Proof of income needed to marry?

[colin howard]

hi ian , one bit of good advice , do NOT lie to the staff at the UK embassy , from what i,ve heard from others these people are highly trained interrogators and can spot a falsehood 10 miles away , if you get caught out on just one thing it blows your application out of the water , and another thing you will NOT be allowed to be present when your wife is interviewed by the gestapo at the UK embassy, i,m sorry if i paint a grim picture but these are the facts that have been presented to me by others who have been through the 'treatment" at the UK embassy, regards , colin .

[ian]

hi colin, do u happen to know how long it is til u can re-apply for a visa if it is turned down? Is there a limit as to how many times u can apply?

[colin howard]

hi ian ,once again you will have to seek professional advice , my limited knowledge is only gleaned from people who,s thai ladys have been subjected to the tender mercy's of the UK embassy in bkk, i can well understand your concerns that you want to try and get it "right", but those with more knowledge than i on this subject are in are far better position to help than me , best of luck you certainly deserve it , regards , colin .

[huggybear]

to Ian

well my friend you only need to show them your savings account where you have the savings not the current one.
if you get married in thailand it will help allot and according to the european law thay cannot deprive you from your wife.
the six months period will pass fast and as you have been told avoid agencies thay are money sharks do everything your self.
i wish you all the luck.
huggybear

[expattaffy]

Hello Ian. Lets hope I can assist through my experience and through my friends experience. Y can learn a lot from mistakes as me and my friend has. First point is you dont need any proof of income to get married in Thailand.If you wish to reside in Thailand you must come in on a O visa, ie a multi entry visa. You must have one of the following to stay here, 1/ proof of income of at least 40,000 baht a month, or,and its OR ok 400,000 baht in the bank that has been in the bank for three months. If you are not married to a Thai the sum is 800,000 baht and you have to be over 50. If you get married to a Thai lady and wish to take her to the uk you are quite entitled to do so and the customs in the UK have no power to stop you as long as you satisfy three conditions, they are 1/ proof of a home for the lady which is easy to prove beyond doubt,ie deeds etc. 2/ proof of income, again easy to prove, ie accounts for self employed or pay slips. 3/ This is the hardest, The marriage has to be genuine. This is where the customs have the upper hand because it is hard to prove. They can easily state they dont believe you. I would say the best approach for you is do what a friend of mine done, that is arrange for a month visitors visa first, and then at a later date try for the spouse visa. You will find more favour if she has visited and gone back before because they cant state she is using you to gain access to the UK otherwise she wouldnt have gone back before. My friend who done it this way had no problems with the spouse visa later on and although he owns his house he was unemployed and on benefit. Another important bit of advice which was given to me and ignored by my friend to his peril. If you marry a Thai bird and you want it to last You move to Thailand, Dont take them to the UK. I moved to Thailand and my four year marriage is intact. My friend took his to the UK and has now had a devorce. The reason for this is when you move to Thailand with them they compare themselves to other Thai women and see that they are better off because they have a farang, ie an improvement. In the UK there are many men better off than you and are atracted to these women. My friends wife was comparing herself to another Thai lady over there who had a husband with more money and two houses and three cars, so she felt inferior to the other Thai lady. get the point?

[alohaman]

I am an American and have been living in Thailand for 8 months now. I would like to marry a Thai lady but have no idea on what " paper work " I need and if there are any income requirements. Also, how does marriage to a Thai lady effect my Visa status.
Finally, can anyone tell me about being able to own a Scooter while on a Tourist Visa Permit in Thailand.

[Sean Moran]

I am an American and have been living in Thailand for 8 months now. I would like to marry a Thai lady but have no idea on what " paper work " I need and if there are any income requirements. Also, how does marriage to a Thai lady effect my Visa status.
Finally, can anyone tell me about being able to own a Scooter while on a Tourist Visa Permit in Thailand.

Sorry to take so long to read your post, Alohaman. Marriage isn't my forte, so I only just clicked on this thread out of sheer boredom, but I can possibly give some advice on motorcycle matters.

I believe that after you and your fiancee are married, you might look at the Non-Immigrant Type O visa, but please check these things out because it's old information from 2005-06 and I'm no expert on visas nor the legalities of marriages. I believe it might still require you to check in with the Immigration office every 90 days, but check the facts which I reckon you can find on the web through the Thai Immigration Dept website.

Regarding the moto-sai though, step one is a drivers' license, and I have always managed well enough on my International Driving Permit issued by the RAC automobile association in Australia, even though the Aussie drivers' license is confined to four-wheeled vehicles only. I can't legally ride a bike on Australian roads, but the permit has always sufficed in Thailand. I've also been riding motorcycles since the age of 5 so I'm fairly qualified to ride a bike; it's just that I've never bothered to get the local administrivia paid for, but the International Permit is generally good enough if you're polite when you get pulled over by the boys in brown. Don't make trouble and hopefully you won't get any back.

Buying bikes is no problem if you have the money. That's why God invented capitalism. Getting the bike transferred into your name on a tourist visa might be a hassle though. I've bought two bikes all up, and made sure to always carry copies of the receipts and details from the shop in my wallet wherever I ride. There has never been any question of my rightful ownership of the bike I'm riding when I've been pulled over for any of the usual checkpoints.

Selling the bike afterwards might be a little more interesting. In the first case, the bike ended up in the police holding yard in good rideable order after I hit a Toyota and needed my brain renovated in the hospital. I got medivacced back to Australia and the bike stayed in that yard for two months, until I contacted my best mate in LoS, who happened to be an ex-cop himself, but didn't own a motor vehicle at the time, and he got it out of the yard for around 2,000 baht. It only cost me 6,500 to start with, and after having had to pay for the damage my body had done to the car's bonnet, (Am Eng: hood) the bike was his. It hopefully still is.

The second bike I bought from a shop, and had problems completing the transfer, (probably due to the tourist visa second-class citizen issue) but I had the bike serviced at that same shop around four times over the four months I rode it around, and sold it back to that same shop for 66% of what I paid for it, and they paid me cash too.

It's possible to do it on a tourist visa, if you don't get obnoxious about things, and if you can accept that you're probably going to end up selling it for substantially less than what you paid. The alternative of hiring a bike or car is to not get a brass razoo back though, so bearing that in mind, head down to your local mo-sai shop with 15,000- 20,000 baht in your sky rocket and you should have no problems, hopefully.

Please let me know more about the motorbike part because I've got a bit of knowledge on Thai bikes, and might be able to help further with specifics on the type of bike itself. If you got the money, they'll happily sell you a bike, but keep on good terms with the shop, and you might have less trouble selling it on a tourist visa.


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BTW: I started a thread on Thai motorcycles last Saturday and I added photos of both bikes I've just mentioned:

viewtopic.php?f=54&t=613

[Realist]

Alohaman

Re getting married... I presume you have heard all the stories of getting married to a Thai lady. Let me add my caution.... Buyer beware....

Getting married is quite simple. go to the district office and get married. There is no proof of income needed..

Re your visa, it may help you to get a one year visa with an allowance of 3 month stays. This will of course depend on the counulate you go to, the person you speak to, and the mood of the person you speak to... The meaning is that the policies change hourly. But if you talk sweet and dress appropriately you have a very good chance of getting the 1 yr/3month stay visa.

Highly recommend a pre nup if you have any assest you cannot afford to lose. It may sound negative but it is just being smart. Learn from others who thought they met the woman of their dreams.

Good Luck.

[Martinus]

Alohaman

Re getting married... I presume you have heard all the stories of getting married to a Thai lady. Let me add my caution.... Buyer beware....

Getting married is quite simple. go to the district office and get married. There is no proof of income needed..

Re your visa, it may help you to get a one year visa with an allowance of 3 month stays. This will of course depend on the counulate you go to, the person you speak to, and the mood of the person you speak to... The meaning is that the policies change hourly. But if you talk sweet and dress appropriately you have a very good chance of getting the 1 yr/3month stay visa.

Highly recommend a pre nup if you have any assest you cannot afford to lose. It may sound negative but it is just being smart. Learn from others who thought they met the woman of their dreams.

Good Luck.

Pre nup is not neccesay as thai law will only award about income and assets 'earned' during the marriage and then only 50% when divorcing to which she should be entitled and which works both ways
Looking at you all scrambling for an O-Visa with income at 40.000 thb and giving problems already I wouldnot be afraid for that 50% rule

You can re-apply for a visa when turned down within two weeks....you will never be turned down if you comply.....

[HAPPY]

Hi Ian, Top tip for visa for GF, when she goes to the visa centre in Bangkok put all the documents needed into a big envolope and make sure your GF makes the person behined the counter takes ALL the documents.(remember you are not alowed in with GF) When my GF went, the woman behined the desk took what she said what was necessarry and gave the rest back to GF. When the visa was turned down the reason was GF failed to produce all documents needed, Gues what was in the envolope given back to GF, yes all the documentation they wanted. It is probaly another scam to get more money, or it was a case of sheer incompetance of the visa staff??
Good luck Happy.
P.s my GF got visa second time, she walked out the visa centre with the lady holding a BIG envolpoe