Hi all,i'd like some advice please. I'd like to stay in Thailand for 3 months from this september. I'd like to know what type of visa i'd need. Also i'd like to work,i have a good friend in Thailand who says he can pay me 50,000 baht a month for restaurant and bar work but is this legal? Would i be able to get a work permit for this? He told me he can sort it but i figured best to get your expert advice first.

Hi all,i'd like some advice please. I'd like to stay in Thailand for 3 months from this september. I'd like to know what type of visa i'd need. Also i'd like to work,i have a good friend in Thailand who says he can pay me 50,000 baht a month for restaurant and bar work but is this legal? Would i be able to get a work permit for this? He told me he can sort it but i figured best to get your expert advice first.

You could get a single entry tourist visa that would give you 60 days that can be extended for 30 days at immigration. Each entry gives you a total of 90 days and they be gotten with as many a 3.

If your friend is serious about the job if he can get the paperwork needed you could possibly get a non immigrant B visa. A single gives you 90 days and a multiple entry woudl give you almost 15 months getting 90 days each entry.

You would need a work permit to work. It depends upon the type of work you would be doing that would determine if you can get a work permit. Also there are financial and other types of requirements that must be met by his company/business.

If his company can meet all the requirements after getting the work permit then it might be possible for you to get a 1 year extension of stay.

Thanks for the advice. Tourist visa sounds a good option. So,if they catch me working without a permit im in trouble right? haha

So,if they catch me working without a permit im in trouble right? haha

Yes you could go to prison before being deported.

Yes you can.....( or you can, we can or what ever the new guy said.)

Here's the basics.

Ministry of labour.

OK thanks for the advice. Ive been looking on the net and it doesnt look as though a foreigner working in restaurant or bar work is going to qualify me for a work permit. So i can go for 90 days on a tourist visa? Does this mean after the visa expires i have to stay away for 90 days before i return?

No, you don't have to stay away for 90 days. You can go to a Thai consulate and get another tourist visa. Currently, Vientiane and Phnom Penh even give double-entry tourist visas.

But you should better not work in a bar without a work permit. You would be very visible in such establishment and an envious competitor or whoever might denounce you to the police. This is known to have happened. The same goes for any type of work in Thailand.

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Maestro

Thanks. So in your opinion getting a work permit for this kind of work is impossible right? My friend is Thai,he told me he can get me a permit cos he has done it before but im not so sure and dont want to risk anything.

The only way to find out is to apply for the work permit. If you plan to spend some time in Thailand anyway just go there with a tourist visa, have your friend apply for the work permit and see what happens. Be aware, though, that it will take some time until a decision on the work permit application is made. Your friend, with experience with this, should be able to tell you how long it took with previous applications.

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Maestro

Just apply as general manager for the bar.

You cannot state bartender or waiter.