I'm married to a Thai.. but our marriage was solemnised in Singapore.. so we have just had a similar experience in preparing for my non-o (married) visa application in CM.. the Singapore marriage certificate had to be certified by the Singapore Embassy in Bangkok.. was then translated into Thai and certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Thailand.. we used an agent to expedite the process and on this occasion it was money well spent.. have also had to produce it when registering my residence with the local Amphur.. who wanted to keep the original instead of the photocopy i offered them.. telling me i could 'borrow it' if i ever needed it.. unbelievable! .. but after kicking up a mighty fuss.. explaining that immigration will also need to see the original.. as well as UK immigration at some point in the future.. and insisting they indemnify me for the cost of obtaining another one if they should lose it.. they eventually backed down and accepted the stamped copy.. i should add that the translation was also mandatory to obtain a residence certificate from the local Amphur.. and is also needed to get a 'yellow book' from the Municipality.. which I've recently learned is responsible for issuing them.. ie. not the Amphur directly.. so if you weren't married in Thailand it's pretty much essential for anyone planning on living here long term!

@Chris ********************

Please feel free to skip past my posts my friend.. they are not compulsory reading for anyone.. but someone less experienced than yourself may get some value from what I've shared.. and from what I've observed.. the admins are constantly asking people for more detail in order to offer helpful advice.. like everything else in life 'one size' doesn't fit all!

@David ********

I used an agent recently to get my overseas marriage certificate translated.. that was good value because it saved me running around to embassies etc.. and expedited the whole process.. however i don't see any value in using an agent to obtain my visa.. imo an educated person with all documentation present and correct should not have any difficulty with the process.. long term visa's based on marriage or retirement are fairly straight forward.. the only real issue for a rookie is the plethora of different interim visa's.. which you are likely to need to season your bank deposit and enable you to finalise your ltv application.. slightly more complex when you are trying to avoid border runs and achieve a continuous stay in country.. I've managed to jump through all the hoops I've faced so far.. and i'm confident i will continue to do so with some occasional help to clarify my understanding.. the mixed messages that emanate from different immigration officials on different days can be frustrating.. but are certainly not detrimenral to my emotional health.. lol.. and managing the process myself is far more reassuring.. not to mention more cost effective for me.. i have oodles of shoe leather but sometimes need guidance on which board to walk.. this channel fills that void and provides a lot of constructive advice.. big thank you to the admins for shining the light 👍

@Chris ********************

Well that came out of the mouths of 4 different bank officers in the last 3-weeks.. most recently yesterday at BB who stated that is now the law.. I'm reporting a real life experience not stating a personal opinion. so i'm not sure how anyone has the right to contradict what i heard with my own ears.. unless you were stood next to me and heard something completely different.. or perhaps you think I'm just here to spread disinformation.. people need to understand that rules change (sometimes often) and that not all 'officials' will interpret or enforce them diligently.. something that is becoming more and more evident when holding discussions with multiple organisations!

@Chris ********************

The only bank currently authorised to open a bank account for a foreigner before they have been granted a long term visa is Bangkok Bank.. wasted shoe leather finding that out before BB confirmed it.. apparently its a fairly new law change to clamp down on money laundering.

@Cliff ********

It's not like my wife is a stranger to them.. she's banked there for nearly 40-yrs.. and i had funds resting in her account already.. have never experienced a system where individual branches of the same bank can make up their own rules like that.. effectively discriminating against certain categories of customer at will.. in the Uk banks adopt a uniform policy across all branches.. so you shouldn't get treated differently in my situation.. all banks are commercial entities of course.. and will go out of their way to be helpful if they see value in 'courting' you.. i worked in banking for over 20-yrs myself so I've got the tee shirt already.. lol.. but this system really takes the biscuit.. or perhaps i should have said durian.. cos it stìnks!

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

Yep.. she was with me.. appn made in person.. and asked more than once just in case i got a different answer as well 🤨

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

Thanks for the clarification Brandon.. that helps my understanding immensely.. can i apply for the 90-day non-o visa online or does it need to be done in person? As regards point-2.. i did pay 500 Baht for it.. and also asked them if there was an 'express' option.. eg. for a higher fee.. and was told it was not possible!

It's very easy to transfer money between international banks.. all you need is the recipients name (as it appears on their bank account) and account number.. and the country/bank/branch they hold the account with.. you can look up the SWIFT code yourself.. every bank in the world has a unique SWIFT identifier.. though some have only an IBAN number you can use.. your banking app will call for the information it needs.. eg. Bangkok bank is BKKBTHBK.. and you will decide whether to pay all fees or just your own banks remitting fees.. meaning the recipient will pay for receiving the money their end.. I recently transferred money from UK to Thailand myself.. my bank charge was zero but recipient incurred charge of 200bht.. though Bangkok bank cap this at 500 bht per transaction.. the alternative is to simply withdraw the cash at a local atm and hand your landlord the cash.. unless you are already out of country of course. PS. You may not be on the correct feature in your app.. my Uk bank app asks me to choose between a 'transfer' which is to another Uk bank.. or an 'International transfer' for overseas banks.. if you are on the right one it wouldn't ask you for a sort code my friend!

I have spent a lot of time scouting the banks in CM over the last couple of weeks trying to open a bank account.. I've recently extended my 45-day visa exempt by 30-days..to give me time to prepare an application for an OA-Visa.. based upon marriage to a Thai national.. and wanted to open a bank account in order to get ahead of the 60-day deposit requirement.. however every bank i approached stated that only Bangkok bank could open accounts for foreigners.. ie. non citizens.. and Bangkok bank would not open an account without a certificate of residence from our local Amphur.. stating that the TM30 acknowledgement issued by immigration was insufficient.. and said in addition they would need an official letter from immigration granting me permission.. which has all been put in motion of course.. indeed the application to our local Amphur District Office was made in person and dealt with on the spot.. and i left there with the requisite certificate around 1.5 hours later.. the application to immigration was also made in person and was processed very quickly.. again actioned while i waited.. except i was informed that the letter has to be mailed to me.. and it would take around 3-4 weeks for it to arrive.. no explanation given for such a delay in issuing the letter.. despite my (Thai) wife doing her best to befriend the clerk and encourage a more expeditious outcome.. no express service was available as has been suggested on other threads.. so ive had to grin and bear it.. ive learned to just jump through the hoops as they are presented.. move onto the next one and go again.. its taking a lot longer than i would have liked but I'm slowly getting there!