@Brandon ***********

Entitlement to live in a country comes from your sovereignty.. it is defined as the 'state' where you were born.. which had a duty to accept you (eg. upon deportation) but that is on the proviso that your passport has not previously been rescinded.. if you haven't lived in your country of origin for 10, 20, or 30 years then you are no longer considered a resident by your home country.. you are deemed to have emigrated.. although you will retain your citizenship you are classed as a non-resident! The real solution here is for the Thai authorities to change the question.. and either ask you to input your nationality or country of birth.. or your domicile.. because domicile never changes regardless of where you choose to live.. or alternatively ask for your country of permanent residence prior to arriving in Thailand.. but this could also be a country other than your birth country!

@Kool ******

I cited 183 days because this means you will have spent more than half the year living in Thailand.. and by definition that it makes it your primary residence.. since you could not have lived elsewhere longer in said calendar year.. but since you raise 'tax residency' it follows that if you are considered resident for tax you meet the Thai definition of being resident 😬

@Kool ******

I would disagree my friend.. your passport reflects your domicile.. which is your country of birth or country of origin.. but the word residence pertains to where you habitually live.. and if you live in Thailand for more than 183 days in a calendar year then it is clearly your country of residence.. whilst you may not be a citizen or permanent resident as such.. anyone living here under a married or retirement visa has effectively been granted residence.. albeit on a renewable basis.. and if your primary home is here then your country of residence is clearly Thailand.. only if a form asks for nationality or country of birth will the answer be dictated by your passport.

I've always struggled with this interpretation.. because having someone else deliver documentation to immigration on your behalf is clearly not 'reporting in person' at all.. and given Thai immigration has such rigid antiquated procedures for just about everything else.. I'm surprised they allow it.. but then again TiT as they say!

@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 👍