2 Yrs Stay For Business - Yet Unsure Which Kindof Visa Fits Best

[pepi2005]

Sawadee khrap!

I'm planning to move to Thailand for about 2 yrs and want to try to build up a business there. Since there is no company offering my products/services, I will have to work self-employed (guess I'll have to set up a company myself for this purpose?)

Question is, which visa would be optimal for me to apply for?

Basic routine seems to be: apply for Non-Imm-B in my home country, set up company/business in Thailand, apply for work permit, generate income & pay taxes, convert to working visa, stay another year.

However, I'm not 100% sure whether I can already generate enough income during the 1st year of my stay to ensure meeting the requirements for a business visa at the end of year #1. So, since I was planning to seriously study Thai on a regular basis anyway, I thought that maybe it would be safer to apply for an Education visa at home, set up my company, apply for work permit, then work & study, but close to the end of year #1, only convert to a business visa if everything works out ($$$), otherwise extend the Education visa and try the following year? If it doesn't work out for me by the end of year #2, I'd leave anyway.

Just for completeness: I'm financially independent, so I would cause no problems whatsoever. I could even "pay" myself to meet the requirements - but want to take a route that makes sense and allows me to find out whether I can also grow a successful business in Thailand without putting too much on stake from the beginning.

Is my logic right and what would you suggest me to do? PM's also welcome if preferred.

thanks a lot,

p.

[Mario2008]

Contact a law firm in Thailand for proper advise about how to establish a company in Thailand.

You can already find some information here:

http://www.boi.go.th/english/how/company_establishing.asp

A visa based on education would be a good idea for the first year or 2.

[NHJ]

hi there's no money requirement to get non-b our of the country so don't worry about this.

try to get a non-o multiple entry in your country, you'll be safe for 15 months and you can setup your company ang get the work permit when all your papers will be ready.

[Maestro]

…

Basic routine seems to be: apply for Non-Imm-B in my home country, set up company/business in Thailand, apply for work permit, generate income & pay taxes, convert to working visa, stay another year…

I don’t know what you mean with “working visa”

In your case it would be ideal to arrive in Thailand with a non-B or non-O visa, as both types allow you to get a work permit when you want to start working. If you can’t get either type but want to study Tai anyway, get the non-ED visa and once your company is set up apply for your work permit, go to a Thai consulate in a neighbouring country to get a non-B visa, return to Thailand, pick up your work permit and then start working.

--

Maestro

[pepi2005]

Hi,

I'm just coming from the Thai Embassy in my country (Europe), and they said no way I would get a Non-Imm-B visa except if I would have an invitation by a company in Thailand including all the paperwork etc.... the maximum I could get would be a visa that allows a stay for 60 days. <deleted>?!! I thought it would be easy to get at least a 1 year visa?

Then I could take my time checking things out and apply for work permit and change my visa accordingly. But 60 days sound really stressful, especially with the new regulation that just allows a stay of 14 days after visa runs. I really want to build something up there and have enough financial resources to be a decent contributor to the countrie's wealth but if what they told me is true, it would be really difficult. Any suggestions from you more experienced members of the board?

thanks,

p.

[ubonjoe]

Hi,

I'm just coming from the Thai Embassy in my country (Europe), and they said no way I would get a Non-Imm-B visa except if I would have an invitation by a company in Thailand including all the paperwork etc.... the maximum I could get would be a visa that allows a stay for 60 days. <deleted>?!! I thought it would be easy to get at least a 1 year visa?

Then I could take my time checking things out and apply for work permit and change my visa accordingly. But 60 days sound really stressful, especially with the new regulation that just allows a stay of 14 days after visa runs. I really want to build something up there and have enough financial resources to be a decent contributor to the countrie's wealth but if what they told me is true, it would be really difficult. Any suggestions from you more experienced members of the board?

thanks,

p.

Non immigrant B visas have never been issued without at least a letter from a company.

Dependent on what country you are in you might be able to get a non-o multiple entry to visit friends/family.

What they are giving you is tourist visa that can be issued with as many as 3 entries which would allow you to stay for almost 9 months without getting a new visa. Every entry you get a 60 day permit to stay that can be extended for 30 days at immigration. After that visa ends you can get a 2 entry visa in Vientiane that would give you almost 6 months.

[Soutpeel]

Hi,

I'm just coming from the Thai Embassy in my country (Europe), and they said no way I would get a Non-Imm-B visa except if I would have an invitation by a company in Thailand including all the paperwork etc....

And isnt this a reason you get a Thai law firm involved in setting up your business ??...they would issue the letter of invitation and paper work, ie person requires a Non-imm B to persue the setting up of a business..

[monty]

To list some of the options:

* Education visa is not possible at the moment, to get that you'll first have to come to Thailand, enroll in a school, get the paperwork from the Ministry of Education and only with all those papers you qualify for a Non Immigrant ED!

* As mentioned above, some European consulates are very lenient when issuing Non immigrant O visa's. Most notably the Hull consulate which without much questions asked will issue a multiple entry non immigrant O visa with as purpose visiting Thai friends! This would give you heaps of time.

* Get a single, double or triple entry tourist visa. They will give you respectively 90, 180 and 270 days of stay in Thailand (actually a few days less unless you manage to enter Thailand the same day the visa was issued )

The two last options allow you to apply for a work permit.

In the case of you having a tourist visa, on application of the work permit you'll get paperwork allowing you to go and apply for a non immigrant B visa in one of the neighboring countries. If you would land a job with an existing company which would entitle you for the 1 year work extension, you even do not have to leave the country to convert your tourist visa to a non immigrant B. Do note, this is only possible if you and your employer qualify for the 1 year extension!

Once you actually hold a non immigrant visa the labor department can then issue your WP.

If on a non immigrant O visa there is no problem applying for and getting the WP issued.

Do note that unless you have the 1 year extension, you'll have to leave Thailand every 3 months, and on return you'll have to re-sync your WP with your new entry stamp again. Although the work permit is for 1 year, the actual validity is always the same as your allowed to stay in Thailand date.

[torrenova]

If your country is a problem for visas, fly to the UK and use Hull for non imm B or O multi entry. No problems there and you can confirm it with them by email if you so wish.

I'd forget the Ed visa and wasting time with tourist visas.

Companies are much more a pain the the backside here than they are in the UK with loads more requirement and staff / capital paid up and the like. Experts can guide you through it.

THe main advantage of getting a non imm visa before coming to Thailand is that you don't have to go back out to get one in a neighbouring country and you never know when they will change the rules or their interpretation of the rules.

If you have a company anywhere, or know someone who has, then getting a B visa from Hull is no problem. Details on their website.

[thailand_tom]

...* Get a single, double or triple entry tourist visa. They will give you respectively 90, 180 and 270 days of stay in Thailand (actually a few days less unless you manage to enter Thailand the same day the visa was issued )...

monty, what is a triple entry tourist visa? that allows 270 days, now to the guys asking the question are you 50 years old or older? my father recieved a retirement visa, no problem.

[ubonjoe]

A 3 entry tourist visa with a 6 month use before date can give you almost 270 days. Just leave and use the 3rd entry the day before the use before date and get 60 days more and then extend for 30 days.

[pepi2005]

But at the embassy (European), they told me the maimum I could get is something that allows me a stay of 60 days?!

[ubonjoe]

But at the embassy (European), they told me the maimum I could get is something that allows me a stay of 60 days?!

Tell us what country you are in so we can answer your questions more accurately.

But you can normally get more than 60 days. A tourist visa is good for 60 days per entry but can be extended for 30 days at immigration. If it is issued with more than one entry you get the same amount every time you leave and re-enter the country.

[pepi2005]

Okay, after studying various documents for a few hours , it seems I can apply for a 60 days Tourist Visa at the embassy that would allow 3 entries and each stay of 60 days can extended by another 30 days so I "meet" with monty's post here that I could stay about 9 months (= (60+30 days) x 3 )? Do I get it?

What still irritates me though is that this document mentions that the "validity of a visa is 3 months or 6 months". what does that mean? Does it mean that in fact it would just give me 180 days, not 270?

Final question (if anyone is as experienced to know how that could work): for the consulting services I'd like to start as a business (but in which in fact I would work self-employed in a little shared office), I couldn't do that on the Tourist Visa. Am I correct that I would have to create a company myself, and kindof 'employ myself'? Would that allow me for a work permit and the Non-Imm-B?

thanks a lot guys for your help so far,

p.

[Maestro]

...What still irritates me though is that this document mentions that the "validity of a visa is 3 months or 6 months". what does that mean? Does it mean that in fact it would just give me 180 days, not 270?

What the consulate is saying is that a tourist visa is valid for travel to Thailand within 3 months or 6 months. A single-entry tourist is usually valid for 3 months, a visa valid for more than one journey is usually valid for 6 months.

--

Maestro

[Maestro]

Pepi2005, do not confuse the validity period of the visa with the duration of the permission to stay you will be granted when arriving in Thailand with the visa. See also this information on the website of the Immigration Bureau:

www.immigration.go.th/nov2004/content/visaxpiredate.html

--

Maestro

[ubonjoe]

Okay, after studying various documents for a few hours , it seems I can apply for a 60 days Tourist Visa at the embassy that would allow 3 entries and each stay of 60 days can extended by another 30 days so I "meet" with monty's post here that I could stay about 9 months (= (60+30 days) x 3 )? Do I get it?

What still irritates me though is that this document mentions that the "validity of a visa is 3 months or 6 months". what does that mean? Does it mean that in fact it would just give me 180 days, not 270?

Final question (if anyone is as experienced to know how that could work): for the consulting services I'd like to start as a business (but in which in fact I would work self-employed in a little shared office), I couldn't do that on the Tourist Visa. Am I correct that I would have to create a company myself, and kindof 'employ myself'? Would that allow me for a work permit and the Non-Imm-B?

thanks a lot guys for your help so far,

p.

A single entry visa would be issued with a validity of 90 days. For 2 or more entries they would issue a visa valid for 6 months. That means you must enter Thailand before that date. Once you are in Thailand that date is not important. So that means that if you have a tourist visa with 3 entries you could leave and re-enter Thailand on the day before that date using the 3rd entry and get another 60 day entry. So you would have 60 days plus 30 days with the extension giving you 270 days.

To do the rest that you would like to do and make it legal would require forming a company, getting a work permit and then a non-b visa. All the preparations to do this can be done on a tourist visa.

[pepi2005]

cool - THANK YOU VERY MUCH guys for all your help on these matters.

I think I'm clear now!

[pepi2005]

With the Tourist Visa for 3 entries, would I lose 'time' when I am doing, let's say, 1 month trips out of Thailand instead of pure visa runs? It would certainly be nice to use these chances for a bit of traveling, but I wouldn't want to lose any of my 270 granted days.

thanks,

p.

[ubonjoe]

With the Tourist Visa for 3 entries, would I lose 'time' when I am doing, let's say, 1 month trips out of Thailand instead of pure visa runs? It would certainly be nice to use these chances for a bit of traveling, but I wouldn't want to lose any of my 270 granted days.

thanks,

p.

If you can make the trips out of the country within your permit to stay of 60 days or the 30 days extension you can get a re-entry permit (1000 baht) that would keep your entry valid.

IE: If you entered and have been here 20 days and got a re-entry and left for 15 days and returned you would still have 25 days left on your entry.

You could even go to immigration and get your 30 day extension and apply for a re-entry permit at the same time.

[pepi2005]

IE: If you entered and have been here 20 days and got a re-entry and left for 15 days and returned you would still have 25 days left on your entry.

so the 15 days I left would in fact be deducted from my grant to stay 60 days plus 30 days extension, do I understand that correctly?

2 cases:

a.) I leave within the 60+30 days, let's say at day #70: I would lose 20 days, right?

b.) after my 60+30 days, I leave for 1 month. Would I lose 1 month of the total 270 days?

cheers, p.

[ubonjoe]

IE: If you entered and have been here 20 days and got a re-entry and left for 15 days and returned you would still have 25 days left on your entry.

so the 15 days I left would in fact be deducted from my grant to stay 60 days plus 30 days extension, do I understand that correctly?

2 cases:

a.) I leave within the 60+30 days, let's say at day #70: I would lose 20 days, right?

b.) after my 60+30 days, I leave for 1 month. Would I lose 1 month of the total 270 days?

cheers, p.

It would be deducted from the days you could spend in Thailand but you would still have the overall 270 of your visa.

a. Yes you would loose those 20 days from the total that you could stay in Thailand.

b. The same as a.

Remember your use before date on your visa. That is the day you have keep an eye on.

You could leave for 30 days instead of getting the extension after any of your 60 day entries and then use you next entry instead of getting a re-entry permit. That would save paying for an extension.

The re-entry permit keeps you from using up your entries if you only want to make short trips out.