smileplur Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 Please forgive my ignorance and confusion. The situation with visas seems to be changing perpetually, and I am slightly confused as to what would be my best option. I am leaving South Korea at the end of August. I will be heading back to Thailand with my wife. She is Thai. From there, I am uncertain of what I will do. I figure I will do some scuba diving, sit on a beach for a while, and then make a decision regarding what the hel_l I am going to do. It would seem that my options for work include a vast array of different locations including but not limited to: Thailand, Taiwan, Korea, China, Japan, and Vietnam. Because of my uncertainty regarding where I will choose to work next, I haven’t got any idea how long we will actually be in Thailand. I am looking for the easiest, most cost effective way to cover my bases in such a scenario. Double Entry Tourist Visa Now, I understand these are being given away for free right now which is what makes this option appealing. My validity would be for 6 months. It would enable me to effectively stay in the country for a healthy 6 months. The disadvantage is that I would need to make a visa run should I remain in Thailand for work purposes. Should I decide to move on to another country, I wouldn’t have wasted money on an unnecessary Non Immigrant ‘O’ – Single Entry Well, it is cheaper than the multiple entry! My understanding is that I can extend my ‘O’ visa based on employment should I stay in Thailand. Is this correct? I believe the requirement to extend it based on marriage would require a combined income of 40,000 baht. Is this correct? I was on this visa before, and I needed some additional time. I extended it for one month at immigration before coming to Korea. Is this an option still? Non Immigrant ‘O’ – Multiple Entry For whatever reason, people act as if this is the gold of visas. I understand that I can be issued a work permit on this visa. I wouldn’t need to extend it at all. My visa would be separate from my work if I continued to make my visa runs every 3 months. Clearly, the advantage is in owning my own visa. The disadvantage is that it is a bit pricey! Furthermore, visa runs are a serious pain! Now, I should state that I am leaning strongly towards staying in Thailand for a while. I really miss it there, and being in Korea has been quite boring for my wife. I feel like I have had the life sucked out of me. This hagwon business can really drain you! It would be nice to settle down in Bangkok for a while. If you had these options, which would choose and why? Thanks for the feedback! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubonjoe Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 I think the best option is a single entry non-o and then an extension if you can meet the newest requirements. You need tp prove income of 40,000 baht per month and it can only be your income. Or 400,000 baht in a Thai bank for 2 months in your name only (no joint account allowed). If you get this extension and find a job you can get a work permit. And you don't have to worry about loosing your extension if you loose that job. You can also get a 60 day extension to visit your wife, Multiple entry non-o is also a good option. Remember that a tourist visa has to be extended every entry to get the full benefit of it and costs 1900 baht each time. So if you compare costs the tourist visa would cost 7600 baht just for the extensions if you stay a year. And they will only be free until June 4th. Also if you were to find work you could get an extension of stay for any entry you have. This visa would give you time to find work here, get a work permit and pay taxes for 3 months that you can show as the income for your extension. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smileplur Posted May 7, 2009 Author Share Posted May 7, 2009 I suppose my confusion is stemming from the work permit part of things. The problem is that I will not have 400,000 in the bank in Thailand for 2 months. My money will be tied up abroad. I will have around 400,000 when I arrive if I transfer this money into my Thai account. However, I will be dipping into it for setup related costs when arriving. I think I am leaning towards the Multiple Entry 'O' visa if my logic is correct. I don't know when I will begin working. I need a break from work! This will enable me to take a month or two and look around. I could find a job for the new term in October. They can get me a work permit. I can then leave the country for a quick visa run and be granted an additional 3 months upon my return. This will enable me to work for a period of time to demonstrate that my salary is above 40,000 per month. This should enable me to extend on the basis of my marriage. Is that correct? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubonjoe Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 Your logic is correct. The multiple entry is a good option for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smileplur Posted May 7, 2009 Author Share Posted May 7, 2009 Fair enough! Thanks for the help! Now, time to call up the embassy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubonjoe Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 Good luck on the embassy call. If they won't give you the multiple entry you could get a single and then go to KL and get the multiple. Remember that the validity date ot the visa starts on the date of issue so you don't want to get it to early, Also remember that you can get almost five months with a single entry if you get the 60 day extension. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smileplur Posted May 7, 2009 Author Share Posted May 7, 2009 Thanks. If they say no, I can always fly to KL from Seoul when I leave and hang out for a day or two. The airfare is cheaper anyway! I only started thinking about this now because the tourist visa is free for a limited amount of time. I live far from Seoul, and I need to make a special trip to the embassy which requires planning. However, with the Non-Imm 'O', I will get it when I have a week off in August! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smileplur Posted May 7, 2009 Author Share Posted May 7, 2009 Well, dam_n the luck! They don't offer multiple entry Non-Imm 'O' visas in Seoul! For anyone reading this, the fee for a single entry is 80,000 KRW. I need to start looking into the requirements for KL and Vientiane I guess. Sigh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubonjoe Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 No multiples from Vientiane. For KL or Penang you will need to just show a little money in the bank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smileplur Posted May 7, 2009 Author Share Posted May 7, 2009 How much is a little? Does it need to be in a Thai Bank? I have a few options here. I could show my Korean bank book which will reflect a very large sum of KRW. I could transfer that money back to the states and show the printout from online. Or, I could transfer to my bank in Thailand. Do they care about any of this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lopburi3 Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 They are likely to want to see a Thai account as it is to support the stay on the visa they will issue you. But they have issued without any account so if wife is with you that may help also. 100k was mentioned as something they would like to see but have seen others get with 20k and even nothing. At the worst it would be single. Be sure to have marriage certificate/copy and copy of her ID card or passport. Only Vientiane is currently providing two entry tourist visas to my knowledge - so that probably is not an option at most other Consulates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smileplur Posted May 7, 2009 Author Share Posted May 7, 2009 How about showing them TCs? That would be another reasonable option. I could present that amount in TCs. I have yet to determine how I will handle my money once leaving Korea given the exchange rate and new fees on foreign cards being used in Thailand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lopburi3 Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 (edited) Don't think it is so much about the money as about your ties to Thailand/wife. But believe having wife with you will ease there concerns and you probably will not have any problem. They might ask her to write up a short statement that she asks for the visa to be issued as you plan to live together in Thailand for there file. Edited May 7, 2009 by lopburi3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smileplur Posted May 7, 2009 Author Share Posted May 7, 2009 Well, that complicates matters slightly! We will have been in Korea for a year. My wife is heading back a few weeks before me, so I was thinking that I would just fly to KL and pick up a visa when I leave here. I would then pick up a cheap Air Asia flight to Bangkok or meet my wife in the south. I suppose I could have her fly down to KL to meet me and we could travel back overland. Or, transfer the money to my Thai bank account. At least a chunk of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lopburi3 Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 (edited) You will still get at least a single entry if you do by yourself. Do have the ID and letter from wife and expect there is a fair to good chance for the multi. But it would be better to transfer some money - you are going to need it in any case for your set up so no reason not to get it in place. Edited May 7, 2009 by lopburi3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.png.3b3332cc2256ad0edbc2fe9404feeef0.png)
.thumb.jpg.bc523c85a8d558dbc282dca7a2e602c9.jpg)
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now