Marriage Visa Documents And Last Minute Copies

[husky]

Was just over to immigration in Pattaya for the yearly marriage visa. This year I was convinced I could actually go through the entire process without being sent running over to the only-photo-copy-store-next-to-immigration to make a bunch of last minute copies. Wrong! Going in before hand doesn't seem to accomplish too much as there isn't a list that I could find and if you ask what you need they tell you a couple of things but not the entire list.

Anyway, here is what I found was needed.

a.) Marriage Certificate. Bring original and two color copies.

b.) Hand written map to your house. Original and one copy.

c.) Passport with copies of every single page including departure cards or any other folded documents in your passport. You need 2 complete copies and every page must be signed.

d.) Birth certificate of any children with Thai wife. 2 copies + original.

e.) Letter from bank verifying balance in passbook (800k +). The original letter is needed + 1 copy. Note; the alternative is a letter from the embassy showing income of 40k per month (I think).

f.) TM7 Application form. You need to complete 2 application forms, including the part about why you are applying for the visa. Both forms need to be handwritten (no copies).

g.)Bank Book. Original + copies (2 sets). Every page must be photo copied, not just the first and last page.

h.) Color Pictures of Self. 2 color pictures of yourself 4cm x 6cm. These they don't seem to be too particular about, I did them myself and printed on my color printer, seemed to work out fine. I know in other countries they have requirements for how big your head should be in the picture, etc, here the only thing is getting the size of 4x6 right.

i.) Wife's ID card. Front and back. 2 copies signed by wife.

j.) Pictures of family. This isn't as important as before, just one maybe of Thai wedding cerimony or old pic showing 2 of you together and 1 recent. Take in the original photos and make a 2 photo copies of the 2 you are most likely to use.

k.) Wife's family book. 2 copies of front page.

l.) Wife. An obvious one but just a note. There is a formal interview to check everything out at the end and you both need to be there. If wifey is upcountry, no dice!

I'd love to hear about anyone successfully going through the process that prepares everything ahead of time and doesn't get sent out to make last minute copies!

Edited December 21, 2006 by husky

[Lite Beer]

Was just over to immigration in Pattaya for the yearly marriage visa. This year I was convinced I could actually go through the entire process without being sent running over to the only-photo-copy-store-next-to-immigration to make a bunch of last minute copies. Wrong! Going in before hand doesn't seem to accomplish too much as there isn't a list that I could find and if you ask what you need they tell you a couple of things but not the entire list.

Anyway, here is what I found was needed.

a.) Marriage Certificate. Bring original and two color copies.

b.) Hand written map to your house. Original and one copy.

c.) Passport with copies of every single page including departure cards or any other folded documents in your passport. You need 2 complete copies and every page must be signed.

d.) Birth certificate of any children with Thai wife. 2 copies + original.

e.) Letter from bank verifying balance in passbook (800k +). The original letter is needed + 1 copy. Note; the alternative is a letter from the embassy showing income of 40k per month (I think).

f.) TM7 Application form. You need to complete 2 application forms, including the part about why you are applying for the visa. Both forms need to be handwritten (no copies).

g.)Bank Book. Original + copies (2 sets). Every page must be photo copied, not just the first and last page.

h.) Color Pictures of Self. 2 color pictures of yourself 4cm x 6cm. These they don't seem to be too particular about, I did them myself and printed on my color printer, seemed to work out fine. I know in other countries they have requirements for how big your head should be in the picture, etc, here the only thing is getting the size of 4x6 right.

i.) Wife's ID card. Front and back. 2 copies signed by wife.

j.) Pictures of family. This isn't as important as before, just one maybe of Thai wedding cerimony or old pic showing 2 of you together and 1 recent. Take in the original photos and make a 2 photo copies of the 2 you are most likely to use.

k.) Wife's family book. 2 copies of front page.

l.) Wife. An obvious one but just a note. There is a formal interview to check everything out at the end and you both need to be there. If wifey is upcountry, no dice!

I'd love to hear about anyone successfully going through the process that prepares everything ahead of time and doesn't get sent out to make last minute copies!

The money in the bank is 400,000 Baht if you have allready extended in the past using this, if not you need 40,000 a month family income. Dont forget afirmation to marry letter from embassy.

Edited December 21, 2006 by LITE BEER

[TerryLH]

"Dont forget afirmation to marry letter from embassy."

Why would you need that? It's my understanding that you only need that to get married, not to get a visa extension.

At Suan Plu or a regional immigration center, such as Korat, you should only need originals and one copy.

[lopburi3]

As marriage extensions have always required approval from Bangkok two copies have been required if application outside of Bangkok. With new decentralization policy this may have been changed or modified but have not seen any indication that it has.

Item 11 of required documents is:

Evidence certified by the applicant's embassy or consulate showing the applicant's marital status.

thus the need for a copy of the affirmation to marry letter from embassy. Agree that the marriage certificate should serve this purpose but in the past I suspect they were often not issued with due diligence.

[TerryLH]

As marriage extensions have always required approval from Bangkok two copies have been required if application outside of Bangkok. With new decentralization policy this may have been changed or modified but have not seen any indication that it has.

Item 11 of required documents is:

Evidence certified by the applicant's embassy or consulate showing the applicant's marital status.

thus the need for a copy of the affirmation to marry letter from embassy. Agree that the marriage certificate should serve this purpose but in the past I suspect they were often not issued with due diligence.

Last month I did my 13th one year extension on my Non O visa. For the first time I went to the new immigration office in Korat. They are the regional center for the Northeast and only required one copy of required documents. I've never had to show an affirmation to marry letter. The only time I had to have anything like that was when I actually got married, a long time ago.

[lopburi3]

"your mileage may vary"

The document is required by law but believe many of us have not been asked for it (first application - yours may have been before this was enforced). But many others have. It's what makes this forum so active.

After 13 years they would probably like to give you the documents. Normally only changed documents are required after the first visit; at least that was my experience in Bangkok. But would always advise going with the max. Many copy shops only change 50 stang or so per page so I always had full sets if required.

[autonomous_unit]

An annoying thing for me was that one officer decided to change the criteria under which I would be extended, as if to emphasize that it was her choice and not mine. So, she decided to use my employment rather than existing funds and then demanded additional tax documents from my employer beyond the ones we had already brought (just in case). I think it might have gotten worse because my wife said, "what's the point of that"... this meant we not only didn't have copies but we didn't have originals and we had to come back another day, which turned out to be one of those traffic-clogged taxi trips from hel_l.

I've also had an officer be friendly and get up to make a copy for us! But others seem intent on finding a way to declare your application incomplete. I have a feeling you just cannot win.