The agency I used in the US handled everything. We had a few certified copies of the certificate made when we got married, so minus that one step, they did everything on the US side including sending it to us via FedEx to Thailand when it was all complete. Aside from the validation of the passport, the translation agency handled everything on the Thai side. We met them at the ministry of foreign affairs for the certification because it trims some time off to be there in person. So overall, less a pain and more expensive, but worth it to use agencies.

Due to appointment availability at the embassy in Bangkok, we decided to go to Chiang Mai for the passport certification. The total process for us is right around 5 months from dropping off the marriage certificate at the agency in the US, to having a change of status completed at the local amphur. Would have been longer trying to DIY or waiting for an appointment in Bangkok. So... the lesson here is to get married in Thailand... :P

Be sure to get your US marriage certificate certified before she leaves the US. The process takes 2-3 months and is kind of a pain. General process is:

Get a certified copy at the county office where you were married.

Have it certified by the state.

Send it to the state department (in Washington DC) for certification.

Send it to the Thai Embassy (in Washington DC) for certification.

Then, in Thailand, you need to have the document and your passport translated and then certified by the ministry of foreign affairs. This will require a trip to the US embassy to have your passport authenticated before it can be translated and certified... The US embassy will also provide certification of your passport via post. You need to check the embassy website for those details.

Then, you can go to the local amphur to have your wife register for a change of status. Then, you can begin the visa process.

There is a process to do this in Thailand, but it sounded more convoluted, and kind of like the exact same process, but just from here. Anyways, current processing times for the US part of this can vary depending on how quickly you can turnaround the document between certifications. Thai time frame depends on how quickly you can get in to the US Embassy for a certification of your passport. I used an agency that specializes in visas and passports in the US and a translation service in Thailand... Spent about 600 USD total including all shipping and charges from the respective agencies/embassies.

As stated above, it is not legal to work in any capacity while living in Thailand if you do not have a work permit. Even volunteering (when there was such an option) required a work permit. It doesn't matter where you are paid or where your customers are located. If you are located in Thailand and working, you need a work permit.

Having said that, no one will know what you do in the privacy of your own home or where your money comes from. Unless you get on someone's bad side or there is a dramatic shift in how the Thai government deals with the digital nomad situation, you will probably live consequence free... but just know, you are not in compliance with the conditions of your visa or Thai law if you engage in work activities without a work permit.

Short version, you will probably be fine... but you won't be legal.

If you have doubts about the options available in Thailand, I would suggest looking in to life insurance out of your home country. I don't want to assume, but if you are American, and your wife is your wife on paper (not a village marriage, but with a certificate from the amphur), you can make arrangements to make her a payee. You could probably make arrangements for a foreign payee without all of that, but you have to check with the insurance company.

I have 4 credit cards with 0% (from the US)… worth looking around to see if there is a card out there that may be better.

If you don’t currently have a credit card with 0% conversion fees on international purchases, apply for one. Not sure how it works in Germany, but a number of credit cards in many countries will have points or rewards that will make the first year potentially profitable… worth looking in to.

It's about to be summer... Bali would be better. :)

You could also spend a little extra time wandering around the region. A couple of weeks in Bali or Kuala Lumpur is a great way to kill some time while waiting for approval.

Not quite so easy... The appointments at the embassy were months out when we tried to do everything in Thailand, and no agent or law firm we contacted wanted to deal with it. The amphur made it sound like it was no problem, but we kept running in to obstacles. Way easier to just pay someone to do it when we went back to the states. They knew exactly what was needed, had all of the forms ready to go, and estimated that I would have it back before I would be able to get an appointment at the embassy in Bangkok.

I got married in the US. In order for my wife to use our marriage license with the local amphur, the process is to get a certified copy of the license from the county we got married in. Then have it certified by the state we got married in. Then have it certified by the US State Department. Then send it to the Thai Embassy in Washington DC to be certified for use in Thailand.

That is a total of about 10 weeks and 200 ish USD in fees and FedEx costs sending the documents back and forth with prepaid addressed envelopes (can not do most of this in person, even in you happen to be in Washington DC). We paid an agency in the US to handle it since we live in Thailand. There is supposedly a process for doing this in Thailand, but it seemed more complicated than just paying an agency to deal with it...