Visit Wife vs Retirement

[SplitInfinitive]

I've been on Visit wife for a couple of years and like not having to leave the country to renew but have to make a full new application every 12 months.

 

If I changed to a retirement visa , meeting the financial requirements, would that be a better option?

 

[moe666]

About the same more money required for retirement but usually no home visit and no photos. Yearly and 90 day reports

[SplitInfinitive]

No leaving the country?

Just reports?

[ubonjoe]

1 minute ago, SplitInfinitive said:

No leaving the country?

Just reports?

Are you having to leave the country every 90 days now?

If you are on an extension of stay  based upon marriage you also do 90 day reports to immigration instead of leaving the country.

The only difference between an extension based upon marriage and retirement is that the financial requirements are higher for retirement.

[OJAS]

4 minutes ago, SplitInfinitive said:

No leaving the country?

Just reports?

Yep, just annual trips to your local immigration office at extension-of-stay time, plus 90-day reports on top.

 

Dunno if you have any plans to work in LOS, but please note that this wouldn't be possible with a retirement extension (whereas it might be with a marriage extension).

[SplitInfinitive]

No,  I've had business here up to about 5 years ago then messed around with tourist visas before extension of stay based on marriage but I'm nearly a couple of decades over the retirement age requirement. 

 

Thanks for all replies. 

[Laza 45]

19 hours ago, SplitInfinitive said:

No leaving the country?

Just reports?

If you get an OA non immigrant visa you don't have to leave the country... I do my 90 day report by post.. easy... also... at the end of the first year if you do a border run just before the visa expires you get another full year..    You apply in your home country...  you need 65k Bt income (pension)..a month.... OR.. a combination of pension and available cash... my cash is in an investment fund.. they accept a statement from the fund that the money is there..  no need for money in Thailand...    also.. you need to get a medical check.. the application has a form to be filled out by your Dr.. (with some rather bizarre questions!) .. but easy... you need a police check..  visit you local police station... costs $40 in Australia..  You can get a multi-entry OA Visa.. allows you to come and go.. or you can get single entry and pay for er-entry if you want to leave and come back..   multi-entry is convenient... but... you loose your entries for the second year.. you have to pay for one if you need it in the 2nd year..     a good convenient visa if you meet the requirements..  good luck..

[IMA_FARANG]

Depends on your point of view.

if you stay in Thailand on a marriage visa/extension annually, you need to consider what will happen to you if your Thai wife dies or you are divorced.

Such a thing may mean you no longer have a justification  based on marriage to a Thai to stay in country.

But on the other hand it requires more funds to renew a retirement visa/extension each year.

In other words, there is no "best" answer to the question of retirement versus marriage .

You have to decide based on what is best for you and your circumstances.

[YetAnother]

On 5/15/2017 at 1:52 PM, OJAS said:

Yep, just annual trips to your local immigration office at extension-of-stay time, plus 90-day reports on top.

 

Dunno if you have any plans to work in LOS, but please note that this wouldn't be possible with a retirement extension (whereas it might be with a marriage extension).

sure , in theory; in practice, there are few jobs to be had here that are not considered illegal; heard a story that you cannot even paint your own house (without a work permit) legally

[YetAnother]

UJ: am confused; is this 'visit wife' different from a visa based on marriage ?

[ubonjoe]

17 minutes ago, YetAnother said:

UJ: am confused; is this 'visit wife' different from a visa based on marriage ?

I think he was referring to an extension of stay based upon marriage as "visit wife. 

An extension of stay done at immigration  is certainly different than having a non-o visa based upon marriage from an embassy or consulate.

[Laza 45]

8 hours ago, Laza 45 said:

If you get an OA non immigrant visa you don't have to leave the country... I do my 90 day report by post.. easy... also... at the end of the first year if you do a border run just before the visa expires you get another full year..    You apply in your home country...  you need 65k Bt income (pension)..a month.... OR.. a combination of pension and available cash... my cash is in an investment fund.. they accept a statement from the fund that the money is there..  no need for money in Thailand...    also.. you need to get a medical check.. the application has a form to be filled out by your Dr.. (with some rather bizarre questions!) .. but easy... you need a police check..  visit you local police station... costs $40 in Australia..  You can get a multi-entry OA Visa.. allows you to come and go.. or you can get single entry and pay for er-entry if you want to leave and come back..   multi-entry is convenient... but... you loose your entries for the second year.. you have to pay for one if you need it in the 2nd year..     a good convenient visa if you meet the requirements..  good luck..

.. I forgot to mention that if you are married the pension requirement is 40k Bt.....or combination...

[ubonjoe]

2 minutes ago, Laza 45 said:

I forgot to mention that if you are married the pension requirement is 40k Bt.....or combination...

The is no combination of income and money in the bank for an extension based upon marriage allowed.

[Laza 45]

57 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

The is no combination of income and money in the bank for an extension based upon marriage allowed.

...but when applying for AO visa in your own country there is..  quite right.. not for extension..

[ubonjoe]

9 minutes ago, Laza 45 said:

...but when applying for AO visa in your own country there is..  quite right.. not for extension..

The OA visa is for retirement not marriage.

For marriage it would be a single or multiple entry non-o visa. Most embassies and consulates do not ask for financial proof to get them.

[Laza 45]

37 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

The OA visa is for retirement not marriage.

For marriage it would be a single or multiple entry non-o visa. Most embassies and consulates do not ask for financial proof to get them.

 

37 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

The OA visa is for retirement not marriage.

For marriage it would be a single or multiple entry non-o visa. Most embassies and consulates do not ask for financial proof to get them.

http://www.mfa.go.th/main/en/services/4908/15385-Non-Immigrant-Visa-"O-A"-(Long-Stay).html

 

.....5.4  Foreigner who wishes to extend his or her stay shall submit a request for extension of stay at the Office of the Immigration Bureau with documented evidence of money transfer or a deposit account in Thailand or an income certificate showing an amount of not less than 800,000 Baht or an income certificate plus a deposit account showing a total amount of not less than 800,000 Baht.  A one-year extension of stay shall be granted at the discretion of the immigration officer to the foreigner as long as he or she meets the above requirements

 

[ubonjoe]

1 minute ago, Laza 45 said:

 

http://www.mfa.go.th/main/en/services/4908/15385-Non-Immigrant-Visa-"O-A"-(Long-Stay).html

 

.....5.4  Foreigner who wishes to extend his or her stay shall submit a request for extension of stay at the Office of the Immigration Bureau with documented evidence of money transfer or a deposit account in Thailand or an income certificate showing an amount of not less than 800,000 Baht or an income certificate plus a deposit account showing a total amount of not less than 800,000 Baht.  A one-year extension of stay shall be granted at the discretion of the immigration officer to the foreigner as long as he or she meets the above requirements

 

That for retirement but is not exact since it on the MFA website. Immigration does extensions. For an extension based upon retirement a combination is allowed.

You wrote a combination for marriage which is not possible. It is 400k baht in a Thai bank for 2 months or proof of 40k baht omvp,r.

From clause 2.18 of the police order for extensions of stay.

Quote

(6) In the case of marriage to a Thai woman, the alien husband must earn an average annual income of no less than Baht 40,000 per month or must have no less than Baht 400,000 in a bank account in Thailand for the past two months to cover expenses for one year.

 

[YetAnother]

13 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

or must have no less than Baht 400,000 in a bank account in Thailand for the past two months to cover expenses for one year.

immigration is estimating our cost of living ?  if this is from the immigration act of 1979, then they really estimated poorly; in my farming community, small families get by on 10000/month which extends to 120,000/yr

[opalred]

i am on retirement visa/ but have been married for 8yrs here

the wife has friends in immigration and asked them what was best 

the said stay on retirement / as always checking on people on marriage visa

at anytime  /night and day a real proplem/ cheers

[ubonjoe]

16 minutes ago, YetAnother said:

mmigration is estimating our cost of living ?  if this is from the immigration act of 1979, then they really estimated poorly; in my farming community, small families get by on 10000/month which extends to 120,000/yr

It is not an estimate. It is a number set in 2003 when they changed it from 250k baht to 400k baht to reflect the devaluation of the baht. The numbers appears to be based upon $10,000 which would  be 25 baht changed to 40 baht. Monthly income was changed from 25k to 40k baht ($1000).

As I wrote what I posted is from clause 2.18 for the most recent police order done in 2014 but the financial requirements have been the same since 2003.

I am certain the original numbers were set based upon a person living in Bangkok.

[ubonjoe]

20 minutes ago, opalred said:

i am on retirement visa/ but have been married for 8yrs here

the wife has friends in immigration and asked them what was best 

the said stay on retirement / as always checking on people on marriage visa

at anytime  /night and day a real proplem/ cheers

That is nonsense. I am on my 9th extension based upon marriage and have never had anybody check on us.

Where does such nonsense come from?

[Ahab]

If you meet the financial requirements for a retirement extension that is the way to go (IMO). More checks and requirements with the marriage extension. The only possible advantage is on a marriage extension you could get a work permit which is not allowed on a retirement extension.

[PoorSucker]

i am on retirement visa/ but have been married for 8yrs here
the wife has friends in immigration and asked them what was best 
the said stay on retirement / as always checking on people on marriage visa
at anytime  /night and day a real proplem/ cheers

Had a visit from immigration first extension 2008.
They want you on retirement because it's less work for them, marriage extension must be approved at regional level.

Sent from my Lenovo TB3-710F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[opalred]

my believe/ and wife was told

on a marriage visa /the police and immigration officers

can and in some areas do house visits/ even down to inspecting bedrooms

taking photos inside the home to see if are living together  cheers  

[overherebc]

27 minutes ago, opalred said:

my believe/ and wife was told

on a marriage visa /the police and immigration officers

can and in some areas do house visits/ even down to inspecting bedrooms

taking photos inside the home to see if are living together  cheers  

Generally that happens for the first application only. Most likely you will never see them at your home again. 

Note. I said most likely.

[opalred]

i can understand the immigration point

most marriages fail after honeymoon stage is over in los

and they tell on renews of visa they are still living together 

that is the reason for house checks anytime i hear

[ratcatcher]

On 2017-5-17 at 10:24 AM, opalred said:

i can understand the immigration point

most marriages fail after honeymoon stage is over in los

and they tell on renews of visa they are still living together 

that is the reason for house checks anytime i hear

"...most marriages fail after honeymoon stage is over in los..."             Do they

Most of my farang friends have Thai wives and have been married for years. In my case, 13, but I suppose there are the usual head over heels "honeymoon"  relationships originating in the more popular resort areas and some indeed fail, and many have been known to be roaring successes. It is the job of the Immigration department to sort the "wheat from the chaff" and that is done by requesting photographs in and around the home and, usually on first applications, a house visit is the norm to establish whether it is indeed a legitimate marriage (usually confirmed by asking witnesses such as neighbors and PuuYai baan to sign a paper acknowledging that fact.)

Yes, there is a bit more effort required to assemble the necessary documents, but for many unable to meet the retirement income level, or perhaps wishing to do some work, an extension of stay based on "Thai Wife" (legitimate) is a good option. When attending the Immigration office, the officers are trained to spot sham marriages. It's not that hard a thing for them to do.

[YetAnother]

On 5/15/2017 at 1:52 PM, ubonjoe said:

The only difference between an extension based upon marriage and retirement is that the financial requirements are higher for retirement.

well, yes, might add that there is an attendant risk of the dependency on the wife if the marriage extension route; if she runs off,dies,divorces,etc; retirement visa has no dependency on her; BUT a lot of us bring them along as they can more easily interpret and address any problems say at extension time

[Mad mick]

On 2017-5-15 at 4:42 PM, moe666 said:

About the same more money required for retirement but usually no home visit and no photos. Yearly and 90 day reports

Leave go live where they like farangs . Vietnam want us visas are hassel free i left a month go stuff kwai land .