Hello,

I’m a US citizen living in Los Angeles. I have just recently sold my company and looking forward to time off. I’m looking into possibly starting a import/export company involving Thai Silk products. I have made Thai business contact that I want to visit.

I also want to take time off and travel the region to other countries for the next 6 months. I want to rent an apartment in Bangkok make for home base and travel meet potential trading partners. What type of visa do you think would be the best for my situation?

Multiple-entry Non Immigrant visa?

Non-Immigrant "B" visa?

Thank you!

Howdy, Mr. Seal Beach -

With a US passport, you may come and go for up to 30 days at a time with no visa - 30 days automatically granted upon arrival.

For greatest flexibility, you could try to obtain a one year, multiple-entry Class B visa - justified on the basis of planning to invest in Thailand. This would allow you to stay upo to 90 days at a time, and could be used to obtain a work permit. But - this can be hard to obtain - particularly from LA consulate.

You might want to try contacting these people, to see if they would give you a Class B visa, without a lot of hassle:

Royal Thai Consulate-General

2800 Texas Commerce Tower

Houston Tx 77002-3094

Tel (713) 229 8733

Fax (713) 228 1303

The worst they can say is "no".

When the time comes to launch a business here in Thailand, my company would be pleased to make the "short list" of assistance providers.

Good luck!

Steve Sykes

Managing Director

Indo-Siam Group

Bangkok

[email protected]

www.thaistartup.com