Marriage versus Retirement extension

[4MyEgo]

The retirement extension is the easiest, 800k baht in a Thai bank account 2 months prior to your application, 3 months when renewing is what you will need, and it is much easier to get then a marriage extension which is 400k baht in a Thai bank account 2 months prior to your application, 3 months upon renewal.

 

I originally got the retirement extension, then changed to the marriage extension when it was coming up to expire as that is what I wanted in the 1st place, but took the immigration officers advice that the retirement extension was easier and could be given on the spot, which it was on the day, the marriage extension is a whole lot more detailed, however once you get it you can apply for a Tabien Baan (yellow book) and a pink ID card, but if you do, be prepared for a whole new ball game with loads of paperwork and your embassy seal on a lot of documents and at a cost of course.

 

I had no real reason to apply for the marriage extension except for an arrogant Thai government worker at the local Amphur who said to my wife that they haven't issued one to a farang in a long time and it would be too difficult, and it would be best to stay on the retirement extension, suffice to say I am always up for a challenge, and now they can say they issued one to a farang in 2017.

 

Some of the docs you will require for the marriage extension:

 

1.Your passport, your wife’s passport, and copies

2. Husband/Wife’s ID card

3. Husband/Wife’s household registration Tabian Baan (Blue Book)

4. Children’s birth certificates if available

5. Your legal marriage certificate

6. Bankbook in Thailand showing funds of 400,000 Thai baht or a letter from your Embassy showing income of 40,000 Thai baht per month.

 7. Letter from your Thai bank confirming your funds a day before and a print out from the ATM on the day you apply

8. Drawn location map of your residence
9. Proof of where you reside with your husband/wife, if you rent you need a copy of the ID card and the household registration of the owner
10. 2 photographs together inside your home
11. 2 photographs outside the home showing the house or condo number

 

 

Some of the docs you will require for the extension of stay based on retirement:

 

1. You must be at least 50 years of age

2. You must have the equivalent of 800,000 Baht in financial resources to show that you can live in the Kingdom without working – Persons with extensions for purpose of retirement are prohibited from working in the Kingdom. The financial resources can be satisfied by any one of the following methods:

a. Cash on deposit in a Thai bank equal or greater than 800,000 Baht.

i. Funds are required to have been on deposit for 60 days before making an initial application for extension.

ii. Funds are required to have been on deposit for 90 days before making a renewal application for extension.

b. A monthly income equivalent to at least 65,000 Baht per month, or

c. A combination of a. and b. that together is equal to or greater than 800,000 Baht – monthly income x 12 months plus amount on deposit.

3. Hold a Non-Immigrant “O” or “O-A” Visa.

 

CAUTION: The bank account must be in the retiree’s name only OR if a joint account, Immigration will consider only one half the amounts on deposit as meeting the 800,000 Baht requirement. This also applies even if the joint owner is the retiree’s spouse. Also, the account must not be restricted on withdrawing funds – e.g. time deposits. Some banks offer accounts that have higher interest rates if funds are kept on deposit for specified time periods, but allow withdrawal at any time with the only penalty being to lose the higher interest rate. These latter type accounts are usually acceptable

 

4. Application for Extension of Temporary Stay in the Kingdom, TM.7 – one original.

5. One photograph – 4cm x 6 cm

6. Passport (original) with at least 6 months remaining validity. The maximum extension allowed can be up to one year; but in no case beyond the expiration date of the passport.

7. Photocopy of passport pages (one copy)

a. Identity page(s) showing holder’s picture, name, and date issued, etc.

b. Page showing the Non-Immigrant Visa [if the applicant is applying on the basis of being a former Thai national or whose parent(s) are/were Thai nationals, this may be the page showing a Tourist Visa if that was used for entry into Thailand].

c. Page(s) showing each subsequent one-year extension, if applicable

d. Page showing the last entry stamp into Thailand

8. Photocopy of Departure Card, TM.6 (this card is usually stapled in your passport upon arrival)

 

NOTE: Each photocopy needs to have your original signature on it – in Thailand, this is deemed to be your certification that it is a true copy of the original.

 

But always best to visit the local immigration office before hand to discuss if there is anything more that they would require, they usually have a print out to give you.

 

Good Luck

 

[smotherb]

9 hours ago, CMKiwi said:

Unfortunately it's only the Yanks (Sorry...Americans) that are able to rock up to their embassy/consulate and swear an oath to say they have the required funds for the appropriate visa.  

 

The rest of us have to prove it in cold hard cash.

 

With the comparison between marriage or 'retirement' I am led to believe that the 'retirement' visa is a lot less hassle paperwork wise.

 

I've had a few friends that reverted back to retirement visa as the marriage visa is a crock to work thru/abide by. Too many hoops to jump through.

 

You can always chat to the friendly staff at Assist Thai Visa or any other like minded agencies.  They do provide a great service.

Certainly, everyone knows Americans have more money and Americans are honest; consequently, their Embassy believe them.

[Dante99]

14 hours ago, Jip99 said:

 

 

I had had an issue with Buriram Immigration wanted the FCD passbook updated. Buriram branch of Bangkok Bank could not do that but provided an "update letter" (in addition to the normal bank letter).

 

That wasn't good enough so the passbook had to be sent to Bangkok for updating.

Was the account opened in Bkk or Buriram?  I have had no difficulty like that but my book has always been updated by the branch the account was opened at.  I do understand that all branches can not handle foreign currency accounts with most banks.

 

Anyway you are confirming that such accounts are acceptable.

[CMKiwi]

15 hours ago, Suradit69 said:

No, it's not just the Americans whose government assumes its citizens are telling the truth when taking an oath.

 

The O/P asked about extensions of stay, not visas.

 

The money needs to be in a Thai bank. It can be in a foreign currency account.

 

Well if you read something on TV it must be true and accurate.  Unfortunately there are (obviously) some clueless and ill-prepared people going into immigrations offices and if they don't understand something or they screwed up, the first thing they do is blame immigrations. This thread alone is awash in misinformation and confusion.

 

Actually with one border hop before the visa expires, you would only need to return to UK about every two years or you could choose to apply for an annual extension of stay in Thailand.towards the end of the second year if exchange rates were more to your liking.

 

 

 

 

As it seems that you are just picking holes into advice people are giving the OP,  a point to note...

 

The OP in FACT asked about extentions. The topic heading being: Marriage vs Retirement Extention.  Which most of us know to be officially an 'extention of stay'

 

Im not sure who made you the official visa guru but other people are free to offer their experiences so that the OP can be better prepared when he visits the Immigration department, especially where it concerns Chiang Mai Immigration.

 

One would like to think that all Immigration departments are the same throughout Thailand, however in reality they are not.  It appears the CM Immigration can be one of the most difficult to comprehend (At times).  Luckily for me, that all my dealings with CM Immigration have actually been smooth sailing.

[Jip99]

1 hour ago, Dante99 said:

Was the account opened in Bkk or Buriram?  I have had no difficulty like that but my book has always been updated by the branch the account was opened at.  I do understand that all branches can not handle foreign currency accounts with most banks.

 

Anyway you are confirming that such accounts are acceptable.

 

 

It was Buriram branch - that was the issue, they were unable to update at the branch. I understand that they now have the ability to do so. As you say, the point is that the FCD is acceptable but the passbook needs updating.

[Jip99]

9 hours ago, smotherb said:

Certainly, everyone knows Americans have more money and Americans are honest; consequently, their Embassy believe them.

 

 

Ha Ha Ha.

 

With Trump as the epitome of that status the Thais are sure to buy it !

[Greenside]

17 hours ago, Dante99 said:

 

I never had a problem using a foreign currency account as part of my money to satisfy CM Immigration.  I show them bank books for that account and a Baht account, they convert the foreign currency to Baht and get a total Baht figure.

 

Do you know people who have offered a foreign currency account and been refused by Immigration?

No, it was just a suspicion I had, loosely based on the logic of a system that insists that you provide a (in my case badly) hand drawn map to your house rather than a fabulous high resolution Google version in colour.  I will be doing my renewal tomorrow and ask for the record.

[sandyf]

18 hours ago, trainman34014 said:

Some stories will be fiction but many people just do not prepare properly and suffer the consequences.

That is not entirely true.

When I went back to do my second marriage extension immigration said the rules had changed and that I would need witnesses again and they would need to do a home visit. I changed the application and walked out an hour later with a retirement extension.

 

Many seem to be unaware that the marriage extension is a 2 tier arrangement and much easier for those with children than those without. I fell foul of the rule changes because we have no children.

[smotherb]

2 hours ago, Jip99 said:

 

 

Ha Ha Ha.

 

With Trump as the epitome of that status the Thais are sure to buy it !

Trump is not skint and he expects people to believe him; and we are talking about the Thai people at your embassy?

[Bill97]

No, it was just a suspicion I had, loosely based on the logic of a system that insists that you provide a (in my case badly) hand drawn map to your house rather than a fabulous high resolution Google version in colour.  I will be doing my renewal tomorrow and ask for the record.

Guess you really meant it when you started out with "I don't think ...."

[thaibeachlovers]

18 hours ago, Rotweiler said:

Not sure, but are you suggesting

 a marriage visa costs 4525,000 B?

 

 

It doesn't COST that much, just 1,900 for the extension. Need 400,000 baht in the bank to get extension, but can spend it after.

[Hugh Jarse]

22 hours ago, trainman34014 said:

Can never understand why people complain about the process for Marriage Extension...unless they are just lazy.     Did mine again last week for the tenth time and it was a breeze, no difficulty whatsoever and i have never used an agent.

How many people in the Queue before you and did you do it a.m or p.m? Trying to plan mine soon.

[dsj]

On 8/22/2017 at 1:22 PM, CMKiwi said:

Unfortunately it's only the Yanks (Sorry...Americans) that are able to rock up to their embassy/consulate and swear an oath to say they have the required funds for the appropriate visa.  

 

The rest of us have to prove it in cold hard cash.

 

With the comparison between marriage or 'retirement' I am led to believe that the 'retirement' visa is a lot less hassle paperwork wise.

 

I've had a few friends that reverted back to retirement visa as the marriage visa is a crock to work thru/abide by. Too many hoops to jump through.

 

You can always chat to the friendly staff at Assist Thai Visa or any other like minded agencies.  They do provide a great service.

That's not true, I am Canadian and for the last 6 years I have used a Income verification form from the Canadian Embassy with no problems. Several years ago I switch from an extension based on marriage to retirement as for retirement you don't know all the paper work.I also know that U.K does or did income verification letters.

[trainman34014]

1 hour ago, Hugh Jarse said:

How many people in the Queue before you and did you do it a.m or p.m? Trying to plan mine soon.

 Morning and we were No3 in the queue; start to finish 3 hours.

[ross163103]

6 hours ago, sandyf said:

When I went back to do my second marriage extension immigration said the rules had changed and that I would need witnesses again and they would need to do a home visit. I changed the application and walked out an hour later with a retirement extension.

Same thing was going on with me except it was my first time applying based on marriage. Threw in the towel and went back to retirement extension of stay, much easier IMHO. 

[cyborgx]

On ‎22‎/‎08‎/‎2017 at 3:52 PM, TerryLH said:

"PS. Just remembered that if you are happy to return to the UK once a year you can get a new OA visa based on retirement which does not require 800,000 in a Thai bank."

 

If done right you would only need to do this about every two years.

Sounds interesting, more info please....