ME Non Imm O (Spouse) Visa

[Phantom57]

Hi All,

I just received my first 12 month M.E. Non Immigrant  O  ( spouse ) visa from the Thai Consulate in Brisbane having just retired.

I had Bt400K in my bank and a Police check and letter from my wife saying I still lived with her.( in Thai).

They had to send it to the Thai Embassy in Canberra to issue it. Two days later, I got it in Brisbane.

The lady there said that a little known fact about this visa was the option to do a 90 day report instead of leaving the country

every 90 days. She also said that one could organise their travel back to Aus at the end of 12 months and get a new one.

She said that this would then avoid Immigration Offices in Thailand completely.

I emailed the Canberra Embassy and they confirmed this.

I could not find where it is written down.  Is this new?

 

[elviajero]

If you have a Non-immigrant 'O' visa what you have been told is mostly nonsense.

 

You will be given permission to stay for 90 days every time you enter using the visa. At the end of 90 days you must leave (can immediately re-enter) the country, or apply for a 60 day or 1 year extension to stay. 

 

You can enter as often often as you want for 1 year. If you make a final entry at the end of the year, just before the visa expires, you'll get a final 90 days giving you nearly 15 months in the country using the visa.

 

Once the visa has expired you can return to Aus for a new one. However, if you can show 400K in s Thai bank, or a certified income of 40K pm, you can apply for a 1 year extension of stay without leaving Thailand. That can be renewed annually indefinitely as long as you can meet the financial requirements.

 

You only ever have to report every 90 days if you have permission to stay that is longer than 90 days and you stay in the country longer than 90 days.

Edited March 10, 2017 by elviajero

[Phantom57]

Thanks elviajero for the quick reply. I agree with you and that's why I queried it.
I have sent a second email to the Royal Thai Embassy in Canberra requesting the link to where it states it( if it does at all). Being a holiday in Canberra on Monday, I would get reply until at least Tue.
She actually said a few times that this option is unknown to most and unused.
She even said it in Thai to my wife..Very strange, will wait for my second reply from the Embassy.

[ubonjoe]

All you have to do is look at the entry stamp that has a admitted until date on it. That will be 90 days from the date you entered the country. The only way to have that date changed is by applying for an extension of stay.

The reporting they mentioned is a report of staying longer than 90 days in the country which you cannot do since you only have a permit to stay of 90 days.

[Phantom57]

Thanks Ubonjoe, I totally agree with you, that's why I thought it so strange.
I will enter Thailand end next week and see what stamp and also ask them. Hopefully, I will have the reply back from the Embassy by then and will post the outcome. Regards.

[Phantom57]

Thanks guys, as usual you both are correct. Thai Embassy in Canberra changed their tune when I actually spelt out my query. Email below.

For Non-Immigrant multiple entry visa holders, they must exit the country every 90 days.
Only the O-A visa (Retirement) holders have to report every 90 days regardless whether they
stay or leave Thailand.


Kind regards
Visa and Consular Services
Royal Thai Embassy, Canberra.

[Rhys]

thanks for the insights..

 

[Smithson]

Phantom57, I'm also looking to get the same visa, maybe you can help with some info. Did you visit the consulate and they sent it to Canberra? Also, why did you need the police check and B400k, these are not listed as requirements on their application form.

[TerryLH]

"Only the O-A visa (Retirement) holders have to report every 90 days regardless whether they
stay or leave Thailand."

 

That also appears to be bad info.

You only do a 90 day address report if you actually stay in country 90 days or more.  If you leave before that, you report in 90 days from when you re-enter the country.  The day you enter counts as day 1.

[Phantom57]

Hi Smithson. Yes, I put my application in at the Brisbane Thai Consulate in the CBD and picked up my passport 2 days later. Only the Application gets emailed to Canberra as I saw the lady at Brisbane actually put in the Visa in the passport and fill it out. About 6 months ago when I got a 6 month ME TV after showing 200K Baht in bank book. I enquired about the ME Non Imm O Spouse visa and she said the only extras were, letter from wife in Thai, Marriage Cert, Police check ( done online in about 5 days), and 400K Baht in bank. I think the form says to contact them for requirements( changing all the time) about this ME Non Imm Visa. Hope that helps.

[Smithson]

^ Thanks for the reply. Do you know if it's normal to show money and do the police check? I haven't heard of this before and it's not on their website.

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[ubonjoe]

9 minutes ago, Smithson said:

Thanks for the reply. Do you know if it's normal to show money and do the police check? I haven't heard of this before and it's not on their website.

Proof of funds, a police check and a medical certificate are not required to get a multiple entry non-o visa based upon marriage. The only visa the requires them is a OA long stay visa for retirement. 

Enter your country on this page and you will see spouse and family visa to click on to see the requirements here. http://canberra.thaiembassy.org/Home/visa