Answered8 years ago

What are the best options for extending my stay in Thailand as a spouse of a student visa holder?

Non-Immigrant O Visa Visa Extension Tourist Visa Marriage Certificate Thai Embassy Visa Process

Tito *********

asked Aug 3, 2018

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Advice please, this is my case: I'm trying to stay in Thailand doing things "the right way". My wife is studying in Bangkok until January 2019 (she has a Non-immigrant, Single entry ED Visa) and yesterday she got her first 90-day extension. I entered Thailand in May with a Non-Immigrant, single entry O Visa (as her husband) but I could not get the extension yesterday. I need to get my marriage certificate translated to english, get the translation certified by the ministry of foreign affairs in my country and then send it to the Thai Embassy that is responsible for my country to certify it, then get it sent to Thailand and get it certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Thailand (this is a very specific process for me because there is no embassy for my country in Thailand and there is no Thai Embassy in my country). My Non-Immigrant visa expires August 27th (in 24 days), so I will try to do the whole process in record time. If by the 20th I see I'm not going to make it, I'm open to switching to tourist visa or whichever. What would you recommend to stay here until January? I don't mind going in and out the country, I just want certainty (the long process is certain, but time is the problem). Thank you a lot! I post the whole story to be left as a future resource. 😉 

I’m Guatemalan and I can’t get Visa on arrival.

Answer summary

A Guatemalan citizen is seeking advice on how to extend their stay in Thailand while their spouse studies on a Non-Immigrant ED Visa. They highlight the complexity of needing to translate and certify their marriage certificate through multiple channels due to there being no Thai Embassy in Guatemala. They are considering switching to a tourist visa if the extension cannot be processed in time. Community members suggested options for obtaining a tourist visa from nearby countries, specifically noting that Guatemala is not prohibited and providing details about consulates in Laos and Malaysia that could issue a tourist visa.

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Tod *********

Sorry

@Ti**

, :/ I only asked to make sure your country is NOT on the list of prohibited countries at nearby consulates.

I didn't want to send you somewhere for a visa if you can't get one.

The good news is guatamala is NOT on the list of prohibited countries so you could go to the thai consulates in Lao (Vientiane or Savannakhet) or Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur, Penang or Kota Bharu) without any problem to get a single entry tourist visa. That would stamp you into the country for 60 days and then you could extend that by 30 more days if you wanted to at the immigration office for 1900baht.

The easiest and most trouble free thai consulate in the area is the one in Vientiane because they require no proof of funds, no proof of onward travel and no proof of a hotel booking.

You might as well get all the time you're allotted out of the 90 day single entry Non-O you came in on before you go on a visa run though.

Good Luck.

8 years ago

Tod *********

@Tito ********

, you shouldn't have a problem getting two single entry tourist visas at all.

Now as far as IF you get 30 days or just 7, that I couldn't say. I know your country is one of them that needs a visa to get into thailand (you can't get a visa exempt entry and you can't buy a visa on arrival). Sometimes countries like that only get a 7 day

8 years ago

Tito *********

Thanks

@T**

, I knew you could be asking the nationality because of the prohibited countries. :)

How many times can I do that process of going out and in? My visa expires on August 27, If I leave August 26 and come back in three days I get to stay until November 30 (60 + 30). Can I do it one more time to get to January?

One more thing, I kept asking people at the Immigration office about the 30 day extension and all of them said it depended, I could get 30 days or 7 days, do you know where to check this?

8 years ago