gavin310

Just got back from Phnom Penh so wanted to update you guys. I actually decided to stay for longer than I originally planned, so getting the visa in 1 or 2 days wasn't as important. The lady at the hotel I stayed at said they would take care of the visa for $47, or $48 if I didn't have any onward travel plans. She said in 4 days I would have it. Everything went smoothly and in 4 days I had my Thai tourist visa without having to show any travel itenerary. Pretty dam_n easy...

In Principle the Royal Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh will issue a single entry tourist visa.

It just takes longer than the usual overnight service at other Thai Embassies or Consulates.

Use a agent or go to the gate and negotiate with the guard.

In most cases you will be asked to show a air ticket from Phnom Penh back into Thailand.

Official price is USD40.-, but expect to pay more if you want express service. Maximum around USD65.-.

Thanks visarunner

Go to the embassy (early morning, before 9AM), but don't go inside. The guard who does it in 1-2 days will be looking for you. Give him your passport, one pic, and $60, and tell him you want it next day. He will have it ready in the afternoon of the next day. He will give you a slip of paper with his contact details as a receipt.

Have done it this way twice now, never a problem (I took his picture the first time, paranoid). He remembers us now, and greets us with a smile (and outstretched hand). Single 60-day entry only these days, however.

Thanks!

There is only Thai Embassy in Cambodia and that one is in Phnom Phen.

If you would like it less strict, go to the Thai Embassy in Savannakhet (Laos).

Thanks, I didn't know that was the only embassy.

Hi

I got a single entry tourist visa in PP using an agent just 2 weeks ago so unless changed, since then should be doable.

However I wasn`t in a rush and waited 4 days.

Good to hear, thanks for the info. Did they say they could get it faster if you needed it? This whole visa situation was very unexpected for me, so I need to get it ASAP. Also, did you have to show proof of travel out of Thailand?

I need to get a 60 day tourist visa in Cambodia for Thailand. I was planning to go to Phnom Penh, but I read that they are very strict with their visas. I am coming from the Koh Kong border near Trat, Thailand. Are there any other areas the same distance or even a little further than Phnom Penh that are known as being less problematic for issuing 60 day Thai visas?

Actually I just read somewhere that the Cambodian travel agencies can't get 60 day tourist visas for clients anymore, that you have to go to the embassy in person. is this true?

I need to get a 60 day Thai tourist visa. I'm currently in Trat, Thailand on a 15 day exemption. I'm planning on going to Phnom Penh and getting the visa through an agency rather than the consulate, as I heard agencies can get the visa in as little as 1 day (compared to 3 or 4 business days in person at the consulate) and time is of the essence for me. Can anbody recommend a good agency in Phnom Penh that doesn't charge too much and can get the visa quickly?

I came here with nothing, not even savings like maybe you have, in the years that I have been here I have achieved a lot, I lived like you did, although I would not have done the fishing as I hate seafood, I lived in a condo, had a job lined up and have never looked back. Now I have two condos a car, and have been on many trips abroad, and I earn a lot less than the expats on here.

Jobs in Thailand are very hard to get for foreigners you find that most have come from companies in other countries who have sent them here.

I often look in the Bangkok post, but you find that most are not serious jobs. Why not become self employed?

Nice man, congratulations on all that. That's basically what I hope to achieve.

I've looked into self employment. I assume you mean starting a company, right? I've looked into a company under the US/Thai Amity agreement, or a sole proprietorship, but all of those require 2 million baht in capital, which I don't have. I'd love to be a sole proprietor, but I've also heard obtaining a work permit and visa based on that isn't easy. I think for now getting a job and saving money is best for me.

It is really tough to just show up here and get a job and most foreign owned companies know this so they will low ball you... That is why they are here in the first place, that and for the dating experience with the wonderful Thai ladies... Obviously it is best to have a job lined up before you get here that is what I did and I was basically in the same position you are in... Leaving a 100k USD job in the US for a 60K baht per month job in Bangkok. I ended up as the sales manager, closed a 500K per year account for the owner with no commission and after 3 years he top my salary out at 75K baht per month and in the mean time this guy is making 1 million plus plus and an ass on top of that. But I did luck out through other contacts and ended up with extra part time work and eventually a new job/ jobs all through existing contacts. To come here cold and make a go of it is a tough road to ho but I have seen it done by mostly young highly talented guys who had web 2.0 skills, the next generations hip to SEO and designs that adapt to the new smart phone and tablets... I would also suggest you get to know Bangkok and adapt accordingly because if you can live in a Thai neighborhood you can save 15K baht a month on rent alone and I do not mean living in a slum but a nice neighborhood in a decent apartment... Plus if you can eat Thai street food and from the little chicken shack restaurants you can save a ton on food too. I would also suggest finding a job first then renting someplace within walking distance of your place of employment which will also save you money and make living here much easier. That is what I did.. Now after 6 years I have a better life then I ever had in the US with a nice house, great fast turbo diesel truck, and a big ass motorcycle, bicycles ( I bike 30 to 50Km per day), and I live 10 minutes from Pattaya!!! And for me the only reason to leave a well paying job in the US to come to Thailand is for the girls and to have fun and to do that you need money... Depending on how much fun you want to have but for me 100K baht per month is the minimum and just like everywhere else in the world the cost of living is on an upward climb and will not ever get cheaper, not in Thailand anyway...

Awesome. Really good to hear all that. One thing though, I'm not sure why everyone thinks I don't live in Thailand... I never said that. I've lived here for about a year now. I've been to Bangkok 5 or 6 times. Not really my style, but if I need to live there to make decent money I will. You're right though, I would definitely want to live close to work. For the Thai food and living in a Thai neighborhood, if you read my post before this one, you'll see I have no problem living in a Thai neighborhood or eating street food. I've never lived in a farang neighborhood in Thailand and I don't plan to. Right now I'm living on about 12k baht per month. Living in Bangkok is expensive from what I've heard, but I can live pretty cheaply.

So you are in Thailand, and if you are not working you have been spending your savings. You think it is cheaper to live here, but it is not that cheap really, the standard of living and costs of living are smaller than in America, but you do not have the same standards here.

Do you have health insurance, what happens if something happens to you here? That can be expensive and if you prefer treatment in the US then the cost of air tickets is not that cheap.

I wish you luck with your endeavours but I feel you are barking up the wrong tree about the money thing.

Barking up the wrong tree by asking what type of salary I can expect?

For 4 months in Thailand my shower was a bucket of water, no hot water, a squatting toilet, no paved roads, etc. I lived right on a river and caught fish at night from my balcony and barbecued them, or I rode my bicycle to a small shop down the road that had noodles. Unfortunately the mosquitoes got so bad I had to leave. Before that I lived in a guesthouse, and now I live on a small island in a bungalow that's not much of an upgrade from my last place. You're making assumptions without knowing me at all.

Giving up a 100-150k job in the US? Doesn't sound sensible to me.

I've been living here in Thailand on next to nothing for 1 year and I'm happier than I ever was in America. I made the right choice.

Actually no. If you really were on $100-$150k a year then the loss of that is costing you a lot to live on the beach.

In fact your stay in Thailand is probably the most expensive of anybody I can think of. Throwing money away.

Not really something I care to debate with you about. Obviously for you, money is happiness or is more important than happiness. That's not the case for me, however I want to start a life here in Thailand so I need to make money now. Also, I never said I made $100,000-$150,000. I said I made close to $100,000 per year.

Giving up a 100-150k job in the US? Doesn't sound sensible to me.

I've been living here in Thailand on next to nothing for 1 year and I'm happier than I ever was in America. I made the right choice.

maybe Foreigners who have lived here for many years, and moved from Bangkok to the area, best idea is to ask and find out, but the Bangkok Post is not an international paper so I would think they would have been looking for foreigners already in areas of Thailand

I've lived in Trat for 1 year now. I never said I didn't live in Thailand.

Maybe you are seeing agents trying to get CVs for their databases, it happens a lot in the Communications world

I've seen a few job postings for this company. They're a web design firm located on Koh Samui. They will cover all costs, including work permit, visa, and relocation. http://classifieds.b...=gknrj.55de5978 I'm not saying this is common, but saying web jobs for farang don't exist isn't true. Unfortunately they don't have anything that's a perfect fit for me, and they're on Koh Samui, which I'd rather not relocate to.

I didn't see anywhere in that ad that says they are looking for a so called farang expat. Probably would get the WP Visa etc. for a Filipino or Indian etc and pay between 8k - 10k per month.

Obviously there's no way to know for sure, although I did just contact them and asked about these things. On the Our Team page of their website there's a good mix of white farang and Thais, so, who knows.

Maybe you are seeing agents trying to get CVs for their databases, it happens a lot in the Communications world

I've seen a few job postings for this company. They're a web design firm located on Koh Samui. They will cover all costs, including work permit, visa, and relocation. http://classifieds.bangkokpost.com/jobs/job?ref=gknrj.55de5978 I'm not saying this is common, but saying web jobs for farang don't exist isn't true. Unfortunately they don't have anything that's a perfect fit for me, and they're on Koh Samui, which I'd rather not relocate to.

Very hard for you to be employed here in the web design business. Even if you can expect maybe 25k baht per month tops as there are Thais doing the same work and VERY qualified for around 10k per month.

I've seen quite a few job postings for farang web designers and programmers that include work permit, relocation costs, good salaries (so they say), etc. Maybe there's a lot of competition, but there are jobs out there.

Regarding your visa, ys that is normal and the only route you cna take. You will not get a non-B visa untill you have a job offer, with supporting documents from your prospective employer.

Thanks Mario, really good to know.

I'm hoping to find full-time work in Thailand that offers a good salary, work permit, and preferably benefits. I'm not sure what type of salary I can expect to make here. I work in the web design and programming field and have many years of high-level management, design and programming experience. In America I was making close to $100,000 per year (about ฿3,150,000 per year). I realize i can't make anywhere near that much here, but what can I expect? Some people say that almost all costs in Thailand are 1/3 of the United States. If that holds true to salaries, $100k in America would be about ฿87,000 per month and ฿1,050,000 per year. Is that an achievable salary, or at least somewhere to start negotiations from?

On another note, right now I'm on a tourist visa, as my business visa just expired. I'm planning to tell a company that I will get a non-immigrant visa once I find a job; Is that a normal route to take?

Thanks for any advice,

Gavin

The Gist

I'm currently seeking full-time employment in a telecommuting position (working off-site from Trat, Thailand) related to web design and/or programming. If a telecommuting position is not possible, I will consider relocating to Bangkok. I have 17 years of web design and programming experience and have worked for many large and well-known global corporations such as Warner Brothers, Pepsi, Sanyo, Isuzu, Lionsgate, Tomy, and Audi. My designs have won awards from well-known publications and organizations, such as Communcation Arts, and my programming has been used on many high-traffic corporate websites.

The Pitch

The greatest benefit I can offer is that I can handle complete website projects on my own or as a team. Because of my skill and experience in design and many different technologies, I can produce the design, front-end, and back-end on my own, or I can organize a team of specialists and manage, quality check, and supervise every aspect of the process. When working as a designer or programmer within a team, I'm able to work closely with other team members to ensure that the front-end and back-end are logical, compatible and seamless.

In essence, I can handle your entire online operation single-handedly, or I can be an integral part of your team.

Skills

My core technological strengths are PHP, MySQL, HTML, CSS, Javascript, Flash, and ActionScript. I'm an expert with Photoshop and Flash. Over the years, I've picked up many different programming languages and technologies. I'm not an expert in some of them, but I have functional knowledge and can go in and get my hands dirty if need-be.

Other skills that I posses, but don't necessarily market myself as an expert of, are photography, copywriting, proofreading, SEO and print design.

About

I'm a United States citizen and a native English speaker. I'm 30 years old, male, and am living in Trat, Thailand.

Portfolio / Contact

For my bio, resume, work examples, and contact information, please visit:

http://www.pixeldigital.com/folio/

One more question, hope you don't mind. I'm thinking about getting a full-time job in Bangkok. I know I can't work with the 15 day visa exempt entry, but if I go to Cambodia and get a 2 month visa and maybe the 1 month extension, would I be able to begin working for a Thai company with that visa?

A visa is valid for a specific period of time from issue - not entry. So your last allowed entry would have been before end of August 13 not today. Immigration was correct and you obtained the normal visa exempt entry of 15 days. You can not work on this entry if you have a work permit.

Thanks for clearing that up. The legal firm I obtained my visa through told me at the end of the visa I had to go back to my home country. Do you know if this is true? Maybe they were just meaning if I wanted the same visa again I'd have to apply for it while in America?

I have a 1 year business visa. Close to the end of 1 year, I was planning on going to the border and getting another 90 days. Today I went to make that trip, and was told I overstayed 2 days (my fault) and that my visa is expired and they would only give me 15 days. The stamp for my non-immigrant "B" visa says it's good for multiple entries and that the visa must be utlized before August 13, 2012. It was issued on August 13, 2011. I entered Thailand on September 3rd, 2011. What I assumed was that the visa's 1 year term "started" the day I entered Thailand, Sept. 3rd., but today at the border they said it expired on August 13th, 2012. Is this correct? I assumed when it said it must be "utlized" by August 13, 2012, that meant you had 1 year to use your visa and begin your 1 year term. Could it be that my 2 day overstay nulled the visa? Since this caught me off-guard I'm thinking I might have to go to Cambodia and try to get a 2 month Thai visa. Any info would be appreciated...