Changing Visa Status

[LoneTraveler]

I am currently on a marriage visa extension and a retirement visa before that. I was at the hospital yesterday and was wondering if my wife passes before me, (not likely considering my age, but anything unpredictable could occur in the near future. I do consider our marriage to be strong and happy for the past 17 years however, because we have a house, land for planting of rice and a daughter one year from attending University and my wife's parents living in a house behind ours who depend on our financial support, I am considering switching back to a non-O retirement Visa so that I do not have to leave the country upon my spouses passing.

From what I have read on the various forums and inquiring at the local immigration Office, one is given 7 days to leave the country unless I can change my Visa status. I would start saving money now to reach the 800000 baht required for the Non-O. The other question is; when does the marriage visa expire, upon death or the official date of the end of the one year extension?

I could discuss this with immigration but I do not want to be misinformed and depend upon the information given now only to go to Immigration later with a heavy heart and be told of a different set of rules. Can one even change Visa status
in country under this circumstances or, would I have to go and comeback. Thank you in advance

[sometimewoodworker]

I am currently on a marriage visa extension and a retirement visa before that. I was at the hospital yesterday and was wondering if my wife passes before me, (not likely considering my age, but anything unpredictable could occur in the near future. I do consider our marriage to be strong and happy for the past 17 years however, because we have a house, land for planting of rice and a daughter one year from attending University and my wife's parents living in a house behind ours who depend on our financial support, I am considering switching back to a non-O retirement Visa so that I do not have to leave the country upon my spouses passing.

From what I have read on the various forums and inquiring at the local immigration Office, one is given 7 days to leave the country unless I can change my Visa status. I would start saving money now to reach the 800000 baht required for the Non-O. The other question is; when does the marriage visa expire, upon death or the official date of the end of the one year extension?

I could discuss this with immigration but I do not want to be misinformed and depend upon the information given now only to go to Immigration later with a heavy heart and be told of a different set of rules. Can one even change Visa status
in country under this circumstances or, would I have to go and comeback. Thank you in advance

Very important point. You have no visa. You have an extension of stay.

Also your reading and understanding are both wrong.
The technical situation is that your extension of stay becomes invalid immediately your wife passes. There is no grace period. The 7 days is given if you apply for an extension but are refused.


However all of that said immigration is not heartless and will neither cancel a current extension nor force you to immediately leave the country, nor yet will they insist on you applying for a new extension early.
What will happen is that when the extension that is enforce at the point a spouse dies will remain, but you WILL have to change the reason for the extension at the next renewal.

None of this is speculation. It is what has happened to numerous people who have suffered the death of their spouse. If your spouse dies and you go to immigration immediately (I would not advise that you do) you will be told to come back when your current extension finishes, they cannot tell you to break the law but they would assist you in bending it.

There are 2 possible reasons for the extension YOU WILL NOT BE REQUIRED TO LEAVE THAILAND, for either of them.
The first is a Family support extension

● Legally adopted child of a Thai national (age must be under 20 years old unless they are unable to support themselves due to a mental or physical condition)
● Parent of a Thai national Applicant has no age restriction in case that the child is under 20 years old. Applicant has no age restriction in case that the child is under 20 years old.

The second is the retirement extension

You can change to either one at any renewal or after the death of your spouse.

As the extension for the support of a Thai child is not common I do not know the financial requirements for this extension, though they are not more than the spouse extension. Nor do I know of the paperwork required for this extension the minimum is

In the case of visiting a spouse or children who are of Thai nationality:
Criteria for Consideration

There must be proof of relationship.
In the case of spouse, the relationship must be de jure and de facto.
Documents to be submitted

Application form
Copy of applicant’s passport
Copy of household registration certificate
Copy of national ID card of the person having Thai nationality
Copy of a marriage certificate or copy of a birth certificate

As you can see the minimum is the same as the spouse extension

[LoneTraveler]

Hello sometimewoodworker

Thank you for the most helpful information concerning Visa extension change. I did read a while back that Immigration would possibly allow one to wait until the extension of stay expires. Hopefully, that would be case however, I need to be prepared to change my extension to non-O retirement in case they will not. As you know it all depends on the I/O you meet with on any given day.

I forgot to mention, my child is my stepdaughter so no legal ties in terms of Immigration.Once again, great information but I hope it is one situation I never have to deal with but it is good to have this knowledge going in just in case because as most of us can say with certainty, the future in unpredictable.

[sometimewoodworker]

Hello sometimewoodworker

Thank you for the most helpful information concerning Visa extension change. I did read a while back that Immigration would possibly allow one to wait until the extension of stay expires. Hopefully, that would be case however, I need to be prepared to change my extension to non-O retirement in case they will not. As you know it all depends on the I/O you meet with on any given day.

I forgot to mention, my child is my stepdaughter so no legal ties in terms of Immigration.Once again, great information but I hope it is one situation I never have to deal with but it is good to have this knowledge going in just in case because as most of us can say with certainty, the future in unpredictable.

As I said your best course of action is to do nothing with regard to immigration should your wife die. There will be no action taken by immigration. Wait until the next renewal.

There have been zero reports of immigration doing anything in the aftermath of a death. You can be absolutely sure that any such action would have been reported and discussed ad nauseam if it happened.

Just because the child is a stepdaughter does not affect your ability to adopt her. There may well be other reasons for not proceeding with adoption. There are tax advantages if you decide that adopting is a possibility. While adopting for financial reasons may be objectionable to some it is not something that should automatically ignored.

Since you are facing the possibility of mortality not planning for the aftermath is foolish. Thailand has well defined inheritance law for those who die intestate, if the law follows your intentions then all is good, but for many it is completely opposed to what they want, so a will and tax planning is a wise move. Probably an intestate death will provide nothing to your stepdaughter.

[LoneTraveler]

Hi Again

Thank you for the additional information. In terms of my stepdaughter, I looked into adoption when she was younger, she is now only 10 months away from her 18th birthday and the process of adoption is a lengthy and very difficult process. We were consulting an American couple involved in the process in Thailand, they were extremely frustrated and eventually gave up. And after being informed of the process We too, abandoned the task.

I have prepared for my demise concerning my family. Placed money in bank for wife in her name, daughter has bank account in her name to cover the 4 years of University costs plus extra after graduation. I paid for our house build and put it into her name as well as cars and motorbikes.plus her parents house which is behind ours. She has motorbikes 2 cars and no debit. I told her to minimize cost of Thai funeral,( i.e. no alcohol among other frivolous items). I have prepared a will which has been certified at the Amphor's Office, giving her sole custody of all my assets (including bank accounts in my name). I think my wife and daughter will be ok for the near future, longer, if they spend wisely. As far as taxes we have been living here for the past 15 years and I have not encounter any issues with taxes other than what we pay annually to the Amphor which is really minimal.

[jackson]

Visa drill again... I recently arived on a 30 day stamp in my passport . Normally I get a non immigrant o 90 day before I leave my country
Does anyone know for sure or know of anyone changing to a non immigrant 90 day o visa while in Thailand? I know the rule book says it must be obtained in ones own country before arriving in Thailand.I really want to get my retirement extension back again But I've also heard that it mayvbe possible if one goes to Chang Wattans in Bangkok immigration
Any real advice will be most welcome
Thanks.

[tamada]

AFAIK, Udon Thani immigration can do the 'conversion' of your current visa-exempt entry into the initial 90-day Non-O that can be used to apply for the 1-year retirement extension you require. I recall it is best to have around 2-weeks remaining on your visa-exempt permission to stay.

If your money is already here and well-seasoned in your local bank account, that's a major hurdle cleared.

Of course, they may also give you the business card of the most widely used local agent and 'encourage' you to do it that way.

@sometimewoodworker will be along shortly to either confirm or deny that it's possible here. I did it during the Covid drama but "rules" can change.

[jackson]

Thanks for info, I'll ]wait to see if any others have a positive response . I'm far ftom Udon but was once one of these users.
Otherwise I suppose a trip to Thailand consulate in Laos might be on the horizon

[sometimewoodworker]

Visa drill again... I recently arived on a 30 day stamp in my passport . Normally I get a non immigrant o 90 day before I leave my country
Does anyone know for sure or know of anyone changing to a non immigrant 90 day o visa while in Thailand? I know the rule book says it must be obtained in ones own country before arriving in Thailand.I really want to get my retirement extension back again But I've also heard that it mayvbe possible if one goes to Chang Wattans in Bangkok immigration
Any real advice will be most welcome
Thanks.

There is no problem with getting a Non-O visa from immigration. I don’t know which rule book you are reading but it is quite likely one from the MoFA not the one from immigration.

There is no need to go to Bangkok in fact Udon is probably slightly easier specially because you will have to go to immigration at least twice for the Non-O and again for the extension of stay.

The minimum time that must be left on your permission to stay is between 21 and 14 days usually 14 days is OK but to be safe 21 days is advised. You need form TM87 you must have 800k baht on deposit on the day of application. Udon immigration will allow a long term (years) deposit. However rule 5.3 requires that “Evidence of foreign currency fund transferred to Thailand” Udon immigration has always accepted a long term deposit or a foreign currency transfer. Some offices, CWA maybe one, insist that it must be a foreign transfer.

Note that few, if any, offices allow the “proof of income” method even though the leaflet lists it.

[tamada]

Thanks for info, I'll ]wait to see if any others have a positive response . I'm far ftom Udon but was once one of these users.
Otherwise I suppose a trip to Thailand consulate in Laos might be on the horizon

I believe the Thai Consulates in Vientiane and Savanakhet will issue a single-entry, 90-day visa for purposes of retirement, with proof of funding. That allows for less of a rush doing the conversion to a 1-year extension.

Note that BOTH these consulates now operate on an appointment basis and lead time can be 2-3 weeks.

[jackson]

Thanks for the info. Puts the mind at rest a bit * do in fact have a record of the funds coming in recently. I'm also hoping that the next extension stamp will include more than 30 days.
I live sth of Bkk so I'm guessing it will need applied for at my local immigration . This current 30 day stamp on entry expires on 5 Aug so will have to wait for next one

[sometimewoodworker]

Thanks for the info. Puts the mind at rest a bit * do in fact have a record of the funds coming in recently. I'm also hoping that the next extension stamp will include more than 30 days.
I live sth of Bkk so I'm guessing it will need applied for at my local immigration . This current 30 day stamp on entry expires on 5 Aug so will have to wait for next one

The extension available for a visa exempt entry is always a maximum of 30 days.

Living south of Bangkok leaves you in possibly the areas of about 10 or more immigration offices. Some of these are known to be difficult, others not so much. I suggest you approach your office to request the TM87 and ask for their requirements.

Also you have sufficient time if you go on Monday for even the strictest office as that will be 22 days

[tamada]

Visa-exempt entry allowance increases to 60-days from Monday 15 July.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/ge ... art-monday

[jackson]

Visa Info and advice much appreciated, thanks[,,,