WARNING!!! Significant Change to Non-O (visiting Family) Visa for Americans applying for E-visa in America.

[GoatMan]

Note: I believe this should be posted under Visas, Permits, Extensions... but there seems to be a problem with the web form. I tried in Chrome and Firefox and was only able to select Thai Legal Discussions.

This is about a significant change to Non-O visas for visiting family.  Previously when applying for a visa an individual was required to show more than $1000 on a bank statement.  The same as to visit non-Thai family.  Now An applicant must show an ending balance of no less than $15,000 or income of not less than $1,5000. Also a multiple entry visa is not available at this time.

I found this out the hard way.  I flew back to America hoping to get another multiple entry visa as I have in the past.  This allows me to stay in Thailand for 90days at a time but requires me to leave the country every 90 days.  This was an acceptable trade off because I did not have the 400,000 thb necessary to extend my visa in Thailand. Now my visa is in limbo because they are requesting further information.  Showing a current balance in excess of the $15,000 on a deposit slip was not sufficient.

I hope this information can help other Americans to avoid this situation.

The following quote was copied from the following webpages on December 19, 2023

 

 

Quote

 

Required documents to upload in the system (Large and clear JPEG or PDF format) to stay with Thai family residing in Thailand (more than 60 days): 

1. Passport Biodata Page or Travel Document (Must be valid within 6 months from travel date)
2. Photograph of the applicant, taken within the past six months
3. Document indicating current location (driving license, bank statement, or proof of stay)
4. Recent bank statement showing the applicant's name and ending balance of no less than $15,000 or proof of monthly income of not less than $1,500/month) along with the current bank statement showing incoming income
5. Personal details of a family in Thailand, e.g. valid Thai ID card or Thai Passport
6. Proof of relationship to a family in Thailand (immediate family only), e.g. A copy of marriage certificate / birth certificate / certificate of adoption

 

1. https://washingtondc.thaiembassy.org/en/page/non-immigrant-visa-o
2. https://thaiconsulatela.thaiembassy.org/en/publicservice/non-immigrant-type-o-visiting-family

 

 

Edited December 20, 2023 by GoatMan

[GoatMan]

oh. the old instructions are not valid - 404 page not found error.

https://thaiconsulatela.thaiembassy.org/en/publicservice/non-o-family-member

can be looked up on the way back machine.

https://web.archive.org/web/20230530195541/https://thaiconsulatela.thaiembassy.org/en/publicservice/non-o-family-member

This has the previous requirements

Quote

 

Non-O (Family member)

 

วันที่นำเข้าข้อมูล 8 Dec 2021

 

วันที่ปรับปรุงข้อมูล 28 Sep 2022

| 8,491 view

Family of Thai Nationals             Non-Thai nationals who are spouses, parents, or children of Thai nationals.

The applicant who does not have a valid visa or re-entry permit must apply for a visa by:  1) complete the Online e-Visa Application “Click here”; and 2) upload the following documents :           1.  Two passport-size photographs (2″x2″ – JPEG format)               Photographs must have a light color background with a full- face view of the person              without wearing a hat or dark glasses and covering up shoulders.              Photos must be taken within 6 months. (photocopy or photo taken from Photostat will not be accepted).        2.  A copy of Passport (must not expire within 6 months)        3.  A copy of flight confirmation/ reservation, showing going from US to Thailand.              (The name of the applicant must indicated clearly)         4.   A copy of recent bank statement  ($700 per person or $1,500 per family)               (The name of the applicant must indicated clearly),               In case of submitting family bank statement a proof of relationship.               (i.e. birth certificate, marriage certificate) must be provided.             5.  A copy of spouse’s / parent’s Thai passport or Thai Identification card.          6.  A Marriage Certificate / Birth Certificate.             – Thai marriage / birth certificate   — > Only Thai document is accepted, do not upload the English translation.             – US marriage / birth certificate              7.  The letter from your spouse indicated that you both are still married and he/she acknowledges of your visit.         8.  (Former Thai citizen) – A proof of Thai citizen such as Thai passport or Thai identification card.          9.  (Non-US citizen) – A copy of permanent resident card or a copy of valid US visa with a letter proof of employment.          10.  (Minor under 20 years old) – Please provide all following documents :                  10.1  Copy of a birth certificate                10.2  Copy of marriage certificate, In case of sole custody notarized copy of the court order, must be provided.                10.3  Copy of passports or ID of mother and father/ legal guardian                10.4  Original letter of notarized consent for the minor to travel abroad from mother and father/ legal guardian.                    All supporting materials that are not in English must be accompanied by                 certified English translations and certified by an embassy only.               11. Hotel booking or accommodation arrangements.                   Please note : Consular officers reserve the right to request additional documents                              as deemed necessary and also reserve the right to reject any application                              without having to provide reason.         Processing time : minimum 15 business days           Fee   – $80    for single entry (3 months)                  – $200  for multiple entries  (1 year)          To remind : Your visa request may be denied when:                            (1) upload unprepared documents and photo;                            (2) information uploaded does not meet requirement; and                            (3) applying for wrong visa.                            (4) input incorrect information                            (5) applying from outside consulate's jurisdiction

 

 

[BlueSphinx]

Yes, it seems that applying for the 1-year Multiple Entry Non Imm O Visa for reason of Marriage is not available anymore when applying for it when in USA, and that the financial requirements for a 90-day Single Entry Non Imm O Visa for reason of Marriage have been upped considerably. 

In view of the above, it is worthwhile considering the following alternatives to applying for the SE or ME Visa for reason of Marriage.

#1 - Fly to Thailand VisaExempt (without a Visa) and you will be provided with a 30-day Permission to stay by Thai border-immigration on entry.  Note that when doing so, you would need an outward-bound flight reservation to an international destination from Thailand on a date prior to the expiry of the 30-day Permission to stay you would receive on arrival, otherwise the airline staff might not let you board your flight to Thailand.  Such onward-flight reservations can be bought on-line for 16 US $ (payable by credit-card and delivered immediately to your e-mail address) at service-providers like onwardticket.com .  Note that these are fully legit flight reservations, but that they are automatically cancelled by the service provider 48 or 72 hours after issuance, so it is a matter of buying them on the evening before your flight departure to Thailand.

#2 - When you intend to apply for the SE or ME Visa once you are in Thailand, it is mandatory that you have a personal Thai bank-account with at least 400.000 THB on that account at moment of application.  Note that it is not self-evident to open a personal bank-account in Thailand, so if you do not have one you will have to go through many hoops to find a Thai bank-branche willing to open one for you.  And once you have such a personal Thai bank-account, you can then either apply for the SE or the ME Visa

#3 - When applying at a local Immigration Office in Thailand, you only have the option to apply for the 90-day Single Entry Non Imm O Visa for reason of marriage.  And subsequently at the end of the 90-days you can then apply for 1-year extensions based on that original Non Imm O Marriage Visa.  Note that the application process for both the Visa as well as the subsequent 1-year extensions are a bureaucratic nightmare, so it is well advised to inform yourself about the requirements that would be applicable at the local Imm Office where you plan to reside, when wanting to go that route.

#4 - A far easier option would be - instead of applying at your local Imm Office - is to apply for either the SE or ME Visa at the Thai Consulate in Savannakhet, Laos (which is situated at the other side of the Mekhong and connected by the Friendship bridge to  Mukdahan in Thailand).  For the 90-day SingleEntry Visa application you only need to provide evidence of being married to a Thai national, with no proof of financials to be provided.  And the Visa is provided next day.  So if you are not able to find a Thai bank-branche willing to open a bank-account for you, you can still use the above option.

Since a couple of weeks you now need when applying for the 1-year ME Non Imm O Visa for reason of Marriage, on top of being married to a Thai national also evidence of +400.000 THB on a personal Thai bank-account.  But that's basically it, and the Visa is provided next day.  

As you are probably well aware that 1-year ME Non Imm O Visa will provide you with a 90-day Permission to stay with each entry into Thailand.  And when doing a border-hop at the end of those 90-days you will on re-entry be provided with a NEW 90-day Permission to stay.  When timed right that Visa can thus provide you with 15 months of stay in Thailand without the need of ever having to visit a Thai Imm Office. And at the end of the 15 months you can simply apply for a new 1-year ME Non Imm O Visa.

>> Hope this helps/clarifies the issue.

[bennodesmo]

I am married to Thai national, is it easier to come to Thailand on the 30day no visa then get my "0" spouse visa there or get spouse visa in Australia first

[MrStretch]

I got mine in Penang, just before the pandemic. 

There was no financial requirement until the original visa expired in 90 days and it was time to apply for an extension of permission to stay. And I renew my permission to stay every year with money I put in the bank and left there.

Easy peasy.

[butterfly]

For most Europeans countries, it always been like this, so no change for us

it was 10K EUR on a bank account for a multi-O Non-immigrant

this was like that since 2008 or 2009,