Can I transition from an ED visa to a marriage visa in Thailand and re-enter from the US during COVID-19?

Hey folks,

I really appreciate all the great help you’ve been dishing out this year. Wondering if you could go a little further and help clarify a few things for my situation as well. Currently in Chiang Rai. I was on an ED visa that expired back in June. I had one more extension, however immigration said they would not honor it and so I moved onto amnesty thereafter. My girlfriend and I opted to pursue the marriage visa, followed through with the marriage and began fulfilling all the necessary requirements to obtain the marriage visa.

We were able to fulfill all the requirements except for the 60 day bank requirement as that date would fall in mid-November. To cover this, we were going to request a 60 day family visit stamp to get us over that time. This was suggested by multiple accounts on here (thought not specifically ED visa related) as well as officials at two separate offices (multiple officers saying they would grant us this stamp). Seemed like a done deal.

We were told that we would have to cancel the ED visa before the stamp could be granted, which we did. However, when the time came to sit down with the officer they said they were in fact unable to grant us the 60 day visit stamp. The issue was the fact that it was an ED visa that was to be used for one year and typically are required to leave after. I was told that I would have to leave Thailand, return to the US and obtain a 3-month family visit visa. I was able to move onto the 30 day extension stamp in lieu of the 60 day stamp.

My first question is: Is this correct and in line with other’s experiences? Am I really at this time unable to pursue the marriage visa through the 60 day stamp because of my previous visa type? Though not unbelievable, I’m just a little surprised since multiple officials in different offices all said it was something that could be done. Or is this a fluke that can be amended?

My other question is: If it is in fact time to head back home next month, does anyone have experience re-entering from the United States during this period? What was it like gathering the health specific documents required to re-enter? Any reliable resources that I could be pointed towards to find rapid COVID testing back in the US?

Obtaining the 3-month visa will be straightforward enough. It’s the extra materials I am having difficulty finding accurate accounts online to reference. Any help at all would be greatly appreciated.

As always, I really appreciate the work you all do. Mods, please DM me where I can send you beer money. You deserve as much Chang or Singha as you can drink for all the question answering you’ve handled this year.

Thanks so much!