Questions About Canadian S-e 90 Days Non-i And Internet Work

[HoudWarZ]

Hello all

I'll introduce myself as I'm a newbie poster on this forum, although I've been reading probably more than 50 topics. I'm 23 years old, from Canada, have Thai girlfriend living in thailand same age as I. It's many months now almost 8 we are saving money (or at least trying !) since the last time we stay together (30/30 days stamp on arrival) and now we are getting desperate to get to living together there in Thailand.

The purpose of this post is mostly to make sure my understanding is good and what better options and advices you could have for me.

Single Entry 90 Days Non-Immigrant Visa and the Visa Runs

Royal Thai Embassy and Consulates here in Canada won't issue me a multiple entry 90 days non-immigrant visa unless it would be for business associates and investors, family emergency, working in The Kingdom for an abroad company providing the work permit ... whatever but girlfriend.

After phoning and emailing here and there to the 4 thai embassy/consulates here in Canada, the only option they were giving me is a single entry 90 days non-immigrant visa, from which I could renew it for up to 1 year, a "letter of motivation" (could be another name in english, it's from a translation) explaining I have girlfriend and blablabla and providing the funds which I believe is the 40k THB / month or 400k THB / year, AFTER getting the marriage papers done ?

My question is, is it possible from the single entry 90 days non-immigrant visa to do the visa runs and get new 90 days non-immigrant visas in Laos, Malaysia, Cambodia, etc. that would give me the privilege to stay there with her for several months, at least 1 year to stabilise everything there ? Would it be of great help for the visa renewals to have the marriage certificate, or it doesn't really matter ? We would both prefer to get the papers when we are ready to get married, not only for the papers ... Doing the visa runs would also let us live together without the requirement to marry for the papers and worry about the monthly incomes, which could sometimes be a problem in the first few months.

Internet Web Sites

My second question is about the laws there and the work permits. I'll be giving birth to a Web application in a few months on my own from my little business I have here in Canada. I'm wondering if it would actually be legal or illegal to program from home there in Thailand ? From my understanding, I would not steal the job of any thai, I would not do business in Thailand, only thing I would do is bring money in the country for spending there. From that point of view I would bet you most of you agree with me but is anyone here knows enough to tell me I'm right or not according to the Thai laws, so I could tell how I get my money if they care for a visa renew ?

Sorry if that question is a bit picky, but I've been asking again and again to the embassy and consultates here in Canada about that question but only answer I got is "give a call somewhere else in that Babel's tower" , that is in my words, in their words was "try contacting to other consulate in Toronto/Montreal/Vancouver/Ottawa, they should be able to help you" everytimes. Thank You ! . lol

I'm not sure if my understanding about this all is clean & clear, it's why I'm writing here now ... later, when I will have more knowlegde and personal experiences about it I could post and give my 2 cents for what I know to other people, but I'm not yet at this point . I hope someone can validate or correct my understandings and even give me advices would be kindly appreciated !

Regards to all, hope that topic could help some other young people in the same situation !

Edited July 24, 2007 by HoudWarZ

[Lite Beer]

Just one point . After you are married you would need 40,000 A month income. You can no longer use the 400,000 Baht in the bank.

[lopburi3]

1. Extension of stay requires marriage and 40k family income per month as proven by tax returns for at least three months.

2. You will not receive a non immigrant visa without employment or marriage in the area.

3. You can not work in Thailand without a work permit. That would require a company or being hired by a company type situation. Although your plan is not likely to be noticed it will not provide para 1 option to extend your stay.

4. At your age I would suggest looking at her moving to your country unless she have very good employment here. It appears you have known each other only eight months and that is not a very long time to be making a decision that will effect the rest of your life. Your earning options in Thailand are very limited and if you move your business here you may find you have moved out of competition. I may be wrong but please be very careful.

5. Without ability to extend stay the best you can do, after marriage, is apply for multi entry one year non immigrant O visas. That allows stays of up to 90 days between exits of the country (you can immediately return). Although they are not available at all Consulates.

[HoudWarZ]

hi, thanks for answers ... even if it may sound disappointing answers

How about the single entry 90 days non-immigrant ... any possibility to do the visa runs and get new same visas again and again ?

[lopburi3]

If you are married yes. But not a good way to live as it could change at any time.

[HoudWarZ]

yeah I know it's not a good option but the options are very limited ... but yes we plan on me finding a good job there later or maybe do something about my application, like "investing" there following the business rules there and all.

So unless I can get a multiple entry 90 days, my only chance is to make the visa runs and cross my fingers every times I understand ?

[lopburi3]

So far it has not been a problem so finger crossing may not be required.

[HoudWarZ]

ok

Thanks a lot lopburi3 and Lite Beer

[HoudWarZ]

ohhhh one last question

Any tips on questions they like to ask when you go for a visa run, at the consulates in Laos for example ? and key answers ?

[ParadiseLost]

You may want to consider a 'safer' option; back to back tourist visas will give you effectively 6 months in the country (with 2 30 day extensions).

Your means of income is then not important, you have the same rights/status in the country, and you can take some time to decide if this is really what you want (with regards to both life style and marriage)...

Tourist visa are available in neighbouring countries, so you could easily spend a year out here before marrying and applying for Non-o.

I have done exactly this myself. No regrets, love Thailand and could not think of living anywhere else.

Good luck and step carefully!

[t.s]

yeah I know it's not a good option but the options are very limited ... but yes we plan on me finding a good job there later or maybe do something about my application, like "investing" there following the business rules there and all.

So unless I can get a multiple entry 90 days, my only chance is to make the visa runs and cross my fingers every times I understand ?

is that plan or a dream?

easier said than done, though i know many who have succeeded, i know more who have failed miserably.

[HoudWarZ]

You may want to consider a 'safer' option; back to back tourist visas will give you effectively 6 months in the country (with 2 30 day extensions).

Your means of income is then not important, you have the same rights/status in the country, and you can take some time to decide if this is really what you want (with regards to both life style and marriage)...

Tourist visa are available in neighbouring countries, so you could easily spend a year out here before marrying and applying for Non-o.

I have done exactly this myself. No regrets, love Thailand and could not think of living anywhere else.

Good luck and step carefully!

Thank you for confirming what I've been reading on another post from another Canadian, Danielle (freelance writer). It's what I was going to go for after thinking back about the visa runs and personal experiences I have been reading here and there in the posts on this forum. That means probably tomorrow or firday my documents will be mailed to the consulate for applying the 2 x tourist 60+30 and later will do the visa runs, even maybe I could just go to the Canadian Embassy in Bangkok and ask for a new 2 x tourist 60+30 . that would be very easy that way .. probably too easy to be real . . But it will give us many options for some lovers "weekend" trips going to Laos, Cambodia .

Wish anyone have things to let me know that will blow my bubble !

is that plan or a dream?

easier said than done, though i know many who have succeeded, i know more who have failed miserably.

T.S: You are very right about that ...

Let's say it's dream for now, for the best, but with my good experience in Web development and Home and Business Networking Cisco Certified, I believe I could get something with that ? That is only the future than can prove me right or wrong about that and a bit of luck ...

Edited July 24, 2007 by HoudWarZ

[ParadiseLost]

One point - you would still need to do 1 visa run after your first tourist visa (+ extension) expires... The longest you are permitted to stay in the country is 90 days.

Edit: Another important point - the Canadian Embassy cannot help with visas, you can only obtain a visa outside the country.

Edited July 25, 2007 by ParadiseLost

[bkk_mike]

I took advice on this a few years ago before I moved here. (I telecommute to a job in London).

Immigration have no issues with you working remotely for a company abroad without a work permit, so long as you have absolutely NOTHING to do with any Thai office, Thai company, etc.

Obviously, that's assuming you're not applying for a non-imm 'B' visa - where the extension requires a work permit.

And I also think it's a bit darker grey if you're here on a tourist visa, as you wouldn't be a tourist.

(My wife is Thai, so I'm on a non-imm 'O').

P.S. Before someone says you need a work permit to work remotely - I know lots of business people who log back into the office when they're here on holiday. - If Thailand was to even suggest that someone logging back into their office abroad needs a work permit they'd kill quite a bit of high-end tourism. (The people who, when on holiday, still log in to the office, are usually not the ones at the bottom of the hierarchy.)

Edited July 25, 2007 by bkk_mike

[lopburi3]

you need a work permit to work remotely

You are not likely to be found out but you need a work permit to work. Immigration has nothing to do with work.

[bkk_mike]

you need a work permit to work remotely

You are not likely to be found out but you need a work permit to work. Immigration has nothing to do with work.

Immigration doesn't care - if you're not on a non-imm 'B'.

And you con't apply for a work permit for a job outside Thailand. There is no way to apply for it. - Look at the work permit application form.

It was an immigration lawyer I talked to, and it was 7 years ago now, but I was told outright I did not need a work permit for a job in London, working for a company in the UK, being paid in London.

[danmtl]

I am also a Canadian living here and as a writter said to you see below

4. At your age I would suggest looking at her moving to your country unless she have very good employment here. It appears you have known each other only eight months and that is not a very long time to be making a decision that will effect the rest of your life. Your earning options in Thailand are very limited and if you move your business here you may find you have moved out of competition. I may be wrong but please be very careful.

I strongly suggest to you not to come live here with a Thai lady they can be very demanding and controling as a friend of mone told me here you need to marry 3 Thai lady before you meet a good one

Get her to canada this way she will not be a power position like she will be here with her family asking for money every two minutes draw the line sign a pre nuptial agreement first specially if you marry her there Visa to canada take time and you need to qualify and her also

You are young take your time . their is a lot of water under the bridge establish yourself first then you can look at marrying and stay here myself i am moving out difficult to work here mentality is very different and THAI in general do not trust foreigner so be very careful on what you will do my email is [email protected]

Cheers

Hello all

I'll introduce myself as I'm a newbie poster on this forum, although I've been reading probably more than 50 topics. I'm 23 years old, from Canada, have Thai girlfriend living in thailand same age as I. It's many months now almost 8 we are saving money (or at least trying !) since the last time we stay together (30/30 days stamp on arrival) and now we are getting desperate to get to living together there in Thailand.

The purpose of this post is mostly to make sure my understanding is good and what better options and advices you could have for me.

Single Entry 90 Days Non-Immigrant Visa and the Visa Runs

Royal Thai Embassy and Consulates here in Canada won't issue me a multiple entry 90 days non-immigrant visa unless it would be for business associates and investors, family emergency, working in The Kingdom for an abroad company providing the work permit ... whatever but girlfriend.

After phoning and emailing here and there to the 4 thai embassy/consulates here in Canada, the only option they were giving me is a single entry 90 days non-immigrant visa, from which I could renew it for up to 1 year, a "letter of motivation" (could be another name in english, it's from a translation) explaining I have girlfriend and blablabla and providing the funds which I believe is the 40k THB / month or 400k THB / year, AFTER getting the marriage papers done ?

My question is, is it possible from the single entry 90 days non-immigrant visa to do the visa runs and get new 90 days non-immigrant visas in Laos, Malaysia, Cambodia, etc. that would give me the privilege to stay there with her for several months, at least 1 year to stabilise everything there ? Would it be of great help for the visa renewals to have the marriage certificate, or it doesn't really matter ? We would both prefer to get the papers when we are ready to get married, not only for the papers ... Doing the visa runs would also let us live together without the requirement to marry for the papers and worry about the monthly incomes, which could sometimes be a problem in the first few months.

Internet Web Sites

My second question is about the laws there and the work permits. I'll be giving birth to a Web application in a few months on my own from my little business I have here in Canada. I'm wondering if it would actually be legal or illegal to program from home there in Thailand ? From my understanding, I would not steal the job of any thai, I would not do business in Thailand, only thing I would do is bring money in the country for spending there. From that point of view I would bet you most of you agree with me but is anyone here knows enough to tell me I'm right or not according to the Thai laws, so I could tell how I get my money if they care for a visa renew ?

Sorry if that question is a bit picky, but I've been asking again and again to the embassy and consultates here in Canada about that question but only answer I got is "give a call somewhere else in that Babel's tower" , that is in my words, in their words was "try contacting to other consulate in Toronto/Montreal/Vancouver/Ottawa, they should be able to help you" everytimes. Thank You ! . lol

I'm not sure if my understanding about this all is clean & clear, it's why I'm writing here now ... later, when I will have more knowlegde and personal experiences about it I could post and give my 2 cents for what I know to other people, but I'm not yet at this point . I hope someone can validate or correct my understandings and even give me advices would be kindly appreciated !

Regards to all, hope that topic could help some other young people in the same situation !

[BCMike]

...That means probably tomorrow or firday my documents will be mailed to the consulate for applying the 2 x tourist 60+30 and later will do the visa runs, even maybe I could just go to the Canadian Embassy in Bangkok and ask for a new 2 x tourist 60+30 . that would be very easy that way .. probably too easy to be real . . But it will give us many options for some lovers "weekend" trips going to Laos, Cambodia .

Maybe too late if you've already mailed your docs in, but why don't you try for a 3x tourist 60 day visa? Unless things have changed recently, I had no trouble obtaining a 3 x tourist visa in Vancouver in April 2007. This would give you up to 9 months with extensions. This has worked fine for me so far, I am living with my Canadian girlfriend who is working in Bangkok and has a work visa.

[HoudWarZ]

Many thanks to all of you guys ! I think I will owe you some beers on a visa run to Laos

For the money thing, yes that I know, too many bad experiences happened to too many people ... you will say it's my girlfriend so I would never think that of her, but yes she already have to send money to her parents. She knows I'm not the old rich western that most thai girls are looking to marry for $$$ - one problem solved. She is already managing to live by her own, I only helped her a few times when she had a bad month but for the rest she is doing fine now, I have some spare money to go there but she knows we will have to live from her money for the first few months that I will be there, giving me the time to born my application I already began (I have someone here in Canada working on the project too and already pre-selling the application to clients, creating the interest in it, she is good at it, I'm not worry, it's not the first job I do with that woman). Really I think I'm lucky for that part, my gf is not the greedy kind and already has her job to manage what she has to pay, and she and I don't want to marry fast like the money girls want to do like marry 1 week after first meet ... we want to wait at least 1 year and see.

We know each other for only 8 months, true, not been living together long time yet (1 1/2 month total), but where is the difference ... people here in Canada meet and 1 month later they move in together ... lol . We are both talking everyday a lot on MSN so ... I understand from a long time ago that it could "###### up" everything but I belive I'm no going that blind ... maybe some of you could have another opinion, it's your right of thinking

BKK_mike, that confirms what I've been reading here and there ... as long as you have nothing to do with Thai people and businesses, you are Ok.

BCMike, big THANK for the info, I didn't send the papers yet, I was very busy with work driving here and there and couldnt go the post office on time to send it but they are going tomorrow, monday, for sure ... I will make a little modification to the form, changing 2 for "2, or 3 better if possible"