mark333

Yeah, a rushed marriage to a Thai woman just for a visa just when I've managed to save up a decent amount of money doesn't sound like a sensible idea.

I think basically it's one of these options:

1) stick around in the job that's going downhill fast

2) try for Covid extensions if they're still available when I quit

3) go for the NGO visa

And hope that travel restrictions start to ease. Once that happens, everything will be easier.

15 hours ago, arithai12 said:

You mention having money... Elite visa?

Also, why dismiss the pssibility of travelling? You don't say how long you need before 50, but if it's like a year or so, why not see the world a little? Not with Thailand as a base, re-entering with COE is no fun at the moment. But just travel away for a while. There are many countries that are quite safe, esp. if you are vaccinated. I would start from Guam, if you like sea and tropics. Or why not a grand tour through Europe, Iceland to Malta, Azores to Estonia, bit pricey but with so much to experience - esp. things you will not have easily once back to Thailand like culture, street life, history, natural parks.

I'm not dismissing travelling at all. I'd like to do that. But it's kind of difficult at the moment. And although I have enough money to live and travel in this part of the world, some of the additional costs and rules of travel right now make it a problem. I also have a newish car here, which I would like to keep. (I'm assuming this would be possible whatever visa I'm on, but if anyone has any info on keeping a car when on a tourist visa, please let me know.) I also have lots of other stuff that I've accumulated over the years.

Basically I do envisage using Thailand as a base, so I will rent a cheap place to store things here if I'm off travelling. I think though that it might be a number of months before overseas travel becomes easy enough to make it worth it.

I'm still 50/50 about staying on in the job for another six months. But there are reasons I'd like to quit now. Basically in the past we had a largely autonomous English department but recently we have been losing that autonomy to bureaucrats who are telling us what to do, changing our courses without consulting us etc. And many of the biggest changes will come into effect very soon. It is becoming genuinely stressful and all of our foreign staff are worried about the future. If it weren't for the Covid situation, I'd absolutely quit this year.

Thanks again for your replies.

Thanks for all the replies. It seems there isn't one simple option, so I'll just have to make a decision.

Although I've got enough money to live for a while without working, the Elite Visa is probably a little pricey.

As for the ED visa, I'd be perfectly happy to attend classes. My Thai is already pretty good, but I could do one-on-one advanced lessons, or study another language (there are several that are taught and all are accepted for the ED visa). The only issue is that I'd have to leave the country and come back to get a "legit" ED visa.

I think travel will become easier next year, so maybe I'll end up working a bit longer just for the visa until then. It's just that the work is doing my head in! A long break after so many years is what I need. I'll need to make a decision this month one way or another.

Thanks. I was told the "legit" ED visa required leaving the country and coming back. If I don't leave the country, the cost would be high and they wouldn't require me to go to school! So basically the same as an NGO visa, but pricier. I don't mind attending classes, but I don't want to be forced to leave the country while there are all sorts of rules and regulations in place (though at least I've been vaxed!)

I'm ready to leave my job as it's steadily becoming more and more stressful after many years there. I have enough money to live and not work and would like to stay in Thailand. I am not yet 50, so am not eligible for a retirement visa yet.

In normal times, I'd probably be happy to do a bit of international travel using Thailand as a base, using tourist visas. Clearly this is not an option during the pandemic, and I'd like to avoid leaving and coming back.

I've asked agents and schools about options. The "NGO" visa is possible, but sounds a bit dodgy. And when I talked to schools, their ED visa was basically the same kind of thing. If I don't leave the country and come back in, it's a dodgy visa with an unnamed school upcountry, not with the actual language school. These options are possible, but I'd be worried about future implications if they're not completely legit.

I could try the Covid extension, but that also has issues as I have been reading.

Perhaps the most obvious solution would be to stay at my job for at least six more months until hopefully travel will be easier. But I'd really prefer to quite in the next couple of months if there's an easy option. And I would like to spend a while without working at all, so I will not be looking for alternative employment.

Does anyone have any thoughts? Are these NGO visas a good way to go or is it best to try to avoid this route? Thanks for your help.

I returned to Bangkok today. I applied for the papers yesterday, just in case. It was pretty easy, but still quite a hassle to get to the Banglamung District Office and of course you have to queue up with lots of people.

I went back via the motorway and, no real surprise, there was no sign of any checkpoints and nobody asked for my papers. But of course things may change over the next few days. The route I took was Central Pattaya Road, Sukhumvit Road and straight onto Route 7.