Need Some Help In Getting An 1 Yr Visa For A Usa Citizen

[ericg1953]

I have a friend who is 37 yrs. old, has a residence in Las Vegas and also rents a condo here in Pattaya. He is trying to get a visa so he can remain in Thailand for 1 year. He is aware he will have to make visa runs every 90 days. He will be back in the USA in July and would like to acquire a 1 yr Visa. Any suggestions on how he would apply and where. This is a great forum and all the great information you make available has been a great asset to all of us...........Thank You

[brianwl]

Tell your friend to look up Thai Consulate on the internet and fill out the forms from the site then take all needed documentation to the nearest Thai Consulate.

[jfchandler]

Unfortunately, it's not that simple...

Most Thai Consulates in the U.S. will not issue one year visas (B or O variety) to Americans, especially if they are not aged 50 or more to qualify for so-called retirement visa. If he just applies on his own at a regular Thai consulate in the U.S., he can expect rejection.

However, there are some ways to proceed, and I presume from your post the friend is currently residing in Pattaya, and planning to travel back to the USA later this year. Thus, some of the more straightforward options include:

--getting a one-year education visa by means such as enrolling in a qualified Thai language instruction program. Examples include Callan, Wallen, Pro Language, etc. Many threads about this here on TV. He should enroll here while in Thailand before he leaves, get the proper paperwork from the school, and then submit it to the local Thai consulate when he returns to the U.S. to obtain the ED visa.

--getting a one-year business visa, with help from some Thailand-based law firms that specialize in helping with visa matters. Those include Sunbelt and Siam Legal, and others. One of them, I believe, maintains an office in Las Vegas. The difference here is, by working through them, they can provide the necessary documentary paperwork and filing approach to successfully get a B visa.

There are some other options as well, such as marriage to a Thai... But, the ones above are among the most straightforward and clear.

[gunnyd]

AFAIK Sunbelt no longer provides this service. Siam Legal does $395 + $150 consular fee.

GunnyD

[jstumbo]

I think they will still offer this type of service, but they are very careful to make sure that it is indeed a person that needs the visa for doing business in Thailand. Not just someone that wants to get the visa by pretending to want to do business, and then spending a year "deciding" that they changed their mind.