Thread: Change at Chiang Mai Immigration

This probably won't affect many people but just in case....

I did my annual renewal for my visa earlier today in CM. Last year - my first renewal on a marriage visa - we used my wife's income to meet the 40,000/month requirement. This has now been disallowed. Foreign husbands now need to show 40,000/month themselves or have 400,000 in the bank (in the husband's name) for at least two months before the extension. This isn't a change in the law - the head of CM immigration has decided to implement this himself (why, I don't know but this is what the officer said). I was allowed to renew the visa based on my wife's income, having done this last year, but was told next year, this wouldn't be possible. You also need to supply a photo of you and your wife together (and a photocopy of this), a new requirement which has just been introduced in the last couple of days.

What! is he trying to put himself out of a job?

You have illustrated the greatest problem in dealing with any bureaucracy here; there are no consistent rules. There is no such thing as knowing exactly what is required and being sure you meet those requirements before you go to the office because they can and are changed on a whim by low level officials and even clerks.

Heaven forbid that your Thai wife should be able to contribute to your income. I was also told that the 400,000 needs to be in an account with my name only next year or it would need to be 800,000 if my wife's name is included. I'm sure there is a perfectly good reason for that, although no one has told me why, and I'm not smart enough to figure it out myself. This is in Issan, so don't feel like the Lone Ranger.