@Jim *******

this is the "certificate or residency" form in which they ask the bank to open a bank account for you. In order to get this certificate from Immigration, you need to be properly TM30 registered at your accomodation, or Immigration will not service you

@Incognia *********

for the conversion from the tourist visa to a 90-days Non-O visa, Jim Jolley not only needs his marriage registered inside Thailand, but also needs a Thai bank account with 400,000 THB in it. Maybe Immigration was aware he doesn't have a bank account, yet, so they HAD TO send him away . . . . . Also, many Thai Immigration offices won't touch the conversion to a 90-days Non-O marriage visa, not even with pincers . . .

Jim Jolley . . Let’s sort your wrong wording first.

“what all they want to file for The Retirement Visa Married to a Thai”

There is nothing such as a “Retirement Visa Married to a Thai”

***you either apply for the 90-days Non-Imm-O Family Visa (that’s the one which is based on marriage to a Thai wife)

Or

You apply for the 90-days Non-Imm-O over 50/Retirement Visa (which is the one based on being retired/ over 50 of age

*** “I was Told I couldnt Convert my Tourist Visa, id have to do a Border Run and and get a 90 Day Non -O, Then come back and have The 90 day Non-O Converted into the 1 Year Non-O Marriage”

*** there is no “1-Year Non-O Marriage”. The 90-days Non-O family visa becomes invalid when you enter Thailand on it. You are then in Thailand on a stay permit, and only this stay permit (based on being married to a Thai wife) can get extended for 1 year on Immigration for a 1900 THB fee.

*** you apply for the 90-days Non-Imm-O Family Visa outside of Thailand. You enter on this visa and get stamped in for a 90-days stay permit. The Non-O visa will become invalid or “used” upon entry!

*** you need a minimum of 400,000 THB (it can be on your U.S. or Thai bank account) in order to apply for the initial visa (!)

For the application to the “extension of the stay permit” , you need:

*** a minimum of 400,000 THB in your THAI bank account in your sole name, for a minimum of TWO months, confirmed with a bank letter statement, in order to apply for the “1-year Extension of Temporary Stay Permit based on being Married to a Thai Wife”

You can apply for the “1-year Extension of Stay Permit” up from 30 days before your 90-days stay permit expires.

*** You also should be AWARE that you cannot use your original U.S. marriage documents for the application to the 1-year Extension.

For this application, Immigration only acknowledges a freshly printed marriage registry document, called “Kor Ror 22”

This means that your marriage must be acknowledged and registered inside Thailand before you can apply for the “1-year Extension of Stay Based on marriage”

@Pete ******

if you want to change to the Non-O visa, you first need to invalidate the existing Non-O/A visa before you can apply for another visa type. This is not easy because in the first year, you just cannot invalidate it by exiting Thailand, because the multi re-entry permit keeps it alive. This means you have to wait abroad until the visa validity has expired, before you apply for the Non-O and re-enter Thailand on it. You need to open a Thai bank acocunt while you are in Thailand on the Non-O/A because this becomes crucial on the next stay on a Non-O visa.

@Jim ********

First, let’s get savvy on all those wrong wordings:

*** when you enter on a single-entry 90 Days Non-Imm-O Visa, you will receive a 90-days stay permit.

The stamp in your passport says “admitted until” and a date in blue ink showing the expiry of this stay permit as being 90 days ahead of the day you enter.

The visa itself becomes invalid or “used”. Now you are in Thailand on a stay permit, not “on a visa”

*** for this 90-days stay permit you can buy a “re-entry permit”

A re-entry permit will allow you to exit and re-enter Thailand whilst keeping your 90 days stay permit alive.

ATTENTION: the re-entry permit only keeps your initial stay permit alive.

So, if you entered February 10th, you received an “admitted stay” until May 8th. The re-entry permit you buy for this stay permit expires on the same date – May 8th

***if you stay abroad after May 8th, you initial 90-days stay stay permit will expire, and you will need to restart from scratch

@Anna ********

I am so sorry to make you feel three years old

@Anna ********

agreed - the setback to 30 days once was talked about but went back into the drawers. I never praticipate in such distractions and speculations. However, I got my own visa advice group and I am keeping my readers informed. There are many reports about live-experiences of Immigration asking for the source of the money when you claim you are "retired", regardless if you do the financial proof by deposit or income affidavit or by a 12-months of transfers bank statement- - - - - right now, hundreds of Expats who do the proof by the 12-months transfer, are in DEEP TROUBLE since a WISE transfer is not coded as coming from abroad any more. Don't you read the daily news? I am reading two dozen of expat and visa-advice groups. I think of myself being superbly informed. Are you the typical "rose tinted glass wearer" ?

@Anna ********

what more do you need? Here comes the comment of somebody who has been following this thread. He is literally confirming what I said about the current changes. Immigration is starting to ask for the SOURCE of your income when you are on a Non-O visa and/or on the extension out of it. They seek to throw the book at you if you are not a "real" pensioner, probably with the aim to make you apply for the Non-Imm-O/A instead, which is not a "retirement" visa but a "Longstay" visa and aimed at those who are over 50 but not yet retired

@Roberto ********

the Immigration headquarter is trying hard to close all loopholes. I reckon they will never fully succeed, the tea money is way too deeply rooted in Thai culture. But these desparate moves make the process harder for those who are following the law, and that's a shame

@Dennis ********

Like I said! Thank you for confirming my comments!