Please Help. Australians Moving To Thailand.

[Nick001]

Hi,

We are a young Australian couple looking to move to Koh Samui. We have an online business that earns Australian money which we would use to live off in Thailand. We would like to live in Thailand for at least five to ten years.

We have been doing research and it seems like the most common type of visa to get is a non-immigrant multi entry visa which we understand means we have to leave the country every 90 days and only lasts for twelve months. We would like to know:

1) How many times this twelve month visa can be extended

2) How easy it is to extended the visa

3) What are the most common reasons people give for an extension.

4) How much this visa costs

5) Is there anyone in Thailand who has stayed in Thailand for more than 5 or 10 years using this method?

Or, would it be easier for me to get a part time job so that I can get a work visa and my wife can get a dependent visa? Is this an easier way to stay in Thailand? If so, how much do you have to be earning to qualify for one?

Thanks!

Nick

[Lite Beer]

A Multi Entry Non Immigrant Visa valid for 12 months. Reason to Visit friends. Do the last border run just before it expires and you get another 90 days making a total of 15 months. The Consulate in Perth seems to be the favourite place to apply. You would not get another one with the immediate area so you would have to go back to Australia to get another one when it expires.

There is no guarantee this would be possible indefinitely as things can and do change.

With an online business you would legally need a Work Permit that is problematic to get.

You would not find it easy to get a part time job that gives you a work permit. There are not many jobs that are open to non Thai,s.

[lopburi3]

If you are a qualified teacher that might be an option for long term stay. Another is study of Thai language. But as said any work you do without a work permit, although it may not be noticed, will not be legal and will not be a positive factor if you decide/want to stay here permanently.

Edited July 1, 2009 by lopburi3

[samran]

thailand has a working holiday visa available to Australians 30 or under...at least in theory. Might be worth checking out at the Thai embassy in Canberra.

http://canberra.thaiembassy.org/Docs/Wholidayvisa.pdf

Edited July 1, 2009 by samran

[lopburi3]

Think ten years might be stretching it out a bit though.

[saintofsilence]

A Multi Entry Non Immigrant Visa valid for 12 months. Reason to Visit friends. Do the last border run just before it expires and you get another 90 days making a total of 15 months. The Consulate in Perth seems to be the favourite place to apply. You would not get another one with the immediate area so you would have to go back to Australia to get another one when it expires.

There is no guarantee this would be possible indefinitely as things can and do change.

With an online business you would legally need a Work Permit that is problematic to get.

You would not find it easy to get a part time job that gives you a work permit. There are not many jobs that are open to non Thai,s.

I get a multi entry but it is only a double entry 6 months where i do a border run on the first entry and back to Aus on my second.

The Thai embassy in Melbourne wont issue a 4 entry , are you sure that four entry is available ?

[lopburi3]

We are talking about a non immigrant O multi entry visa - not the tourist visa you seem to have obtained.

[samran]

Think ten years might be stretching it out a bit though.

very true, but it is a good way to start, a good first visa to help find their bearings etc etc etc.

Who knows, they may hate living here and become major contributors to TV At least they won't be whinging about an unfair visa situation!

Anyway, you need a new Thai Visa to become expert in, Lop.... The OP may be the one who teaches you all about it

Edited July 1, 2009 by samran

[saintofsilence]

We are talking about a non immigrant O multi entry visa - not the tourist visa you seem to have obtained.

I have Non Immigrant O and have been getting the same type for about 7 years and I have requested a 12 month 4 entry and been told its not available.

[lopburi3]

The non immigrant visa is normally only issued in single or multi entry versions (although a few Consulates will issue a two entry at double the price of single). Not good value for most at 4k baht because a multi valid for a year and usable for stay of almost 15 months is 5k baht. I would highly advise using Perth/Brisbane to obtain the multi entry - that allows unlimited entries of up to 90 days for one year from date of issue.

[saintofsilence]

The non immigrant visa is normally only issued in single or multi entry versions (although a few Consulates will issue a two entry at double the price of single). Not good value for most at 4k baht because a multi valid for a year and usable for stay of almost 15 months is 5k baht. I would highly advise using Perth/Brisbane to obtain the multi entry - that allows unlimited entries of up to 90 days for one year from date of issue.

Thanks for that I will stop off in Perth on my next trip its a pity Melbourne wouldn't issue the same.

[johnnynowlivesinpatong]

If you are planning to stay 5-10 years, there is a good chance you may want to speak Thai. Perhaps consider an ED-Visa and enrol for Thai language course?

cheers,

[Nick001]

If you are planning to stay 5-10 years, there is a good chance you may want to speak Thai. Perhaps consider an ED-Visa and enrol for Thai language course?

cheers,

Thanks, that is a great idea as we were planning on studying Thai anyway.

Is it possible to keep getting a new one of these every year? Do you think we could stay in Thailand for 5 - 10 years this way?

Do you know how many hours per week you have to be studying as we don't want to study full time.

Do you know of any Thai language schools on Samui?

[Nick001]

We are talking about a non immigrant O multi entry visa - not the tourist visa you seem to have obtained.

I have Non Immigrant O and have been getting the same type for about 7 years and I have requested a 12 month 4 entry and been told its not available.

So there are Australians who have been living in Thailand for more than 5 years on these types of visas? That sounds promising.

With the Non-Immigrant O multi-entry visa that people have been talking about, the one where you have to do a visa run every 90 days and it lasts for 12 months, will we have to go back to the embassy in Perth every year to get a new one?

[Lite Beer]

If you are planning to stay 5-10 years, there is a good chance you may want to speak Thai. Perhaps consider an ED-Visa and enrol for Thai language course?

cheers,

Thanks, that is a great idea as we were planning on studying Thai anyway.

Is it possible to keep getting a new one of these every year? Do you think we could stay in Thailand for 5 - 10 years this way?

Do you know how many hours per week you have to be studying as we don't want to study full time.

Do you know of any Thai language schools on Samui?

None on Samui that I know of. . Have a read hear for general information. http://www.thaiwalen.com/

[emsfeld]

Studying in Thailand is the best and easiest visa option you guys have. No hassles as the school will take care of everything starting from organising the visa for you in the first place and also preparing all the documentation required for the three monthly address confirmation. All you need to do is to show up at immigration and pay some cash. Really dont understand why this visa option has been fairly unpopular with the expat community (it's picking up from what I hear, but has been around for more than 10 yrs already). Another option is to enrol in one of the Thai universities, eg check out www dot studyinthailand dot org - a collection of Thai universities that offer international programs. You can take 7 yrs to complete a degree and basically would just have to show up for exams and make sure you pass in accordance with immigration requirements - easy!

[sunholidaysun1]

Studying in Thailand is the best and easiest visa option you guys have. No hassles as the school will take care of everything starting from organising the visa for you in the first place and also preparing all the documentation required for the three monthly address confirmation. All you need to do is to show up at immigration and pay some cash. Really dont understand why this visa option has been fairly unpopular with the expat community (it's picking up from what I hear, but has been around for more than 10 yrs already). Another option is to enrol in one of the Thai universities, eg check out www dot studyinthailand dot org - a collection of Thai universities that offer international programs. You can take 7 yrs to complete a degree and basically would just have to show up for exams and make sure you pass in accordance with immigration requirements - easy!

I am sure someone will put me right but I am fairly sure that the education visa is only valid for the time that you are either teaching or studying. If you leave the school the visa becomes void and if you were to apply to work at another school another visa would be required,it is not transferable.

So as long as you stay for the period on the visa at the school you will be within the law .

[lopburi3]

A visa is fully valid regardless - extensions of stay are specific. So if you have a multi entry visa valid for one year you can continue to come and go on 90 day entries regardless of school attendance (or work or wife or whatever reason it was issued). But if you obtain a one year extension of stay for work, or something else, it will end when that reason ends. In the case of work the last day of pay.

[emsfeld]

I am sure someone will put me right but I am fairly sure that the education visa is only valid for the time that you are either teaching or studying. If you leave the school the visa becomes void and if you were to apply to work at another school another visa would be required,it is not transferable.

So as long as you stay for the period on the visa at the school you will be within the law .

That is correct. I am talking about studying though. The permit to stay in Thailand and the permit to work are two completely different things, however. You can have a student visa, but still obtain a work permit (I know, because a few friends have done this). All I am saying is that an education visa gives you a one year permit to stay and apart from the visits to immigration every three months where you submit a few documents and pay some money there are no more hassles to it! The visa will be extended after each academic year. Regular study time is four years but you can take up to 7 years (so for as long as your degree program is not completed you will get another year until you either finish your degree program or go beyond the 7 yrs mark for THAT particular program). Also, no one stops you to enrol in another program after you completed the previous one. The only condition is that you maintain a certain GPA (either 2.0 or 2.5 - cant remember). How, do you think, do many of the Eastern European "models" manage to stay?

Edited July 2, 2009 by emsfeld

[astral]

Thanks for that I will stop off in Perth on my next trip its a pity Melbourne wouldn't issue the same.

I believe Brisbane is also an option.

Check to see if they accept postal applications.

[Nick001]

I am sure someone will put me right but I am fairly sure that the education visa is only valid for the time that you are either teaching or studying. If you leave the school the visa becomes void and if you were to apply to work at another school another visa would be required,it is not transferable.

So as long as you stay for the period on the visa at the school you will be within the law .

That is correct. I am talking about studying though. The permit to stay in Thailand and the permit to work are two completely different things, however. You can have a student visa, but still obtain a work permit (I know, because a few friends have done this). All I am saying is that an education visa gives you a one year permit to stay and apart from the visits to immigration every three months where you submit a few documents and pay some money there are no more hassles to it! The visa will be extended after each academic year. Regular study time is four years but you can take up to 7 years (so for as long as your degree program is not completed you will get another year until you either finish your degree program or go beyond the 7 yrs mark for THAT particular program). Also, no one stops you to enrol in another program after you completed the previous one. The only condition is that you maintain a certain GPA (either 2.0 or 2.5 - cant remember). How, do you think, do many of the Eastern European "models" manage to stay?

Hi again. Based on what you've said, and a lot of other research we've done, the ED visa looks like the best one for us. We would be getting one through a Thai language school though, not a university. I already have a bachelor's degree and my wife has a bachelor, two honours degrees, a PhD and a couple of Graduate Certificates, so there is not much left for her to study! In fact, she loves studying at uni so much she would study at a Thai uni in a new field, if it wasn't for the fact that the degrees start at AU$7,000 per year. Very cheap for a uni degree, but too much to pay for a recreational activity and to get a certain type of VISA. The year-long Thai language courses look to be about AU$1,000 (around 25,000 baht), so that's much cheaper.

In terms of the ED visa, are there any differences or is it any harder to get one when you get it through studying the Thai language rather than at uni?

Thanks for your help!

[lopburi3]

You can not obtain more than a 90 day extension of stay for most language schools - so that is another trip to immigration/1,900 baht every 3 months rather than yearly trip for qualified full time study. But to obtain the visa or short term extensions do not believe it is any harder.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Thanks for that I will stop off in Perth on my next trip its a pity Melbourne wouldn't issue the same.

I believe Brisbane is also an option.

Check to see if they accept postal applications.

Brisbane does mail applications Astral. www.thaiconsulate.org

[emsfeld]

Not sure where you got the info re AUD7000 from. You can get an entire degree for that kind of money (e.g. Ramkamhaeng U.) and that is equivalent to 4 yrs of study, but I do agree that the language course is the better option. It should be the same visa and normally the school takes care of documentation or will ask you to provide information if required. That is if you enroll in a Thai language program that goes over a year. Those are more expensive than 25000 Bt though from what I recall.

Edited July 3, 2009 by emsfeld

[scorecard]

Three comments to share:

1. KOH SAMUI - I guess you've got your own reasons for wanting to live on Koh Samui and that needs to be respected.

However if you want to explore real Thailand I'm not sure this is a good location. Thai tourist resorts (same as anywhere in the world) are a million miles away from the real culture and friendliness of Thailand (perhaps with the exception of Chiang Mai).

And Koh Samui is far from cheap compared to many other interesting areas of Thailand.

2. STUDYING THAI LANGUAGE - As already suggested, if your going to stay here for 10 years, life will be much easier, more enjoyable, and much more rewarding if you can speak the language. I know, I can speak advanced Thai and life is a joy being able to fully communicate, share jokes etc.

I guess there's two possibilities for yourselves:

a. It's just a means of staying in the country.

b. Your more serious about studying the language - In this case, you should be aware that there are not too many really professional Thai language schools in all of Thailand and this is an industry which is not controlled.

You've obviously done some research on this possibility and you mention A$1,000 a year. If your serious about this can I suggest you dig a bit deeper about the quality of the school your looking at.

If your prepared to name the school on this forum there's a good chance there will be a member who can give a comment.

Best of luck and please keep posting.

[Nick001]

I am sure someone will put me right but I am fairly sure that the education visa is only valid for the time that you are either teaching or studying. If you leave the school the visa becomes void and if you were to apply to work at another school another visa would be required,it is not transferable.

So as long as you stay for the period on the visa at the school you will be within the law .

That is correct. I am talking about studying though. The permit to stay in Thailand and the permit to work are two completely different things, however. You can have a student visa, but still obtain a work permit (I know, because a few friends have done this). All I am saying is that an education visa gives you a one year permit to stay and apart from the visits to immigration every three months where you submit a few documents and pay some money there are no more hassles to it! The visa will be extended after each academic year. Regular study time is four years but you can take up to 7 years (so for as long as your degree program is not completed you will get another year until you either finish your degree program or go beyond the 7 yrs mark for THAT particular program). Also, no one stops you to enrol in another program after you completed the previous one. The only condition is that you maintain a certain GPA (either 2.0 or 2.5 - cant remember). How, do you think, do many of the Eastern European "models" manage to stay?

Ok, so we might go for an ED visa through a language school. The only one we have found on Samui is Mind Your Language and they have yet to get back to us about whether or not they offer year long courses, so if anyone knows about this (and the cost) as well as the quality of the school, please let us know.

My question is I have read in a few places on this forum people saying that the cost of each 90 day extension to the ED visa for language schools is 1,900 baht. But I haven't seen anywhere how much the initial ED visa costs. We would be applying for it in Australia before we leave.

[lopburi3]

It is a non immigrant visa and they all cost the same - it depends on your country and the exchange rate. Normally it will be close to 2,000 baht for single entry and 5,000 baht for multi entry. Check with the Consulate you plan to use.

[freddy123]

Hey, another option is to get a Working Holiday Visa

www DOT thaiconsulatesydney DOT org/Consular_services/Visa/working%20holiday.html

I am currently here on one of these. While it was a bit of a struggle to obtain, and ended up havin to get my local fedral member to call the embassy, but now im in the country for a whole year for just $225, no visa runs, no "studying", and I can even work if i want to (for up to 3 months with one employer).

They blamed my application problems on a "misplaced" application, hard to tell if they were hoping I would just go away or someone really just made a mistake, or they were to busy (applied about the time of the red shirt protests in pattaya) .

However you need to meet the following criteria (off the website)

1.1 Must be an Australian national currently residing in Australia;

1.2 Must be aged between 18-30 years inclusive at the time of application and not accompanied by children or dependents;

1.3 Have tertiary qualifications (full time courses with at least 3 years of study);

1.4 Have a valid Australian passport (valid for at least 6 months);

1.5 Have a return ticket or sufficient funds to purchase the ticket;

1.6 Have sufficient funds of at least AUD 5,000 for living expense in Thailand;

1.7 Must be in good health and hold a medical and comprehensive health insurance that remains in force throughout the stay in Thailand

If your under 30 (you did say young right?) with some sort of tertiary qualification then youll probably be sweet. I'm not sure if you can renew them or reapply, im guessing maybe not, but I intend to find out in another 10 months.

PM me for more information if you like, if there is enough intrest I can start a new thread on the working holiday visas (if there isn't one already)

[watusay]

Non immigrant O is if you are married to a Thai. Best way i have found in the past before being Married (been here ten years) is multiple entry 90 day tourist visa and getting extensions for 1 month every 3 months so that gives you 12 months. The best place i have found to renew a multiple entry tourist visa is Burma (its easy). As for an ED visa you get a year and is renewable, but if you leave the country in that year it is cancelled. And you have to get another. You only need a letter from the school (but you have to pay for the course) they dont care if you dont go and no one is the wiser. Always plenty of ways around visas as they keep changing the rules (provided you have money). As for an online business as far as i know (and have experience in this) you are not really working in Thailand or Australia, you are working in thin air. Also if you have no real tie's to Australia eg house etc, other incomes, you can make your money tax free (cost me over $10,000 to find that out) anyway hope all this helps, plenty of food for thought.

[idlewanderer]

Non immigrant O is if you are married to a Thai. Best way i have found in the past before being Married (been here ten years) is multiple entry 90 day tourist visa and getting extensions for 1 month every 3 months so that gives you 12 months. The best place i have found to renew a multiple entry tourist visa is Burma (its easy). As for an ED visa you get a year and is renewable, but if you leave the country in that year it is cancelled. And you have to get another. You only need a letter from the school (but you have to pay for the course) they dont care if you dont go and no one is the wiser. Always plenty of ways around visas as they keep changing the rules (provided you have money). As for an online business as far as i know (and have experience in this) you are not really working in Thailand or Australia, you are working in thin air. Also if you have no real tie's to Australia eg house etc, other incomes, you can make your money tax free (cost me over $10,000 to find that out) anyway hope all this helps, plenty of food for thought.

Hi, this may be slightly off topic however I am interested to find out further information about the tax free apect of things. I am also from Astralia.

Where might I find such information? Any guidance will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.