hi all, this my first posting with you,
i have a question maybe one of you good folk can answer

i'm aware i need a visa to stay in thailand for longer than 30 days,
Q shall i get one before i come to thailand or get it in the airport on the day i arrive???

Q i wish to stay around 50 days to marry my g/f shall i put this on the application form or shall i just say i take long holiday??

Q maybe i won't go home (ireland, but i have uk passport, i'm english) can i get an extension for a year, (if i meet their criteria)???I hope to set up a tourism type business and of course marry my thai lady.

any thoughts would be greatly apreciated.

many thanks
A.

Get your VISA in your home country:!: Should be no problem getting a one year, muliti entry, "O" visa. which means you can come and go for a year and stay up to 90 days each entry.

many thanks for quick responce, i'll get on that right away.
A.

hi all, this my first posting with you,
i have a question maybe one of you good folk can answer

i'm aware i need a visa to stay in thailand for longer than 30 days,
Q shall i get one before i come to thailand or get it in the airport on the day i arrive???

Q i wish to stay around 50 days to marry my g/f shall i put this on the application form or shall i just say i take long holiday??

Q maybe i won't go home (ireland, but i have uk passport, i'm english) can i get an extension for a year, (if i meet their criteria)???I hope to set up a tourism type business and of course marry my thai lady.

any thoughts would be greatly apreciated.

many thanks
A.

You probably have the best advice already, ie, get your visa at home if you can. But, there is no universal standard for visas to Thailand, and what one Embassy does may not be anything like the same as another, so If you can get a long stay visa anywhere, take it.

If you are married you can get a one year visa here in Thailand, but dealing with local Thai Immigration (Nongkhai) is a pain in the bum. They try and get you to apply for a retirement visa instead as that means you need 800,000 baht in a bank account sourced from overseas funds whereas a marriage visa (non O) requires only 400,000 baht. But you might decide its better or easier to get a 90 day marriage visa (as I do) from outside Thailand and keep your personal life to yourself rather than share it with Thai Immigration.

If you want to start a business, then a non o visa will allow you to commence the proceedings, as they are not normally endorced employment prohibited, but trust me, you have a lot to learn.

Seems you are at the beginning of a long learning curve. Good luck! You may need it.

You HAVE to get a Visa for Thailand OUTSIDE the country. You cannot get a visa to visit Thailand inside Thailand (how will you get through immigration when you arrive).
Two exceptions are the 30 day 'visa on arrival' (free of charge) and a retirement visa which is obtainable once you are inside Thailand but you must have been here in the first place so usually the way to go is to get either a tourist visa (60 days) or a 'Non-Immigrant' visa - as mentioned above giving you 90 days here (single entry) or a year (in 90 day segments) - multiple entry visa (every 90 days you have to leave - then re-enter Thailand (Laos is just up the road so most convenient).)
You will only get a years extension to a non-imm visa (not a tourist visa) but you seem to want to run before you can walk. You are not even married yet and seem to be wanting an extension based on marriage. believe me you are in for a lot of form filling and beaurocracy long before you strat thinking about extensions based on marriage.
And I hope you are well prepared document wise if you intend to come here and get married. I am not so sure you are aware of just how much there is to do - marriage , visa and extension !!!!

And you want to set up a business? - no doubt you have researched setting up a business here and are aware of the 2 million registered capital requirement etc, not to mention obtaining work permits etc etc .

Boy ! are you going to be busy

Best of luck.

I have used the Royal Thai Consulate at Hull twice for my visa (Multiple Entry, Non-Immigrant Visa, Category "O"), had no problems with them and my passport was returned within a week each time.

Their website is http://www.thaiconsul-uk.com/ and you can download and print all the appropriate forms for a visa from their site (pdf format).

I fully endorse Paul's comments on bureaucracy, form filling etc, you will need to do a lot of research before you get to Thailand and come well prepared for a lot of frustrations and difficulties in getting through it all.

Good luck with it.

so i'll have to build up the muscles in my writing arm, ha ha
thanks for the info, i'll start with the (Multiple Entry, Non-Immigrant Visa, Category "O"), worry about the other paper work after i get that.
thanks again
A.

abler2 wrote:so i'll have to build up the muscles in my writing arm, ha ha
thanks for the info, i'll start with the (Multiple Entry, Non-Immigrant Visa, Category "O"), worry about the other paper work after i get that.
thanks again
A.

But you won't get that Non O visa in any form until you are legally married, and from memory, you won't get the first visa inside Thailand.
And to get married you need an arm of paperwork. First you need to get evidence of your pre marital (current) status from your embassy, then get it legally translated by the Thai Government translator located near Bangkok airport. After the dead is done I think you must leave Thailand and get your first Non O visa for three months which is then extendable in Thailand provided you can show 400,000 baht in a local bank (but you must also get that proven by your bank manager at a fee) and also demonstrate your ability to provide the same funds year after year. Some immigration ofices demand (illegally) that you also produce evidence of income to the tune of 40,000 baht per month, but the law is clear, ie, you need 400,000 at the beginning of each year OR an income of 40,000 baht per month.
And don't forget to consider A PRENUPTUAL AGREEMENT. This might be the test of your loved one's sincerity. Prenupts here need to be registered at the time of marriage, and as the registrar cannot speak English you might need to take an English speaking lawyer with you to the marriage office. You might think this over the top, but you have only one chance to protect yourself.
Good luck!

Q maybe i won't go home (ireland, but i have uk passport, i'm english) can i get an extension for a year, (if i meet their criteria)???I hope to set up a tourism type business and of course marry my thai lady.

Abler2, going back to your original questions, - Whatever you do, or plan to do, (business and relationship wise) unless you have known this lady a long time, (more than a year) I would advise doing it VERY slowly and in stages/steps. If you haven't lived with her over here yet, see how that works out first AND observe what financial requests/demands are placed upon you.. Don't invest more than you are prepared to lose!

Oft repeated advice, "go very slowly".

And good Luck.

arjay wrote:

Q maybe i won't go home (ireland, but i have uk passport, i'm english) can i get an extension for a year, (if i meet their criteria)???I hope to set up a tourism type business and of course marry my thai lady.

Abler2, going back to your original questions, - Whatever you do, or plan to do, (business and relationship wise) unless you have known this lady a long time, (more than a year) I would advise doing it VERY slowly and in stages/steps. If you haven't lived with her over here yet, see how that works out first AND observe what financial requests/demands are placed upon you.. Don't invest more than you are prepared to lose!

Oft repeated advice, "go very slowly".

And good Luck.

Abler2, listen carefully to what arjay said. He took it further than I wanted to say as I didn't want to annoy you. I have offered in person the same advice to many people only to have lost many friends and and even business. Trust us, things here are not always what they seem. I could talk for hours about the things I have seen here. I will give you one short story, and you decide if you need to listen ............

I was once a new boy in town. I had some friends who I was house sharing with, who happened to own a net cafe. SOmetimes my friends would go away for the day, so I would look after the business for them.
First day, a Thai girl fronts and asks me 'Would you mind translating a message for me and typing it to my boyfriend?' No problem I replied.

It went like this .................

'Dear George. Thank you so much for the money to buy the motorcycle. I can now get to see my dying uncle. By the way, please don't come October 18 as I must go and see uncle, but November 1 would be great. '
And the email was sent.
Now she asks, 'Could you do one more?' Sure was my reply.

'Dear Michael. Thanks so much for the money for the motorcycle as I can now trasvel to see my sick uncle. But November 7 is not a good time to come as uncler is having is operation, so can you come November 20?'

Next .........

'Dear Mark. Thanks for the motorcycle money. I can now ............... Please don't come in November as I have a festival to go to but December 1 sounds great'

And there were two more, a total of 5 unsuspecting farangs who all think they bought the bike for her, and all think they are the only one.

So, as you have already heard, go as slowly as you can.

Good luck!

johnt wrote:But you won't get that Non O visa in any form until you are legally married, and from memory, you won't get the first visa inside Thailand.
And to get married you need an arm of paperwork. First you need to get evidence of your pre marital (current) status from your embassy, then get it legally translated by the Thai Government translator located near Bangkok airport. After the dead is done I think you must leave Thailand and get your first Non O visa for three months which is then extendable in Thailand provided you can show 400,000 baht in a local bank (but you must also get that proven by your bank manager at a fee) and also demonstrate your ability to provide the same funds year after year. Some immigration ofices demand (illegally) that you also produce evidence of income to the tune of 40,000 baht per month, but the law is clear, ie, you need 400,000 at the beginning of each year OR an income of 40,000 baht per month.
Good luck!

Note - there are many categories of Non Immigrant Visa. Being married is only one of them (non Imm'o' visa). You do NOT have to be married to obtain a non -immigrant visa, (in one of the other categories).

Again - you cannot get a visa inside Thailand. A visa is authority to enter a country for a certain period of time for a certain purpose and therfore (generally) MUST be obtained outside the country (save for the exeptions stated previously)

Re: Marriage
The letter you need to prove your marital and finanacial status etc (Affirmation of Freedom To Marry) is NOT obtained at the embassy, but is produced yourself either from an agency or even written yourself - following embassy guidelines. All the embassy do is check it and stamp it, (and take a hefty fee) - you then need to have it translated into Thai which you can do ANYWHERE provided it is stamped 'certified correct translation'. And this then is taken to the Ministry of Foreign affairs in Laksi (Bangkok) where they will scrutinize it and when satisfied - they too will stamp it.
You are then entitled to get married at any Amphoe office and will receive a copy of the Thai marriage certificate.

After you have this you are then entitled to apply (should you wish) for a non-imm 'o' visa (based on marriage to a Thai citizen). After you have this and have been in Thailand for a minimum of 60 days - you may apply to extend this non-imm visa for a year - at any immigration office in Thailand - and subsequent years after that. (Subject to meeting the requirements (one of them as stated above - a minimum balance in a Thai Bank in YOUR account of 400,000 per year)

Its a minefield out there but patience will see you through it eventually.

all thoughts are welcome, i will take things one step at a time, for the time being i'll get a 60 tourist visa, previous trips had been under 30 days, although every single day was spent with the lady in question. like most women this one does like to spend money and tight rein had to be kept.

while here i will ask, Q can someone explain the finantial part of the marriage process (with thai lady) i was at a thai/thai wedding a few years ago in which money was given, i assume, by the groom or his family,(to much beer drunk to understand at the time) this has cropped up in conversation with my tgf, can some one tell me the ins/outs of this part.(ie handing over money )


cheers
a

abler2 wrote:all thoughts are welcome, i will take things one step at a time, for the time being i'll get a 60 tourist visa, previous trips had been under 30 days, although every single day was spent with the lady in question. like most women this one does like to spend money and tight rein had to be kept.

while here i will ask, Q can someone explain the finantial part of the marriage process (with thai lady) i was at a thai/thai wedding a few years ago in which money was given, i assume, by the groom or his family,(to much beer drunk to understand at the time) this has cropped up in conversation with my tgf, can some one tell me the ins/outs of this part.(ie handing over money )


cheers
a

Heh abler2

The money thing is dependent upon the family. But you will normally be expected to pay for the privilidge of removing your potential wife from the other potential she might have. Take that any way you wish.
I personally, when considering marriage and even prior to that, simply refused to consider the concept of paying money. I felt that money was something given in love and or charity and not a precondition for love. Perhaps I was naive, but I made a huge story about how this concept was evil, offensive and unacceptable to me, and I got my way. If I had not, I would never have gone ahead with the marriage.

At the time, I thought I was just doing and saying and objecting to things that I did not agree with, and that sence would prevail. In hindsight, I was bloody lucky, and to this day, I ponder how I managed to find a very eligible young lady without payment of a 'dowry' as the Indians call it. I guess i was extremely fortunate in finding a lady whose thoughts were not all money related, and even more fortunate to find a lady who was prepared to raise a finger against her potentially money grabbing family.

But back to what I think you were asking, ie, 'How much must I pay?'
The answer is 'You can never pay enough'.
For some families, 50,000 baht is ok. To others, that is a joke, so start thinking of up to millions plus, depending upon how the bride is 'valued', ie, young, white skin (yes, they value white more than almost anything, contrary to what you might think) virgin or near so, ability to speak a little of a farang language, if they already have children that you will support etc. Whether you are going to be in town full time might have an influence with some families, as some brides are expected to produce further income from other farang whilst you are away.

You have already stated that you had to keep tight rein on expenditure. I hope you take that as a warning of things to come, 'cause I am sure it is. If you are comfortable with that, great, but if not, you should reconsider as to whether you wish to proceed.
I am in a business here that sees this type of thing daily. When the new farang arrive they are so stary eyed and full of love and totally overwhelmed. I have given many warnings against best advice from others. I have never given a warning that I have morally regretted, as each situation has evolved to be at least as bad as I thought it might, but most have been substantially worse.
But there have been a few occasions when I have felt that the Thai lady has been authentic, ie, what she appears to be is really what she is. But they have been few and far between. Hopefully, your is one of those lovely ones, but you had said a few things that concern me already.

Ok abler2. Once again, best of luck.

Please don't take my words as condemnation of Thai women but simply a statement from experience. And it should also be noted that Thai behaviour and ambition for money is poverty driven and therefore probably understandable. Youthful Thai are obligated to fund the poor family. The trouble appears to stem from the fact (in my view) that Thais have no financial management skills. If they have a thousand baht in their pocket they spend it, with no consideration for the electric bill due tomorrow or the school fees due next week. I wonder if the Bhudda thing is the issue. It seems to promote little acceptance of cause and effect.


John.

hi, john
your last paragraph, hits the nail on the head, i have several good friends with thai wives living in ireland and england plus knowledge of a few from the thai community there, they are all, without exception useless with money, absolutely no regard for the priorities like bills ect, but they may well splashout regularly on brand name goods ect.(this includes my g/f)
back to my subject, my g/f family are reasonably well off, maybe the most comfortable thai family i have met, with several small restaurant business/stalls or whatever you call them with excess money to blow on what i would think are luxuries. i'll also add that her daddy is a police man but she lives with the aunties and cousins.

Current quote for marriage is 1million bts, what do you think???? although i might well be able to afford it, it certaily is a "bitter pill" to hand over that sort of money.
will i be better off offering to buying a house for her for us to live in for example??????
a

We do have a very detailed discussion on this in a relationship forum. Im sure one of the more computer savvy members can post a link. Please read it, your posts so far are making ME nervous for you.