Can I enter Thailand on a tourist visa and convert it to a Type-O visa based on marriage?

Ask for Grace

How can you be married to a Thai and not know how to re enter Thailand ! Do your own research ya muppet !

you can only do a "change of visa type" from a touristic entry to an initial 90-days Non-Imm-O Family Visa, if you already have an existing Thai bank account with a minimum of 400,000 THB already sitting in it. It has been explained in detail and correctly by Andreas Mueller. People in this group simply saying "you can" is a very bad answer

Why do people assume they can apply for permanent residency, it's almost nonexistent unless you're investing millions into Thailand

Ask your wife.

Yes, you can. You've got the perfect idea. Simply ignore people posting 1000-word solutions.

Again, this question pops up (every couple of days in different forms)

Why can’t people just scroll through this groups posts or do a search to pick up the desired answers. I have lost count on how many times very clear and precise answers to the non O visa questions have been answered in RECENT months

meand my thai wife live usa we will move too thailand in 3 years too retire. some people tell me not too bother with marrige visa retirement. many people say it is a hassle just doo the 1 year extension 800.000 bhat retirement visa

Yes

Let me get this straight:

You will enter Thailand on a 90-days Non-Imm-O family visa, and will receive a 90-days stay permit.

Before these 90 days expire, you need to apply for the “1-year Extension of Stay Permit based on being married to a Thai wife”

Immigration will call it a “visa extension”, but actually they don’t extend any non-existing visa, they are extending the 90-days stay permit to a “one-year stay permit”. The visa itself actually has become invalid for further use upon your entry

You can apply for a “1-year extension of stay based on marriage with a Thai wife” 30 days (45 days on some immigrations such as Bangkok and Chiang Mai) before the end of the 90-day stay permit you got stamped

To do this, your marriage must be recognized and registered in Thailand. Because Immigration will ask you to present a freshly printed Thai marriage registry document from the Thai Amphur. It is called Kor Ror 2, or Kor Ror 22 (whichever applies to your marriage)

In addition to other documents, a financial evidence must be provided:

Either

You have a Thai bank account in your sole name and a deposit of a minimum of 400,000 Baht. The money must have seasoned for 2 months on the day of application,

or

You got a legalized statement of your country’s embassy in Bangkok/or of a honorary consul, about a regular monthly income of at least 40,000 Baht (a so-called income affidavit)

Some embassies, like the U.K., the U.S. and the Australian embassy, don’t issue affidavits of income any more. In this case, Immigration will ask you for a bank statement of 12 months of consecutive money transfers coming in from abroad over a minimum of 40,000 THB. So, in the first year, you won’t easily get around the 400,000 Thai Baht account deposit method

The combination method, which is accepted for the application to the “retirement extension”, a mix of a deposit plus income, is not possible for an extension based on being married to a Thai wife.

You will need to present (this list might not be accurate nor complete, as some requirements are Immigration specific, and you need to visit your Immigration and ask for their handout list)

*** a copy of your passport detail page

*** a copy of the entry stamp

*** a copy of the pdf. visa document

*** a filled out TM7 form (can be had on Immigration)

*** two signed memorandi of understanding (which you get on immigration

*** photos showing your wife and you in front of your house, with house number visible

*** Hand-drawn map of the location of your house. Some Immigrations accept a printout of google maps and geo-data

*** 1900.- THB application fee

If you meet all the requirements, immigration will stamp your passport or clip a paper into it, stating “application under consideration. Please visit us” . . . and a date, in most cases 4 weeks away

Within these 4 weeks, Immigration will visit you and your wife at home, they might ask your neighbors whether you are really married and live there.

As soon as the “under consideration” period has expired, you can pick up the passport from immigration with the completed and stamped one-year extension of stay permit.

It is recommended to buy at least one single re-entry permit for 1000.- THB (you need to bring two passport pics for that) because should you exit Thailand during the one-year Extension of Stay Permit period, the re-entry permit keeps your extended stay permit alive

Get the Non Imm O based on marriage from your home Country before moving to Thailand. It will make the process so much easier 👍

to be able to get a permanent residency, you need to have had a work permit, worked in Thailand and paid taxes for 5 years, in other words: forget it

If you already have a Thai bank account you could but it's all but impossible to open one on a tourism entry. Best to apply for the 90 day Non-O visa based on being married to a Thai in your home country before travelling to Thailand. When you arrive in Thailand open up a bank account, deposit the required funds and once they've been in the bank for 2 months apply for the 12 month extension of stay based on marriage

you need to find out if you need an already existing Thai bank account with a minimum of 400,000 THB in it, if your plan is to arrive on a tourist visa and apply for the "change of visa type" to the 90-days Non-Imm-O Family Visa and from there to the 1-year Extension of the Stay Permit based on marriage to a Thai wife