Visa help - what are my options?

[KieranM]

Hi there,

 

My fiancé and I are moving to Bangkok in July as she has secured a teaching position at an international school. They are sponsoring her visa and work permit.

 

I am currently job hunting myself but it is possible/likely I may need to move out with her before I manage to secure a job and therefore a work and business visa/work permit.

 

What is the approach in this scenario? Do I need to apply for a tourist visa and hope to secure something within the 60 days?

 

My background is government and NGO work, so I wouldn't be eligible for any technical specialist routes.

 

We are not yet married as we were planning to do so once in Thailand. Are there significant benefits to us marrying before we leave to help secure a spousal visa route for example?

 

We've struggled to get a clear picture from the official e-visa website and would welcome any advice from more experienced hands!

 

Many thanks,

Kieran.

 

 

[ChaiyaTH]

Apply ngo jobs and continue be a sucker lol (im not a fan).

 

In terms of getting married and her having xyz job, wouldnt it be the school to ask, instead of random people who are unaware of xyz details? 
 

The questions kind of confirm why i dislike ngo and gov workers lol.

 

In case is is next: no i dont know quiz nights or vegan places.

Edited March 19 by ChaiyaTH

[KieranM]

@ChaiyaTH Thanks very much for taking the time to reply.

 

As you'd expect, we are in dialogue with the school and other parties about options. I came across this forum while researching and it seemed like a really helpful resource of knowledgeable people who might have some helpful insight based on their own experience.

 

All the best.

 

[JimTripper]

Jobs are hard to come by (other then teaching) for foreigners here.

[khunPer]

21 hours ago, KieranM said:

Hi there,

 

My fiancé and I are moving to Bangkok in July as she has secured a teaching position at an international school. They are sponsoring her visa and work permit.

 

I am currently job hunting myself but it is possible/likely I may need to move out with her before I manage to secure a job and therefore a work and business visa/work permit.

 

What is the approach in this scenario? Do I need to apply for a tourist visa and hope to secure something within the 60 days?

 

My background is government and NGO work, so I wouldn't be eligible for any technical specialist routes.

 

We are not yet married as we were planning to do so once in Thailand. Are there significant benefits to us marrying before we leave to help secure a spousal visa route for example?

 

We've struggled to get a clear picture from the official e-visa website and would welcome any advice from more experienced hands!

 

Many thanks,

Kieran.

You can apply for a 60 days tourist visa and in Thailand apply for a 30 days extension of stay, which gives you a total of 90 days.

 

If you apply for METV – Multiple Entry Tourist Visa – you can take a short trip to a neighboring country after 60 or 90 days in Thailand and return to a new 60 days entry and a 30 days extension. That can give a total of 180 days with one re-entry.

 

It's my understanding that when you find a job you'll need to apply for a non-immigrant B-visa abroad and re-enter on that visa. I'm not sure if you can change from a tourist visa to non-B visa inside Thailand; perhaps others can answer that or you can find a thread in the forum with answer.

[Freddy42OZ]

On 3/20/2024 at 3:36 AM, KieranM said:

Hi there,

 

My fiancé and I are moving to Bangkok in July as she has secured a teaching position at an international school. They are sponsoring her visa and work permit.

 

I am currently job hunting myself but it is possible/likely I may need to move out with her before I manage to secure a job and therefore a work and business visa/work permit.

 

What is the approach in this scenario? Do I need to apply for a tourist visa and hope to secure something within the 60 days?

 

My background is government and NGO work, so I wouldn't be eligible for any technical specialist routes.

 

We are not yet married as we were planning to do so once in Thailand. Are there significant benefits to us marrying before we leave to help secure a spousal visa route for example?

 

We've struggled to get a clear picture from the official e-visa website and would welcome any advice from more experienced hands!

 

Many thanks,

Kieran.

 

 

Hi Keiran, 

Unfortunately as foreigners there is no benefit to being married to another foreigner when it comes to visas.  A dependent has to be under 18, which means that even your kids get kicked out of the country once they turn 18, unless they can secure a job that give them a work permit (or they marry a Thai).   

I'm afraid you are going to have real problems, unless you are over 50 which I'm sure you are not.  Your wife will have no issue as she's going to have a work permit and a visa (plus annual extensions for the duration of her employment), but you may really struggle to find a job here and you won't be able to stay here on Tourist visas for the whole time.

Your options are :-

1) education visas to learn Thai which if you actually learn would get you 1 and maybe 2 years here (you would not be allowed to work, but could easily work online if that is something your skills would allow), you could then get an education visa to learn Muay Thai for a year or more (maybe 2 max), again if this is something you'd like to do or be capable of doing. 

2) the Thai elite 5 year visa, which is quite pricey at 900,000 THB for 5 years https://thailand-elite.com/membership/gold/    you also can't work on this visa, so you might need to find ways to make money online. 

3) Rent a place in Ho Chi Minh where a job for you might be easier (not saying it would be) then you visit Thailand as a tourist the max amount you can, always using a proper visa not being a cheapskate and using visa exempt.  And your wife visits you in HCM for other periods of time.   You'd be apart but if you took it in turns to go to each others locale it could work quite well. Especially as your wife will get lengthy school holidays.  This option would also give you a base in Asia from which you could keep trying to find a job in Thailand.

Hope that helps 

Also I should add that there are new tax regulations that will mean all income transferred in from overseas will be taxable, unless you can show you paid tax in your home country (and there is a tax arrangement in place with your home country and Thailand).   This is going to make bringing funds in that you've earned online tricky as you will have to be very creative to avoid the theft (I mean tax) of your money!!




 

[bbi1]

On 3/20/2024 at 3:36 AM, KieranM said:

My background is government and NGO work, so I wouldn't be eligible for any technical specialist routes.

 

Just get a volunteering visa and become one of those travelling bible boys who travel around in groups of two trying to convert Thais to become Christian or the other group of volunteers trying to save hookers from selling their bodies.

[Liquorice]

It would be helpful if you could state your age, nationality, your current location and if your Fiancée is Thai or other.

[BritTim]

46 minutes ago, Freddy42OZ said:

Unfortunately as foreigners there is no benefit to being married to another foreigner when it comes to visas.

 

This is not true. The spouse of someone with a work permit and one-year extension of stay can get a visa and extension of stay to live with their spouse.

[proton]

Get a 5 year elite visa, she can afford to pay for it as she will be cashed up working at an International school!

[Kiwifarang]

On 3/20/2024 at 9:41 AM, ChaiyaTH said:

Apply ngo jobs and continue be a sucker lol (im not a fan).

 

In terms of getting married and her having xyz job, wouldnt it be the school to ask, instead of random people who are unaware of xyz details? 
 

The questions kind of confirm why i dislike ngo and gov workers lol.

 

In case is is next: no i dont know quiz nights or vegan places.

I wonder why so many such as ChaiyaTH need to do anything other than directly answer questions to the best of their ability, from what they know, so as to be helpful, or if they don't know remain quiet. Why is it necessary to criticise the person posting the question like it's some kind of sport to rip apart the newbie to the forum?

 

Time to rip me apart now. I can sense the keyboard warriors ready to pounce and defend the tone and content of their replies to questions.

[Freddy42OZ]

5 hours ago, BritTim said:

6 hours ago, Freddy42OZ said:

Unfortunately as foreigners there is no benefit to being married to another foreigner when it comes to visas.

 

This is not true. The spouse of someone with a work permit and one-year extension of stay can get a visa and extension of stay to live with their spouse.

 

 

I stand corrected.   

Seems strange that an adult spouse can be a dependant yet an adult child cannot.  Aren't someone's children more likely to need to be dependants, than a spouse?
 

[DrJack54]

3 hours ago, Freddy42OZ said:

 

 

I stand corrected.   

Seems strange that an adult spouse can be a dependant yet an adult child cannot.  Aren't someone's children more likely to need to be dependants, than a spouse?
 

Strange post. Thai immigration set the rules.

There are non Thai wife can "piggyback" on husband permission of stay. Example husband with extensions based on retirement. 

BTW in example mentioned the wife needs to enter on non O

[Freddy42OZ]

12 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

Strange post. Thai immigration set the rules.

There are non Thai wife can "piggyback" on husband permission of stay. Example husband with extensions based on retirement. 

BTW in example mentioned the wife needs to enter on non O

 

What was so strange about my post?
 

Of course Thai immigration set the rules.  That doesn't mean some of the rules aren't nonsensical and very unfair. 

How would you feel if you had farang kids who had been born here or lived here since they were babies, hence only ever knowing Thailand as their home and then at 18 they were unable to remain living with you in Thailand?    Or are you one of those weird people who doesn't think they should support their kids for as long as possible?

As far as farang husbands being dependents of their farang wives, I was unaware this was possible given children over 18 can't be dependents.  Seems utterly illogical to me that your children don't have the same family rights as a spouse. It's immediate family, if one of them has a visa then the others should all be allowed to be here as part of the family.

Why are you bringing up husbands on retirement extensions?  or wives needing to enter on Non-O's?   Not everyone that comes here is an old fogey.

The OP is not old enough for a retirement extension, his wife is the one getting the Non-B and a work permit. He needs a visa that allows him to come here and stay with his non-Thai wife.  

[BritTim]

On 3/22/2024 at 10:42 AM, Freddy42OZ said:

As far as farang husbands being dependents of their farang wives, I was unaware this was possible given children over 18 can't be dependents.  Seems utterly illogical to me that your children don't have the same family rights as a spouse. It's immediate family, if one of them has a visa then the others should all be allowed to be here as part of the family.

I disagree with you that adult children should be treated as dependants of their parents. Certainly, tax laws in every country I know of do not take that view. Historically, one half of a husband and wife pair has often worked while the other took care of the house and was dependant on the one working. Tax laws typically still reflect that.

[brewsterbudgen]

On 3/22/2024 at 10:42 AM, Freddy42OZ said:

 

What was so strange about my post?
 

Of course Thai immigration set the rules.  That doesn't mean some of the rules aren't nonsensical and very unfair. 

How would you feel if you had farang kids who had been born here or lived here since they were babies, hence only ever knowing Thailand as their home and then at 18 they were unable to remain living with you in Thailand?    Or are you one of those weird people who doesn't think they should support their kids for as long as possible?

As far as farang husbands being dependents of their farang wives, I was unaware this was possible given children over 18 can't be dependents.  Seems utterly illogical to me that your children don't have the same family rights as a spouse. It's immediate family, if one of them has a visa then the others should all be allowed to be here as part of the family.

 

 

My (British) son was born here and has only lived in Thailand.  As my wife is also not Thai, he stays here as my dependant.  Once he's 18, although maybe before, he will get his own Extension based on studying here.