Renew marriage visa

[mac1966]

Is there a recent update in renewing your extension of stay based in marriage. Do you need to take a witness again to the immigration office when applying. Thanks

[Niggly]

Everything was the same for me as last year when I renewed about 9 weeks ago which included a witness if that helps.

The little pamphlet of requirements is still dated 3rd December 2008

The only exception being I didn’t get a house visit during the under consideration period

[noosard]

Same mine still pending
Went today as was in town anyway
told that need to come back on the 21st which is Saturday
so have to go on Monday next week

[jackspratt]

Did mine in late July.

Witness required, and, as above, no house visit thus far. Last year the visit was within about a week of the application.

One snag this year - photos that were OK last year were not acceptable this year. One with the loving couple standing in front of the marital house must include the entire frontage of the house. Also needed a couple of different views in the bedroom, not just the couple sitting on the bed.

Edit: just saw noos's post - my return date is a Sunday.

[mac1966]

Many thanks for the update

[stattointhailand]

It really amazes me that after you have been through the process without any problems for 4 or 5 or even 10 times, quite often seeing the same Immigration Officer multiple times, they still need to go through the wife/photos/witness process. Lets face it there's more information on their computer about me than any member of my family back in UK knows (even those who get "hints" from facebook)

[rick]

Did my renewal on Monday. Only real change was that my Father-in-law's ID card copy (signed by him) as head of household of the bluebook was no longer acceptable - they wanted a signed authorisation from him that he was agreeing to the extension!(giving details like my passport number etc.). Wife managed to fudge that but yet another hiccup in the process. In total, extension day TOOK 7 HOURS - this was made up of extra time to photocopy documents because the wife had done the wrong pages of bluebook, 1.5 hours getting the bank statement, and an agent with 20-30 Laotians clogging up the office for 2 hours.... so had to come back after lunch. Oh, and I was specifically asked for 2,000 baht by the new girl doing the extension - but that was OK because the old staff would always ask the wife for the money and she always gave more than that!

I assume the bluebook thing would not apply if you have a yellow book or the bluebook is in wife's name.

[Nev]

Lads,

Just bin the marriage visa, Retirement Visa is so much essayer and straight forward.

Did two years of the runner round marriage visa and she said bin this nonsense.
ok kap my answer, not looked back.

Nev

[Giggle]

Unless you live in the exclusive enclave of Nong Khai, where there is virtually no difference between the marriage and retirement extension. We are simply a better cut of cloth than our southern oik neighbors.

[rick]

Not all of us have 800,000 baht in the bank or 65,000 a month net income......

[FrazeeDK]

don't forget for the retirement extension, depending upon your age a 30-50,000 baht mandatoryhealth insurance policy from an "approved" insurance company.. If you're an even older geezer good luck finding any health insurance at all. Then the best bet, or so I've been told is to retain the services of a visa broker.

[ladda3904]

8760 hours in a year. How many does it take to collect the required documents?

[marcus1]

FrazeeDK...
Please get your facts right...You are wrong..!!
No insurance is required for a renewal of a marriage extension or a retirement extension.
The only one that requires insurance is a multi entry OA obtained in your home country which can be valid for 2 years if used correctly.
Where did you get your info from...???

[jackspratt]

^ FDK is right as far as an OA extension based on retirement.

And you are right, in that insurance is not required for an O visa extension based retirement.

The O (retirement) seems to be a threatened species - for example, they are no longer issued in Australia.

ps Not all OA visas are multi-entry.

[sometimewoodworker]

FrazeeDK...
Please get your facts right...You are wrong..!!
No insurance is required for a renewal of a marriage extension or a retirement extension.
The only one that requires insurance is a multi entry OA obtained in your home country which can be valid for 2 years if used correctly.
Where did you get your info from...???

Correctly;

With an initial Non-O visa entry.
Marriage and retirement extensions do not require insurance.

With an initial Non-OA visa entry.
Marriage extension does not require insurance.
A retirement extension does require insurance.

Insurance requirements for entry’s for visa holders and those holding a re-entry permit from a visa entry are a different situation

[sometimewoodworker]

ps Not all OA visas are multi-entry.

Please give an example.

On every embassy and consulate website I have seen they are all multi-entry, this incudes the MFA https://www.mfa.go.th/en/page/non-immig ... 00c812e8e2

So anyone who has an OA that is not given as multi-entry is an error and can be corrected.

[tamada]

^ FDK is right as far as an OA extension based on retirement.

And you are right, in that insurance is not required for an O visa extension based retirement.

The O (retirement) seems to be a threatened species - for example, they are no longer issued in Australia.

ps Not all OA visas are multi-entry.

In a similar move, the 1-year, multi-entry Non-O based on marriage disappeared* from RTC offerings in Vientiane, Savanakhet and Ho Chi Minh City during the Covid shut down. They all offer 90-day, single-entry, with proof of financials with conversion to a 1-year permission to stay to be done in-country at your local immigration office.

* No longer offered on their websites.

[FrazeeDK]

ah, then since my original visa was indeed an O-A issued Stateside by the Thai Embassy in DC those insurance rules certainly applied to me.. I never figured a simple "O" visa would get a pass. My mistake. https://www.thaiembassy.com/travel-to-t ... r-retirees

[sometimewoodworker]

^ FDK is right as far as an OA extension based on retirement.

And you are right, in that insurance is not required for an O visa extension based retirement.

The O (retirement) seems to be a threatened species - for example, they are no longer issued in Australia.

ps Not all OA visas are multi-entry.

In a similar move, the 1-year, multi-entry Non-O based on marriage disappeared* from RTC offerings in Vientiane, Savanakhet and Ho Chi Minh City during the Covid shut down. They all offer 90-day, single-entry, with proof of financials with conversion to a 1-year permission to stay to be done in-country at your local immigration office.

* No longer offered on their websites.

Just a point to remember the websites are not always definitive. So if you actually want a 1 year Non-O it is worth applying at the consulate or embassy, you may get lucky and it doesn’t hurt to ask.

[Declan MacPherson]

Lads,

Just bin the marriage visa, Retirement Visa is so much essayer and straight forward.

Did two years of the runner round marriage visa and she said bin this ****.
ok kap my answer, not looked back.

Nev

Excellent advice.

I have witnessed others having to jump through the hoops with the marriage route, and the retirement visa is a breeze. However, it could be a struggle for those living on a shoestring.