Thread: Tourist visa. Extension based on marriage

Hi everybody,

Just looking into what kind of visa I should get this year now that I can't get my usual multi entry no-imm 'o' from Hull.
My situation is that my Thai fiancé and I are due to get legally Married in Thailand in Jan, have a western style ceremony for our families in March and hopefully move back to the UK (depending on visa success for him!) in May/June.

Basically Im looking for the cheapest/easiest option!
I will probably get a double or triple entry Tourist visa but I was hoping to try to avoid visa runs/extensions every bloomin' month as we will have a lot going on next year!
So I have heard that if I am on a tourist visa I can extend this for an extra 60 days (as opposed to 30) based on being married to a Thai. Is this true? As it seems this would be the easiest option as we're not staying there long term.
I would be extending it at Koh Samui (not sure if different offices have different rules)

Can anybody with any first hand info on this confirm this is possible?
Thanks!

Would you care to say why you cant get the

Originally Posted by missmaipenrai

usual multi entry no-imm 'o' from Hull

?

Hull used to give out non immigrant O visas just for 'visiting friends or family', now they have tightened the rules and you must provide a marriage certificate to be issued with it. As I am not getting married until Jan I can't get it without one but will still need visa to enter the country on!
I know I could go to a consulate outside of Thailand after we are married, but I was wondering if I could get these 60 day extensions on the tourist visa, that it might be easier to do it that way.

^If I remember correctly, I came in on a 60 day tourist visa from the consulate in Vancouver, got a 30 day extension in Phuket then would go up to Ranong for another 60 day, get a 30 day ext again in Phuket, rinse repeat etc. This was in 2006 - 07 so things might have changed and/or I'm not remembering correctly. Maybe I just got another 30 days from Ranong not 60, I do remember a couple of trips to KL during that time too.

Reading this again, probably didn't help you. Sorry

Haven't you got to have been married for at least one year before it's recognised as a tool to obtain a visa ?

So I have heard that if I am on a tourist visa I can extend this for an extra 60 days (as opposed to 30) based on being married to a Thai.


Yes you can. You need to show marriage cert, Thai ID, and proof of her address (rental contract if her Tabien Bahn shows a different province).

If you have a double entry visa it would be as follows:

Enter: 60 days.
Extend for 30 days. (no point in you extending for 60 here as you would miss the visa's enter by date.
Border run, re-enter and get 60 days.
Extend for 60 days based on visiting wife.

btw, you don't have to be on a Tourist Visa to extend for 60 days, you can also be on a Visa Exemption - the 30 days you get on arrival at an airport or 15 you get at a land border without having a visa.

So you can arrive, get 30 days.
Extend for 60 days.
Border run, get 15 days.
Extend for 60 days.

Continue.

So effectively you'll have a border run and one extension every 75 days. No visa needed.

If you're not here for long period of time, and you say money is an issue, that may be the cheapest and most suitable option.

Originally Posted by Chairman Mao

btw, you don't have to be on a Tourist Visa to extend for 60 days, you can also be on a Visa Exemption - the 30 days you get on arrival at an airport or 15 you get at a land border without having a visa.

So you can arrive, get 30 days.
Extend for 60 days.
Border run, get 15 days.
Extend for 60 days.

Continue.

So effectively you'll have a border run and one extension every 75 days. No visa needed.

If you're not here for long period of time, and you say money is an issue, that may be the cheapest and most suitable option.

Your permit to stay in Thailand can only be extended for 7-10 days if you are on visa exempt.

There are no 30 days Tourist Visas , they are 60 days and can be extended by 30 days.

Originally Posted by lom

Originally Posted by Chairman Mao

btw, you don't have to be on a Tourist Visa to extend for 60 days, you can also be on a Visa Exemption - the 30 days you get on arrival at an airport or 15 you get at a land border without having a visa.

So you can arrive, get 30 days.
Extend for 60 days.
Border run, get 15 days.
Extend for 60 days.

Continue.

So effectively you'll have a border run and one extension every 75 days. No visa needed.

If you're not here for long period of time, and you say money is an issue, that may be the cheapest and most suitable option.

Your permit to stay in Thailand can only be extended for 7-10 days if you are on visa exempt.

Incorrect.

They can be extended for 60 days based on visiting your wife.

Known as the 'Unofficial Marriage Visa' within the circles that use it.

Border run. Get 15 days.
Extend for 60 days based on visiting wife.
Repeat.

There are no 30 days Tourist Visas , they are 60 days

Correct. I did not say otherwise.

VE - 30 days is what you get upon arrival at an airport if not in possession of a valid visa. 15 days at land border.

and can be extended by 30 days.

And 60 days based on visiting your wife.


I don't believe you really know what you're talking about.

Originally Posted by Chairman Mao

Originally Posted by lom

Your permit to stay in Thailand can only be extended for 7-10 days if you are on visa exempt.

Incorrect.

They can be extended for 60 days based on visiting your wife.

Known as the 'Unofficial Marriage Visa' within the circles that use it.

Border run. Get 15 days.
Extend for 60 days based on visiting wife.
Repeat.

btw, it might be of interest to some that many older gentlemen living in Isaan live here based on this 'Unofficial Marriage Visa'. The main reason being is:

They don't have to show any proof of income, or keep 400k in a stagnant Thai bank.

Every 75 days they get a quick border run to either Laos or Cambodia which are obviously quite close to them and they get to stock up on duty free booze/fags, get a very cheap ST with some unfortunate young girl etc etc.

Mao,

What happened to last years ruling on tourist visias that limited them to one renewal, (Max 90 days,) and then had to stay out of country for 90 days. as I recall?

Originally Posted by Chairman Mao

btw, you don't have to be on a Tourist Visa to extend for 60 days, you can also be on a Visa Exemption - the 30 days you get on arrival at an airport or 15 you get at a land border without having a visa.

So you can arrive, get 30 days.
Extend for 60 days.
Border run, get 15 days.
Extend for 60 days.

Continue.

So effectively you'll have a border run and one extension every 75 days. No visa needed.

If you're not here for long period of time, and you say money is an issue, that may be the cheapest and most suitable option.

That post you have quoted is about Visa Exemptions, NOT Tourist Visas.

There is NO limit on VEs - doing a border run and re-entering Thailand without a visa.

As for Tourist Visas, I believe Vientiane and Phnom Penh have gotten tight on issuing double entry Tourist Visas if a person has 3 of them in their passport already.

The announcement you speak of was about 18 months ago and must have been forgotten about, I haven't heard of anyone who has been affected by it. What I have heard is some people being refused double entry Tourist Visas in Laos/Cambo because they had 3 of them in their passport already. I've heard non-whites (Fillas and africans) have been sent away without even a single entry because they had 3 or more TRs in their passy, but whiteys have generally been okay.

If you have 1 TR in yer passy you should be okay getting a double in Laos. PP is getting tight issuing them apparently.

If you have 2, the same should still apply.

If you have 3, you are likely to only get a single-entry in either country.

If you have more than 3, I don't know and haven't heard anything good or bad from anyone.

Originally Posted by missmaipenrai

Hi everybody,

Just looking into what kind of visa I should get this year now that I can't get my usual multi entry no-imm 'o' from Hull.
My situation is that my Thai fiancé and I are due to get legally Married in Thailand in Jan, have a western style ceremony for our families in March and hopefully move back to the UK (depending on visa success for him!) in May/June.

Basically Im looking for the cheapest/easiest option!
I will probably get a double or triple entry Tourist visa but I was hoping to try to avoid visa runs/extensions every bloomin' month as we will have a lot going on next year!
So I have heard that if I am on a tourist visa I can extend this for an extra 60 days (as opposed to 30) based on being married to a Thai. Is this true? As it seems this would be the easiest option as we're not staying there long term.
I would be extending it at Koh Samui (not sure if different offices have different rules)

Can anybody with any first hand info on this confirm this is possible?
Thanks!

Have you contacted Hull (or Liverpool, Birmingham or Cardiff) and asked if they will help you with a non-imm? I'm sure they can help on a case-by-case basis.

I would be extending it at Koh Samui (not sure if different offices have different rules)

They shouldn't, but every officer probably has different rules that they believe to be correct, never mind different immigration offices.

Put simply, the average Thai government official is an incompetent simpleton monkey.

I can personally remember three different occasions I've had to explain the rules to them, that was in Bangkok.

Originally Posted by Chairman Mao

The announcement you speak of was about 18 months ago and must have been forgotten about,

Interesting Mao. Thanks for the info.

Welcomes.

I haven't heard of anybody being refused a tourist visa due to them already having one within the previous 180 day period.

For having too many of them (3+), yes, but that, no.

Originally Posted by superman

Haven't you got to have been married for at least one year before it's recognised as a tool to obtain a visa ?

This wasn't the case when I got married and shortly after got the non-O visa based on marriage to a Thai.

Originally Posted by Chairman Mao

Yes you can. You need to show marriage cert, Thai ID, and proof of her address (rental contract if her Tabien Bahn shows a different province).

I'm pretty sure from the OP that she's marrying a Thai man.

missmaipenrai, first off, congratulations. We did the Thai ceremony in Phuket, had a great reception, then got the legal stuff done a couple of months afterwards. I was between jobs at the time, so I was on a tourist visa.

It was no problem at all to get the Non-O based on marriage after that. The Non-O lasts one year, as you nkow, so that would cover your time in Thailand. But your problem is with the time before.

It used to be that you could get a letter from someone who would act as a sponsor in Thailand, then get a one year Non-O. As Chairman Mao said, you should go to a consulate, maybe another one, not Hull and ask about any other opitons.

They give one year visas to Mormons who go to Thailand to convert people, FFS, they should be able to come up with a reasonable option for you.

Originally Posted by natalie8

The Non-O lasts one year,

Only if it's multiple entry

Originally Posted by natalie8

Originally Posted by Chairman Mao

Yes you can. You need to show marriage cert, Thai ID, and proof of her address (rental contract if her Tabien Bahn shows a different province).

I'm pretty sure from the OP that she's marrying a Thai man.

Ah yes, sorry.

OP, don't do it. We're much better.

Originally Posted by superman

But a farang woman married to a Thai man doesn't have to show money in the bank. Is that correct ?

That is correct!

Originally Posted by superman

If so, what other rules don't apply ? What documents do you have to show for your annual visa Natalie8, as a matter of interest.

I'm not sure what doesn't apply, but I'll try to remember all that we had to do. First off I had to get a declaration form saying that I'm not married and therefore am able to get legally married.

I had to fill this in, get it translated into Thai, then return it to the embassy. We did both parts, the family Buddhist ceremony, then a couple of months later, the legal part at the amphoe.

So, for the legal part, we had to both go in, of course, and tell them that we wanted to register our marriage. They offer a translation service and this costs extra, so the total cost for our marriage certificate was 60 baht! :-D

Anyway, I digress. We had to answer the usual questions about name, address, parents names etc, show ID and that was pretty much it. For the visa, the form is the same as the one for foreign men and they asked me questions suuch as what is his mother's name, father's name and some other specific questions like that.

Thanks for that Natalie. I've never been asked for my mother & fathers name before. At my last application extension, based on marriage, they asked me how many brothers and sisters I had, and my religion.
On the form I decided to fcuk them about, for asking a stupid question, so I put
C of E. My wife leans over and says "is coffee also a religion" . Sad, but true.

Originally Posted by Chairman Mao

btw, you don't have to be on a Tourist Visa to extend for 60 days, you can also be on a Visa Exemption - the 30 days you get on arrival at an airport or 15 you get at a land border without having a visa.

So you can arrive, get 30 days.
Extend for 60 days.
Border run, get 15 days.
Extend for 60 days.


So effectively you'll have a border run and one extension every 75 days. No visa needed.

If you're not here for long period of time, and you say money is an issue, that may be the cheapest and most suitable option.

This sounds like something that would work for me. I plan on coming to BKK
from the US to visit my wife for 4 months....Can somebody please walk me
through the steps....i.e. what paperwork I need and how and where to request
this both at the airport and border...also what are the costs? Thanks.