femi fan

It seems from all my research (key word, 'seems') that being self-employed in the creative arts of the human world is still not possible in Thailand? To earn money from book sales, and pay taxes is what I'd like to do, but despite the more relaxed new laws relating to work permits back in about 2018, it seems this line of work is still not open to me?

I've done heaps of research, but suddenly realised that Thai Visa might have people in the know about my predicament, or with the same experience who have found answers.

(I've lived in Thailand 30 years, am married, and have always been a teacher before, but stopped that to write my book.) 

What do you mean by updated KR2??! The original one is no good?! Mine is seven years old, is this too old?

Many thanks for your time ubonjoe!

I've had 400k in my bank all year in anticipation of going for the 12 month extension, but just two pages in my passport is causing me ructions.

I then thought that getting a multiple entry non-O would be a good option. So if 100k is needed i can do this in Penang, and that's much easier than going to Suvannaket from CM! How much space would that visa take up in my passport do you know?

One other thing if i may trouble you with... if i just leave the country before June 2 which is when my current (non-imm extension and work permit will expire, do i need to bother with the termination letter that my workplace will write? I guess that's only needed if i want to extend on the existing visa? It seems to me that i if go to Malaysia or UK, they will just give me an exit stamp and then i get a new visa to start again. Is my logic flawed?!

Just only the two pages ubonjoe. Maybe a third somewhere too. That 60 day extension is one option for sure. But i'm currently waiting to find out if that can be done on a non-imm B visa.

Right now i've thought of going to Penang Thai embassy. Leave Thailand and my age-old visa with 12 years of extensions is finally brought to an end. Then get either a three month non-imm O single entry or multiple entry if i can, by using my marraige certificate. Then i can get my new passport once i get back home to CM.

I could also fly back to UK to get my new passport there, and then go to the London Thai embassy to get the same visa.

Question: is it easy to get these three month multiple entry non-imm O visas with all the appropriate marriage documents in Penand and/or London, or anywhere? I'm completely new to having to get my own visas after 24 years in the kingdom!!!

I'm British, married to a Thai for seven years. I live in Chiang Mai.

My work permit and nom-imm B visa extension expire on June 2 since i'm stopping work.

My problem: I have only two clear pages left in my passport.

One solution I'm interested in may be to exit the country and my visa then expires. I then apply for a non-imm O visa three month multiple entry valid for one year based on my marriage. I know i don't need funds for this option, but what i don't know is what embassies i can go to in the region. I believe Suvannaket, but not sure how i get there from Chiang Mai. If Penang there may be a direct flight from Chiang Mai.

Can anyone tell me the best flight option for a Thai embassy that will issue such a visa to me? I'm continuing to do my research, but this post is part of that research!

Will the visa into that country plus the visa issued by the Thai embassy be possible in two pages of my passport?

I could go back to England for a sudden holiday, and get the visa from the London Thai embassy... any problems with this option? While there i could of course get a new passport quickly.

Many thanks.

There is no "marriage" visa !

You should first establish if your local immigration office is prepared to allow you to change the reason for your extension from "working" to "marriage" and establish what their exact requirements are.

Do this ASAP !

Okay, to get the language right, extension to stay based on my marriage! I assume that is correct?

Are there different requirements based on different parts of the country? No fixed set of rules for all parts?

I will go along to see CM immigration soon if need be. Thanks for your reply.

I've been on a work permit and visa extension for 12 years in Chiang Mai, same workplace.

Already left work last year by my choice, been married to my Thai wife for seven years. Work agreed last year to keep my visa and WP rather than cancel it. Both WP and extension of stay expire end of this month, my work place have just told me they won't renew them.

Have had 400k baht in my bank account for over four months in anticipation of this.

Could informed posters let me know my procedure for changing my visa over to a marriage visa? My original visa was from 12 years ago, non-imm B, and i've had 11 one year extensions since. I'm assuming and hoping I won't need to leave the country to make these changes?

I have had a yellow book for a few years if that's of any help or use.

I have a massive family meet-up (flying in from abroad) in Phuket last week of June and first week of July. I understand that the first action by immigration will be to extend my stay by one month, which would coincide with this family holiday. Will they be sympathetic to my unique situation? If indeed they extend me by one month initially, what normally happens upon returning to immigration after the one month?

Many thanks, i did do a search, but nothing really mirrors my situation that i could find!

Thanks everyone for your replies.

I should have added that i will be flying back to thailand via Malaysia for two nights, so the same question applies for Malaysia!

I"m a UK national flying to Bali in March. I'm running out of pages. I see i'm exempt from needing a visa for my holiday, but what actually gets stamped in my passport, and how much space will it take?

Thanks for any first-hand experiences to help settle my mind. (i have two full pages blank, and two half pages' space)

Niah Caves - Near Miri...

Mulu Caves - Near Miri...

Have you been there? I'm looking for personal experiences on this thread really. I've done quite a lot of research already, but it's always nice to hear from real people about their real experiences. Thanks anyway.

oh dear, not a promising start to my thread! … i was there 10 years ago… when were you there?

Recommendations only please.

I'm wondering if any posters have personal recommendations for places to stay or things to do?

I see this part of borneo as a place for beautiful nature, rainforest adventure, chilling on beaches, and browsing interesting cities or towns. I really like staying in resort-style places in nature, especially if they're in any of the jungles or rainforests! But i don't have the kind of money for luxury five star resorts.

I definitely want to visit kuching and nearby, but it seems to me that sabah has the better quality beaches and rainforest adventures, so i expect to go to both states.

Any advice will be welcome! Cheers.

You should check with immigration to see if they will allow you to change the reason for your extension of stay (it is not a visa) from teaching to one based upon marriage. If not you would need to go out for a single entry non-o visa.

In order to do the change you will need a termination letter dated for the date you go to do the change.

If you need more time you could apply for a 60 day extension to visit your wife. You would need the termination letter to do this also.

I assume you mean a termination letter from my workplace?

I understand that we get extensions of stay, and i've been getting mine annually supported by my work permit. But surely these extensions are to my original visa?

I have found a list of requirements somewhere on thaivisa which state (from the translation) that i need a non-immigrant visa, it does not say if this should be an O or any other type, just non-imm. So i do assume my B will be okay. However i would understand if they said no, i needed an O, since i won't be on business any more.

Do you know ubonjoe about any grace period i may get? Do i need to visit immigration before my work permit is surrendered, or within seven days after it is surrendered?

I may take your advice and go see immigration, but this is not an attractive option living in chiang mai.

Hello, hoping for some friendly help…!

I've been working at a university in chiang mai for 11 years, about to finish working end of next week, so will lose my non-imm B visa which i annually renewed along with the work permit.

I am british, 51, live in chiang mai, and am legally wed. I am planning to extend my visa through my marriage now that my work permit will no longer support me.

I have had no help from my workplace yet, but i understand my visa will expire seven days after my work permit is surrendered, unless of course i apply for the marriage visa extension. I have had over 400k baht in my account for more than two months.

I'm wondering what documents i will need to take with me, and if anybody has gone through a similar experience. Am i also unplanned for anything unforeseen? Will something unexpected be awaiting me, based on the information i have given here?!

Many thanks.

I played the Royal this morning. Same situation, very nice! And agreed about the greens, so slow, very difficult to get used to. Too slow for a top course. Just means we will have to play more there while the festival deal is on. Such a nice drive there, great course, and like you say seemingly no-one on there. We never saw another golfer, but there were a few who slowly came into the 19th afterwards.

You don't have to go to Sentosa for the casino. You can go to the one at Marina Bay Sands (MBS). The Marina Bay area is centrally located and offers a vast variety of options. Late afternoon and early evening is a good time to go up to the Sky Park on top of Marina Bay Sands. Up there, you can enjoy the sunset and then the night skyline of the Central Business District (CBD). At 8pm every night, you can enjoy a free laser show in front of the steps of MBS facing the CBD. For local food, there is a food court in MBS or in the many food courts located in the shopping malls in the Marina Bay area.

To go to the Marina Bay area from the airport, just take a MRT train to Tenah Merah station and change to a west bound train to City Hall station. Then take a slow stroll to the bayside, either sub-terrain or above ground.

I hope you will enjoy your time there.

That all sounds like a good plan! I know that i can get a free bus into town, would that get me anywhere near MBS do you think? Years ago i went to Orchard Street i think it was called, from memory it was very long and i was on the eastern end. But i spent most of the time in a bar, and never really saw anything else! However, i'm more culturally atuned beyond beers these days...

Is MBS anywhere near Little India? And is that to be recommended? I like indian food for sure.

Thanks for the info.

Marina Bay Sands, their shopping center and their casino and if you want some nature add the Cloud forrest at Garden by the bay. Din Tai Fung for food.

Will Cloud forrest be any good after the daylight has finished?

I have 10 hours to while away between flights. I can get a shuttle bus into the city from the airport, but i have no idea where i could go or what i could do! It will be late afternoon and evening time. I'd like to get some nice street food for dinner, but other than that just wondering if posters have any good tips for me? I'm not averse at all to walking around and taking in the sights, so long as i'm in a good area for doing that.

Thanks for the quick reply joe. But, 'visit your wife' means what? Is that their jargon? I live here in chiang mai, have done for many years, and i live with my wife, so i have no need to visit her!

Just to complicate matters somewhat, i have maanged to get an online queue ticket for my visa extension, something akin to gold dust up here in chiang mai. I would lose that slot since i can't apply for a short extension like that through online queuing.

I have had one year visa extensions for over ten years based on my work permit. However i now wish to get out of my job meaning i will no longer have a work permit, and so will need to get my one year visas based on my marriage to my thai wife.

My understanding is that part of the requirements are to have 400k baht in my bank account prior to application of visa extension.

Well, i had over 400k for a while, now i've dipped below it, and will replenish next week some time. My visa extension is due on June 2nd. By the time my account rises above 400k again (to about one million), it will be in there less than the stipulated two months, but not far short of this time period.

I'm wondering if anybody has discovered that visa officers are able to be flexible enough to accept my situation?

Any ideas or personal experiences will help me lots! I can go down to my local immigration office to enquire, but it seems lots of knowledgeable people who speak my lingo are on this forum!

My other option is to delay leaving my job, but i really don't want to do that unless i have to! For reasons too complicated and boring to explain here.

Cheers.

I can understand a person with a serious case of cancer wanting to try anything to help himself, but I DO NOT understand posters on tv giving advice or encouraging one thing or another. Shameful !

Oh look, non-understanding comes from a lack of knowledge or information. And that is easily put right be doing the reading and research. Quite easy really.

That being said on both systems after trying an upgrade I ended up doing a clean install. The upgrade was hellish. Maybe I was just unlucky, corrupted download or whatever, but after the clean install both are running like a champ and stable as a rock.

Ouch, a clean install?? That sort of thing is what stops me upgrading things sometimes! What is it??

Thanks SJ, much to go on there. All in good time, but the bit's between my teeth for now.

What did you mean that iphotos own the photos and we do not? Does this explain why i can't seem to find the root files of my photos on my hard drive? Where the eff are they??! Surely they're on my disk? I don't have cloud or anything loaded.

smugmug was recommended me on the other thread, it looked good, but i will give picasa a try.

Thanks mate, it does help.

Regarding picasa… what do you mean by it provides a back-up? Is that a back-up in the clouds so to speak, ie a back-up off my hard drive? If so, are there any issues of security, having photos 'stolen' and stuff?

One thing i've not liked about iphoto is trying to find the actual files in 'finder'. I"ve just looked again, and everything i import from my camera directly i cannot find the file for! Even in 'all my files'. I can see folders and files for my photos i've imported from my laptop, but not from the camera. I can only see them when i open iphoto.

I shall investigate picasa!