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Can I extend my stay in Thailand multiple times with short-term visas after marriage?

Thailand Visa RulesVisa ExtensionMarriage VisaFamily Visit VisaShort-Term StaysVisa Exemptions
Jan 17, 2024
a year ago
Jack ****************
ORIGINAL POSTER
Got my first 30 day extension post marriage and learned that on every entry I can now get a 30 day extension AND a 60 day family visit extension. So I can stretch a 30 day on arrival or a 60 day tourist visa an extra 90 days every entry.

That puts my time in Kingdom, just from short term visits, so long... Not sure how to word this. I was excited to move over to the marriage visa, potentially the retirement, I hadn't fully decided. But if I can stay all year on only 3 entries- I probably leave 3 times a year ANYWAY... I just wonder if doing it this way will run into the same entry challenges most people talk about.
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TLDR : Answer Summary
The user has learned that after getting a 30-day extension following their marriage, they can obtain a 30-day extension with each entry as well as a 60-day family visit extension, potentially allowing them to stay for extended periods merely through multiple short-term entries. Comments from others highlight that living in Thailand on repeated short-term entries can lead to complications and that obtaining a marriage or family-based visa may simplify staying long-term without frequent border runs.
Steve *******
Where was this? Many Imm Offices will only give you the 60 days extention, not both
a year ago
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Jack ****************
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Steve ******
 Chiang Rai
a year ago
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Steve *******
@Jack ***************
 Ubon and Sisaket only give the 60 days extention, not both.
a year ago
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Jack ****************
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Steve ******
 and the guy could be wrong or province specific or new... I can only speak to what he told me today.
a year ago
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Jack ****************
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Lynnette *******
Just wondering why people would do it this way? My son just extends on basis of marriage/ thai family once a year. Doesn't have to constantly leave and come back. That seems simpler.
a year ago
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Jack ****************
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Lynnette ******
 what visa is he on? My understanding is that with the marriage visa you still need to report every 90 days as well as extend annually
a year ago
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Maxim ***********
@Jack ***************
 You mean the yearly extension that you need to report every 90 days. But you can report online, it take 5 min, no need to drive anywhere except on your first report (any 2nd, 3nd, etc, can do online).
a year ago
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Steven ***************
@Jack ***************
 . You still seem confused bout the difference between a visa and a visa extension. Only people on yearly extensions need to report every 90 days if they don't leave thailand . Visa holders don't repot because they can't stay longer than 90 days at a time...
a year ago
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Jack ****************
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Steven **************
 it feels pedantic, but I do get lost easily. I believe you get a visa based on marriage and then extend that visa. Am I wrong? Also, if I leave and come back does it mitigate the need for the 90 day check in?
a year ago
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Steven ***************
@Jack ***************
 . You only do a 90 day report if you stay INSIDE Thailand for MORE than 90 days. Only done on yearly extensions. Spouse VISAS only allow you to stay max of 90 days and you must leave and re ente. This is all stated clearly by immigration on websites, etc. If you're still confused , ask them directly in person. Any embassy or consulate outside Thailand that gives you a visa will explain this to you. They won't discuss extensions because it has nothing to do with them because extensions are granted INSIDE Thailand by a separate entity ( thai imm is a branch of the RTP)
a year ago
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Jack ****************
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Steven **************
 whelp, definitely confused. He did talk about in order to get the marriage visa I needed to return on a non o.
a year ago
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Steven ***************
@Jack ***************
 . You're confusing yourself... you need a non o visa first. to get a non o extension.. he would have said visa first, then extension in Thailand.
a year ago
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Steven ***************
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Lynnette *******
@Jack ***************
 report is the 90 days either on line or a quick drive through takes 5 mins. Yes he extends every year. All paperwork prepared in advance and done at immigration in Phuket town. No flying, no hassle by leaving country.
a year ago
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Jack ****************
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Lynnette ******
 I leave periodically for work ANYWAY. Before getting hitched the frequency that I needed to leave was greater than that required by work. It's probably still better to do the marriage but this is new data for me.
a year ago
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Colin *********
@Jack ***************
 I haven't gone through all this yet, but if everything goes well, next year I will be. From everything I've read in the past year,
@Lynnette ******
 is correct and best advice. If you need to leave Thailand for periods of time, I believe that it would just be a matter of getting a "re-entry permit" before leaving Thailand (I think at the airport, but not 100% sure) & coming back in won't be a problem if you need to leave for a while for work or other reasons.
a year ago
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Colin *********
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Erwin ********
Yes, on visa exempt you can stay close to 4 months if married to a Thai. If you get a tourist visa abroad and enter you can get an extra 30 days. However, if you get a non o visa for being married, you can’t get the extension for 30 days as that’s only for tourism. You will still be able to do the 60day extension though. So your total permitted stay (150 days) will be the same as when entered on a tourist visa, but it will save you one trip to immigration.
a year ago
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Rj ******
@Erwin *******
 so after i failed to get a bank acct and will go to a agent on friday. What do i have to do next besides 400k in bank
a year ago
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Jack ****************
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Erwin *******
 I am not saying you are wrong- only that we specifically asked about this today and we were told you could do both every entry. The guy could be wrong, the rules could change, this stuff is more art than science- but he was very explicit.
a year ago
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Erwin ********
@Jack ***************
 yes. Maybe I wasn’t clear. on a visa exempt (30 days entry) or tourist visa (60 days) you get a 30 day extension for tourism purposes and after that another 60 day extension for visiting family. On o non o entry (for 90 days) you can only get the 60 day extension.
a year ago
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Jack ****************
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Erwin *******
 oh, non o 90 days is something I don't even know what it is so I'm sorry if I glossed over .
a year ago
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Maxim ***********
@Jack ***************
 I'm currently on 90 days single entry Non O and can extend 60 days once. Before, I was on visa exempt and extended once for 30 days and a 2nd time for 60 days. The reason why you can do both on visa exempt or tourist visa is that you first extend for tourism reason but than extend again for a different reason (marriage). But when you enter on Non O you are already on a marriage visa so can only extend for that specific reason.
a year ago
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Maxim ***********
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Maxim ***********
@Erwin *******
 I can confirm from first hand experience that this is all factually correct.
a year ago
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Maxim ***********
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Brandon ************
Trying to enter visa exempt after spending 3-6 months in Thailand probably will not end well. You cannot live in Thailand on short term entry stamps, regardless of getting extensions for them.
a year ago
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Maxim ***********
@Brandon ***********
 Yes, you can! 12 years later and going strong! Although not always on visa exempt, it's not as hard as some people make it out to be.
a year ago
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Brandon ************
@Maxim **********
 it was easy before covid. Not so much anymore especially for the average person (or someone that asks a million questions on here about basic things)
a year ago
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Jack ****************
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Brandon ***********
 To be clear he is antagonizing me here...

The TONE seems to be related to the frequency of entry. And it's such a wonky gray area anyway. I'm definitely prepared to do the marriage visa. But I might just see if this raises eyebrows first.

Brandon I suspect I had some mini strokes in my early 40s and some types of data retention just went from normal to nil. I simple can't hold some types of information anymore. The search functions are for shit and this is a community to ask questions and talk about things. If my questions bother you block me. I don't need "guy with encyclopedic knowledge of esoteric shit" to make me feel bad as I do that really well on my own thanks.
a year ago
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Brandon ************
@Jack ***************
 it's just too risky. You really want to play games with immigration until you get denied entry? You like getting pulled out of line and have 3 immigration officers standing over you asking you questions? If you know how to stay legally, do it the right way.
a year ago
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Jack ****************
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Brandon ***********
 I haven't had a reasonable immigration offer say anything ever. I had a crazy lady make a scene once and her supervisor intervened and told her to cut it out. The whole "not living here on short term visas" thing is, as far as I can tell an artifact of conversations here. I haven't seen it on the immigration website or on forms at the office. An immigration official hasn't spoken to me about it. I don't want want to break the spirit of the law, I prefer to operate in good faith, but other than "no more than 2 land entries a year" this is just tribal knowledge based on anecdotes. Today the guy told me about the family extensions AFTER we discussed that I was planning to move to the marriage visa.

It's good information and I'm glad I have it, but I am not convinced this is unscrupulous.
a year ago
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Brandon ************
@Jack ***************
 the family extension is commonly used. Primarily to get more time for seasoning the 400,000 baht or when someone has the multiple entry non-O visa for marriage to get 15 months total from. It's not unscrupulous but it's not a way to live in Thailand either.
a year ago
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Brandon ************
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