What are my best options? Looking for advice

[rapidwtr]

I am from the US and am currently on a Volunteer Visa.  I came over to get experience working with a great NGO up north with the possibility of working there or with a different NGO.  I have a couple more months until my visa expires. 

 

I've realized that I would rather free lance as grant and proposal writer for non-profits than to work in an office locally.  I want to stay here another year.  How do I do this?  I know there are options up here in CM like the hand-to-hand combat school and a one year ED Visa.  I was also thinking about back to back tourist visa's + extensions that would get me six months.

 

From reading through a lot of the threads in here, I am a little confused because some people have mentioned a limit on being in Thailand for no more than one year.  So would a volunteer visa followed up by an ed visa be out of the question?  Wondering about the difficulties of back to back tourist visas after a year volunteer visa would be too...

 

I appreciate any insight here...  thank you! ???? 

 

 

[DrJack54]

Age?

 

[rapidwtr]

43

[DrJack54]

22 minutes ago, rapidwtr said:

43

Just asked to see how close to 50.

As you would be aware, when 50+ you can obtain non O retirement and have ongoing extensions.

 

Many folk under 50 use creative ways to live in Thailand.

Using tourist visas and visa exempt entries is possible.

Don't listen about  "too much about maximum number of days etc."

Most of that is rubbish.

Entries visa exempt via air have no limit however immigration can eventually refuse entry.

Entry via land borders visa exempt are limit 2 per calendar year. 

Each entry can be extended by 30 days.

If in your own country (your not) you can obtain METV. That visa gives you up to 90 day stay.

If prepared to live for periods in other countries such as Vietnam then options increase. 

[rapidwtr]

5 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

Just asked to see how close to 50.

As you would be aware, when 50+ you can obtain non O retirement and have ongoing extensions.

 

Many folk under 50 use creative ways to live in Thailand.

Using tourist visas and visa exempt entries is possible.

Don't listing too much about maximum number of days etc. 

Most of that is rubbish.

Entries visa exempt via air have no limit however immigration can eventually refuse entry.

Entry via land borders visa exempt are limit 2 per calendar year. 

Each entry can be extended by 30 days.

If in your own country (your not) you can obtain METV. That visa gives you up to 90 day stay.

If prepared to live for periods in other countries such as Vietnam then options increase. 

thanks so much, I really appreciate your detailed response.

 

So it sounds like getting an ED Visa after my Volunteer visa would not be a problem.

 

What about back to back SETV that I could get from visa runs when say, KL opens up? How many of these can one get away with back to back?

[Mikeheo]

There's no maximum stay, if you've never had an ed visa before, you can easily sign up with a language school who can get you a 9 month to 1 year visa, if you've had one before, you can go through an agent to get one for 1 year for about 40-50k. Process usually takes around 3-5 weeks.

[DrJack54]

1 minute ago, rapidwtr said:

What about back to back SETV that I could get from visa runs when say, KL opens up? How many of these can one get away with back to back?

That's a two edged sword.

Some consulates put a limit on SETV. For example pre covid Phnom Penh had limit of 2. (not 100% on that) but there were limits imposed.

Also on reentry some folk were having issues. In particular at DMK also BKK. 

Some people were spending couple of days out of Thailand and re-enter. 

 

 

[problemfarang]

few options here

-you can get marry if you are ready ???? 

-you can get ED visa. This will also help your writings.. what i mean is with ED visa you will learn a new language (if you cannot speak thai or read) plus a culture. these will improve you a lot im sure.

-to get a work which you said you dont want but really it is actually the easiest. You can also get money and continue your writings. i would think about this. 

-dont do that self defence and likewise things. no reason i just dont suggest. it sounds like its not you.

as you are surely aware that you cannot keep staying here with kind of tourist visas. soon or later they will stop your stamps because they will relize that you are trying to live here.

 

good luck with your decision

[problemfarang]

2 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

For example pre covid Phnom Penh had limit of 2. (not 100% on that) but there were limits imposed.

i think this is true. they are really hunting people trying to stay in thailand with tourist and likewise visas. 

[Phillip9]

8 minutes ago, Mikeheo said:

There's no maximum stay, if you've never had an ed visa before, you can easily sign up with a language school who can get you a 9 month to 1 year visa, if you've had one before, you can go through an agent to get one for 1 year for about 40-50k. Process usually takes around 3-5 weeks.

With an ED visa at a non formal school (language school for example), you can stay a maximum of one year from your original date of entry into the country.  That limit doesn't apply if you attend a university.

[Mikeheo]

2 minutes ago, Phillip9 said:

With an ED visa at a non formal school (language school for example), you can stay a maximum of one year from your original date of entry into the country.  That limit doesn't apply if you attend a university.

Yep exactly, but if you have had an ed visa before, you cannot get another, even with a new passport. At least unassisted for informal schools.

[DrJack54]

3 minutes ago, problemfarang said:

i think this is true. they are really hunting people trying to stay in thailand with tourist and likewise visas. 

True.

Bit easy for me having first lived here when over 50.

Your other post had some good advice.

Bit unrelated but what surprises me is with many folk wanting to live in S.E.A they don't consider using Thailand as main base and spend time in surrounding countries.

Vietnam being my go to if under 50.

The main issues with repeat entries using tv, visa exempt etc is the Timeframe between exit and return.

Even now threads about visa runs to Phnom Penh. 

The few reports have folk returning after couple of days. 

Stamps showing (in some cases) ongoing stay in Thailand. 

[rapidwtr]

9 minutes ago, Mikeheo said:

Yep exactly, but if you have had an ed visa before, you cannot get another, even with a new passport. At least unassisted for informal schools.

Ok so I have had an ED visa in Thailand before, for all of 2019.  It was with a language school.  I also had a volunteer visa in 2016 when I volunteered at a school.

[Mikeheo]

2 minutes ago, rapidwtr said:

Ok so I have had an ED visa in Thailand before, for all of 2019.  It was with a language school.  I also had a volunteer visa in 2016 when I volunteered at a school.

Getting another will be hard then, unless you want to go the university route, which is certainly nowhere near as flexible as the language school route. An agent can get you another 1 year ed extension for about 40-50k but you have to give adequate time, and it might cause issues for you in the future about further extensions or leaving and coming back into the country with your current passport.

[rapidwtr]

25 minutes ago, problemfarang said:

few options here

-you can get marry if you are ready ???? 

-you can get ED visa. This will also help your writings.. what i mean is with ED visa you will learn a new language (if you cannot speak thai or read) plus a culture. these will improve you a lot im sure.

-to get a work which you said you dont want but really it is actually the easiest. You can also get money and continue your writings. i would think about this. 

-dont do that self defence and likewise things. no reason i just dont suggest. it sounds like its not you.

as you are surely aware that you cannot keep staying here with kind of tourist visas. soon or later they will stop your stamps because they will relize that you are trying to live here.

 

good luck with your decision

thank you so much for your thoughtful reply, I really appreciate it! ????

 

for the sake of keeping my original post short, I did not include my backstory of living here off an on for the past several years.  I have volunteered at schools in the past through volunteer visas and I took a year of Thai in 2019, loved it and had an ED visa.

 

I was stuck for almost 2 years back in the US during covid.  During that time I realized I wanted to use my years of business experience but in the non-profit world.  I decided to return to Thailand to volunteer with one of the best non-profits here to transition into the non-profit world.

 

To be honest, I can make a lot more money and make a much larger impact as a freelance grant writer than I can in an office in Thailand.  So now I am trying to find the right solution to get this new career off the ground and to start it in thailand.  Hope this makes sense ????  Thanks again

[DrJack54]

OP, just an after thought.

Hasn't been suggested thus far (?)

You could look into visa based on investment (financial) in Thailand.

Apart from that ...why not purchase a PE (elite visa). 

The 10 year option would have you covered. 

However any work would need to be incognito. 

[problemfarang]

36 minutes ago, rapidwtr said:

thank you so much for your thoughtful reply, I really appreciate it! ????

 

for the sake of keeping my original post short, I did not include my backstory of living here off an on for the past several years.  I have volunteered at schools in the past through volunteer visas and I took a year of Thai in 2019, loved it and had an ED visa.

 

I was stuck for almost 2 years back in the US during covid.  During that time I realized I wanted to use my years of business experience but in the non-profit world.  I decided to return to Thailand to volunteer with one of the best non-profits here to transition into the non-profit world.

 

To be honest, I can make a lot more money and make a much larger impact as a freelance grant writer than I can in an office in Thailand.  So now I am trying to find the right solution to get this new career off the ground and to start it in thailand.  Hope this makes sense ????  Thanks again

Then i would go for marriage. 

Sadly i dont think you have much options. Or university or master, phd degree. 

 

[DrJack54]

5 minutes ago, problemfarang said:

Then i would go for marriage

You make "marriage" sound like going to 7/11 for a coke.

Don't think OP even mentioned a gf. 

 

[BritTim]

1 hour ago, rapidwtr said:

What about back to back SETV that I could get from visa runs when say, KL opens up? How many of these can one get away with back to back?

Pre Covid, every consulate had its own limits on tourist visas. Every single consulate had limits, based on the number of tourist visas from that particular consulate, or total tourist visas within a particular period of time from anywhere. Some consulates had a nasty habit of placing a visa in your passport and then cancelling it. That made getting fresh tourist visas very difficult anywhere in the region until you changed to a new passport.

 

It is anyone's guess how easy it will be to stay on a combination of tourist visas and visa exempt entries in the near future. With care, 12 months should be possible, but only by carefully researching good embassies to use, as well as avoiding strict entry points when returning to Thailand. I would not count on much more than a year if the steady tighting of rules on long term tourists picks up from where it left off in 2019.

[problemfarang]

1 hour ago, DrJack54 said:

You make "marriage" sound like going to 7/11 for a coke.

Don't think OP even mentioned a gf. 

 

I just gave him options. He also didnt mention about his previous ED visa. So, maybe he has a girlfriend not mentioned yet. He asked his options and i told him what i can think of. This is also an idea for the future too... 

[DrJack54]

2 minutes ago, problemfarang said:

I just gave him options. He also didnt mention about his previous ED visa. So, maybe he has a girlfriend not mentioned yet. He asked his options and i told him what i can think of.

Whatever.

Can't imagine anyone not being aware that marriage to a Thai national provides non O based on marriage and ongoing extensions.

Ta for valuable input. 

[Chris.B]

1 hour ago, DrJack54 said:

Whatever.

Can't imagine anyone not being aware that marriage to a Thai national provides non O based on marriage and ongoing extensions.

Ta for valuable input. 

I can imagine that. ????

[DrJack54]

12 minutes ago, Chris.B said:

I can imagine that. ????

So your stating that you are unaware of visa options for married to Thai national?

You living under a rock? 

Please post facts. 

[Cletus]

5 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

Just asked to see how close to 50.

As you would be aware, when 50+ you can obtain non O retirement and have ongoing extensions.

 

 

Being 50+ is not enough, you forgot the most important thing, that is 800k thb in a Thai bank!

[Cletus]

5 hours ago, Mikeheo said:

Yep exactly, but if you have had an ed visa before, you cannot get another, even with a new passport. At least unassisted for informal schools.

May I ask you where did you get this rule? Is it something official? I do not think so.

[Mikeheo]

11 minutes ago, Cletus said:

May I ask you where did you get this rule? Is it something official? I do not think so.

Any language school you go to will tell you the exact same thing. They warn you before starting the enrollment process, even if you've had an ED visa in a previous passport, you cannot get a second. Immigration will tell you the same thing.

[Cletus]

1 hour ago, Mikeheo said:

Any language school you go to will tell you the exact same thing. They warn you before starting the enrollment process, even if you've had an ED visa in a previous passport, you cannot get a second. Immigration will tell you the same thing.

So for example, if you're studying the Thai language, you're supposed to go through beginner, intermediate, advanced, learning to read and write in just one year?! Wow I imagine that to be almost impossible. I've actually heard of people getting more than just one time ED visa, moreover, at the moment some schools are offering legit all inclusive package for studying the language, without the need to leave Thailand for the conversion tourist/exempt to NON O, clearly with some kind of arrangement with Immigration.

[DrJack54]

6 hours ago, Cletus said:

Being 50+ is not enough, you forgot the most important thing, that is 800k thb in a Thai bank!

Agent. 

[rapidwtr]

11 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

OP, just an after thought.

Hasn't been suggested thus far (?)

You could look into visa based on investment (financial) in Thailand.

Apart from that ...why not purchase a PE (elite visa). 

The 10 year option would have you covered. 

However any work would need to be incognito. 

thanks for this suggestion.  For now I am just looking for one more year once my current visa expires and this could include a month or two outside of Thailand before returning.  My long term vision is to get a retirement visa at 50.  Until then, I would like to experience living in other SE Asian countries...

[rapidwtr]

9 hours ago, problemfarang said:

I just gave him options. He also didnt mention about his previous ED visa. So, maybe he has a girlfriend not mentioned yet. He asked his options and i told him what i can think of. This is also an idea for the future too... 

I prefer the single life for now.  I was married at 25, divorced at 27 and thoroughly enjoy the single life in Thailand ????  I am a big fan of no strings attached and simplicity.  Thai visas...not so simple tho lol