marriage visa

[Alex71]

Dear all,

I'm going for a 12 mth marriage visa; In london now and moving to thailand with my wife who is a thai national and our daughter in the new year.

I've researched the visa position and although I previously did my wifes uk visa app myself (can deal with british bureaucracy) but for thai, I think this time I'll need an agent.

Can sort out the funds (either at bank or income) and the rest but merely/possibly require help with the 'bureaucracy - thai style' so can anyone suggest any worthwhile agents (given that we all know the scams and moreover the rubbish out there) I have found Siam Legal; are they what they claim they are and would my fee stop at what they quote????

Any advice about the above and generally would be welcome,

Regards, Alex 71

[blue eyes]

Siam Legal is as they say they are. A reputable legal firm in Thailand.On the other hand they are a business.They would like you to think that you can do nothing for yourself.As most law firms do. So they can get money from you,for what you can do for yourself.I can not say about a visa from the UK but I would think that it would not be much different then from the USA.You can do it yourself.Look at the info from the Thai Embassy in the UK and you sould have NO PROBLEM. Way pay someone to do something that is really very easy to do yourself.

[frogblogger]

It really is very easy to do, the application forms are straightforward. I did mine from France, and the consulate was very helpful. I wouldn't waste any money on agencies - if you are married to a Thai national, that's the major obstacle over and done with. Check out the Hull Thai consulate website, it's all explained there.

[Alex71]

Cheers Blue, quite right. I'll go ahead and do it myself, I managed the uk visa for the wife and nowhere can have more red tape than Blighty.

[Alex71]

Cheers, frog. As I said to blueeyes, you're quite right, if I can do the red tape mare for the wifes brit visa, pretty sure I can manage this one. Please tell me all you can about the process generally. I understand that I need a three month marriage visa first, then deal with 1 year visa stay when in Thailand??

[Alex71]

Hi Frog, I checked out the consulate in hull and yes helpful, thanks. They have a section and draft form for self certifying that you have sufficient funds for your stay. Does this mean I can get a 12 mth multiple entry visa thro hull with only the self cert letter? (doubt that somewhat) I was told that when proving funds, the 480,000 odd Bt or 9K odd £ had to be in a thai bank acc. Obviously I'll gain dialouge with the thai consulate and embassy in london but any additional help would be welcome.

[CRSD]

If you have the income and are over 50 I'd suggest a retirement visa instead, much easier. Get your 90day non-O in the UK, then the retirement in whatever province you settle in. If not over 50 it's not that difficult, you need your wife's ID and house registration, proof of 40K baht/mo. yours alone or combined and your marriage documents. You'll need photos of your home as proof that you do indeed live together as a married couple and a Thai bank account. You'll also need two copies of your passport, the ID page and your most recent visa page (2 copies of each) and a copy of the bank book..You'll undergo interviews and have more documents to fill out (be sure your proof of income is translated to Thai and both that and your original proof of income from your embassy are certified at the Foreign Ministry office here in Thailand). Then you sit and wait 30 days for approval. But you must first come here on a 90 day non-immigrant type O visa so apply for the marriage visa within the first 60 days of the 90 day non-O. If you are over 50, all you need is the proof of income. 800K baht in a Thai bank for 3 months before application or 400K baht and an income of 400K baht per year (to make a combination of 800K baht) or simply proof of a pension or income from outside of Thailand totaling 65K baht/mo or greater. Take the proof of income and the copies of passport and bank book along with your address in Thailand to the immigration office in whatever province you settle in and in 10 minutes you'll have your 12 month non-OA retirement visa. No real difference between the visas, you'll still need to register every 90 days at the immigration office, but no big deal. Near the 12 month expiration date bring the same documents in and re-apply for another 12 months. If you plan on leaving Thailand for travel at anytime you'll need to obtain a re-entry permit prior to leaving the country or your visa becomes void.

Here's the name and number of an excellent agent here in BKK. She's helped several friends of mine and did right by me. Can't tell you what the fees are, she did everything for me during the "free initial consultation.

Pornthip +66843616240 in Thailand 0843616240

Good luck

[CRSD]

Originally Posted by Alex71

Hi Frog, I checked out the consulate in hull and yes helpful, thanks. They have a section and draft form for self certifying that you have sufficient funds for your stay. Does this mean I can get a 12 mth multiple entry visa thro hull with only the self cert letter? (doubt that somewhat) I was told that when proving funds, the 480,000 odd Bt or 9K odd £ had to be in a thai bank acc. Obviously I'll gain dialouge with the thai consulate and embassy in london but any additional help would be welcome.

Ah, so you're over 50? Don't need the money in the bank account if you receive 65K baht or more per month (not combined income, your income alone). That's the route I went. I forgot you could apply for that visa in your home country. You have to purchase the multiple re-entry permit separate as the non-OA visa is not a multi-entry visa. Just a way for them to get a few baht more...lol...
Not sure on the self-cert, but easy enough to get your documents notarized, though I don't know if they'll require translated copies or not if applying in your home country. I also don't know how they'll handle the 90 registration either, though if you use a multiple re-entry and leave the country, re-entry counts as a registration.

They may let you slip by without having a Thai bank account, but doubtful as they consider it proof of intent to remain in Thailand. I get my funds from the states and only keep 100 baht in my account here, that's all I needed.

Just easier to come here on a non-O 90 day and do the rest here. Non_O 90 day you only need proof of marriage to a Thai national (if you're over 50) and proof of an income (combined) greater than 50K baht per/mo. Don't need proof of marriage or any thing like that for the 12 mo retirement. Just the bank book, proof of income and a residence.