Answered4 years ago

What are the best visa strategies for an American and a Burmese citizen planning to move to Thailand and get married?

Thailand visa NON-O visa retirement visa Thailand immigration expat visa strategies Burmese citizen visa

Courtney *********

asked Oct 10, 2022

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A total novice question here, so please bear with me:

I’m seriously considering moving to Thailand for 12-18 months, beginning in December. I haven’t worked out the visa issue with me and my fiancé yet. I’m American, and she’s from Myanmar. She is currently living in Yangon.

Can someone please offer me good visa strategies to explore? I am 49 (turning 50 in January) and she is 41. I’m not wealthy but I am in a position to financially support her in Thailand.￼￼ We hope to marry in Thailand in late February.

Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and experiences.

Answer summary

The poster is an American considering moving to Thailand with their Burmese fiancé for 12-18 months. They seek guidance on visa options since they plan to marry there. Community members suggest strategies such as applying for 60-day tourist visas followed by extensions, transitioning to a NON-O visa after marriage, and ensuring the fiancé applies for the correct O visa for dependents. Discussions also include the requirement of having 800,000 baht in the bank for a retirement visa and the process of applying for visas inside or outside Thailand. The poster also explores the option of hiring a visa agent.

14 repliesnewest first

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Henry *********

Your fiancee needs to get an O visa (not a tourist visa) if she's going to be added to your Retirement extension.

4 years ago

Courtney *********

@Henry ********

Thank you, Henry. Every little bit of knowledge helps. I appreciate it.

4 years ago

Courtney *********

Thank you all for your replies. I can handle the 800,000 baht for a retirement visa.

Is this a feasible strategy:

She and I apply for 60-day tourist visas and arrive in early December. We both get 30-day extensions. That would take us to the end of February. By then, I would be 50 and we could be married. Then, I apply for a retirement visa, which she piggybacks onto.

Is that unrealistic? Since she’s a Burmese citizen, I’m not sure how easily she can get any type of visa for Thailand.

Please feel free to offer any suggestions or tips.

4 years ago

Brandon ************

@Courtney ********

it's very close but with one thing like David mentioned. The trailing spouse needs to be applied for outside of Thailand. And you can only get that on the yearly extension, not the 90 day non-O visa.

So you can do the first part easily enough, and then you apply for your non-O (I think you need at least 21 days left on your stay to apply). You will need to find a way for your wife to get another 3 months in Thailand.

Then you apply for the 1 year extension from your non-O and once you have that, you both travel to a Thai consulate and apply for her to get a trailing spouse non-O visa which will be 90 days. Then you can extend hers inside Thailand and they'll match it up to the dates of your extension. Then in the future everything can be done inside Thailand.

4 years ago

Courtney *********

@Brandon ***********

Wow, very helpful. I think I’m starting to get a better sense of how this works.

I have sone follow-up questions, though:

1) With regard to the 21 days left on my tourist visa for me to apply for the 90-day non-O visa, must I be in Thailand when I apply? Could application be made at the consulate in another country? Or must I be actively on a tourist visa when I apply for the non-O visa?

2) As for the 90-day non-O period that she might not necessarily be able to remain in Thailand for, must I remain in Thailand during that time? Would it be OK if we both left the country and went elsewhere for those 90 days until the one year extension was granted? Or might we be forced to be separated for those 90 days?

I hope my questions make sense.

Thank you so much for your patience and for sharing your knowledge and experience. I appreciate it very much.

4 years ago

Courtney *********

@Brandon ***********

Thanks again, Brandon. You’ve been a great help!

4 years ago

Brandon ************

@Courtney ********

you can apply for a non-O based on retirement outside of Thailand, that's not a problem. I'm not sure about the 2nd question though. It should be possible, but you'll need to get a re-entry permit at least so your stamp isn't invalidated when you leave the country.

4 years ago

David ********

@Courtney ********

I think the spouse must apply at a Thai embassy outside Thailand in order to get a dependant visa based on yours. I'm not sure if they can renew theirs with you without leaving the country or not. I'm not sure how that part of the process works.

4 years ago

Courtney *********

@David *******

Thanks again, David! I really appreciate it.

4 years ago

Courtney *********

@David *******

Thanks for that, David. All of this information helps me to have a greater sense of what I need to look into. Also, I’ve been told that there are visa agents you can hire that can make this process flow smoothly and efficiently. Can you comment on that? Thanks again.

4 years ago

David ********

@Courtney ********

unfortunately not. We decided to travel in and out on visa exemptions as we explore SE Asia for the first couple of years and then look at staying in Thailand longer so we've looked at the details of that process yet. We hear mixed reviews on the agent vs DIY approaches. It obviously is easier to use an agent, but it's it worth the cost? Either way you have to find all the same documentation, but maybe it's nice to have someone walk you through it.

4 years ago

Brandon ************

Because you're American, your options are slightly more limited than the countries where the embassy will verify income.

That means if you want to do retirement visa at 50, the only option you have is the 800,000 baht in the bank. That's a tall order for some, and it won't help your fiance if you're not married by then.

You might look at getting education visa for both of you. That will give you both about a year, but you'll need to be actively studying in class for a minimum number of hours per week.

4 years ago

Kool *******

After January you can apply for a retirement visa, so do what you can to save up bt800,000 transferred into your Thai bank account from an overseas source. Get this, and the rest is easy.

4 years ago