Asking immigration about marriage visa requirements

[buksida]

and following years become routine extensions.

Wrong. In my experience the following years are exactly the same as the first, whether you have been doing it one year or twenty the procedure does not get easier. They still ask for unnecessary stuff such as neighbours or wedding witnesses, or the kids to be dragged out of school two hours away and be physically present. One guy I know got sent all the way back to Prachuap because they didn't like the colour of the shirt he had on in the photos and wouldn't accept one off a mobile camera. Totally unnecessary impedance of the process by Hua Hin.

Of course you can blame Hua Hin immigration and the immigration officer.....who can make it unnecessary difficult for the applicant with his/hers interpretation of the orders from Bangkok.....
Conclusion: They want us all to use agents, so they get get their share of the pie......"Cheap Charlie's" with all the correct paperwork and meeting all the requirements are frowned upon, since they don't contribute to the through.

This is exactly my take on it also. Of course if you use their 'agent' and pay the price some of these unnecessary requirements can go away.

[handdrummer]

Q. What's the difference between Thailand and other 3rd. world countries?
A. It's more expensive to live here and there's more BS.

[Zidane]

If you're receiving 40,000 a month you must prove that it came from outside of Thailand and it's from a verifiable source, i.e. a pension find or social security.

Did they say in what form that proof had to be presented?

Sorry to be months late with a response to this
If you have a Thai Bank book with the transaction code FTT in it then that will suffice.
FTT =Foreign Transaction
40,000 baht for Marriage, 65,000 baht for Retirement monthly for not less than the 12 months.
One problem British Government pensioners have is that the UK pension goes via Citibank and this shows as a domestic transfer to your Thai Bank.
Also the money has to end up in a Thai bank which excludes the likes of Citibank and HSBC.
You can argue till you are blue in the face that the money originated from the UK but Immigration still won't accept it.
A problem I might face in a month or two when I can claim my UK pension.
Maybe go to Laos, open a bank account there and arrange an ongoing monthly transfer to my Thai bank which would then show as an FTT transaction.

[dtaai-maai]

Q. What's the difference between Thailand and other 3rd. world countries?
A. It's more expensive to live here and there's more BS.

Won't be long before that Q will be "What's the difference between Thailand and the UK?"

[buksida]

Having just done this here is the list of requirements I was asked for:

Passport copies including visa page and TM6
Extension application forms
Marriage certificate copies front and back
Amphur letter reaffirming marriage
Kids birth certificates (optional)
Map to your house
Blue book copy of house owner or wife
ID card copy of wife
Yellow book copy with my address
Photos x4 (outside, inside and in bedroom) - very important, you must be wearing the same clothes to the imm office that you have on in the pictures, they are extremely pedantic about this.
2x passport photos
Affidavit from neighbor confirming your relationship, signed including copy of their ID and house book
Bank book updated on the same day with over 400k for three months in it
Letter from the bank confirming the amount (this has also changed for the K-bank at least)

Notes:
1) This may differ for you depending on the day of the week and officer involved
2) I used the immigration agent/fast track service which may have expedited some aspects, I expect it will be harder without
3) The application has now been sent to Bangkok and I have to return in a month to collect
4) If you live in Hua Hin or near the office they will come to your house to investigate
5) Everything has to be provided in duplicate
6) No mention of TM30/28 or insurance

[PET]

The only requirement difference I note is that 400K has to be in the bank for 2 months and not 3 ?

[buksida]

Always assumed it was 3 months, didn't want to take the chance.

[handdrummer]

Went to Imm yesterday for pre-op checkup. It's 2 months, 400,000, in the bank. That is months, not 60 days. So check your calendar. No mention of clothing. Officer was very helpful. I saw the one around the post, to the left. If possible, avoid the sour faced woman at the front right desk. All of the rest of Buksida's info is the same. If your renting and not a home owner you can ignore that part. If you wife is registered in another province and you're renting here, she can go to the office, on the 2nd. floor of MV, next to KFC and get a local registration form. They are very pleasant and helpful. Her registration must be within 60 days of your application. You'll also need to bring a Thai with you to Imm to testify that you are who you are.

[RegularGuy]

I am going to switch from a retirement extension to extension based on marriage when my current extension is expiring. My question is what happens if I can not be in Hua Hin 30 days prior to expiration. I will be out of province until about two weeks before expiration date. My understanding is that it takes about 30 days to get the marriage paperwork approved. So, will Hua Hin immigration allow me to stay in Thailand and give me the additional 15 days or so to get the paperwork approved?

[buksida]

You don't have to be in hua hin 30 days prior, you can apply for the marriage extension a day or two before the current one expires. If approved they'll stamp you for another 30 days while they send the wad of paperwork off to Bangkok.

Be aware though that leaving it so late leaves no room for contingencies if you run into barriers at immigration, you may get a 7 day extension then its a red card.

[handdrummer]

If you have to extend past the end of your visa, you have to pay an additional 1900 bht for the extension and if you go past the 2nd extension date it will be an additional 500 bht per day. Do not leave things for the last minute, you never know what you may The TM7 form does not have all the rules on it. The IM officer showed me the book of rules governing visas; it's about the size of War & Peace. He admonished me to follow the rules, I told him, if the government would tell me the rules I would follow them. He gave me a shit eating grin. Monday I submit the 2 stacks of paperwork for my "marriage visa." He also told me, because I was changing from a retirement to a marriage visa, the first time was more difficult and it would be easier next year. I asked if all the paperwork would be the same, he said, yes. I refrained from asking, how will it be easier? It's like some government official read Kafka's, The Trial and thought it would be a great way to run the government.

[RegularGuy]

Thanks for the responses regarding the ability and costs to the additional time to convert the extension. My only other would be be to leave the country on my last day of my current extension and submit for an O visa at the Thai embassy. That gets me 90 days and then I would still have to submit an application for marriage extension 30 days prior to get one year extension. So, there would be travel costs including airfare, hotels, etc. if I went that route.

[handdrummer]

Thanks for the responses regarding the ability and costs to the additional time to convert the extension. My only other would be be to leave the country on my last day of my current extension and submit for an O visa at the Thai embassy. That gets me 90 days and then I would still have to submit an application for marriage extension 30 days prior to get one year extension. So, there would be travel costs including airfare, hotels, etc. if I went that route.

One other catch; to change from retirement to marriage, your original visa must be "non-o." It would be best to talk ti an Imm officer before starting this whole process. As you know, each officer has his/her own pet rules + the ones they make up.

[handdrummer]

The head IM officer I've been dealing with in Hua Hin is an example of the kind of officer Big Oud is talking about.

A new wrinkle; when the officer came to my house to take a photo of my wife and I, the officer, according to procedure, had to be in the photo with us. There is now evidence that the 3 of us exist, at least until next year.

BTW, if your spouse has her house registration in another province, they can get a registration card for Hua Hin, at the office located in MV, next to Colonel Sanders. Nice people, very helpful.