What steps should I take to successfully move to Thailand and apply for a Non-O visa after marrying my Thai girlfriend?

If it was me.

1 . Come here and get 60 days visa exempt.

2. get married.

3. after 35 days, go to immigration, and apply for a 90 days Non O visa . Reason marriage.

When that is approved ( takes between 14-22 days in Khon Kaen.

4. Go and Try to open a bank account.

Season the money and then after 3 months , go and apply for 12 months extension.

One way to do it.

Good luck

P.s Start the proceeding to legislate your status as a father, in the thai court.

Ask your girlfriend to help she knows the law of the land

You can get in Thailand visa exempt, an agent will be able to convert your visa to non-o and extend for 1 year for a ~20k fee, without marriage papers or bank account

Tommy West . .first things first!

*** enter Thailand visa-exempt, or BETTER: on a multi entry tourist visa (a METV will give you a lot of time to get your marriage done & dusted as it can be very time consuming to get all technicalities solved)

*** get all ducks in a row and get married to the mother of the child, get your marriage acknowledged in Thailand

*** exit Thailand, go back to your home country, and apply for the “90-days single entry Non-Imm-O family visa” in the e-visa online system of the Royal Thai Embassy London, by using a minimum of 400,000 THB equivalent in GBP in your U.K. bank account as financial proof

***enter Thailand, get stamped in for a 90-days stay permit, and immediately open a Thai bank account in your sole name. On a Non-Imm visaclass, it is absolutely no problem to get a bank account opened

***transfer a minimum of 400,000 THB onto your Thai bank account

*** from up to 30 days before the 90-days stay permit expires, and the money has seasoned in the account for two months, apply for the “1-year Extension of Stay Permit based on being Married to a Thai Wife”

***once issued the 12-months “marriage extension”, take the case of your wife and half Thai child to a Thai family court and apply for the achievement of the legal parentship

***(because your name on the birth certificate was written out of wedlock and doesn’t make you the legal father, only a court order can do this)

Get the non o visa before you come

If you apply somewhere other than Thailand, you’ll have the health insurance issue. That’s why I usually tell people to come here on a 60 day TV and don’t hear via an agent. Right now banks are having a meltdown regarding the Thai government’s crackdown on money laundering. Find an agent in the area you plan on living and talk to them.

since the baby was born out of wedlock, you have no parental rights. Your name on the birth certificate is not enough to grant you a Non-Imm-O support of half Thai child visa. You need to get married and get your fathership acknowledged by the family court. After getting married you can use the Thai marriage registry document to apply for the 90 days Non-Imm-O family visa and the subsequent 1-year Extension of Stay

Use an agent

@Tommy *****

yep your correct but opening a bank account may be a short term issue

Utube vids this week. Here's 2 sources

You can get a 90 days Non-O visa based on relative (i.e, your child) in your country. Visit Thailand on that visa, open a bank account, put 400K Baht in the account to season it. Then marry your girlfriend, and apply for 1 year extension based on marriage from within Thailand itself.

Get the non o visa before you leave your country online, as you have a baby it should be no problem

You can enter with an ed visa then the school opens you a bank account... I just got one today

You're correct.

Generally you'll need to use an agent to help you get the account open. Right now it's a little up in the air since that's mostly done in Pattaya but some of the agents there are no longer able to open accounts. It's possible by the time you're ready, it will be business as normal again.

Worst case scenario, you go to Laos or Cambodia and apply for the non-O visa there, then return and open your bank account for the extension.