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Is it easier to obtain a marriage visa or a DTV visa in Thailand?

Feb 7, 2026
3 months ago
Gerhard **********
ORIGINAL POSTER
Is it easier for make a "marriage visa" or a "DTV Visa" ???
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TLDR : Answer Summary
The ease of obtaining a marriage visa versus a DTV visa in Thailand largely depends on individual circumstances and purposes. Those desiring to work in Thailand typically find the marriage visa easier since it allows for a work permit, while the DTV visa is better suited for remote work, albeit with restrictions like needing to leave the country every 180 days. Personal experiences shared in the comments suggest that while a marriage visa requires thorough documentation and can be scrutinized more heavily by immigration, it can also offer long-term residency without frequent renewals. Many expats share a preference for the DTV visa due to perceived simplicity, especially for those not married.
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Alain ***************
If you alter have a wife and want to keep her, id go with marriage. As asingle, i went the dtv route
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Chris *********************
Depends if you married šŸ¤”
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John *********
Depends on who the boss is in both circumstances…… 🤣
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Ian **********
Depends what she looks like 🤣
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Turquois*********
Your wife doesn't know?
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Bob *****
oh it depends on what you define as easy.... short- time or long time? lol
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Graeme *******
So which visa do you want and of course the reason, marriage less money tied to the bank at poor interest rate plus allowed to work once you get a permit. Retirement more money tied up in the bank and not allowed to work. The rest I have no idea about. I do my own visa renewal first time bloody pain but now pretty easy.
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Steven *********
Marriage visa and save headaches by using an agent. IMO an agent is worth every baht when competent and fair priced. Can ask here for agent referral in your area
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Ingvar *******
Every expat have their own story and experience of Immigrations officers around the country. What's true today can be lie tomorrow šŸ™šŸ˜¢
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ConfidentR***********
Depends what you qualify for
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Natcha *******
Can I get a DTV visa in Laos? Has anyone done it there? šŸ™‚
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Angelo ***********
Depends. Did you find one to marry, yet? (Just kidding - wanted to make a silly comment once, anyway John Stanners summed it up aready)
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bar ***********
I think the main factor is your lifestyle to make the decision between a marriage visa or a retirement Visa
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Angelo ***********
bar mack man I think it was summarized already, but I give the minimum differences:

- marriage visa

simpler financial requirements (both for income or deposit based)

more complex paper work for extension

plus point: work permit possible (and relaxed requirements versus a Non B visa)

- retirement vis

harder (as in more money and seasoning) requirements money vise. Higher income required of you go the income method

paper work more easy - except for the money part

no work permit

Details have to be googled ... :P
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Angelo ***********
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bar ***********
Angelo Schneider agree
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bar ***********
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Mitchell *******
The easiest would be the DTV. But what is your purpose for the visa?
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John **********
Dtv, there’s fuck all easy about being married!
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David ********
Wow!
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Guy ********
DTV
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Bob ******
After your divorce you will have no visa and need to leave the country in 7 days. Your ex wife will take any assets you have left. Pretty simple
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Gerhard **********
ORIGINAL POSTER
Bob Rush ....best is open your eyes and your mind before you marry
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Bob ******
Gerhard Kienbaum but not your wallet
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Bob ******
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Aber ********
Bob Rush Yes the marriage visa is totally dependent on your wife… not a very wise choice issit?
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Bob ******
Aber Robles not at all. Don’t get married but treat her and her family well. Make yourself valuable by being around not absent.
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Bob ******
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Bill *********
Bob Rush Finally great to see somebody that sees the situation for what it is and is ready to plan accordingly! Never ever get a marriage Visa.
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Bob ******
@Bill ********
I always thought the best way to keep a relationship with a girlfriend in Thailand is to get a retirement visa and buy her what you are comfortable with losing. Stay in control of all your finances.
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Bill *********
Bob Rush I like your thinking! šŸ‘
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Bill *********
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Scott *********
Marriage visa in Korat.

14 years now.

Easy if you prepare.

1hr.

Then go back in a month to collect the 11 months.

Never a problem.

.
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Gerhard **********
ORIGINAL POSTER
Scott Griffin that sounds good. I be married and stay near Korat. I need papers from Embassy married, money on bank and what more?

I hear before some people must make very much pictures from home with neighbours etc. ???
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Scott *********
Gerhard Kienbaum no. Just renewed mine.

Picture of both outside the property clearly showing the house address.

Another of both and showing the whole of the house in the background.

Both sitting in the sofa.

Both sitting in the bedroom.

Just 4 photos.

Letter from the bank saying how much in there on the day you apply.

Copy of all pages bank book. Withdraw 100 on the day so it shows in book. Don’t go below 400,000 thou.

Bank statement 3 months.

Copy all used pages in passport.

Google map from your house to immigration.

House book.

Wife id.

5 of their forns filled in.

Copy marriage cert. both sides.

Think that’s it.

First year is a pain but after that simple.

You can go get the up to date list from immigration. It’s in thai thou.
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Scott *********
Oh and a new thing this time was a copy of a neighbor id from your area. Can’t be outside yiu area.

And they sign to say all is true
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Scott *********
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Colin *********
Scott Griffin good to hear an honest answer. Seems to me that there's quite a lot of grumpy guys comment, who's had marriages to Thai women fail and only talk about how bad their wife was, yet fail to acknowledge their own failings... As they say, 'it takes two to tango', in most cases anyway.

I'm just curious as to what you mean by "Then go back in a month to collect the 11 months". Doesn't the one year extension start once the extension is stamped into your passport?
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Scott *********
Colin Boyland yeah. Not like a retirement where you get a full 1 year. Woth a marriage you get a month and they send it off to be approved. So exactly 1 month after yiu go back and they give the extra 11 months if no problem.

Never had a problem.

If in that month thrre is something then they will call you.
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Scott *********
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Donald **********
What’s your priorities?
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Paterick *********
In my humble opinion, stay single and apply for non ā€œOā€ and multiple exit/entry visa. If over 50 that is…
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Bill *********
Paterick Mikoose Absolutely!
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Bill *********
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Malcolm *******
I just recieved my marriage extension yesterday at Jomtien immigration . I did it myself mainly because many Agents I approached either didnt want to do it , or wanted big money to do it for me .

I got the required documents print out from immigration and followed it to the letter .On the day of my appointment with the officer , I waited over 3 hrs and sat another hour with her , she accepted my application after a very thorough review and gave me an under consideration stamp for 1 month in advance . 2 weeks later I had a visit from some Immigration officers at my home . They took some photos and details from a Thai witness and left .

I returned to Immigration yesterday morning to be informed they were still reviewing my application and would contact me when done . Went home and later in the afternoon was contacted to come in and recieve my marriage extention .

Quite a stressfull process , but relieved its done now .

In conclusion there is a lot of documentation to compile and they are far stricter than when doing a retirement extention .
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Gerhard **********
ORIGINAL POSTER
Malcolm Pogue thank you for your statement
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Harry ********
Malcolm Pogue

I've done 20 marriage visa extensions (at Jomtien), and you'll find that the first one is a touch stressful, but, thereafter, they're a walk in the park..
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Malcolm *******
Harry Martin I hope so lol . It was far more stressful than my retirement extensions .
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Malcolm *******
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Jonathan *******
Malcolm Pogue I have just done the same as you, and yes stressful but if you have the time and patience well worth doing it yourself and save money šŸ‘šŸ™
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Jonathan *******
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Hunter ************
Dtv by far lol
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Gary ******************
We'll by that question I'd say your marriage visa would be a scam eh, you would marry your thai partner because you love them not because it's the easiest visa to get..
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Robert ************
DTV
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Gary ***********
If you have a sick buffalo get a marriage, if you have a man bun and a camp satchel get a DTV 😜😁
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Tom *******
Genuine question. Why are so many people set against the visa through marriage? I've read that so many people either choose the, "retirement visa" (even though they are married to a Thai) or at some point, switch to it saying it's easier and much less hassle. I understand if some people are in a failing marriage or not fully trusting their spouse it makes sense, but if everything is hunky dory what's the issue? If you are in a solid marriage why wouldn't you opt for the visa based on that? Is it that difficult to get?
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Bill *********
Tom Found "Hunky dory" until tomorrow, next week, next month, next year? I'd never base my longevity of living in Thailand on the whims of a moody female.
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Tom *******
@Bill ********
I understand what you’re saying, that’s why I said, if you’re in a solid relationship. Maybe best to stay away from moody females wherever you are in the world. I would agree that it’s best not to rely on them to ensure you feel secure living in Thailand. But, there are plenty of good women in Thailand and plenty of successful relationships. It’s only the bad ones that seem to grab the headlines. Too many people want to tar all Thai women with the same brush. My question really relates to those who are in happy relationships and choose not to get a visa based on marriage.
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Colin *********
Tom Found good response in my opinion. If a guy has married a moody woman, he should have seen signs of it before getting married. If he found a moody woman and still married her, then a failed marriage is his fault, yet he is the one that "grabs the headlines" because he'd rather blame her out loud than acknowledge his own failings to his 'mates'. I'm neither married at the moment, nor living in Thailand (hope to be this year), but having known my Thai 'girlfriend' for almost three and a half years and communicate every day, I know our relationship is absolutely solid.
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Colin *********
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Derek *****
immigration scrutinizes marriage extensions, requiring more and more documents, pictures, and even home inspections. Retirement extensions are fairly straightforward
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Tom *******
But if everything is above board, is it just the hassle supplying extra documents that puts most people off? When you say more and more documents, could you please elaborate? Do you know what extra documents are required when applying for an extension based on marriage? I understand that various photos are required, and home visits. I think that's pretty normal in most western countries. I've read that people are often asked to draw a map of the area local to their home, I find that a little odd. Do you think marriage extensions are scrutinized more to discourage applicants and are looking for reasons to deny? I'm interested to know peoples experience, good and bad.
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Tom *******
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ElĆ­as ********
Well, it depends on whether you have a spouse or not šŸ˜‚
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Milfhu******
Christ sake get the proper visa for which you qualify, if you are married to a Thai get a Marriage visa, if you are a remote worker or want to participate in soft power activities get a DTV
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Paulccfc **********
Milfhunter00 brilliant
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Paulccfc **********
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Aaron *******
DTV, especially if you are not married.
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Sean **********
Non O if you are 50 for a Retirement Visa. Much easier than Marriage certificate
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Alexandr *************
Marriege can be easier if you do it through an agent. But, if you do it yourself then forget about the official paper that you get at immigration since it is only 50 percent. Immigration does not like when you do marriage visa by yourself. I've been 6 times already and they are still requiring some documents that even thai people who are helping me say makes no sense. But, if you have nothing to do like me, you can try going to immigration every day to check your documents till they run out of things they wanna see. Just be patient when they tell you it is the last thing you need to do, then next day you find out you need one more document, then suddenly another one)
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Gerhard **********
ORIGINAL POSTER
Alexandr Scarlevschi yes, sometimes it is crazy
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Nic ***********
We have just done ours very easy marriage visa
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Alexandr *************
@Nic **********
Could be, depends on the immigration
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Nic ***********
We did in changa whatana Bangkok easy
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Alexandr *************
@Nic **********
Bkk plays by rulles, but in Hua Hin, Pattaya, and Phuket can be a little different)
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Alexandr *************
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PurpleO********
You should probably make the right visa

Not the easiest
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Gerhard **********
ORIGINAL POSTER
PurpleOtter5805 i know, sometimes Immigration places work different
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PurpleO********
Gerhard Kienbaum I ā€˜good’ visa agent is probably wiser than facebook. Thats what I believe. Forget asking social media.
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PurpleO********
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John *******
PurpleOtter5805 but sometimes there can be more than 1 right visa
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PurpleO********
John Macom I beg to differ.
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PurpleO********
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John **********
It depends on your purposes of getting a visa

If you want a visa that allows you to hold a work permit and thus work inside Thailand then you want a marriage visa

If you want a visa that allows you to live in Thailand and do nothing you want a marriage visa

If you want a visa that allows you to work remotely from Thailand then you want a DTV based on workation

I've ignored soft power because you can easily do any soft power activity on a marriage visa

The other big difference is a DTV is a tourist visa, you won't be able to open a bank account and you will also have to leave Thailand every 180 days, whereas a marriage visa is a Non-immigrant visa so you can open bank accounts, do all the normal things associated with living in a country and never have to leave if you don't want to
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Gerhard **********
ORIGINAL POSTER
@John *********
Thanks for the perfect answer
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Brian *********
@John *********
even with o visa you are still required to report to immigration every 3 months
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Mick *****
This is 100% correct & pretty much the only answer worth reading. I was in the process for marriage visa and swapped to DTV due to an offer of remote work from Thailand. If the work offer had not happened I would have stuck with marriage.
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Michael *******
@John *********
interesting so if you get a marriage visa you can’t work or have a business??
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John **********
@Michael ******
you can work on a marriage visa as I said but you also need a work permit. You need a work permit for any sort of work inside Thailand, even unpaid work such as volunteering
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Michael *******
@John *********
is the work permit hard to obtain?
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Peter *******
Michael Daley not difficult if you have a job offer and it’s usually (in my experience)the company that’s hiring you that arranges it. You can’t get one without a job, as it’s tied to the job and the company that’s hiring you.

Also, if you work with a marriage and WP, and you quit or get fired you don’t have to leave the country to. Yet if you do it the non-B and WP way you have to leave.

If you remotely then DTV may be better, but as someone mentioned you can’t get a bank account, so you will need Wise or Revolut card to draw cash at ATMs or pay electronically.
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Peter *******
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Hai ****
Mr. Stanners, if my Kbank account has been suspended, would I be able to reactivate it?
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John **********
You need to talk to your bank
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John **********
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Wannikea *********
Is it easier to keep a wife or a job or an appointment?
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Robert ************
Wannikea Wanblee a job.
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Andy ********
Wannikea Wanblee great comment.

In my case in the last 31 years I have had one wife 6 jobs and too many appointments to mention. I am on a marriage extension, do you think this is this the correct one for me?
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Andy ********
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