What are the requirements and processes for obtaining a Thai spouse visa for US expats?

Sep 4, 2023
a year ago
Bruno ******
ORIGINAL POSTER
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ญ SEEKING INSIGHTS on THAI SPOUSE VISA! ๐ŸŒ๐Ÿ’‘

Hey, fellow US expats and Thailand enthusiasts! ๐ŸŒด Are you navigating the intricate world of Thai spouse visas? ๐Ÿค” Let's clear the haze and dive into these 4 CRUCIAL QUESTIONS! ๐Ÿคฏ

1๏ธโƒฃ Social Security Income Affidavit:

1. ๐Ÿฆ๐Ÿ“œ How can we obtain it from the US Embassy in Bangkok? ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธโœˆ๏ธ

2. Or is a 'Social Security Administration Benefit Verification Letter' (Online PDF from ssa.gov) sufficient for the Thai spouse visa? ๐Ÿ“

2๏ธโƒฃ Monthly Income Requirement (40,000 THB):

1. ๐Ÿ’ฐ๐Ÿ’‘ Does it need to be in a joint account?

2. Can the income be from a US Social Security source directly or through a regular bank wire? ๐Ÿ’ณ๐Ÿ’ธ

We know there's a heap of conflicting info out there, making this process seem like a maze! ๐Ÿงฉ๐Ÿ˜“ Let's join forces and share our ๐Ÿ†’PERSONAL EXPERIENCES ๐Ÿ—ฃ๐Ÿ“ฃ. Your insights can be invaluable! ๐Ÿ™Œ

๐Ÿ”— Link alert! ๐Ÿšจ Since 2019, it seems the US Embassy in Bangkok stopped providing income affidavits. ๐Ÿ˜ฎ More info here: [Link]([members only]/)

Your wisdom is much appreciated! Let's make this journey smoother for everyone. ๐Ÿ’™๐Ÿค Thanks in advance for your contributions! ๐Ÿ™๐ŸŒŸ

#ThaiSpouseVisa #ExpatLife #ThailandVisaTips
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TLDR : Answer Summary
The post seeks insights on the Thai spouse visa for US expats, focusing on the Social Security Income Affidavit and the monthly income requirement of 40,000 THB. Users are encouraged to share personal experiences to navigate the complexities of the visa application process.
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Brandon ************
1) the US embassy does not certify income

2) the ONLY thing Thai immigration will accept is income certified by your embassy. See answer #1

3) in your name only

4) it doesn't matter where the money comes from.

If your embassy does not certify income the ONLY way to get the initial non-O 90 day visa and first 1 year extension is with banked money. This means you need 400,000 in a Thai bank account in your name only.

Once you get your initial 90 day non-O visa, start transferring 40,000 baht each and every month into your account from overseas. You cannot miss a month even by a day. You need to be able to show you received this for 12 consecutive calendar months for next year. Therefore it's not advisable to let your social security go directly to your account and assume that will work as sometimes these payments are delayed (holidays, government shutdowns, etc). It's better to manually do this every month so you know it's done.

You'll use your 400,000 to get your non-O and one year extension and then you can spend this money.

Next year you'll show you have 12 months of transfers of 40,000 baht so you can use the income method instead of the 400,000 in the bank.

This is the only option if your embassy does not certify income.

*Please note that even if you already had this all setup a year ago and have been making the monthly transfers, it doesn't matter. You can only get the initial 90 day non-O visa and first 1 year extension with 400,000 in the bank.
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