What are the steps to obtain a visa for moving to Thailand after arriving on March 14th?

@Dev *********

In order to be able to apply for the 1-year Extension of Stay Permit based on marriage with a Thai wife (in brief: EOS) one must start out of a “90-days single entry Non-imm-O visa based on marriage with a Thai wife”

There are two roads you can take to achieve a 90-days Non-imm-O visa

FIRST:

*** you apply for the visa at the Thai Consulate/Embassy or by the Online E-visa System in your home country. You need proof of

EITHER

a deposit on a bank account (can be anywhere) in your sole name of a minimum of 400,000.- THB

OR

Proof of monthly income of a minimum of 40,000.- THB

You enter Thailand, get stamped in for 90 day. As soon as there are 30 days left on your 90 days stay permit (in some places as soon as 45 days) you can apply for the “1-year EOS based on being married to a Thai wife”.

You again need to do the financial proof on Immigration:

If you use the 400,000.- THB deposit method, on the day of application the money must have seasoned for two months, and the Thai bank must give you a “letter of guarantee” about this – the “rab roong thanakan”

If you use the income method, as a U.S. citizen you will need proof of 12 months transfers coming in from abroad, month for month, of a minimum of 40,000.- THB. You bank must print out a statement of 12 consecutive months of transfers from abroad to your Thai bank account.

For the application to the EOS you will need a freshly printed Thai marriage certificate from your local Amphur (your marriage must be registered in Thailand to be allowed to apply!)

The “1-year EOS” will only be issued “under consideration” for 4 weeks. Within this period, Immigration will visit you at home and interview your neighbors if your marriage is real.

SECOND:

*** you can apply for a 60 days single entry Tourist Visa in your home country

Enter Thailand, you will get stamped in for 60 days stay permit, and quickly open a bank account in your sole name (if you haven’t done so yet) and deposit a minimum of 400,000.- THB

Get a statement from the Thai bank over the deposit, and visit Immigration. There you apply for the “change of visa type” – a conversion from the Tourist visa to a “90-days Non-Imm-O Family Visa”

You need a minimum of 15 working days left on your stay permit to be allowed the application to the “change”

The 90-days Non-Imm-O Visa will be issued “under consideration” for 15 days.

As soon as there are 60 days left on your 90-days stay permit, you can apply for the “1-year Extension of Stay Permit” based on marriage to a Thai wife.

On the day of application to the EOS, the deposit 400,000.- THB must have seasoned for 2 months, proven with a letter from the bank

NOTE: as a U.S. citizen, you cannot use the income method for the financial proof, as you first need a summary of 12 months of transfers to your Thai bank account coming in from abroad.

The U.S. embassy does not issue “income affidavits” any more. Other countries’ embassies however might still issue them, and they can be used for the financial proof of monthly income

The 1-year EOS will be issued “under consideration” for 4 weeks, and Immigration will visit you and your wife at home and interview your neighbors if your marriage is for real

Once having been issued a “1-year Extension of Stay based on marriage” it has an expiry of validity date, and you will need to apply over again every other year, using the same amount of documents, a fresh Thai marriage certificate and the financial proof.

FEEL FREE to read the following – requirements for a “change of visa type” from a Tourist Visa or a Visa Exempt, to the 90-days Non-Imm-O Family Visa

/6.FOR-PROVIDING-SUPPORT-TO-OR-BEING-A-DEPENDANT-OF-A-THAI-CITIZEN-SPOUSE-VISA-NON-O.pdf