''.

anyway i will take a copy of the immigration rules and regs there next week and ask to see someone more senior and will let everyone know the outcome.

Next time why not just tell him how you feed your family? he is entitled to know. If you slapped 400k cash on the table he could think that you were drug running or pimping for instance. There is working illegally and illegal work,a visitor may not do either. Having provided for married foreigners to stay long-term it is strange that there is no provision made for them to earn money. This gap in legislation and the encouragement given to visitors to visit is perplexing. Perhaps we are supposed to take the misses out of the country to live in ours until we reach the magic age of fifty when things become a lot more simple. I do not mean to imply that you do not qualify,but much of this forum would be unecessary if the majority of posters did. Assuming that you don't qualify, the wife can always be the 'breadwinner' I would think. You will never win an argument quoting the rules even if you appear correct. Keep calm do not argue; asking to speak to someone superior is saying that the official you are speaking to is inferior, and his superior is unlikely to support you because of a possible loss of face. I believe there is an "Immigration Commission" set up to appeal cases, but you must be 'fireproof'. I realize that you a probably an 'old hand' at this so forgive me if I sound smug. I read about the 90 days in six months on the Immigration website and it is not new, but posters seem surprised by it, is it because few people resorted to it in the past and it was not enforced? Sorry getting off the point, which is, if you can be nice to the official, keep him or her from taking an entrenched position, give a plausible story you will get the visa, they suspect cheating but are happy if you appear not to be.

i explained to him that i draw money from my english account via the atm to live on and have bank statements to prove this.

i also have proof where the 400t baht came from.

but the point of the matter is that these points are not required under the grandfathering system.

Edited December 18, 2006 by riobryan

[Cyberstar]

i explained to him that i draw money from my english account via the atm to live on and have bank statements to prove this.

i also have proof where the 400t baht came from.

but the point of the matter is that these points are not required under the grandfathering system.

The official requirements say that the 400,000 must be in a Thai account and documentation requirements are copy of your pass book and a statement from your Thai bank (only a few days old) certifying the balance.

It seems that the officer chooses to consider your means as income from abroad and consequently ask for the required documentation for that situation... It's quite usual that immigration doesn't accept foreign documents unless certified by the embassy. (For the very good reason they can't check them themselves)

Edited December 18, 2006 by Cyberstar