What is the best way to obtain a marriage visa for permanent residence in Thailand as an expat?

You can apply for marriage visa after you get here but it will take time - there is also a non-o dependant visa you can apply for but converting to marriage visa may be the better option however there is a 15,000 baht fee to convert your visa ontop of the visa itself - if you are 50 i would get the retirement visa - if something happens to the marriage and ends so does your visa

Arrive on a Non-O but were you married in Thailand? If not do this before you leave for Thailand -

1. IN THE UK: Marriage certificate legalised by the FCDO in Milton Keynes

2. IN THE UK: Marriage Certificate AND the Apostille from the FCDO Translated

3. IN THE UK: Marriage Certificate AND the Apostille from the FCDO AND their translations verified by the Thai Embassy in London

4. IN THAILAND: All the above (i.e. all 4 documents & their translations, making 8 in total) Legalised by MFA in Bangkok

then register your marriage at your Amphur in time to get your extension with your banked funds seasoned.

Are you 50 Years old or older?

Non O, do application online. Then do extension based on marriage.

If you don't already, you will need to open a bank account and deposit 400,000 thb. You should do this as soon as you arrive. The non o gives you 90 days and when less than 30 days are left on your visa you apply for the extension.

If you get a retire visa youcan marry without changing to marry visa.

Im there.

Which documents and forms do you need?

The TM7 application form for the "1-Year Extension of Stay" is available at the immigration office.

Always sign documents and their copies in blue ink, not black ink!

You will need your passport and a printout of the original 90-day visa.

You will need a current "Kor Ror 22" from the Amphur. It costs 20 baht to have a current marriage registration certificate issued at the district office. This requires that your marriage is recognized in Thailand.

Go to the immigration office responsible for your place of residence with your wife.

Your wife should bring her blue house book, her Thai ID card, and/or her passport.

You can also go to the immigration office right after you have entered Thailand and get a list of the requirements you must submit for the one-year extension application.

Several passport photos are required (two passport photos for a re-entry permit alone) and a current TM30 proof of residence (a registered residence).

Ask immigration officials for the list of what you need. Some immigration officials will ask you to provide photos of you in front of your house, inside the house, in the living room, in the kitchen, and so on.

Once you have everything together, go to immigration together with your wife and submit your application.

Bring all documents and the "bank letter of guarantee" from your Thai bank, which certifies the two-month seasoning period. CAUTION: Some immigration officials will ignore the police order and demand a three-month layover period

Some immigration officials will also want to see your bank book, with entries showing that you receive some money from abroad via bank transfers

Non Imm MARRIED Visa EOS PERFECTLY Explained

The 90-day single entry Non-Imm-O "family" visa and how to obtain a one-year extension of your stay permit based on being married to a Thai wife.

There is the "90-day single entry Non-Imm-O Family visa" option, which you can apply by the e-visa online system before you fly to Thailand.

You must provide a financial proof for both the 90-day visa and later at immigration for the application for a "one-year extension of the temporary stay permit based on being married to a Thai wife."

For the application to the initial visa, you either

have at least 400,000 THB (approximately $ 12,000) in a bank account in your sole name. There is no seasoning of the deposit required at this point.

(It is irrelevant for the visa application where the account is located – as long as there is a proof that the account is in your sole name)

However, when applying for the "1-year extension" from out of the 90-days stay permit you got stamped in upon entering Thailand, the 400,000 THB must have been in your Thai bank account for 2 months, and this “seasoning” must be proven with a "bank letter of guarantee" (in Thai: rab roong thanakan).

Or you use the income affidavit of your embassy in Thailand (only if applicable - as many embassies do not issue it any more)

You need to provide evidence of an income/pension of at least 40,000 THB (approximately $ 1200).

For the application to the initial visa, you can use your original marriage documents.

However, for the application to the “1-year extension”, Immigration requires a Thai marriage registry printout - the Kor Ror 22 or 2 (whichever applies) This printout must be current, printed freshly by an Amphur office. This is possible only if your marriage has already been officially acknowledged in Thailand.

The requirements may vary slightly between every one of the 85 immigration offices in Thailand, so it is recommended to visit them right after you entered and ask for the list of requirements for the "extension of the temporary stay permit based on being married to a Thai wife."

What almost all immigration offices have in common is that they will only serve you, if you have been properly registered at your place of residence via a TM30 registration.

Immigration normally will issue the "1-year extension of the stay permit" for 4 weeks "under consideration." They will ask for photos of the two of you together in front of your house, with the house number visible, a photo of you in the living room, and in the bedroom, etc.

They normally ask for a hand-drawn map of the route from your house to the Immigration office, or the Google Maps coordinates.

Immigration will pay a visit at your home during these four weeks (with prior notice) and will question your neighbours about whether your marriage is "real."

After this visit, you visit Immigration and collect the stamp with your one-year extension of the temporary stay permit. (EOS)

NOTE: keep the 400,000 THB deposit in your bank account at least until you have gathered up the 1-year Marriage Extension stamp. You are free to spend the deposit, however the 400,000 THB need to be back in your account 2 months prior (some Immigrations ask for 3 months) to your next application for the 1-year extended stay permit.

NOTE: Always purchase a re-entry permit for your EOS.

A single re-entry costs 1000 THB, a multiple re-entry will be 3,800 THB.

The re-entry permit keeps your stay permit valid in case you leave the country. If you leave without a re-entry permit, your EOS will become invalid.

PLEASE use the correct terminology:

Technically spoken, there is no "visa extension", and the 1-year extension is not a “marriage visa”. Immigration does not extend any visa. That's technically not possible.

The use of this wording is improper English. You use the “90-days marriage visa” for entering Thailand, the visa becomes invalid. You will get stamped in for a 90-days stay permit. You then apply for a one-year extension of this stay permit. A stay permit is not a visa.

you should apply for the 90-days Non-Imm-O Family Visa before you fly to Thailand. You will get stamped in for 90 days, and you must ASAP open a Thai bank account and transfer a minimum of 400,000 THB onto it. You cannot use the 40,000 THB income method for the application to the "1-year extension of the stay permit based on being married to a Thai wife", at least not in the first year, because your embassy in Bangkok does not issue an income affidavit any more. . . . . . in order to be able to apply for the "1-year Married Extension", your marriage must be acknowldeged inside Thailand, because Immigration will want to see a freshly printed Kor Ror 22 (or 2, whichever applies) - the marriage registry printout from the Amphur. In case you marriage is NOT registered inside Thailand, you need to contact the London Royal Thai Embassy for an acknowledgement of your original UK marriage documents.

If you havent got a bank account get a non O before you arrive

You’ve definitely got some wires crossed here. A tourist visa would get you a stamp for 60 days although I suspect you didn’t have a visa and got stamped in for free for 60 days. Either way you can get a 30 day extension at a local immigration office.

You can apply for a Non O visa based off of being married to a Thai national prior to coming (and get 90 days on arrival) or most offices can convert a visa exempt entry (or tourist visa) to an in country Non O - but check yours can - some can’t.

An entry stamp for a visa exempt entry is for 60 days, not 30