Thread: Multiple Non immigrant type 'o'( requirements)

Understood Digby. My question to Todd was more about his personal feeling if Savannakhet would still be as easy as they are now. I already knew the answers to all other questions since I have been doing the same thing for the past eleven years. This year there is a good chance that I will not be returning to the States to visit family and friends during the rainy season as I have done before.

I know Todd can not foretell the future, but he seems to have his ear to the ground on such things. I could also do a retirement visa and like to take the path of least resistance. You may consider doing the same thing if you have that option. Dealing with the local immigration office for an extension does not sound like the easiest path for me.

I will be in Thailand in a few weeks time to do some preparatory work. It is finally time for my wife to change her name to mine and we will be obtaining a new ID card and passport in her married name. She will then open bank accounts in her married name. This is to facilitate the transfer of funds into Thailand later. She is also going to the land office to have her "new" name put on the papers relating to the house she already owns.

I had considered getting an O Visa myself so that I could be included on the house registration and open a bank account for myself. The change in rules relating to multi entry visas means that this now just a waste of money and I will enter as a tourist leaving the bank account until a later visit.

You should be able to open a bank account as soon as you arrive. Changing your wife's name on her ID card, driver's license, passport and house book, in that order, will be strait forward as long as you have all your wedding documents. The land office might be more difficult depending on the existing title. Is the title in her name now, or someone elses?

Originally Posted by rickschoppers

You should be able to open a bank account as soon as you arrive. Changing your wife's name on her ID card, driver's license, passport and house book, in that order, will be strait forward as long as you have all your wedding documents. The land office might be more difficult depending on the existing title. Is the title in her name now, or someone elses?

The house and land are already in her maiden name. It is just a question of a name change.

The name change would have been done earlier were it not for the fact that the women she saw in Chang Wattana were trying to get money out of her by getting their friends to do a new and totally unnecessary translation. These have now been bypassed as our marriage has been "legalised" by the UK Foreign Office and the original marriage certificate and translation have been accepted and stamped by the Thai Embassy in London.

Good that her land is already in her name? Did you give her the money for the land, or was it a gift from her family? There would be an extra step or two if you gave her the money. It will be a bit sticky since a falang is now involved and your wife may be pressured for some tea money. Pay only the fees that will appear on your final receipt.

Originally Posted by toddaniels

Originally Posted by CaptainNemo

I've got a quick question for yer...

Digby Fantona is correct, you're not gonna pull a year-long, multi-entry Non-Immigrant Type O visa from Hull. You go to London to get them now. You're not able to get them from most of the honorary consulates in the US either. Multi-entry visas (of any type) now can only be had from the thai consulates in New York, Washington DC, LA or Chicago.

Inside the country there is NO extension of stay for any reason that is longer than a year. Outside the country if you're wanting a visa based on marriage to a thai All you're gonna get is either a year-long, multi-entry Non-immigrant O visa <-where you border-bounce every 90 days. The other option is to apply for a yearly extension of stay inside thailand at the immigration office.

Honestly now, if I was wanting a year-long, multi-entry Non-O based on marriage to a thai I wouldn't fool with ANY consulate in the west. I'd go to the thai consulate in Savannakhet. Hands down they're the easiest thai consulate to get that visa from.

FWIW: if you have a Non-O visa OR an extension of stay based on marriage to a thai you can get a work permit and work here.

To get on the "naturalized thai" train you'd need unbroken "yearly extensions of stays" NOT year-long, multi-entry visas where you leave every 90 days <-those don't count.

You'd also need to legally work here, pay and file taxes etc along with a plethora of other things..

Good luck

Thanks todd.

I always thought that the only way (or maybe the best way) to get a work permit was to set up a family shell firm, and for that firm to employ me, and so any work I did in Thailand would get paid into it... but then you need to have a chanote deed to have an address for your company to be based at, I guess.

Fishing around for long-term stable plans (i.e.: a 5-year plan to get dual-Thai/Farang status), it seems to me that at the moment, one of the safest options is to take up the 1-year UK PGCE in maths or science, where they give you about £25k tax free to train and pay fees, and then with the QTS you can reliably work in Asia indefinitely doing that (or as a fallback), for a reasonable wedge to make life worth living.
Trying to get a gig working at a Thai uni seems to be a waste of effort in comparison.

This prompts the question of what visa you might go for, because normally teachers get a Non-Imm O/ED Teacher visa don't they?

I guess what I'm fishing for is "visa strategy"... so the question becomes, does trying to satisfy the working and taxpaying aspect via proper teaching (as opposed to TEFLing) work via a Teacher visa, or does doing your own Spouse visa complicate life when trying to work as a proper teacher.

Either way, it sounds like you need to have 1 Non-Imm Single Entry O + 4 extensions of it in a row, along with everything else.

I'd like to hear more about which WP form you fill in and what you put there as a spouse... does your spouse effectively become your boss?!

Originally Posted by rickschoppers

Good that her land is already in her name? Did you give her the money for the land, or was it a gift from her family? There would be an extra step or two if you gave her the money. It will be a bit sticky since a falang is now involved and your wife may be pressured for some tea money. Pay only the fees that will appear on your final receipt.

No, the transfer was made to her by her mother and no money of mine was involved. The change of name should be done easily and my wife thinks that there will be no fee involved. They will probably try it on to get a few baht but I will be nowhere in sight. It is just a change of name.

Originally Posted by rickschoppers

Todd, I currently have a 1 year Non-Immigrant O visa based on marriage to a Thai that I obtained from LA last August. I plan to do a border bounce a couple of weeks before expiration to give myself another 90 days. Would it be wiser to head for Savannakhet and obtain a new visa, or go to immigration here for an extension on my current visa? I would prefer the former. Hopefully Savannakhet will not change their position between now and next year, or anytime for that matter.

I would apply for an extension in Udon Thani where I find immigration a bit difficult depending on who I talk to.

Is there a league table of easier and more difficult immigration offices?!

Originally Posted by Phuketrichard

WHY" change her name? wont help one bit transferring assets/money into thailand. Evey one i ever spoke to and NONE of my married friends to Farangs have their wife's changed their names on their id cards or passports to their husbands. Some have lived overseas with their husbands as well.

The change of name will be done for two reasons. We intend building a second house on the land already owned by my wife and money will be transferred to her account from the UK. This avoids any questions relating to whose funds are used to build the house. Secondly, our daughter has my name and it will be easier for her to inherit if we all share the same family name. Yes, I am anticipating that my wife will die one day. If she predeceases me, the house will be owned by my daughter.

Originally Posted by Digby Fantona

Originally Posted by rickschoppers

Good that her land is already in her name? Did you give her the money for the land, or was it a gift from her family? There would be an extra step or two if you gave her the money. It will be a bit sticky since a falang is now involved and your wife may be pressured for some tea money. Pay only the fees that will appear on your final receipt.

No, the transfer was made to her by her mother and no money of mine was involved. The change of name should be done easily and my wife thinks that there will be no fee involved. They will probably try it on to get a few baht but I will be nowhere in sight. It is just a change of name.

Good, she may or may not have to pay a small transfer fee. Best to stay out of sight, but go with her in case they want to see her spouse. Take your passport for ID, if needed.

Digby Fantona you're a little off base as far as the requirements to open a bank account here as a foreigner.

There are NO laws or rules concerning banking that prohibits a foreigner from opening a bank account while on a 30 day visa exempt or tourist visa.

The rules whether a particular bank will let you or not are decided at completely at the branch level by that particular branch's manager. If the branch of one bank won't do it, walk down the street to the very next branch of the same bank. You only hafta try 2 or 3 and you'll find one that'll open an account for you.

FWIW: I just sent a kiwi to the Bangkok Bank branch on Sukhumvit next to Chuwit Park and he opened a savings account just fine on a 30 day visa exempt stamp and proof of residence from his consulate <-that's a requirement at most banks now. Some branches will take hotel receipts, rental agreements etc, most want a letter from your consulate, or a letter from the immigration office stating you reside here.

Digby; as far as what course of action you should take, I'd suggest getting a 90 day single entry Non-Immigrant Type O <-(other) visa from a thai consulate BEFORE washin' up here. You can extend that for a year based on being over 50 (retirement) OR based on marriage for 1900baht at the immigration office where you live.

It is true, going for an extension based on being over 50 (retirement) is far less document intensive (and they're granted on the spot versus the 30 day under consideration for one based on marriage).

The financials are twice as high for one based on being over 50, but you have 3 ways you can meet the financials though;

• 800k banked in an account in your name only for 60 days prior to your first yearly extension application (3 month for all subsequent extensions)
• proof of 65k baht a month income from your country by using a verification of funds from abroad notary (that you get from your consulate here)
• a combination of banked money (seasoned the requisite time) and income from abroad where the total equals 800K baht.

unfortunately IF you're going to try to find gainful employment here you should know fewer and fewer labor offices will grant a work permit while you're on an extension of stay based on being over 50 (retirement). There is nothing in the labor laws about the issuing of work permits that actually prohibits this and I know a LOT of foreigners on 'retirement extensions' who do hold valid work permits too, BUT it's getting harder and some places won't do new ones, just the grandfathered in people already on them.

On an extension of stay based on marriage labor offices will issue one without a problem.

Originally Posted by CaptainNemo

This prompts the question of what visa you might go for, because normally teachers get a Non-Imm O/ED Teacher visa don't they?

I guess what I'm fishing for is "visa strategy"... so the question becomes, does trying to satisfy the working and taxpaying aspect via proper teaching (as opposed to TEFLing) work via a Teacher visa, or does doing your own Spouse visa complicate life when trying to work as a proper teacher.

There is no "teacher visa" as such. Apart from what Tod said earlier, your other option is a non-immigrant B visa.

Capt Nemo; the ONLY teachers that get ED visas are the ones working illegally because you can't hold a work permit on that type of visa/extension..

Most I know have Non-B <-business visa/extensions, or if they're married Non-O visa/extensions. The good thing about working while on an extension of stay based on marriage to a thai is, IF you lose your job and your employer cancels your work permit, your extension isn't automatically canceled like it would be if you were on a Non-B extension, because the extension you're on "based on marriage to a thai" isn't thai'd err tied to your employment.

As far as would a shell company work for you, I got no idea, but I do know there are minimum salary requirements needed to apply for permanent residence AND to apply for thai citizenship. You'd hafta hit those requirements (or at least take out with-holding tax and file taxes like you were making the minimum)..

Originally Posted by toddaniels

Digby Fantona you're a little off base as far as the requirements to open a bank account here as a foreigner.

No, I am fully aware of the funny little things I may experience by dealing with different individuals in Thailand. My ideal scenario would be to sort everything out in one go, bank account, driving licence, address, everything, but given the fact that multi entry visas are no longer available at Consulates I would be throwing money away on my next visit if I entered other than as a tourist.

I want my wife to sort out her bank account but there is no obvious advantage for me by getting a bank account on my visit in May,

I have been here eleven years and have yet to prove income or wealth. I use my personal Thai bank account rarely only as a convenience.

Originally Posted by Neverna

Originally Posted by CaptainNemo

This prompts the question of what visa you might go for, because normally teachers get a Non-Imm O/ED Teacher visa don't they?

I guess what I'm fishing for is "visa strategy"... so the question becomes, does trying to satisfy the working and taxpaying aspect via proper teaching (as opposed to TEFLing) work via a Teacher visa, or does doing your own Spouse visa complicate life when trying to work as a proper teacher.

There is no "teacher visa" as such. Apart from what Tod said earlier, your other option is a non-immigrant B visa.

I've had a B visa before.

I was thinking of this:

Non-Immigrant Visa


Category "F" To perform official duties. Category "B" To conduct business, to work, to study teaching course, to work as an English teacher, to take scuba diving or boxing lessons, to work as a sport coach, to do an internship, to work as a film-producer, journalist or reporter for a short period. Category "IM" To invest with the concurrence of the Thai Ministries and Government Departments concerned. Category "IB" To invest or perform other activities relating to investment, subject to the provision of the established laws on investment promotion. Category "ED" To study, to come on a work study tour or observation tour, to participate in projects or seminars, to attend a conference or training course, to study as a foreign Buddhist monk. Category "M" To work as a film-producer, journalist or reporter. Category "R To perform missionary work or other religious activities with the concurrence of the Thai Ministries or Government Departments concerned. Category "RS" To conduct scientific research or training or teaching in a research institute. Category "EX" To undertake skilled work or to work as an expert or specialist. Category "O"
To visit Thai spouse, children, parents, voluntary job, retirement (with State Pension) Category
"O-A"
To applicants aged 50 and over who wish to stay in Thailand for an extended period without the intention of working.

Royal Thai Embassy, London | » Types of Visas » Types of Visas

Originally Posted by rickschoppers

I have been here eleven years and have yet to prove income or wealth. I use my personal Thai bank account rarely only as a convenience.

Yes, but you buy a "fresh" visa every year and do visa runs in between and I don't want to do that. I am fit and healthy now but the time may come when a trip out of the country will not be so appealing. Picture, if you will, little old me sitting in my rocking chair, chewing my betel nut and getting somebody else to do my 90 day reporting online.

Originally Posted by toddaniels

Capt Nemo; the ONLY teachers that get ED visas are the ones working illegally because you can't hold a work permit on that type of visa/extension..

Most I know have Non-B <-business visa/extensions, or if they're married Non-O visa/extensions. The good thing about working while on an extension of stay based on marriage to a thai is, IF you lose your job and your employer cancels your work permit, your extension isn't automatically canceled like it would be if you were on a Non-B extension, because the extension you're on "based on marriage to a thai" isn't thai'd err tied to your employment.

As far as would a shell company work for you, I got no idea, but I do know there are minimum salary requirements needed to apply for permanent residence AND to apply for thai citizenship. You'd hafta hit those requirements (or at least take out with-holding tax and file taxes like you were making the minimum)..

OK. So it sounds like a sensible plan might be to get a single-entry o visa and then look into getting a wp on the back of that. Don't really need to bother with B visas again.

You're saying that an O spouse visa is not multi-entry? has to be single entry? then you can look at permanent residence (assuming you sort out the income side)... does that mean you can't every go on any foreign trips out of the country if you want to keep on the naturalisation track?

Originally Posted by CaptainNemo

Originally Posted by Neverna

Originally Posted by CaptainNemo

This prompts the question of what visa you might go for, because normally teachers get a Non-Imm O/ED Teacher visa don't they?

I guess what I'm fishing for is "visa strategy"... so the question becomes, does trying to satisfy the working and taxpaying aspect via proper teaching (as opposed to TEFLing) work via a Teacher visa, or does doing your own Spouse visa complicate life when trying to work as a proper teacher.

There is no "teacher visa" as such. Apart from what Tod said earlier, your other option is a non-immigrant B visa.

I've had a B visa before.

I was thinking of this:

Non-Immigrant Visa


Category "F" To perform official duties. Category "B" To conduct business, to work, to study teaching course, to work as an English teacher, to take scuba diving or boxing lessons, to work as a sport coach, to do an internship, to work as a film-producer, journalist or reporter for a short period. Category "IM" To invest with the concurrence of the Thai Ministries and Government Departments concerned. Category "IB" To invest or perform other activities relating to investment, subject to the provision of the established laws on investment promotion. Category "ED" To study, to come on a work study tour or observation tour, to participate in projects or seminars, to attend a conference or training course, to study as a foreign Buddhist monk. Category "M" To work as a film-producer, journalist or reporter. Category "R To perform missionary work or other religious activities with the concurrence of the Thai Ministries or Government Departments concerned. Category "RS" To conduct scientific research or training or teaching in a research institute. Category "EX" To undertake skilled work or to work as an expert or specialist. Category "O"
To visit Thai spouse, children, parents, voluntary job, retirement (with State Pension) Category
"O-A"
To applicants aged 50 and over who wish to stay in Thailand for an extended period without the intention of working.

Royal Thai Embassy, London | » Types of Visas » Types of Visas

That's what I said. Do you think they are different?

Non-immigrant B visa = non-immigrant type B visa = non-immigrant category B visa

I know... I was just explaining why I got confused... I thought they were all sub-categories of an O visa... because I didn't read it properly, partly because I'm dyslexic, and partly because I didn't read it properly.
I had looked at more than one site and seen some info that seems to have been incorrect, but I can't remember the URL, not that it matters, as I don't see any need for a B visa for me.

Originally Posted by rickschoppers

I have been here eleven years and have yet to prove income or wealth. I use my personal Thai bank account rarely only as a convenience.

Yep...
And many still carry heavy angst with this false requirement.

Originally Posted by Digby Fantona

Originally Posted by rickschoppers

I have been here eleven years and have yet to prove income or wealth. I use my personal Thai bank account rarely only as a convenience.

Yes, but you buy a "fresh" visa every year and do visa runs in between and I don't want to do that. I am fit and healthy now but the time may come when a trip out of the country will not be so appealing. Picture, if you will, little old me sitting in my rocking chair, chewing my betel nut and getting somebody else to do my 90 day reporting online.

I have a different situation than yours. I only need to drive about 50 kms to Nong Khai with my wife and cross the border, then loop back around into Thailand while my wife drinks a cup of coffee. The loop takes me about 45 minutes plus driving time. Easy for me and maybe not for you. Take in all the information given here and then make up your own mind on how to tackle the visa thing. One shoe does not fit all, but it doesn't hurt to know some of the shortcuts.

Yes, it is more likely that my visa runs, if any are to be done, will be at Nong Khai. It does seem to be more convenient to be able to report online though. I am in good health now but this could change and what is simple, even enjoyable, now may prove to be difficult if my health fails.

I like Nong Khai a lot. Property prices are silly there now and much cheaper to build a new one on land already owned. Nice fish and chips in Mai's Bar next to the City Hotel.