Visa options for Spouse of a Thai National

[slowlyman 118]

I should probably post this on Thai Visa, but we have some pretty sharp folks here on VJ.

With my new Thai wife in tow, what options do I have for a visa on my next visit to Thailand?

[Jamnan_n_Steve 17]

Very much depends on how long you plan to stay. Visa waiver at the airport gives thirty days with a 7 day extension available at a cost in time in money. A land border crossing gets a fifteen day stay. A simple tourust visa costs $40 plus mailing costs and gets you sixty days.with a fifteen dayextension available.

Marriage allows permanent residence but requires annual renewals and many hoops to jump through annual extensions for another year

Try reviewing your options at the Thai embassy or consulate and some of the pinned guides at thaivisa.

Steve

[Karee 4,189]

I should probably post this on Thai Visa, but we have some pretty sharp folks here on VJ.

With my new Thai wife in tow, what options do I have for a visa on my next visit to Thailand?

How long are you planning on staying? If you're planning on more than 30 days, you might want to look into a Non-O. If not, just get the 30 day stamp at the airport. You can actually make a couple visa runs if you want and turn that 30 into 90. That would require a quick flight to Penang or something like that. I hear they're only giving 15 days at the land borders now. Like the other poster said, best to ask on Thaivisa. Anything more than that, you need to look at a Non-O. Non-O is 1 year visa that requires 90 check ins at immigration. You can actually turn it into 15 months if you do it right.

I lived there for 2 years on 30 day stamps. The coup in 2006 brought that to an end.

[AaronLV 12]

How long are you planning on staying? If you're planning on more than 30 days, you might want to look into a Non-O. If not, just get the 30 day stamp at the airport. You can actually make a couple visa runs if you want and turn that 30 into 90. That would require a quick flight to Penang or something like that. I hear they're only giving 15 days at the land borders now. Like the other poster said, best to ask on Thaivisa. Anything more than that, you need to look at a Non-O. Non-O is 1 year visa that requires 90 check ins at immigration. You can actually turn it into 15 months if you do it right.

I lived there for 2 years on 30 day stamps. The coup in 2006 brought that to an end.

The land borders are doing 15 days only, and some of them are limiting the number of times you can do it back to back.

With the Non-O multiple entry you get 90 day stay on each entry, but you still have to exit the country and come back every 90 days. You can do an extension of stay based on marriage at immigration which removes the need to exit the country every 90 days, but still requires you to report to immigration every 90 days. With the extension of stay you need to have 400K baht in a Thai bank for 60 days, and/or have income of at least 40K baht per month.

Doing the paperwork and getting the extension is not bad, and is a lot easier than doing any of the paperwork for the US. The biggest issue is that there really is no standard guidelines at Thai Immigration, some follow the immigration code, some officers don't and make you bring extra paperwork.

[Karee 4,189]

The land borders are doing 15 days only, and some of them are limiting the number of times you can do it back to back.

With the Non-O multiple entry you get 90 day stay on each entry, but you still have to exit the country and come back every 90 days. You can do an extension of stay based on marriage at immigration which removes the need to exit the country every 90 days, but still requires you to report to immigration every 90 days. With the extension of stay you need to have 400K baht in a Thai bank for 60 days, and/or have income of at least 40K baht per month.

Doing the paperwork and getting the extension is not bad, and is a lot easier than doing any of the paperwork for the US. The biggest issue is that there really is no standard guidelines at Thai Immigration, some follow the immigration code, some officers don't and make you bring extra paperwork.

Yeah when I had my Non-O I left every 90 days. I didn't realize at the time that I could get an extension and just report at immigration every 90 days without having to leave the country. Could've saved me a few all day bus rides to Poipet.

[Ning 619]

How long are you planning on staying? If you're planning on more than 30 days, you might want to look into a Non-O. If not, just get the 30 day stamp at the airport. You can actually make a couple visa runs if you want and turn that 30 into 90. That would require a quick flight to Penang or something like that. I hear they're only giving 15 days at the land borders now. Like the other poster said, best to ask on Thaivisa. Anything more than that, you need to look at a Non-O. Non-O is 1 year visa that requires 90 check ins at immigration. You can actually turn it into 15 months if you do it right.

I lived there for 2 years on 30 day stamps. The coup in 2006 brought that to an end.

To me what needs to be done and how would depend on where slowlyman is going to be staying. I say this because in the Issan area things have changed some. There is a new option in Udon from what I am told because there is now an immigration office there especially for the farang population. There is also an office near Nong Kai just South of town or people can continue to the Mekong at the Lao border where they can cross to meet the requirement. Vientiane has a tiny American embassy as well.

[Karee 4,189]

To me what needs to be done and how would depend on where slowlyman is going to be staying. I say this because in the Issan area things have changed some. There is a new option in Udon from what I am told because there is now an immigration office there especially for the farang population. There is also an office near Nong Kai just South of town or people can continue to the Mekong at the Lao border where they can cross to meet the requirement. Vientiane has a tiny American embassy as well.

From what I've been reading on TV, almost every province has an immigration office where you can do your 90 day report now. I think some of them even let you do it by mail. Of course I also read on TV that all of them seem to have different rules from each other. You know how it is there. Today's rules will be different tomorrow. Best bet is to just follow the posts on TV.

[AaronLV 12]

From what I've been reading on TV, almost every province has an immigration office where you can do your 90 day report now. I think some of them even let you do it by mail. Of course I also read on TV that all of them seem to have different rules from each other. You know how it is there. Today's rules will be different tomorrow. Best bet is to just follow the posts on TV.

If you are in an area without a Immigration office you can do the 90 day report at the local police station.

[slowlyman 118]

So, I guess being married really doesn't help me much as far as the "o" is concerned. That must be a pain in teh butt if you stay long term and need to report ever 90 days.

[Jamnan_n_Steve 17]

The principal difference marriage gets you is you can obtain a long-stay (O-A) prior to 50 years of age and previously you needed to have only half the money in the bank and/or pension income but this is changing I believe to be the same as retiree's O-A requires (800K Baht assets/ 65K baht pension)

We haven't register our marriage yet - want to be sure that doesn't place barriers in the way of Gob being a fully entitled Thai citizen - the restriction on Thai women married to foreigner buying land has been eliminated, but want to make sure of what else may result from registering with the Amphur.

steve from

jamnan_n_steve

[Karee 4,189]

So, I guess being married really doesn't help me much as far as the "o" is concerned. That must be a pain in teh butt if you stay long term and need to report ever 90 days.

You wouldn't be able to get the O unless you were married. You could go the O-A retirement route and not be married. I hear that is a bigger pain in the a$$ though when it comes to showing income and money in the bank.

[AaronLV 12]

The principal difference marriage gets you is you can obtain a long-stay (O-A) prior to 50 years of age and previously you needed to have only half the money in the bank and/or pension income but this is changing I believe to be the same as retiree's O-A requires (800K Baht assets/ 65K baht pension)

We haven't register our marriage yet - want to be sure that doesn't place barriers in the way of Gob being a fully entitled Thai citizen - the restriction on Thai women married to foreigner buying land has been eliminated, but want to make sure of what else may result from registering with the Amphur.

steve from

jamnan_n_steve

The requirement is different than a retirement visa, you only need 400K in the bank for 60 days the first time, and then 90 days on the next extension of stay, or you can have an income of 40K baht a month.

[Jamnan_n_Steve 17]

The increase in the income/assets for Non-Immigrant "O" visas for spouses to the same as for retirees was widely discussed on ThaiVisa as being put into effect in England and Australia.

The Thai Embassy in D.C. does not spell out the requirements for income/assets, so not sure if this change is worldwide or just for the two afforementioned countries.

steve from

Jamnan_n_Steve

[AaronLV 12]

The increase in the income/assets for Non-Immigrant "O" visas for spouses to the same as for retirees was widely discussed on ThaiVisa as being put into effect in England and Australia.

The Thai Embassy in D.C. does not spell out the requirements for income/assets, so not sure if this change is worldwide or just for the two afforementioned countries.

steve from

Jamnan_n_Steve

I just got a Non-O visa in March through the Oregon consulate, only thing I had to show was a bank statement from a US with the equivalent of 40K baht.

As for staying in Thailand and doing a extension of stay based on marriage is 400K in the bank, or 40K in income. The law or requirement has not been changed, and I know several people over the past 2 months that have done the extension of stay in CM and the requirement is 400K or 40K, or combination of both.

There was a Thai Visa thread where people were saying it has changed, and it was proved to be completely false, and the people quoted had no idea what they were talking about, as proven over and over in the thread. Thai Visa is a very reliable and unreliable source of information. Just like on this forum and getting any visa everyone's circumstances are different, some people might have overstays in their passports, possibly multiple tourist entries, and it looks as though they are living in Thailand on the wrong visa and abusing the system, which is more of what I believe they are trying to crack down on. I

The land border crossing now have a sign that says you have to show you have X number of baht when coming in (20K for tourist, 40K for Non-O), I have never been asked to show I have the money, however a friend of mine has been asked, and almost they almost wouldn't let his Chinese GF in with him because he was carrying all of their money.

[slowlyman 118]

Thanks, I'll have a look at the Chicago Consulate website. See what I can see.