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What are the requirements and options for a non-O visa and METV application for a foreigner married to a Thai resident?
visa requirementsnon-O visaMETVThai immigrationforeigner marriage visavisa application processThai bank account requirementsexpat advice
Dec 16, 2025
4 months ago
Farang *********
ORIGINAL POSTERYou may have read my previous post about entry into Thailand. So now had time to process and visit immigration.
Next move.
The IO at the airport said get a wife visa which I believe is an O visa. This is problematic as I will not have 800,000 in for two months, more like two weeks.
The IO at my local office confirmed this but mentioned 400,000 but think this is an O-A visa which I do not want.
Now the METV. This would be perfect and I can meet all the requirements. I guess I would need to leave Thailand to apply. But would having a Thai wife prevent this.?
Basically an METV would allow me to leave and renter Thailand to give me 150 days I need
To apply for an METV, if required to leave Thailand, would Vietnam be OK.
Finally thoughts on visiting a visa agent. Would it help.
Thanks in advance
Next move.
The IO at the airport said get a wife visa which I believe is an O visa. This is problematic as I will not have 800,000 in for two months, more like two weeks.
The IO at my local office confirmed this but mentioned 400,000 but think this is an O-A visa which I do not want.
Now the METV. This would be perfect and I can meet all the requirements. I guess I would need to leave Thailand to apply. But would having a Thai wife prevent this.?
Basically an METV would allow me to leave and renter Thailand to give me 150 days I need
To apply for an METV, if required to leave Thailand, would Vietnam be OK.
Finally thoughts on visiting a visa agent. Would it help.
Thanks in advance
TLDR : Answer Summary
The user is seeking guidance on obtaining a non-O visa and METV due to their current financial situation and marriage to a Thai national. They express concerns about the 800,000 THB requirement for retirement visas and the 400,000 THB requirement for marriage visas, straightforwardly confirmed by the community. The visa options discussed indicate that METV applications typically require leaving Thailand, but having a Thai wife does not affect the application process. Several comments also highlight alternatives and nuances regarding the visa application process, including the potential use of visa agents to facilitate the procedure.
NON-O RETIREMENT VISA RESOURCES / SERVICES
- Go to the Retirement Visa Section for information on requirements, including age restrictions, financial requirements, and necessary documentation.
- For immediate assistance, contact Thai Visa Centre directly via LINE at @ThaiVisaCentre or Email them.
- Explore recent discussions by using the Non-O Retirement Visa tag in the search box at the top of the page.
- Join the Thai Visa Advice Facebook Group to ask your questions, and get advice from others.
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Alan ********
Yes, lve have METV. Flew to Hanoi, stayed 5 days, no problems on coming back to Thailand yesterday. IO only asked how long was l staying this time. A visa agent will look at your circumstances and say ok. Basically your good to go. I paid for fast track at Bangkok because the immigration ques were horrendous.
Farang *********
ORIGINAL POSTER@Alan *******
thank you for that. I will.probsbly seek the advice of a visa agent.Reply to
Farang *********
Reply
Maxim ***********
You don't need 400k baht in bank if you use an agent.
Depending on the agent, you will either need to go to them and they will deposit the money in your account for 10 minutes.
OR... if you can't make a bank account, some agent can still do it but more expensive. It's done from home, no need to go anywhere. You will speak with officer via video call.
Depending on the agent, you will either need to go to them and they will deposit the money in your account for 10 minutes.
OR... if you can't make a bank account, some agent can still do it but more expensive. It's done from home, no need to go anywhere. You will speak with officer via video call.
Farang *********
ORIGINAL POSTER@Maxim **********
I have a bank account and the 400,000.Maxim ***********
@Farang ********
So what's the problem...?You need 400k for Non-O based on marriage. Ignore what the IO told you. The 800k is for retirement, not marriage.
So please listen to people here with a lot of experience dealing with what you are looking for.
Reply to
Maxim ***********
Reply
Steve *******
400k for the 1 year marriage extention seasoned in a Thai bank account for 2 months. The Non Imm O visa is 2000bt which you need before you can apply for the extention
Anders *********
If you only want 150 days you could get a non-o (married) visa 90 days. If your marriage is registered in Thailand then apply for a 60 days extension. The responses above assume you want a 1 year extension which requires bank account and 400k THB in it.
Farang *********
ORIGINAL POSTER@Anders ********
thanksReply to
Farang *********
Reply
Marty *********
Check facts before making a total tool of yourself
Farang *********
ORIGINAL POSTER@Marty ********
what facts. This is based on the information given by Thai Immigration Officers.But I asked questions base on what I have been told do why be so rude. Be helpful and correct me if wrong
Greg ***********
@Farang ********
facts are facts, Marty Collins is right. You have completely misunderstood the Immigration officer . . . I have already listed everything you misunderstood. Is this your way of saying thanks?Reply to
Greg ***********
Reply
Greg ***********
Allow me to show you that everything you posted is rubbish
“You may have read my previous post about entry into Thailand. So now had time to process and visit immigration. Next move.
The IO at the airport said get a wife visa which I believe is an O visa. This is problematic as I will not have 800,000 in for two months, more like two weeks.”
*** The “wife visa” only requires 400,000 THB
The 400,000 THB need to have been sitting in your Thai bank account for a minimum of 2 months
“The IO at my local office confirmed this but mentioned 400,000 but think this is an O-A visa which I do not want”
*** the O/A visa is the LONGSTAY visa and can only be applied for in your passport country, and it requires 800,000 THB in your bank account
“Now the METV. This would be perfect and I can meet all the requirements. I guess I would need to leave Thailand to apply. But would having a Thai wife prevent this?”
*** having a Thai wife is ABSOLUTLY irrelevant when you apply for a METV is the country of your passport
“Basically an METV would allow me to leave and renter Thailand to give me 150 days I need”
*** an METV gets you stamped in for 60 days. Which can be extended for 30 more days for 1900 Baht
“To apply for an METV, if required to leave Thailand, would Vietnam be OK.”
*** No, you cannot apply for the METV in Vietnam. You would need to fly back to your passport country
“Finally thoughts on visiting a visa agent. Would it help.”
*** an agent might help, however at high costs since your case is absolutely wired and complicated
You previously violated a few entry requirements, so don’t expect any leniency.
Usually, everyone on your local Immigration is very helpful, if you are not confrontational, if you keep your calm, don’t start to argue and speak politely
“Thanks in advance”
You don’t need to thank me, my advice is for free for everybody
“You may have read my previous post about entry into Thailand. So now had time to process and visit immigration. Next move.
The IO at the airport said get a wife visa which I believe is an O visa. This is problematic as I will not have 800,000 in for two months, more like two weeks.”
*** The “wife visa” only requires 400,000 THB
The 400,000 THB need to have been sitting in your Thai bank account for a minimum of 2 months
“The IO at my local office confirmed this but mentioned 400,000 but think this is an O-A visa which I do not want”
*** the O/A visa is the LONGSTAY visa and can only be applied for in your passport country, and it requires 800,000 THB in your bank account
“Now the METV. This would be perfect and I can meet all the requirements. I guess I would need to leave Thailand to apply. But would having a Thai wife prevent this?”
*** having a Thai wife is ABSOLUTLY irrelevant when you apply for a METV is the country of your passport
“Basically an METV would allow me to leave and renter Thailand to give me 150 days I need”
*** an METV gets you stamped in for 60 days. Which can be extended for 30 more days for 1900 Baht
“To apply for an METV, if required to leave Thailand, would Vietnam be OK.”
*** No, you cannot apply for the METV in Vietnam. You would need to fly back to your passport country
“Finally thoughts on visiting a visa agent. Would it help.”
*** an agent might help, however at high costs since your case is absolutely wired and complicated
You previously violated a few entry requirements, so don’t expect any leniency.
Usually, everyone on your local Immigration is very helpful, if you are not confrontational, if you keep your calm, don’t start to argue and speak politely
“Thanks in advance”
You don’t need to thank me, my advice is for free for everybody
Greg ***********
@Farang ********
my list is detailled and complete. If you have difficulties in reading, that's not my fault. You should take your complaints to your parents and schoolteachersGreg ***********
@Farang ********
you haven't understood the Immigration officer, and now you say it is our fault or my fault? Your incompetence is amazing. I have given you a CLEAR and comprehensive list of the parts of the information you misunderstood, and you have nothing better to do but insult me?Brett **********
@Greg **********
just on the METV subject. I know that the requirements are that you apply in your home country, but, there was a person who posted in here a week/few weeks ago who successfully applied in Vietnam and received the visa within 3 days, he wasn’t from Vietnam.Greg ***********
@Brett *********
this is absolutely amazing. I guess the Thai embassy made a mistake. On the website of the Hanoi embassy it clearly says that you must be resident in Vietnam to be able to apply for the METV and for the Non-Imm-O/AReply to
Greg ***********
Reply
John **********
For a marriage visa you need 400k in a Thai bank account for 2 months, but if you don't already have an account you won't be able to open one on a tourist stamp. If you are already married to a Thai and have documentation to show, leave to a nearby country and apply for a 90 day non-o there, return to Thailand and open an account then transfer the money. As for an METV you normally have to apply for that in your home country
Farang *********
ORIGINAL POSTER@John *********
I have an account but screwed over by a company called STM Malta who are slow in giving me my funds.John **********
@Farang ********
in that case as Graham says get the 30 day extension, followed by a 60 day visiting Thai family if you have a Thai wife and hopefully that's enough time for your funds to arrive. For the initial non-o visa you don't need seasoned funds at most immigration officesMaxim ***********
@John *********
@Graham *****
There is no 60 days visiting Thai family extension since about a year ago. Only an agent can give that extension unless we are talking 90 + 60. The 60 + 30 + 60, or 60 + 60 does not exist anymore. There 1 immigration in BKK, that I think still give it. That's about it as far as I know. 95%+ of immigration have shut down that extension completely.Graham ******
@Maxim **********
Granted, some Immigration Offices will not issue then for a tourism entry stamp but the ones in the tourist areas and many others probably do. I'm pretty sure everyone that has recently posted after getting one was not just Bangkok based. Which agent do you work for BTW?Maxim ***********
@Graham *****
Tourist entry stamp? Nobody is coming in on Tourist visa anymore. Everyone is on VIsa exempt (60 days), making Tourist visa useless. You cannot do 60 + 60 or 60 + 30 + 60 in most offices since about a year ago. Please show receipts of what you are implying regarding getting the 60 days extension based on visiting family/wife.Graham ******
@Maxim **********
A Tourist Visa and a Visa Exempt entry are still both classed as tourism entries 😉 So you've never heard of the Visit Thai Family extension?Maxim ***********
@Graham *****
See my reply to John. I did 10 of those extension you are mentioning. It use to be 30 + 30 + 60, after that 60 + 30 + 60. So I was there 120-150 days per entry. But December 2024 they discontinued the 60 days extension in most immigrations.John **********
@Maxim **********
and you still don't know the name of the extension?Maxim ***********
The big Bangkok office do things differently because they work closely with agents. it's where many people do the famous "let's put the 400k or 800k in account for 10min", and it's good enough. And obviously Pattaya is his own universe.
Maxim ***********
@John *********
It's okay to not know every name John. For example, you didn't know that the 60 days extension has been discontinued in most immigrations.Graham ******
@Maxim **********
I'm sure that most people that require the 60 days get them so probably all the major Immigration Offices where most of these applications occur are still granted. I know many up country offices will not issue them or only issue them on a Non-O marriage/Thai child visa. The whole point I am making is that your initial statement "There is no 60 days visiting Thai family extension since about a year ago" is not correct. They still are being issued.Maxim ***********
@Graham *****
Factually incorrect. Phuket, which is a big office, stopped issuing the 60 days early 2nd quarter of 2025. Khon Kaen stopped in December 2024. These are two big offices.Graham ******
@Maxim **********
Khon Kaen big 🤣John **********
@Maxim **********
please take a look ***********************************************
Maxim ***********
@John *********
Less google, more up to date based on factual experience. I have friends in Phuket. Went I got denied in both Khon Kaen and Udon Thai late 2024. I warned them. They were able to do their extension soon after (to my surprise), but the next time they tried which was the 2nd quarter of 2025, they all got denied. It's been impossible since to do the 60 days family extension in Phuket. *Unless this reverted back since the new crackdown, in which I will need proof before changing my tone on this.John **********
@Maxim **********
@Stuart ********
are you able to comment on this?Stuart *********
@John *********
Phuket won’t issue a “visit family” extension unless you have a visa like a Non O and can’t get the year extension because of financial reasons etc. You can’t get one from a visa exempt stamp anymore.
Maxim ***********
Ding Ding Ding! Look like I know my stuff after all 🙂.
This started 2nd quarter of 2025 in Phuket.
The 60 days family extension has been discontinued in MOST offices, except if you have a 90 days Non O and want 60 days more.
This started 2nd quarter of 2025 in Phuket.
The 60 days family extension has been discontinued in MOST offices, except if you have a 90 days Non O and want 60 days more.
@
Stuart *******
g If you know the list of who still give the 60 days, please tell us. As far as I know, less than 5 offices still give the 60 days family extension if you are from a visa exempt.Stuart *********
@Maxim **********
Sorry I only know about the policy at the Phuket office.John **********
@Maxim **********
that's the first I've ever heard of thatMaxim ***********
@John *********
Strange, because I was warning everyone here last December when I got denied a 60 days extension in Udon Thani based on being married. Khon Kaen also doesn't do it. Phuket stopped doing it early 2025. And most others have follow suit. The big immigration in Bangkok still do it (as of a few months ago), so this may have changed. That immigration work with many agents (under the table), so they are doing things differently.John **********
@Maxim **********
the 60 day extension is not based on being married, it is based on visiting Thai family. In your case the family just happens to be your wife but if you ask for 60 days because you are married you will likely be refusedMaxim ***********
@John *********
@Graham *****
Can only do 90 + 60 in most offices now. 60 + 60, or 60 + 30 + 60 is no longer possible in most offices since about a year ago. The logic (or lack there of), is that the 60 days visa exempt is making the 60 days visiting family extension obsolete (replacing it). I know it doesn't make sense but that's what they said. So they consider 90 days at a time to be enough. This started happening a few months after the 60 days visa exempt was implemented. Then soon after, early 2025, my friend told me it's also not possible in Phuket. Udon Thani and Khon Kaen were the first to crackdown on it, as well as their border, not allowing many people to border run.Maxim ***********
@John *********
Both being married or having Thai child granted you a 60 days extension (previously 30 + 30 + 60, after that 60 + 30 + 60), pre December 2024 per what you just described (visiting Thai family). I got about 10 of these extensions over the years. But it stopped being possible about a year ago in most immigrations. I've been doing the last 3 with an agent. But now I'm switching to the Non-O based on marriage.Farang *********
ORIGINAL POSTER@John *********
Thanks, that is good news about the funds.Reply to
Farang *********
Reply
Graham ******
@John *********
or get the 30 day tourism extension to get to 90 days and hope that the Immigration Office where his TM30 is filed will then do a 60 day Visit Thai Family extension on the back of a tourist entry stampReply to
Graham ******
Reply
Greg ***********
@Farang ********
not a single sentence of what you listed is true . . you need to do more research, and find the correct wording, is what Brandon recommendedFarang *********
ORIGINAL POSTER@Greg **********
sorry but all the jnfo I gave regarding the visa except METV was provide by the IOs. So are you saying they lied.As for research, there is confusing information here it is problematic and you have made it worse by saying immigration lied but not giving the reason
Graham ******
@Farang ********
"Basically an METV would allow me to leave and renter Thailand to give me 150 days I need " this is the only correct statement you made but whether you can get one without travelling "home" is a different matterMaxim ***********
@Farang ********
I can confirm that everything you wrote is incorrect. You didn't understand the conversation that you had with IO. I wrote below what your best option is via a comment.Farang *********
ORIGINAL POSTERI put this comment based on conversationa I had with IO and a basic question about the METV. Several gave said I lied. That is offensive.
I would like to thank all those who gave me informative answers. They have been very helpful.
But I got several which were quite insultng. People are confused about the current situation and seek help. They do not need hate in a very stressful situation
It is a shame that so many who just want to visit family's and not also able to get the correct visa on time are penalised by so many who abuse the system.
I would like to thank all those who gave me informative answers. They have been very helpful.
But I got several which were quite insultng. People are confused about the current situation and seek help. They do not need hate in a very stressful situation
It is a shame that so many who just want to visit family's and not also able to get the correct visa on time are penalised by so many who abuse the system.
Farang *********
ORIGINAL POSTER@Maxim **********
i fully understood the converstion. Please do not be insulting.What would you derive from the comment "wife visa". There is no such visa.
Maxim ***********
@Farang ********
You didn't understand the convo or the IO you spoke to told you a bunch of BS. I rather think you didn't understand enough of the wording of what was said.Reply to
Maxim ***********
Reply
Paul *******
Marriage visa requires 400,000 thb. Retirement visa requires 800,000 thb.
Brandon ************
You really need to do even the most basic research, because not a single thing in this post is correct.
Both a marriage and a retirement visa are a non-O visa. The O means "other" and covers many things, like volunteers, parents of Thai child, parents of foreign child attending school in Thailand.
You can get both a non-O based on marriage or retirement in Thailand, but the requirements for both are to show money in your Thai bank account for 2 full months at the time you apply from immigration.
A non-OA visa is a different type of retirement visa that is ONLY available from the Thai embassy in your passport country.
Having a Thai wife doesn't have any affect on disqualifying you from a visa. Why would it?
Normally METV is only available from your passport country, but there have been a few reports of people being successful in applying in Vietnam.
Both a marriage and a retirement visa are a non-O visa. The O means "other" and covers many things, like volunteers, parents of Thai child, parents of foreign child attending school in Thailand.
You can get both a non-O based on marriage or retirement in Thailand, but the requirements for both are to show money in your Thai bank account for 2 full months at the time you apply from immigration.
A non-OA visa is a different type of retirement visa that is ONLY available from the Thai embassy in your passport country.
Having a Thai wife doesn't have any affect on disqualifying you from a visa. Why would it?
Normally METV is only available from your passport country, but there have been a few reports of people being successful in applying in Vietnam.
Graham ******
@Brandon ***********
the two months seasoning is for the extensions not the initial Non-O (unless you apply for retirement at Jomtien)Andrew ***********
@Graham *****
I intend on getting married in January presumably they let me in of course 🙄 i won't require the full marriage visa just yet as I will still be returning to UK to work for a few months of the year will I be able to in future be able to apply for a non o visa for 90 days each time? Until I am ready to spend longer in Thailand maybe I'm 4 years thanksGraham ******
Yes, get the Non-O before you travel to make things easier and give you up to 90 days each entry
Reply to
Graham ******
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