# marrage or retirement.



## tintinsdog (Apr 3, 2014)

Good day my Friends. What do you think ? I have a wife in thailand a very trusting wife and i will be joining her in 3 months on a 1 year visa . My question is marrage or retirment visa ? . I know the marrage one is a little more complex but what do you think . Im vering towards the retirement visa for reasons on self presavation . But Im lead to beleve that It will be easier going in and out of the country with and with out my wife with a marrage visa. Well any help would help .


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## tod-daniels (Dec 1, 2013)

I won't weigh in on the "trustablitiy" of your thai wife, that's between you and her.

Your post is also a little murky. 

Are you getting what ever visa BEFORE you come here, or are you applying for a yearly extension of stay AFTER you get here.

Whether you come into thailand and apply for a yearly extension of stay based on marriage to a thai national or because you're over 50, I'd just get a 90 day Single-Entry Non-Immigrant Type-O visa where ever you are from a thai consulate or embassy first. 

I also will say that my experience with this is ONLY in Bangkok, not some Nakhon Nowhere one buffalo village Immigration office.

There's NO difference goin' on or outta the country on a yearly "extension of stay" based on being married to a thai national or based on being over 50 (called retirement). Plain and simple the thaiz at passport control don't care one iota what kinda visa extension you're on. 

The yearly extension of stay on either doesn't let you outta the country. To come and go you need a "re-entry permit". You get that after you get your yearly extension of stay inside the country; it's available as as either a single re-entry (out and in once) for 1000baht or a multiple re-entry (out and in all you want during the year) for 3800baht.

The extension of stay based on being married to a thai national has lower financial requirements 400K in a bank account in your name only for 60 days before you apply, or 40K baht a month income by showing a notarized letter from your embassy. 

It also requires the Kor Ror 2 & 3 documents (those are the papers you got when you registered the marriage at the local Amphur (city hall) here in thailand when you got married. One is a fancy one suitable for framing and the other one is just a paper listing both of you, stating you got married at such and such a date at such and such a place.

You also have to provide a hand drawn map to your house from Immigrations, photos of you and your wife at the wedding, photos of you and your wife standing in front of your address numbers where you live, photos of you and your wife sitting around the house on a couch or at the kitchen table.

You turn in your documentation and will get a 30 day under consideration stamp. Now in reality this 30 days is for Immigrations to come out to your house and see that you really live where you said with who you said. However in Bangkok, I don't know a single foreigner married to a thai who EVER had Immigrations show up and check..

After the 30 days are up you go back to Immigrations, get an extension of stay for a year. After that is when you'd buy a re-entry permit.

The retirement process is a little easier because you do it in one day as opposed to a 30 day under consideration wait. However the financial requirements are 800K in a thai bank account in your name only OR 65K bath a month income with a notarized letter from your embassy.

Lemme know what it is your actually wanting to do, and I could be more specific..

Good Luck,


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## tintinsdog (Apr 3, 2014)

I am applying for my 90 day visitor visa from the states and will be applying for an O visa when I get to thailand. I just wanted to know If there is and benifits to one or the other visas the moneys not a problem and we have all documents that we need for either visa. as for dealing with buracrats it is not one of my favorite things to do so I would love to get it done with the minimal amount of fuss and with as few trips in BK as possable I researched as much I could so I know how to do it but thought id put it out there and get some personal feedback from those who have been through it . thanks for replying to my post.


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## tod-daniels (Dec 1, 2013)

Hate to be the bearer of bad news, BUT;

There is NO such animal as a 90 day "visitor visa". I can only assume that you talked to some half wit at a thai consulate/embassy who said you can get a "visitor visa" which is a Tourist Visa. It's also only good for 60 days, BUT that can be extended for 30 more days at Thai Immigrations once you're here. In their minds that equals 90 days so that's what they say...

Comin' in on a tourist visa and then applying for a 90 day Non-O will go under review here in bangkok for 14 days, then you go back, they'll issue you a 90 day Non-Immigrant Type-O visa. Then after that you'll wait until that's visa winds down to 30 days or less left on it, BEFORE you can apply for your yearly extension of stay. 

Why don't you just apply for what I said, a "Single Entry 90 day Non-Immigrant Type-O" visa in the US based on being married to a thai, or because you're over 50 and that you can apply for the yearly extension inside the country once you're here. 

You're gonna need the Non-O either way. 

Call or email one of the honorary Thai consulates; they're a billion times easier to deal with than either L/A or New York!
Here's the link to them; 
Royal Thai Consulate-General, Honorary | Royal Thai Embassy

In your email or when you talk to them use the exact terminology I used. Don't get confused about a Non-Immigrant Type OA visa which requires the physical, background check etc... It's a "Single Entry 90 day Non-Immigrant Type-O". 

That's all you need and you'll cut two steps outta getting a yearly extension of stay here guaranteed! 

If you want any more info send me a P/M on this forum or Google; Tod Daniels Thai language Bangkok. I review Thai language schools here in Bangkok, you see me for sure and can get my email that way..

Good Luck!!


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