Best option after two back-to-back SETVs?

[Ryval]

Hello Everyone,

I’m having some difficulty planning my next moves to stay in Thailand so I’d appreciate some advice from you more experienced expats.  

 

I started traveling overland beginning from Mongolia in January 2019 and first got into Thailand (visa-free) from Cambodia at the end of May.

My travel plans got derailed when my passport got water damaged while camping on Doi Inthanon so I went back to Bangkok for a new passport and got a 30-day extension while I was at the immigration office to get a new stamp.

Since then, I’ve had two back-to-back single entry tourist visas from Penang with 30 day extensions and the current extension is up in late January.

I really like it here and I’d like to stay much longer but I’m not sure what my best options are at this point. 

 

I’m 36, Canadian, and living with my Thai girlfriend in Samut Sakhon province.  I don’t plan to travel back to Canada any time soon so I’ll need to rely on visa issued by nearby consulates instead.

I‘m unemployed at the moment and I’ve been having a really difficult time trying to land a local or remote job as an IT consultant/network engineer.  I mention that because I do want to find a job soon.  I prefer to work remotely for a North American company but I’m willing to work around Bangkok as well, if a permit is part of the deal and the pay is decent enough for me to put up with the commute.

I can’t rally expect to land a job in Thailand before the extension is up and I’m guessing a third attempt at a tourist visa will be unsuccessful, so what visa should I try for in January?

[DrJack54]

Soon it's 2020. You can obtain 2 border exempt entries via land and extend each. Not a solution but buys you 4 months. Before you use those you could try fly into CNX. Good chance you would obtain 30 day visa exempt. Do that before the ve border entries. A possible 6 month.

[spiekerjozef]

Elite visa or ED-visa are options

[mockingbird]

OP,  why would a Thai based company go to the trouble and expense of hiring you?

I'm not being nasty about it,  but you'd really have to bring something extra to the table for that to happen.

The fact that you're in a relatively 10 a penny I.T. Profession (network engineering) means you're only hope is to get remote based work from your home country.

 

With 2 back to back tourist visas,  you'll struggle to get another one in the region.  

 

So,  you can do 2 land border runs, extended,  to give you 4 months,  or get an education Visa (not particularly cheap).

 

Of course,  if you can afford the 500000 baht cost,  an elite visa will give you 5 hassle free years. 

[Ryval]

1 hour ago, mockingbird said:

OP,  why would a Thai based company go to the trouble and expense of hiring you?

I'm not being nasty about it,  but you'd really have to bring something extra to the table for that to happen.

The fact that you're in a relatively 10 a penny I.T. Profession (network engineering) means you're only hope is to get remote based work from your home country.

 

I hold plenty of vendor certifications and some specialized skills but I'm not going to hold my breath for an IT job in Thailand.  I'm mostly focusing my efforts on landing a remote Canadian job but there's not much interest in remote employment back home.

 

Yeah, I was thinking the elite was one of my better options but it's above my budget at the moment. I still have a train ticket to Pedang Besar in January so two land border runs would at least give me a bit more time to find a more permanent solution.

 

I'll have to look into the ED visa option a bit more as well to see if that makes more sense.  Thanks for the tips.

 

[BritTim]

I do not recommend flying into Thailand for a visa exempt entry using any airport.

 

Getting a further tourist visa may be possible at some consulates. You must avoid Vientiane, Savannakhet, Phnom Penh and Penang (I think). My personal choice would be to fly to Yangon, get a tourist visa there, and return overland to Thailand (overnight VIP bus to Myawaddy, crossing to Maesot in Thailand), If denied a tourist visa in Yangon, you can still enter Thailand visa exempt by land.

 

In general, I would recommend you use those land based visa exempt entries as your insurance policy, and do not use them except in an emergency when attempts to get visas fail.

[Peter Denis]

How serious is your relationship with your thai girlfriend?

For sure I am not suggesting marriage just to be able to stay in Thailand, but If you already foresee to marry her in near future, you could consider doing that earlier and that would solve all your immigration-troubles. 

After having married her, you could then e.g. apply for a 1 year Multi-Entry Non Imm O Visa based on marriage in Savannakhet, Laos.  That application does not require any financials (except the 5.000 THB for the Visa) and will provide you almost 15 months stay in Thailand (and can be extended with 2 more months).  Only minor drawback being that you would have to do border-hops every 90 days, as the permission to stay is limited to 90 days on each entry.

Happy Xmas days!

[Ryval]

23 hours ago, BritTim said:

I do not recommend flying into Thailand for a visa exempt entry using any airport.

Thanks for the advice on Yangon.  I haven't been to Myanmar yet so that sounds like a nice place to hop to next.  I prefer traveling overland for a more scenic experience so I'll avoid the airports if I can.

 

7 hours ago, Peter Denis said:

How serious is your relationship with your thai girlfriend?

For sure I am not suggesting marriage just to be able to stay in Thailand, but If you already foresee to marry her in near future, you could consider doing that earlier and that would solve all your immigration-troubles. 

While I can definitely see myself marrying this girl, I'm not ready to take that step yet.

It's good to know that is an available option though and if there really aren't any financial stipulations on that route then it may be a good option in the near-ish future.

 

And Merry Xmas to you too ????