birozen Posted February 19, 2007 Report Share Posted February 19, 2007 I intend to come and join my wife in Bkk this summer but have conflicting suggestions as to long term visa. I am told by one person in the know to go on a tourist visa, change this to a non immigrant one when there then apply for retirement visa. I think you just need 80.000 baht in a thai bank or proof of income for that. I am not sure about this, surely it would be better to go on a multi (3) 90 day visa from Uk consulate. I am 56 don't have wads of cash so could not set up a business and don't intend to work so work visa is out. Bloody confusing this visa stuff, never took much notice of it before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangkoktraveler Posted February 19, 2007 Report Share Posted February 19, 2007 It gives me a headache. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dumsoda Posted February 19, 2007 Report Share Posted February 19, 2007 Think you're....1 zero short of a Visa.... 800,000 Bt in the Bank....I think, for retirement Visa Do a search, there's info here to be found Cheers DS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Toad Posted February 19, 2007 Report Share Posted February 19, 2007 Retirement visa need 800K in bank, or 60K per month income (Embassy to certify). Gets 12 months visa no trips out of Thailand required. To renew same again Or get multiple entry O in UK from Birmingham, Glasgow or Hull Thai consulates. Then need to 3 monthly visa runs and get new Multiple entry (in UK) after 12/15 months Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julian2 Posted February 19, 2007 Report Share Posted February 19, 2007 Get a tourist visa in the UK or where ever your from as the toady one says. Once here find out how to extend it by talking to other Farangs' it's a prime point of conversation here. Give me a PM if confusion still reigns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThaiHome Posted February 19, 2007 Report Share Posted February 19, 2007 If he is 56, shouldn't he just get a one year multi-entry tpe "0" in the UK. Once he is here he can than extend for a year in the last 30 days (with 800k in bank or proof of income) or take a quick trip out and get another 90 days to decide what to do? Or he could go through the hassle of getting the "O-A" in the UK and when he enters he will get a one year entry stamp. He has many options but it does take some focus to understand visas and immigration, something most of us have not had to deal with in our lives before. TH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magician Posted February 19, 2007 Report Share Posted February 19, 2007 Just went through the drill myself. Came back in on a tourist visa, then went and got married. You need to have a legit marriage license issued by an Amphur (spelling?). Your Embassy will probably have a page detailing the steps. There are lists of needed documents on the web. Just google for "marriage visa thailand," that sort of thing, and you will get various pages of varying utility. Read them carefully, and you will be fairly well prepared. Get your documents translated. I used a couple of the translation shops on Wireless for some of the marriage paperwork, though there is a building just down the street from the American Embassy on the right (take a right out of American Citizen Services and go to the next large building that you hit) that has a great company on the first floor. I cannot remember the name, but they offered translations in about an hour, and they were good. I found them by accident, after asking a security guard at the American Embassy for the nearest ATM. He directed me to that building just down the street. When you walk in past the information desk, they are by a central sitting area, on the right. The going rate for translations is about 400 baht a page. There is a lot of competition, and the corner of Ploenchit/Wireless and Suk in particular has a high concentration of translation/marriage facilitator firms. I used two of them, and got annoyed on both occasions. I was glad that I found the company down the street. I also got my passport photos there (you need two or three of these at various stages). They are like a one-stop shop for everything that you need. Take four copies of all of your documents to Immigration off South Sathorn with you. You can google for the location, and there is a page on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website detailing the requirements for a Non-Res O. I found a map to the place using google, which turned up a page from Chula U regarding student visas. Same place. Good map. It has Thai, which can help you with the taxi driver. I went to the Lumpini underground station, then grabbed a taxi from there. You will need to copy both your first page from your passport, and your latest visa page from your passport. Your wife will need her blue house book from her home tambon (she will know what this is, if you do not), as well as her own passport (assuming that she has one), and her ID card. Make four copies of those items, as well. You only need to copy the first page of the housebook, and the page with her details. Immigration is not interested in the remainder of the book, though you may need to show them the original. You should be walking in to Immigration with a stack of copies about half an inch thick, two passports, a housebook, and your wife's ID card. Remember: four copies of everything. It will save you much inconvenience and time if you already have them. Walk up to the reception desk by the front door at Immigration, tell them that you are there to get a Non-Immigrant O Marriage Visa, and they will hand you some documents to fill out and tell you where to go. I ended up paying for an extension (one month at 1,900 baht), and then going upstairs and paying a further 2,000 baht for the Non-Immigrant O itself. The wait on the O was about two weeks. Be advised that if you get an extension, you will have a new stamp in your passport. You need to go across the street from Immigration to a copy place and get four copies of the page in your passport with the new stamp. It costs about a baht a page. You will be asked some basic questions at the Amphur and at Immigration, but if you are legitimately married and in a relationship with the girl, you will have no problems with them. In some cases, husbands and wives are interviewed separately. If you are just hooking up with a chick and paying her some money to get a visa, the odds are even that you will be caught, in my opinion. The folks at Immigration are not stupid. That said, they are also there to help Thai people, and that includes Thai women who marry wealthy farang who wish to remain in Thailand and take care of the extended family. Overall, the experience was a bit Kafkaesque, but not torturous. Make sure that you keep your originals separate from your copies, as you may need to show your original documents at various points. You can tell which are originals by the stamps. You will be amazed at how many stamps and initials and dates are affixed to these papers. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birozen Posted February 20, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2007 Thanks for all the suggestions guys it certainly is a minefield. I think the suggestion of entering on a tourist visa then converting to non imm O when there (hull says this cannot be done but seems the norm now) is just to save money. Then after three months of cash in the bank a retirement extension can be granted which last for 1 year. What I am unclear of is what happens then, can you renew that as long as you have the money in the bank or do you have to return to UK at some time to apply for a retirement visa from the consul, somebody should write a book about it. Forgot to add I am already married to a thai but that seems to make not much difference. I shall be reading a lot more of this site for earlier posts, thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThaiHome Posted February 21, 2007 Report Share Posted February 21, 2007 Each year, top up the 800k at least 3 months before extension expires and go down and apply for another. You will need to have someone take your passport down to immigration every 90 days to report address. TH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thalenoi Posted February 21, 2007 Report Share Posted February 21, 2007 I am on retirement extension with embassy certificate and do NOT top up my account to 800k, no need for that. You need to have a certified letter from your bank showing account balance and give copies of bankbook showing money coming in/going out. I do have a 6 digit amount on that account though. The 90 days reporting sucks, altough you can do it by mail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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