I flew to Thailand from Uk with Emirates around 3 weeks ago.. it was a one-way ticket with no onward flight booked.. since my plan was to extend my tourist visa and then apply for a longer term married visa.. i wasn't asked whether i had an outward flight booked at checkin or at any point on my journey.. though when making a similar trip a few years back i do remember airline staff questioning me about it at checkin.. my reply was that i had a Thai wife and the marital home was in Thailand and i was still awaiting my married visa.. which was sufficient to pacify them at the time.. but that has been the only such conversation in many years of visiting Thailand on a one-way ticket.. that said, as anyone who has lived and worked in Asia for a number of years will testify.. the rules can change at any time as can the attitude of the staff charged with enforcing them.. so it is dangerous to rely on the fact that they rarely check you have an outward flight pre-booked.. best to set aside some money and give yourself enough time to book one (ie. online at the airport) when you go to check in for your flight.. just in case you get collared 😉

If she's staying with you in a private property you will need to file a TM30 with immigration to register her residence.. should be done within hours of arriving at the residence or the home owner will be fined.. the fine is 1600 Bht in Chiang Mai.. if you've stayed in a hotel or other accommodation prior to reaching the private residence then the hotel handles the registration so responsibility is not on the individual.. so if you've been in Thailand longer and can prove where you stayed previously.. eg. up until the day before you file the TM30 then the fine will be waived.. just jumped through these hoops myself and I'm 1600 Bht lighter.. lol 😆

@Kool ******

Many thanks for your guidance.. the 90-day option was not mentioned on my last visit at all.. but it is perhaps what they had in mind.. we're awaiting the translated copy of our marriage certificate to progress with the registration at our district office.. so that is already in hand.. but have been delayed opening a bank account because Bangkok bank won't accept the TM30 acknowledgement as proof of residence.. i had to complete an additional registration with immigration to obtain a 'certificate of residence' that is needed to open an account.. and that unit told us it will be mailed to us around 20 April.. have no idea why it would take nearly 4-weeks from date of filing all correct documents.. but without it Bangkok bank won't budge!

My goal is to obtain a married visa not a retirement visa.. but evidence of income will come from a pension that is in payment.. so i was reciting my experience with CM immigration.. your information suggests applications going through other agencies are handled differently when it comes to evidencing income etc 👍

@Ludwig **********

They issued an acknowledgement for the notification of residence on the spot.. but the certificate you need to open a Thai bank account required a separate application (and fee) and has to come in the post.. and was told not to expect it before 20 April !! Sounded crazy to me too !!

I just successfully extended my 45-day on arrival tourist visa by 30-days.. which was necessary to give me time to prepare documentation to apply for a 1-year married visa.. i wanted a 60-day extension but could not produce a sealed translation of our overseas marriage certificate.. which is being processed as we speak but not yet available.. so was restricted to 30-days.. this is not sufficient to complete all the formalities and meet the requirement to deposit monies into a Thai bank account.. which is necessary for the 1-year visa.. and the immigration officers (at Chiang Mai) acknowledged this and told me to apply for a further extension once the marriage certificate is in hand.. now they surely would not entertain such an extension on top of my 45+30 days if there was a 90-day limit.. and the fact they would have given me a 60-day extension if i'd had the right paper work would have given me a total of 105-days right.. i realise everybody's circumstances are different and like others have mentioned here.. i do get the feeling that a lot depends on what mood the senior immigration officer is in when you roll up at the counter.. now I'm a british national with a Thai wife and i have registered my residence in Thailand at the family home which is owned in her name.. whilst i doubt that my nationality had any real bearing on it.. my marital status and having a blue book in my spouses name could have been an influential factor here.. but my personal experience to date would suggest there is no 90-day rule.. let's see what happens when i go back shall we.. watch this space 🤔

I've been back to immigration today in an attempt to get permission to open a bank account.. i'm sharing my experience in the hope it will help others in the community in a similar situation.. i should start by saying some of the advice given by immigration staff yesterday was further clarified (or even contradicted) today.. but this is what I've achieved thus far.. my 45-day tourist visa (which had 24-days to run) was successfully extended by 30-days without any issues at all.. with the extension running from expiry of the current tourist visa.. which now gives me 54-days in total.. but a 60-day extension was denied because i don't have the sealed translation of our marriage certificate back from the consulate as yet.. and therefore i failed to tick that box.. however i was informed that i can apply to extend it again once said marriage certificate is available and we have registered the marriage with the local district registry.. this should happen across the next 2-weeks all being well which will leave plenty of time to extend again should that become necessary.. this does of course result in 2 sets of fees being payable though (once for the 30-day and again for the 60-day) which is no doubt an intentional product of the system.. the ultimate desire is to obtain a 1-year multiple entry marriage visa.. but its impossible to meet the financial requirements for it until you are permitted to open a Thai bank account (ie. the 60-day deposit rule) so its very much a chicken and egg scenario.. this was also put in motion (so to speak) today when i was allowed to apply for a certificate of residence.. this is not the registration of my residency at the Thai marital home which has already been done.. but a document that I'm told will arrive in the post in approx. 4-weeks time.. which sounds excessive in all honesty given they have already accepted a notification of residence and acknowledged it.. but apparently this is the key to resolving the bank account issue.. leading on from this we have today discovered that only Bangkok bank will offer a 'foreigner' banking facilities in Thailand.. and the receipt for the application for said 'certificate of residence' is not sufficient to persuade them to open an account.. so I'll have to wait until the actual certificate is received.. meaning a delay of around 4-weeks before an account can be opened and monies placed on deposit to support the 1-year visa application.. this will clearly result in the need to extend my current tourist visa again.. since I'm likely to have only 26-days left on it when a bank account becomes feasible.. unless they will accept the fact that my funds will have sat in my wife's bank account for around 60-days while I've been waiting for their cogs to turn.. though I'm aware that is very much a long-shot and unlikely to be accepted.. but you never know given their propensity to interpret 'the rules' how they wish to from one day to the next.. having set out on this journey to settle here permanently with my wife i am resigned to following the protocols and jumping through the hoops as and when they surface.. and will have to simply chip away at the system until said goal is reached.. I'm confident that everything will eventually work out fine but some of the 'officialdom' is mind numbing to say the least.. with much duplication on a national, regional and local district level creating layers of repetitive bureacracy.. the cost of which is passed on to us as applicants of course.. so perhaps absolute efficiency and cost effectiveness is not necessarily an important factor here!

I have been to immigration today to investigate this myself.. and was advised to apply to extend my 45-day tourist visa by another 60 days.. then apply for the married visa.. in the interim obtaining permission to open a Thai bank account.. in order to evidence requisite savings in an account in my name within Thailand.. except will also require my marriage certificate endorsed by overseas consulate.. since we weren't married in Thailand.. then have it translated and confirmed by Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs.. before being able to register the marriage here.. and finally have the marriage recognised in Thailand.. it transpires that if i wanted our SG marriage certificate to be an internationally accepted document.. then i should have had it stamped/sealed in SG.. and then had a translation authenticated by the Thai Embassy in SG for registration in Thailand.. simpler and cheaper and a lot less hassle than trying to do it once you are in country and the clock is ticking on your tourist visa.. huge learning curve!

I guess it depends on who you ask.. since i was informed by Chiang Mai immigration staff today.. that retirement income would need to be confirmed in writing by the pension administrator.. they basically wanted a letter confirming the annual pension payment.. and never suggested tax returns as an alternative option.. or that investment income could be included in the calculations.. perhaps it depends whether it is raining or not on the day you apply.. lol 😆

I think you will find Singapore will not make exceptions for the 6-month rule on your passport.. even if you are only transitting through it to your final destination.. and the check-in staff at the airport are likely to stop you boarding.. having lived there for nearly 10 years myself I've found that there is little room for negotiation with SG authorities.. I'd definitely check with your airline before booking your flight if that's your preferred route.. just in case they have gotten soft in the post-koveed world!