@Nongnuch *******

Too many people offer advice based upon assumptions.. without spending any time to assimilate the facts.. you gave several people a hard time because they disagreed with your assessment.. and even claimed to be the superior authority in this regard.. when in reality you had completely misread the situation.. paying an agent a significant sum of money for his services conveys only one fact.. the OA could afford it and was persuaded this was the going rate for such a service.. other than that it doesn't mean jot.. people need to be more diligent before letting their belly rumble!

@Nongnuch *******

I've read the whole thread from front to back and back to front.. and i cannot see where the OA stated that he used an agent because he did not have the funds available to satisfy the financial requirements.. he does state that he has the funds in place to meet said requirement at renewal.. and he also states he has maintained a balance in excess of the minimum requirement for the whole year.. in which case it is highly likely that these funds were actually in his bank account to support the initial visa application.. it is extremely unlikely that he only opened the Thai bank account and made the requisite deposit on the day his last 12-month extension was granted.. hence he would not have needed an agent to 'fudge' the financial aspects as you have clearly assumed.. this is not the only reason people decide to use an agent.. and getting stung for 70k in fees is indeed outrageous.. but we all live and learn during our life in Thailand.. and no doubt the OA is better educated now.. or he wouldn't have opened this discussion in the forum.. so before proceeding to offer any advice whatsoever the key question to ask the OA is whether he evidenced the capital on deposit using his own bank account / funds last time or not.. only then can anyone offer a meaningful response.. and if he did then he should have no problems extending the current visa in country without having to do a border run!

@Dca ****

This is correct.. but just for clarification.. a foreigner staying here on a 'married' visa and living in the marital home (owned by the spouse) cannot be added to their blue book.. but they can apply for their own yellow book.. which will be issued in their sole name and does not name the spouse.. ie. they are not added to the foreigners yellow book.. the yellow book then becomes your proof of address for all interactions in Thailand that would otherwise demand a residency certificate.. so govt agencies like immigration, land transport office, amphur, municipality etc.. and also makes it easier to open a bank account.. you also need it before you can apply for the foreigner ID card (the 'pink' card) which the lto is now asking to see when you renew your driving license!

You can register for an account in your own name and file your own TM30's.. but the first time you register you will need to upload a digital copy (photo) of your landlord's ID card and Blue book.. to identify them and the address you are staying.. after that there is no need to involve your landlord again.. if you travel and return to stay in the same property you simply log in to your immigration account, select the property from a list and then complete the tm30 registration.. without having to upload any additional documents 👍

@Ken ******

Good to see you have checked that out already 👍

@Ken ******

Just one word of warning.. if it is not certified in the requisite format you risk it being rejected by the Amphur.. and if you are getting the translation done in Thailand in preparation for certification by the MoFA anyway.. then you are probably going to need an agent.. so you save very little in terms of cost by getting your original marriage licence certified in your homeland.. if it's all done in-country you know it will be acceptable.. and if it's not then the agent has to rectify matters at their own cost.. this assumes the American embassy in Bangkok still provides marriage certifications of course.. otherwise you need to make sure it meets Thai standards 👍

You will need a translated and certified copy of your marriage certificate to register your marriage at the local Amphur where you live.. this involves having the original overseas marriage certificate certified by your country's embassy here in Thailand.. as well as the translated copy being certified by the Thai MoFA.. we simplified the process by engaging an agent to handle it.. since this avoided us having to fly to Bangkok where all of the embassies and the MoFA are located.. took about 3-weeks to conclude and cost us around 5,000 baht.. the one and only time I've used an agent and considered it money well spent.. they also provided a certified copy of my translated passport in case i need it in future, at no extra cost.. once you have both the English and Thai certified marriage certificates you can register your marriage at the Amphur and obtain a 'Kor For 22' (ask them for 3 stamped originals) which you need to apply for a non-o marriage visa at immigration.. the Amphur will most likely try to retain your original certified marriage docs.. but i fought this since I knew i'd very likely need them again (for other business) and they eventually conceded.. taking copies for themselves and returning the originals.. though they considered it a concession on their part.. I simply told them it would cost them 5,000 baht to keep them since i'd have to pay again for new copies and that did the trick!

Ps. Once you have the KR22 you can go to the Municipality and apply for a 'Yellow Book' for the marital home.. assuming your wife has the Blue Book for it.. and can then return to the Amphur to apply for a Pink Foreigner ID Card.. then you are good to go whenever immigration or other agencies (like the LTO) want proof of ID or proof of address issued by a Thai authority!

@Denys *******

It's a real time system.. your input is registered immediately.. as soon as you set up your account it's ready to use.. but you (or they) cannot begin any input.. such as uploading landlord docs for the first time.. until you are actually going to complete an application in it's entirety.. the system will save everything on exit.. assuming you have completed all data entry.. then store it for repeated use.. you will get an immediate acknowledgement or acceptance on the system so you can see it was successful.. it does sound like you are over planning a little here.. when there's really no need to stress about it.. you must register your TM30 within 24-hours of reaching your accommodation.. and if the online system is down (or malfunctioning) then you need to go to your nearest immigration office to do it in person.. so no worries 😊

You can actually set up your own user account on the immigration system.. and can file your own TM30's with your Landlords co-operation.. but you need to be in country to do it.. because you won't be recognisable in the system until you enter Thailand and your passport is registered at the airport or border of entry.. it's also a declaration of your place of residence here.. where immigration can go to find you.. which it clearly won't be until you actually reach the stated accommodation.. however, assuming your Landlord is a Thai individual.. you will need a digital copy of their National Identity Card (front and back) and also the main page of their Blue Book for the property.. since only the person who is named in the blue book can register a TM30 for guests staying at the property.. or facilitate a TM30 registration in this manner.. so the names on both docs has to match and that address has to relate to the place where you will be residing.. a colour photograph of said documents is sufficient for uploading to the TM30 system.. but remember, if you travel around Thailand and stay in a hotel or guest house they will automatically register you as a guest there.. so if you later return to your original accommodation you will need to re-register on the TM30 system for that accommodation.. which is relatively easy since it will have maintained the records you previously uploaded to simplify the registration.. and you won't have to involve your Landlord.. the same applies if you do a border run and return to the same accommodation a few days later.. but if you move to a new place which is privately owned you will need to add that property to the system.. and then upload the relevant documents pertaining to your new Landlord.. in order to file an effective TM30.. and lastly always take a screenshot or photograph of the acknowledgement page at the end of the process for future reference.. though once the application has been accepted you should be able to go back into the system and find a certificate for your registration.. which you can save as a 'pdf' file on your device or get printed to carry with your passport.. hope that helps your understanding my friend.. enjoy your stay in the land of smiles 😁

You can only use the income method if you are applying for the visa outside of Thailand.. because the British embassy here no longer certifies income to support visa applications.. if you are already in Thailand and want to apply for a non-o immigrant visa based on marriage.. then you must use the capital method of 400k baht deposited to a Thai Bank account in your name.. and ensure it is seasoned for 2-months before applying for the 12-month extension.. however you can switch to the income method at the next renewal.. which is technically an extension rather than a renewal.. this is subject to evidencing the requisite monthly income being deposited to your Thai bank account every calendar month in the year preceding the extension.. this does not have to be deposited directly by your pension provider in the UK.. and in fact there is no requirement to prove it is a pension at all.. you can simply transfer a monthly sum from your UK bank account every month yourself.. and it doesn't matter if the transfers are being funded from accumulated savings or are from current income you may be receiving.. your bank book (or statements) together with a confirmatory letter from your Thai bank is all that is needed to satisfy the income threshold.. though the payments should be tagged as coming from overseas and not as payments from another Thai bank account (ie. internal transfers) to fulfill the requirements.. I've had to jump through all these hoops myself over the last couple of years.. so I'm speaking from my personal experience of the CM immigration system.. but as always everyone should always check with the immigration office nearest the location they will be residing to double check.. in case they have some additional requirements or there are other variations to the above mentioned procedure.