Confused. Please clarify my visa question.

[CourtneyP]

I have tried to find an answer to my question through searching Google, YouTube, and even calling the Thai Embassy in Los Angeles, but I am still confused.

 

Here is my situation:

 

On September 16, 2019, my wife and I (46- and 52-years-old, respectively; American citizens) plan to travel to Thailand to work as unpaid volunteers for about two months (either 56 or 59 days, I think) teaching English to novice monks at a school near Chiang Mai. Although our return ticket is for November 11, we expect to leave the country for a couple of days every two or three weeks on our time off from teaching to explore other nearby areas (Myanmar, Laos, perhaps Cambodia).

 

I have received numerous pieces of confusing advice:

 

1) Just show up in Thailand, and make sure you leave the country at least every 29 days;

 

2) Get a 6-month tourist visa with multiple re-entries;

 

3) Get a 60-day tourist visa, which allows us to leave and return twice

 

4) Just arrive in Thailand and then pay for an extension to 60 days

 

5) Apply for a work visa, as even volunteers need to have one.

 

The 6-month tourist visa with multiple re-entries seemed like a safe bet, except for we’ll be volunteering at a school. On the other hand, it seemed that the volunteer visa (Type ‘O’, I think) only allows for a single entry, which wouldn’t seem to allow us to visit other countries during our stay in Thailand.

 

Thank you so much for any advice you can give me. I really appreciate your help.

 

Courtney

[BritTim]

To be fully legal, you ought to have a Non O visa for volunteer work. If you can get it, it will give you a 90-day stay in Thailand. You should pair this with a multiple entry re-entry permit. As said, this would make you 100% legal. As a practical matter, I doubt you will be able to get the documents you need to apply for the Non O visa.

 

You need to decide how much risk you are willing to take. Most likely, just using visa exempt entries (which give 30 days/29 nights for tourism) and quietly doing your volunteer work will not have any negative consequences. However, you should be aware that you could be arrested and deported for working (albeit unpaid) without a suitable visa/work permit.

[Tanoshi]

You should obtain a Non O Visa for voluntary work and a work permit.

The school should supply documents for your Visa application and apply for your work permit.

They are rarely prepared to do this due to their costs.

They are however happy for you to work illegally as you pay the consequences if caught.

 

You'll find more details on  http://www.thaidenver.com/

Non O Visa - voluntary work.

 

Should you mange to obtain a single entry Non O Visa, you can purchase a multiple re-entry permit from your local Immigration office in Thailand for 3,800baht.

This allows you to exit and re-enter keeping your permission of stay valid for the 90 day period

[CourtneyP]

Thank you for your replies. I appreciate it.

[phuketrichard]

dont do it without the proper visa,  not worth the headache