New Married Visa - Udon Thani

[IanH]

Went to the new Udon Thani Immigration Office at the airport to initiate my Married Visa Extention.

The staff there were extreemly helpful, courtious and thurough. Since this was the first time I had applied, there was much paperwork for both me and them to fill out. =D> =D> Everything was done cheerfully.

When all was finished, I was given an extention on my O Visa until Dec 28 and told to return then as Married Visa Extentions can only be approved in Khorat.

Seems to me that this office is not only convenient, but also ready to handle all types of requests and process them efficiently

[Marlowe]

Wonder if they'd happily process NK people? Maybe someone can ask next time they go?

Seems some officers maybe should be rotated out after they go off...

[Rod & May]

Ian , how did things go in Dec and can you point me in the right direction for a first time maraige visa application , a check list of some sort would do fine

[BobHelm]

Rod, I don't think that there are too many people on here on a married visa.
I think Texpat is, but not sure if he has had an extension at the Udon site yet or is Nong Khai, maybe he will tell you what his last requirements were.
There are all sorts of stories circulating about what is necessary for the marriage visa, especially in regard to photographic evidence that you & your wife are actually living together, but I do not know how much is true & how much is inflated by repetition.
My advice would be that if you are unsure then to go to Immigration & ask them. It is certainly possible that they will try & talk you out of it. I believe that this is because only Bangkok can actually approve an extension based on marriage & there is a lot of resentment in the offices about having their work overlooked in this way. A good reason (like you are not 50 years old, or don't financially qualify for retirement) should get them out of the argument..

[Texpat]

Ian, how long did the interviews of your two witnesses last?

[snowman]

Hey Tex is it really as difficult as what I have read here to get a visa on the grounds of marriage to a Thai citizen?

[Texpat]

Difficult is a relative term.

A fairly straightforward process can be made maddeningly complex if the administrators wish to make it so.

Maybe it's a breeze in Udon Thani. I would consider moving.

[fatbas***d]

Will let you know within the next 2 weeks Tex, my old pal next door applied for a received a marriage extension to a "o" couple of months ago, he had no problems, all they did for verification was go to his wife's workplace and had a short conversation with her. My current O expires end of this month, so will detail my experience here for your reading pleasure.

[nkstan]

Nothing to do with the married visa,but I went to the NK office for my 90 day report Monday and there was not another customer.Vendor lady handled my paperwork quickly,didn't try to sell me anything and the only words she spoke was ''next time May''!In and out in about 2 minutes,so I am happy the Udon office is open as it shortens up the waiting time and makes the NK office more ''relaxing''!!

[fatbas***d]

Got my 12 month marriage ext today at Udon Imm

These seem to be the current requirements at Udon Imm.

TM7 filled out with Photo 2 originals

Tabian Ban, wife and children Original & two copies.

Birth certificates Children Original & two copies.

ID wife Original & two copies.

Marriage certificate Original & two copies.
Mine was OS and in English but that wasn't a problem.

6x4 Photos of family outside house and inside, bedroom and lounge. 4 photos.

Bank book and current letter from bank confirming balance & showing Min of 400k quarantined for 2 months, over seas sourced. Bank book in yr own name.

Neighbor who is prepared to testify they know you.

Map of house location, written in Thai.

Yr passport and two copies of detail and Entry visa page

1900 Bt.

A long process so be prepared for 2 hours plus any waiting time.
Don't turn up with out the complete suite of documents, they won't move it Forward.
A lengthy but painless procedure, I must say the officer who did the application was pleasant under difficult conditions, working his bollox off with constant stream of interruptions, how he kept his composure beats me.
I just wonder why the Thai immigration needs to know the names of my parents and how many siblings I have.
Its a pity that some farangs don't have the patience and good nature of the Thais working at immigration.
One A hole lost the plot and started venting off at a female worker.
_________________

[trubrit]

Yes definitely a long winded process for which we all have to thank a relatively few farangs that used the marriage visa, as previously they used the visa on entry, to circumvent the rules on issuing them, by having what was literally , a marriage of convenience. Simply paying the girl for marrying them and having no intention of living together as a couple , once the visa was issued.So everyone, even the genuine, are subjected to scrutiny every year upon renewal .You can expect more of this as immigration tightens up to close the various loopholes that are still being exploited .So once again the few miscreants are helping to make problems for the many genuine applicants. Don't blame the immigration officers .Its our bad apples .

[Texpat]

Only one witness? I was required to bring two. Also, our bank books are jointly held, no problem.

[fatbas***d]

I was asked to supply Only one witness Tex, the bank book was in my name only, Don't know about joint accounts.

[valiant]

I have a question
A good friend of mine lives in Udon and he is having problems
He is on a Marriage visa and very happy he came to Thailand 5 years ago when the baht was 70plus to the pound he is a uk pensioner whose income is not enough.
Question
Bottom Line
Can they deport him for not meeting the requirements?

[papaguido]

He may eventually get deported if he doesn't do something about it. If he lets his current extension run out, than he becomes on overstay or he can go across the border and get a 90 day non O imm visa before the extension expires. As far as I know there's no limit for this type of visa, but requires making the visa run about every 3 months.

[valiant]

He is 75 yrs old now he came to Thailand to live at 69 and this last 2 yrs as struggled. He finds the business of border hopping tedious

[BobHelm]

If someone does not meet the legal requirements of the visa renewal it will not be renewed. Plain & simple.
The owner will need to leave Thailand by the date that the visa he is trying to renew expires.
There are other long term visas available. Education & Business spring to mind, but these are not exactly easy option visas to obtain either!! If he doesn't want to border hop then I think his options are limited to looking at other countries to retire to..

[papaguido]

Another option, if he can, is to come up with or borrow 400K bt and extend his visa using the annual income requirement. The money has to to be deposited in a local bank 2 months prior to applying for the extension.

[WBU ALUM]

Got my 12 month marriage ext today at Udon Imm

These seem to be the current requirements at Udon Imm.

TM7 filled out with Photo 2 originals

Tabian Ban, wife and children Original & two copies.

Birth certificates Children Original & two copies.

ID wife Original & two copies.

Marriage certificate Original & two copies.
Mine was OS and in English but that wasn't a problem.

6x4 Photos of family outside house and inside, bedroom and lounge. 4 photos.

Bank book and current letter from bank confirming balance & showing Min of 400k quarantined for 2 months, over seas sourced. Bank book in yr own name.

Neighbor who is prepared to testify they know you.

Map of house location, written in Thai.

Yr passport and two copies of detail and Entry visa page

1900 Bt.

This list is still valid as of Monday, 21 June 2010.

[Texpat]

just one witness then?