Education / Specialty / Tourist Visa - How To Stay?

[MattW]

Hey everyone,

I'll do my best to keep this short and sweet, but would love any advice you can give. Due to new laws, I'm only allowed in Thailand as a tourist for 90 days out of every 180, right? I'm on my last 90 day stint now, and am allowed in Thailand until Aug 11th. Oh, and I'm a 25yo Canadian if that helps any. I want nothing more than to be able to stay in this country for at least another year, if not more. How's the best way to go about this?

After some research, I figured the best way was to signup for a 1 year Thai language course (2 hours/week, 30,000 baht), then get a 1 year education VISA. Then I went to a couple schools in town (Pattaya), and they said I had to apply from my home country, which just ain't going to happen right now. Is that actually true, or did I just goto the wrong places?

I've also heard about these two days trips to Malaysia where you can basically buy a 60 day tourist VISA, even after 90 days in country. Is that actually true with the new laws? If so, any other close-by countries that offer that service (Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam?). I've never broken an immigration law, but have kinda already overstayed my welcome in Malaysia, and they even have is stamped in my passport in big red letters, "No Further Extension Allowed".

On paper, I'm basically just a self-employed freelance software developer at the moment, but do have the backing of a $1.7B corporation in the US, plus many small - mid sized companies. I have no desire to work for a company in Thailand, as I don't think many companies would be willing to pay me 80 Euro/hour. However, I'm very skilled at what I do, and can easily get various companies to write letters of recommendation. So I was thinking of maybe contacting various Thai companies / institutes, and offering my services to them free of charge, showing my gratitude for being allowed to stay in the country. In turn, they write letters on my behalf that I give to the government. Is that actually plausible, or is the government just going to laugh at me if I approach them with that?

Anyway, I just want to stay in the country, and my 90 days runs out on Aug 11th. Money is no object, and I'm happy to spend 2 - 3 weeks out of country if needed. I'm Canadian, single (well, separated (non-Thai)), passport full of stamps, but have never broken an immigration law.

Any advice would be great!

Thanks,

Matt

PS. When I say "money is no object", I mean I have tens of thousands of baht to throw around to make this problem go away, but not the millions required to be an investor.

Edited July 27, 2007 by MattW

[lopburi3]

1. Tourist visas provide a 60 day stay that can be extended for 30 days and are not limited to the 90 days in six months of visa exempt entry.

2. If money is no object is there a real problem with a trip back to your home to obtain an education visa? I don't know if you can obtain locally or not but would expects the schools involved to have the current information if they do much of this.

3. Tourist visas are available in Vientiane, Savannakhet, Singapore if Malaysia is off limits to you.

[Wizzard of Oz]

As lopburi3 said, the 90 days in 90 days out thing is only for Visa on Arrival. You can continue to get a Tourish Visa as long as you go to an embassy and not just the border. After that you can do 3 border months for a total of 6 months stay. Rinse and repeat.

Having said that, I am in exactly your situation in that no Thai company could pay me the same, but I love it here and would like to get a longer stay, but going back to Australia is obv INSANELY expensive just for a 1yr visa. I might consult a lawyer at some stage.

[Maestro]

As lopburi3 said, the 90 days in 90 days out thing is only for Visa on Arrival...

Wrong! That’s not at all what Lopburi said.

As Lopburi said, correctly, it is 90 days in six months for visa-exempt entry.

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Maestro