Below is a tip, based on recent experience, for couples from our member Mar van der Marel.

“Dear (fellow) nationals…..

Today Nicolette and I went to the Immigration Office again to extend our 12 month visa.

As is known, there are various requirements for obtaining such a Non-Immigrant visa

The financial requirements are:

• THB 800,000 per person to be deposited in a (personal) bank account for the 3 months preceding the commencement date of the new 12-month visa.

Or

• A statement from the embassy stating that one has an income sufficient to provide for one's own necessities.

The alternative meant that both partners each had to have a bankbook with THB 800,000 (in total THB 1,600,000 = Euro 35,000 – 40,000 !!!) ) in order for both to obtain a 12-month visa.

As a Dutchman, I always thought that was a “waste of money”….

There was also an alternative for couples. Through a very complicated process (having a marriage certificate translated into Thai at the Thai embassy in The Hague (?), having documents legalized, etc.), only one bankbook was needed. The partner could then “piggyback” on the first person's visa. This would mean that “only” THB 800,000 would have to be held in a bank account for a married couple for 3 months.

Today Nicolette and I successfully tried another method. We have requested a statement from the Embassy in Bangkok stating that, as far as they know, we have been married for a long time. With this declaration you only need one passbook to get a 12-month non-immigrant visa for both. In these modern times I "piggyback" on Nicolette's visa. In "the good old days” The woman would hitch a ride with the man, but that is no longer the case in 2014... So the woman does not have to be the dependent party...

The statement from the embassy is easy to obtain (for a fee of THB 1,300). In addition to the THB 1,300, you only need the marriage certificate plus a statement from the municipality where you were registered before departure (or perhaps even still are). The statement must then state the date of the marriage and that it is known to the municipality that the spouses were still married at the time of departure.”