Thai Marriage Visa

If you are married to a Thai national you can now apply for a 3 month Thai marriage visa. Thai Thai “O” visa allows you to live in Thailand with your Thai wife. When you apply at the Thai embassy the documents are easy enough to understand and provide. The extension of this visa into a 12 month visa requires more documentation.

We will listed the basic documentation needed when you apply for the Thai visa at the Thai embassy in your country or in Asia if you are already in Thailand. Note that certain embassies will not issue you more than 2 marriage visas when they are already back-to-back.

Also note that when you register your marriage in Thailand they will issue you with 2 marriage certificates. The fancy one and also a 2 page official marriage certificate with your ID/Passport number on. Both of these would be required by the Thai embassy when you apply for a visa if you got married in Thailand.Ensure that you have copies of both of these as handing in only one will get the application rejected. If you have a marriage certificate from your home country then a certified translated certificate would be needed and it would have to be verified by the department of Foreign Affairs in Laksi.

The documents are as follows which needs to be handed in:

• Copy of your passport;
• Copy of your Thai wife’s ID card;
• Copy of your wife’s Tabian Baan;
• Copy of your marriage certificate;
• Copy of any children’s ID cards.

These are the basic requirements. Certain embassies in Asia will require a copy of your or your wife’s bank book before they issue you with a marriage visa. Once you enter Thailand this visa is activated and you now have 3 months to complete your extension in Bangkok. Normally expats use a visa agent or attorney to complete the process which can take 2-3 weeks to complete. You will also need to provide the same documents as above and also the following for the extension:

• Copy of your bank book showing 400,000 THB; OR
• Copy of your bank book showing an income of 40,000THB each month;
• Copy of a map to your house/apartment;
• Copy of photos or you and your wife together;

Once this has been submitted it takes 2-3 weeks to complete the process if nothing else is needed. They will then place the extension stamp in your passport and you are now good for 1 year in Thailand. Note that if you leave Thailand now you need to obtain a re-entry permit or the visa extension will be invalidated and you also need to report your home address to immigration every 90 days.

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