Marriage Extension New Rule

[AlexO]

First time I have heard of this requirement for a Married Extension. Does anyone know for sure how the IO's are going to check this and the retirement singles with the 800K needed to be kept for at least 3 months. Has anyone had this explained or is this why BJ was sacked because its unworkable.

Most probably the same way as the original proof of funds and the second proof, bank letter and statement.

From what I've heard BJ's transfer was nothing to do with any of the finance changes.

It is not unworkable at all, annoying sure, onerous for those living far from an immigration Office and the immigration officers yes, adding an extra few hundred Baht certainly but hardly unworkable

All I asked for was if anyone knew for definate how they would enforce this. Didn't ask for a 'probably' or 'maybe' from someone who does not know.

[Wee Jimmy]

So what about the guys who are just using the pension for the marriage extension. What checks do they get??
These guys will be using the pension for everyday living costs.

[dragonz]

I was told that the 400,000 baht for marraige extension had to stay in the bank until the date your exension expires and not the date you renew which is up to 30 days earlier .
Getting a tad confusing for everyone .My extension finished mar 28 but i applied for renewal mar 5 so my money was in the bank for 3 months when i applied but because my visa finished on the 28th i needed to keep it in the bank until then so to me really should be 3 months in the bank from when your extension runs out and not when you apply as they still state it only has to be in 3 months and those rules have not changed "or have they ?"

[sometimewoodworker]

All I asked for was if anyone knew for definate how they would enforce this. Didn't ask for a 'probably' or 'maybe' from someone who does not know.

Immigration knows so.

Go in to the immigration office and ask.

Or call them on 042249982-3

They answer the phone promptly and they know how they are going to enforce it.

You will get the answer from the source not second hand.

[dragonz]

All I asked for was if anyone knew for definate how they would enforce this. Didn't ask for a 'probably' or 'maybe' from someone who does not know.

Immigration knows so.

Go in to the immigration office and ask.

Or call them on 042249982-3

They answer the phone promptly and they know how they are going to enforce it.

You will get the answer from the source not second hand.

we all know that is not true. Every officer will give a different answer .I asked how long my money has to stay in the bank and was told 3 months until i apply then until my old marraige extension runs out which is another 30 days ish . I said that is more than the 3 months it says on your website , just got a thai smile .
Never ever heard from anyone who has been told it had to stay in the bank for 3 months after the extension has been granted , thats just a rumour i think .
Still a bit worried about my extension of stay expiring as i will be in bkk next week and if stopped got nothing in my pasport thats valid and i do not believe the regular police now anything about under consideration but will just see a stamp thats run out . They should really have given me any period of under consideration stamp . Thinking of not going now

[Brian Davis]

"we all know that is not true. Every officer will give a different answer"
I'm with you on that, dragonz. Sadly, there lots of evidence to show one should exercise some caution over the reliability of information provided by Immigration, offices or officers.
The youngish, fairly new,male officer assured me that, for my next year's application, demonstrating monthly income of at least 40,000 baht WAS an acceptable option for extension based on marriage.
Interested to know if anyone has used that option recently, using information provided by a bank, NOT an Embassy income letter.

[Old Grumpy]

"we all know that is not true. Every officer will give a different answer"
I'm with you on that, dragonz. Sadly, there lots of evidence to show one should exercise some caution over the reliability of information provided by Immigration, offices or officers.
The youngish, fairly new,male officer assured me that, for my next year's application, demonstrating monthly income of at least 40,000 baht WAS an acceptable option for extension based on marriage.
Interested to know if anyone has used that option recently, using information provided by a bank, NOT an Embassy income letter.
[/quote]
I went into the Bangkok bank branch near the immigration office on the advice of the IO, who told me "they know what we want", they said they only produce a standard letter showing the balance in account, knew nothing about one with the monthly breakdown and said they couldn't do that anyway .Has anyone been able to get a letter to satisfy the IO anywhere ?

[sometimewoodworker]

I went into the Bangkok bank branch near the immigration office on the advice of the IO, who told me "they know what we want", they said they only produce a standard letter showing the balance in account, knew nothing about one with the monthly breakdown and said they couldn't do that anyway .Has anyone been able to get a letter to satisfy the IO anywhere ?

The second document is a statement not a bank letter, both SCB last year and Krungsri yesterday have given them to me.

If you are trying to use the income from abroad into Thailand then you are from one of the 4 countries that does not provide an embassy document you may have to get the statement from the Bangkok Bank head office as the local branch usually only has 6 months available and you need 12 months. I do not know this for sure as I don't need it.

[Hoopoe]

This is what went down in Udon Immigration office yesterday , (just received phone call from guy involved ) 1 . marriage kor tor 2 ,out of date , has to be within a month of application ,(he went in a few weeks ago to show them the new kor tor 2 , they said it was ok ,) obviously depends on which officer you talk to ,
2. they wanted bank letter to verity that the 400,000 bht HAD BEEN IN THE ACCOUNT ALL YEAR ,(luckily he can prove that ,after taking my advice )
3. Photo's of him & wife ,bedroom , living room , and outside the property showing house number ,HAS TO BE GOOD QUALITY ON PHOTO PAPER , not longer accepting black & white on normal A4
Yes i know ,if they full enforce the 400,000 bht all year ,it's going to cause major problems for a lot of people ,
you have been forwarned ,my friend is very amicable never causes offence to anyone ,so there's no question of him disrespecting anyone in there ,
Do not shoot the messenger

[LoneTraveler]

This is what went down in Udon Immigration office yesterday , (just received phone call from guy involved ) 1 . marriage kor tor 2 ,out of date , has to be within a month of application ,(he went in a few weeks ago to show them the new kor tor 2 , they said it was ok ,) obviously depends on which officer you talk to ,
2. they wanted bank letter to verity that the 400,000 bht HAD BEEN IN THE ACCOUNT ALL YEAR ,(luckily he can prove that ,after taking my advice )
3. Photo's of him & wife ,bedroom , living room , and outside the property showing house number ,HAS TO BE GOOD QUALITY ON PHOTO PAPER , not longer accepting black & white on normal A4
Yes i know ,if they full enforce the 400,000 bht all year ,it's going to cause major problems for a lot of people ,
you have been forwarned ,my friend is very amicable never causes offence to anyone ,so there's no question of him disrespecting anyone in there ,
Do not shoot the messenger

I am confused. I will be applying for marriage extension currently on a retirement extension. I read the rules as of March 2019 which states 400K in bank seasoned 2 months prior. No mention of retaining money in bank after extension is granted. I am also concerned about stamp that states "under consideration" until approved or declined.

I recall a few years back when they used the "under consideration stamp for all retirement extension, made me apprehensive, sort of like be in limbo for immigration status. I think I will go the retirement extension this year and wait until next extension due, which will give immigration time to sort all this out.

Are the wardens that helped the US embassy during Outreach still active? With their contacts with immigration perhaps they can provide answers that are both accurate and helpful. It appears BM who are currently applying for extensions are coming out with a variety of scenarios both positive and negative., which is just adding to my confusion

[sometimewoodworker]

This is what went down in Udon Immigration office yesterday , (just received phone call from guy involved ) 1 . marriage kor tor 2 ,out of date , has to be within a month of application ,(he went in a few weeks ago to show them the new kor tor 2 , they said it was ok ,) obviously depends on which officer you talk to ,
2. they wanted bank letter to verity that the 400,000 bht HAD BEEN IN THE ACCOUNT ALL YEAR ,(luckily he can prove that ,after taking my advice )
3. Photo's of him & wife ,bedroom , living room , and outside the property showing house number ,HAS TO BE GOOD QUALITY ON PHOTO PAPER , not longer accepting black & white on normal A4
Yes i know ,if they full enforce the 400,000 bht all year ,it's going to cause major problems for a lot of people ,
you have been forwarned ,my friend is very amicable never causes offence to anyone ,so there's no question of him disrespecting anyone in there ,
Do not shoot the messenger

The information on having to have 400k in the bank for more than 2 months before applying for the extension is definitely wrong (I am not saying that your friend wasn't told that or got that impression) there has been no change to the 2 months before rule. I am absolutely sure of this as when I went in yesterday morning for my extension my money had been in my account for 66 days.

Please ask your friend which counter he went to. The slightly older than the rest (30~40) lady at counter 3 would certainly not have told him that. One of the younger ladies may well have been confused about the retirement rules which requires the 400k for the complete year and the marriage rules which do not.

My experience of asking questions, as your friend did about the Kor Ror 2, is that it is easy to ask the wrong question, for there to be a misunderstanding of the question asked or some variation of that. So unless he asked if the exact Kor Ror 2 that he had with him would be accepted when he applied for his extension in X weeks he could easily have been misunderstood. And even if he had asked the question in that way he could still have been misunderstood.

The Kor Ror 2 has a limited validity (it may even say that on it) as it just proves that on the date issued you were still married this is why a very recent one is required.

[Hoopoe]

This is what went down in Udon Immigration office yesterday ,
Do not shoot the messenger

The information on having to have 400k in the bank for more than 2 months before applying for the extension is definitely wrong (I am not saying that your friend wasn't told that or got that impression) there has been no change to the 2 months before rule. I am absolutely sure of this as when I went in yesterday morning for my extension my money had been in my account for 66 days.

Not really bothered about your reply STWW , rules are rules , but as we already know each I/O interprets them as they see fit , he had his wife with him (head school teacher ) so were does the misunderstanding come in ,
it was 11 am when he entered the building ,the 90 day report location has been moved , inbetween the original 90 desk and the original 1st desk theres another desk , as he entered the young guy who'd been running the 90 desk (in the past) asked him what he wanted , ( there were very few people in there not to busy) he gave his paperwork to the young man ,who seemed to be monitoring all the desk's ,my friend is now stood inbetween 2 desk's ,the paperwork was then scrutinised and tossed onto both desk's either side with the comments as written ,
What part of " this is what went down in I/O yesterday " do you not understand ,yes i'm aware the rules to my knowledge has not changed regarding the 400k ,but as my friend stated what can you do when they firmly ask for a bank letter stating the 400k has been in there 12 months ,then the photo's and Kor tor 2 , and just as a note ,this is the same young man (i was there at the time ) who advised it was all ok ,,very helpful & pleasant ,i believe he suffers from PMT
This was as a hey guys look what happened be aware post , NOT A CAN ANY ARSEHOLE HELP ME WITH THE RULES REQUEST ,

[sometimewoodworker]

This was as a hey guys look what happened be aware post

I well understand that yours was a "what happened post".

Mine is pointing out that if your friend had wanted he could have politely pointed out that the 1 year bank deposit was not needed and it is very likely that the correct 2 months would have been applied. It is often easier to comply with a request that you know is wrong if you can. Your friend could and did, other people may not be able to do that and DO NOT NEED TO.

Your friend was between desks 3 and 4 the young man who checked his paperwork had been at his desk which is behind the service desks and had had to come forward to help at the front desks when it got really busy about 10 past 10 it was easy to see that he wasn't best pleased to have to stop his usual work and was not a happy bunny. The misunderstanding I was talking about probably comes in at the point your friend asked about the Kor Ror 2 weeks ago. I was not suggesting that there was any misunderstanding yesterday, as you will see if you want to reread my post, though I doubt you will bother.

I got the requested 2,000 (1,900 + 100 pocket money) changed to the correct 1,900 so immagration officers do change their minds.

I don't know who the new senior officer is but the officer who dealt with your friend has probably been promoted to a job that is currently too much for him, from the position of his desk suggests he is probably now in a supervisory job if not the office manager and from the way he dealt with your friend, he isn't coping with his new responsibilities very well.

If you don't want to read my posts then just use the "foe" list and you will not see them.

[Old Grumpy]

Well the more I read the more confused I get, for the last 17years I have had a visa for retirement based on the embassy letter to show sufficient income, the last three years combined with money in bank because of the reduced exchange rate. Now this year without the letter from embassy, although I still have the pension providers info I used to give the embassy I am lost as to what happens. Is the combined method still available? if so what do I need in place of the embassy letter part, still have sufficient funds in bank to top up over the 800,000k in total .If that's not an option then its the marriage visa route, again sufficient pension income, way over the 40'k a month needed or have over 400,000k if required, been in for two months now, would prefer income method rather than savings as don't fancy tying my capital up for any prolonged time.The problem I foresee is that all my pension providers including the UK govt send the money to City Bank in Bangkok from where it is transferred to my account at Bangkok bank, thereby showing as an internal country transfer rather than received from overseas.Been on to both banks and am told they can't do any different.This is all very confusing as in real terms my income method has not changed for all the 17years I have had the retirement visa .In the long run I am thinking of getting a multi entry from Savannakhet seems to be the simplest thing to do.Any thoughts or advice please .

[RLTrader]

I am thinking of getting a multi entry from Savannakhet seems to be the simplest thing to do.Any thoughts or advice please .

Waiting for the smoke to clear, otherwise thinking the same, or just leaving and going somewhere else.
At my age, I don't do hoop jumping.
The way things are going in the world, there just might not be a 2020.

[Wee Jimmy]

22 years and only once had problem obtaining an extension. We didn't have a kor lor 2.... Grumpy if you change from a retirement to marriage they charge a further 500 Baht for changing. (Pocket money).
If you go the Savanaket route remember it's a trip over the bridge every 90 days after that..
Just pop into the immigration and findout what you require. They are very helpful...

[sometimewoodworker]

Well the more I read the more confused I get, for the last 17years I have had a visa for retirement based on the embassy letter to show sufficient income, the last three years combined with money in bank because of the reduced exchange rate. Now this year without the letter from embassy, although I still have the pension providers info I used to give the embassy I am lost as to what happens. Is the combined method still available? if so what do I need in place of the embassy letter part, still have sufficient funds in bank to top up over the 800,000k in total .If that's not an option then its the marriage visa route, again sufficient pension income, way over the 40'k a month needed or have over 400,000k if required, been in for two months now, would prefer income method rather than savings as don't fancy tying my capital up for any prolonged time.The problem I foresee is that all my pension providers including the UK govt send the money to City Bank in Bangkok from where it is transferred to my account at Bangkok bank, thereby showing as an internal country transfer rather than received from overseas.Been on to both banks and am told they can't do any different.This is all very confusing as in real terms my income method has not changed for all the 17years I have had the retirement visa .In the long run I am thinking of getting a multi entry from Savannakhet seems to be the simplest thing to do.Any thoughts or advice please .

The combination method is still available.

The only way you are going to find out if the CityBank -> Bangkok bank transfers are going to be acceptable is to take your proof that they are made from the UK into CityBank then to BB into immigration very much in advance of the 3 month deadline and ask and hope the information you get is the same when you apply for the extension.
If told that it is no good you then have enough time to top up for the retirement extension 800k, or for the marriage extension 400k or decide if you want to make trips outside Thailand every 89 days or so. Only you can decide which is best for you

[tamada]

22 years and only once had problem obtaining an extension. We didn't have a kor lor 2.... Grumpy if you change from a retirement to marriage they charge a further 500 Baht for changing. (Pocket money).
If you go the Savanaket route remember it's a trip over the bridge every 90 days after that..
Just pop into the immigration and findout what you require. They are very helpful...

How long ago was that 500 baht sting?

[Wee Jimmy]

Tam . Round about the 7th March this year.. Heard about good few getting the same.

[tamada]

Tam . Round about the 7th March this year.. Heard about good few getting the same.

Aha... so the 'under new management' team have come up with their own new scam already. The sad buggers just can't help themselves eh?