Coming hard on the heels of the changes to visa exempt stamps (15 instead of 30 days given), new regulations are in force for extensions to Non Imm O visas on the basis of marriage to a Thai/family income and retirement.
These are covered by Police Order 777/2551, dated November 25th 2008. I've just stumbled across this this morning and havn't had a chance to look at it all in detail.
There have been some major changes, not all of them necessarily bad. I'll try and outline them later on today and try to find a link to an English translation of the new order.
If anyone's got some information on the changes, please post them here.
There are also changes to business visas/extensions.
Sorry I don't have anything more concrete yet. Will hopefully be able to expand later today.
Regulations for extensions to Non Imm O visas change
Here's a few changes to the marriage/family income extension. Please be aware that things are open to interpretation and it may be that I havn't got things 100% correct yet. We'll hopefully get a translation up on the board a bit later today.
1. It looks like the 400k in a Thai bank account has been reinstated. After the changes in October 2006, new applicants could only get the marriage/family income extension based on 40k a month overseas income. So, it's back to how it was and that may be a help to some people.
2. The first year you get the family income/marriage extension, the 400k has to have been in a Thai bank account for 60 days and not fallen below that figure prior to application. Subsequent annual extensions will require the money to be deposited for 90 days/3 months. Again a slight relaxation of the rules. The money always had to be in the bank for 3 months, even for first extensions.
3. This one I'm not 100% certain of yet, but it now appears that a Thai wife's income cannot be included to make up the 40k a month. It all has to come from the foreign husband. That could be a big change. I'll try and confirm later that this is the case.
4. It seems that the grandfathering of previous applicants' income is no longer guaranteed. In a case where a person has had continuous extensions for years based on marriage to a Thai lady (this goes back to when the financial requirements were 200k in a Thai bank account or 20k a month overseas income) and the applicant can't meet the 400k/40k a month, then the Imm officer will decide each case on it's individual merits.
If correct, that's a bit tough if the decision goes against you.
5. It dosn't look like you can combine overseas income and funds in a Thai bank to get to the 400k a year. It has to be one or the other. (Ie, you've got 200k in a Thai bank, so you need 16,667 monthly income to make everything total 400k).
1. It looks like the 400k in a Thai bank account has been reinstated. After the changes in October 2006, new applicants could only get the marriage/family income extension based on 40k a month overseas income. So, it's back to how it was and that may be a help to some people.
2. The first year you get the family income/marriage extension, the 400k has to have been in a Thai bank account for 60 days and not fallen below that figure prior to application. Subsequent annual extensions will require the money to be deposited for 90 days/3 months. Again a slight relaxation of the rules. The money always had to be in the bank for 3 months, even for first extensions.
3. This one I'm not 100% certain of yet, but it now appears that a Thai wife's income cannot be included to make up the 40k a month. It all has to come from the foreign husband. That could be a big change. I'll try and confirm later that this is the case.
4. It seems that the grandfathering of previous applicants' income is no longer guaranteed. In a case where a person has had continuous extensions for years based on marriage to a Thai lady (this goes back to when the financial requirements were 200k in a Thai bank account or 20k a month overseas income) and the applicant can't meet the 400k/40k a month, then the Imm officer will decide each case on it's individual merits.
If correct, that's a bit tough if the decision goes against you.
5. It dosn't look like you can combine overseas income and funds in a Thai bank to get to the 400k a year. It has to be one or the other. (Ie, you've got 200k in a Thai bank, so you need 16,667 monthly income to make everything total 400k).
Here are the documents:
PDF 900kb Police Order 777/2551 (Thai)
PDF 120kb Police Order 777/2551 (English Translation)
HHAD does not verify the translation, it has come from a company called "Issan Lawyers".
PDF 900kb Police Order 777/2551 (Thai)
PDF 120kb Police Order 777/2551 (English Translation)
HHAD does not verify the translation, it has come from a company called "Issan Lawyers".
Who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed? - Hunter S Thompson
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JimmyGreaves
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From what I've read into this the "family income" extension has also changed in that the income of the Thai family is no longer considered and it is only the alien that needs to show and pay tax on the 40k to be eligible for this visa.
I don't know of anyone in HH that is on this visa anyway, I don't think they will issue them here.
I don't know of anyone in HH that is on this visa anyway, I don't think they will issue them here.
Who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed? - Hunter S Thompson
They certainly didn't issue them in March 2007 as I had to go to Bangkok for mine. Then I only had to show 40K per month.
My most recent Non Imm O I applied for at Hull following a five month holiday in the UK. Excellent service, two days by post. Apart from a copy of the marriage certificate all I had to provide was a self certification that I had enough money to cover all expenses including repatriation if necessary.
The visa issued in Bangkok allowed me to report every 90 days at the local immigration office. I'm told with the visa issued in Hull I will not be able to do this and will have to exit the country and come back in again. Can anyone confirm this for me?
My most recent Non Imm O I applied for at Hull following a five month holiday in the UK. Excellent service, two days by post. Apart from a copy of the marriage certificate all I had to provide was a self certification that I had enough money to cover all expenses including repatriation if necessary.
The visa issued in Bangkok allowed me to report every 90 days at the local immigration office. I'm told with the visa issued in Hull I will not be able to do this and will have to exit the country and come back in again. Can anyone confirm this for me?
Toonmad,
You're correct. What you're getting from Hull will be a multiple-entry Non Imm O visa. This allows you to exit and enter Thailand as many times as you want during the visa's validity and the permitted to stay stamp will be for 90 days at a time. Before the 90 days is up, you have to do a border run and will get a further 90 days on re-entering. If you exit just before the visa itself expires, you'll get a final 90 days. The visa can therefore work for almost 15 months. As you never stay here for longer than 90 consecutive days, you don't have to report your address to Imm.
90 day reporting is required when you have obtained an annual extension of stay from an Imm office here in Thailand.
In 2007, you would have had the annual extension on the basis of marriage (or family income as it was then). All such extensions are granted by BKK, but nowadays BKK won't deal with the original application. You have to do this at your local Imm office and the papers are sent to BKK from there. You get a 30 day "under consideration" stamp to tide you over until the extension is granted.
You're correct. What you're getting from Hull will be a multiple-entry Non Imm O visa. This allows you to exit and enter Thailand as many times as you want during the visa's validity and the permitted to stay stamp will be for 90 days at a time. Before the 90 days is up, you have to do a border run and will get a further 90 days on re-entering. If you exit just before the visa itself expires, you'll get a final 90 days. The visa can therefore work for almost 15 months. As you never stay here for longer than 90 consecutive days, you don't have to report your address to Imm.
90 day reporting is required when you have obtained an annual extension of stay from an Imm office here in Thailand.
In 2007, you would have had the annual extension on the basis of marriage (or family income as it was then). All such extensions are granted by BKK, but nowadays BKK won't deal with the original application. You have to do this at your local Imm office and the papers are sent to BKK from there. You get a 30 day "under consideration" stamp to tide you over until the extension is granted.
Buks,
That's right. Only the foreign husband's income is now used for the 40k a month. Any money your wife may earn can't count towards it. HH will process a marriage extension (the approval is always given in BKK). Because so much paperwork is required for these extensions, local offices may be reluctant to process the paperwork as they don't adjudicate on the "final result". It happened to me, especially as I was only 9 months away from being eligible for the retirement extension. HH Imm just told me to get single entry Non Os from Penang until I turned 50. They then gave me the retirement extension with no fuss.
I believe WL has a marriage extension from HH (at least they will have processed the application). I'm sure there be others.
That's right. Only the foreign husband's income is now used for the 40k a month. Any money your wife may earn can't count towards it. HH will process a marriage extension (the approval is always given in BKK). Because so much paperwork is required for these extensions, local offices may be reluctant to process the paperwork as they don't adjudicate on the "final result". It happened to me, especially as I was only 9 months away from being eligible for the retirement extension. HH Imm just told me to get single entry Non Os from Penang until I turned 50. They then gave me the retirement extension with no fuss.
I believe WL has a marriage extension from HH (at least they will have processed the application). I'm sure there be others.
hhfarang,
I think you may be getting terminology a bit mixed up. An OA visa is obtained from your home country and is known as a retirement visa. The financial requirements are the same as for the annual retirement extension which is got within Thailand on the back of a Non O or OA visa, namely 65k a month income or 800k in a Thai bank account. For the OA visa, you have to produce a police report and medical certificate - not necessary for extensions. You get stamped in for a year on arrival and have to report every 90 days thereafter. Basically, they amount to the same thing, except the OA is a visa and got in your home country.
The only change to retirement extensions I can see is that if you are applying FOR THE FIRST TIME and using 800k in a Thai bank account, it only has to be in there for 2 months prior to application (previously it was 3 months). For subsequent applications, it's back to 3 months again.
I think you may be getting terminology a bit mixed up. An OA visa is obtained from your home country and is known as a retirement visa. The financial requirements are the same as for the annual retirement extension which is got within Thailand on the back of a Non O or OA visa, namely 65k a month income or 800k in a Thai bank account. For the OA visa, you have to produce a police report and medical certificate - not necessary for extensions. You get stamped in for a year on arrival and have to report every 90 days thereafter. Basically, they amount to the same thing, except the OA is a visa and got in your home country.
The only change to retirement extensions I can see is that if you are applying FOR THE FIRST TIME and using 800k in a Thai bank account, it only has to be in there for 2 months prior to application (previously it was 3 months). For subsequent applications, it's back to 3 months again.
Noticed a few replies relating to the income requirements of the farang husband so just could not resist comenting on the Thai constitution........
According to the constitution, there will be no discrimination between the sexes. And yet, a faranf woman who marries a Thai man is not required to show any proof of income as it is believed that as a man, the husban is able to support his wife...........even if he has no job. On the other hand, one could marry the riches woman in Thailand but as she is a woman, she is not able to support a husband.............go figure.
According to the constitution, there will be no discrimination between the sexes. And yet, a faranf woman who marries a Thai man is not required to show any proof of income as it is believed that as a man, the husban is able to support his wife...........even if he has no job. On the other hand, one could marry the riches woman in Thailand but as she is a woman, she is not able to support a husband.............go figure.
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Wanderlust
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