Extended stay in thailand help

[hollers]

My wife and I are taking a year's career break and having been to Thailand many times working and holidaying we would like have an extended stay in the country (not to work) for 12 months.

I have read many confusing and contradicting 'rules' and advice on how this can be done (if at all).

Can someone please advise whether it is possible to obtain a Non Immigrant visa (type O) for a period of twelve months for non work puposes?

Many thanks

[KevinN]

from what I was told before I came here,it is best to get the visa from the Royal Thai Embassy or consulate near your home before departing,,You can get a visa on entry here and it will be good for 2 months and then you would have to make a visa run across the border to Loa, Cambodia, or burma, but I would think that it would be best to do it before you left home then you wouldn't have to go outside to renew every month or so and would be sure you had what you need as things change here almost daily,seems like they do not want you to relax to much in the land of smiles.borders open and close for various reasons and prices and rules change often.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

A bit of misinformation from Kev I am afraid. The permit on arrival is for 30 days not two months, a Tourist visa enables a stay of two months The 30 day permit on arrival is available to those having a confirmed outbound ticket within 30 days. Borders occasionally closed. The visa fees rose in August, and that was the first fee increase in 18 years, so rises are hardly  "often"

Hollers.. what is your age ?

[hollers]

I am 30 yo as is my wife. I already have a tourist visa good for 2 months (and extendable for 1 month locally I am told) but wondered if I could get a Non Immigrant visa for longer rather than messing around doing visa runs all the time.

If I can evidence that I am on a career break and have sufficient funds for a years stay do you think it will be possible?

Thanks

[lopburi3]

I doubt that 'career break' is on the current list of 'other' visa criteria but you could always get lucky.  I would go to a small consulate and explain what you want to do.  You might get lucky.  But don't expect anything that will allow you to remain here more than 90 days at a time.  Even a multi entry class O visa requires you to exit every 90 days.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Hollers....apply by mail in Houston ...purpose of visit ...Study language and culture.

                           Royal Thai Consulate-General

                           2800 Texas Commerce Tower

                           Houston Tx 77002-3094

                           Tel  (713) 229 8733

                           Fax  (713) 228 1303

Apply for a multi entry...you can apply by mail

[KevinN]

Dr. PAT; I do not know about the mis info, when I and my daughter came here I had a touirist visa stamped in our passports at LA. they stamped the dates in at DM when we cleared into country,and it was jan 12th I had to go to Immig. the 12 of march and they extended them for another month,and I had asked for i month visas when I sent our passports to LA, Royal Thai Embassy.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

You can get a visa on entry here and it will be good for 2 months ................... and prices and rules change often.

A visa on entry is a permit on arrival and enables a 30 day stay. One needs a confirmed outbound airticket to be eligible for that 30 day stay.

Visa prices increased on the 26 August. That was the first increase since 1986. You couldn't say prices change often.

[lopburi3]

and I had asked for i month visas

Any "tourist" visa obtained by an American will normally receive a sixty day period of stay when you enter Thailand.  Just as most Thai will receive a 6 month period of stay when they enter the USA.  Regardless of what period of time they plan to stay.  

Americans are not allowed to obtain "visa on arrival" as that is only available for a few countries where applications would be difficult (no Thai consulate and such).  

The 30 day stay is an entry without a visa and available for travelers with confirmed outbound air ticket from about 40 countries, including the USA.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Interestingly Lop, Of the sub-continent countries, only Indians can get a 15 day visa on arrival. The others can only get a visa from their country of residence.

[Byron]

I'm currently doing the same as you intend to do and I managed to get a multiple entry tourist visa valid for a year (from UK). I had to pay 8GBP for each entry and you can get as many entires as you like. I chose to pay for six, but you'll only need 4 to stay the year. Downside is you still have to get an extension after you've been here for 60 days and they've just hiked the price of that to 1900 Baht. You also have to do a few visa runs. Upside is that there's no form filling to do every time you come back in.

All in all, I think this would be your best and probably only viable option. As others have suggested, it is highly unlikely you'll be able to get a year-long tourist visa without having to leave the country every so often. I time short trips abroad in line with visa run dates and that seems to work well - you'll need a bit of cash tho. If you are prepared to do a bit of travelling, then it should be a pretty painless and enjoyable year. Good luck!

[KevinN]

and I had asked for i month visas

Any "tourist" visa obtained by an American will normally receive a sixty day period of stay when you enter Thailand.  Just as most Thai will receive a 6 month period of stay when they enter the USA.  Regardless of what period of time they plan to stay.  

Americans are not allowed to obtain "visa on arrival" as that is only available for a few countries where applications would be difficult (no Thai consulate and such).  

The 30 day stay is an entry without a visa and available for travelers with confirmed outbound air ticket from about 40 countries, including the USA.

quote-Lapburi31

Americans are not allowed to obtain "visa on arrival" as that is only available for a few countries where applications would be difficult (no Thai consulate and such).  

LAPBURI ,do you find the following  in error?

Most tourism visas are issued on arrival at Don Muang airport for tourists. Any other visa like non immigrant you need to get in your own country preferably or outside Thailand.[ nonimmigrant visa ]. Please remember that Visa & immigration can change by the week so please ask us for up-to-date info. For Law services & [ Thai Lawyer ]

List of Countries Allowed 30 Days for Tourism without a Visa ON ARRIVAL:

Argentina  Australia  Austria   Belgium

Brazil  Bahrain  Brunei   Canada

Cyprus  Denmark  Egypt   Fiji

Finland  France  Germany  Greece

Iceland  Indonesia  Ireland  Israel

Italy  Japan  Kenya  South Korea

Malaysia  Mauritania  Mexico  Morocco

Myanmar  Netherlands  Norway  Papua New Guinea

Philippines  Portugal  Qatar  Saudi Arabia

Senegal   Singapore  Slovenia  Kuwait

Oman  Luxembourg  Sweden   Switzerland

Tunesia  Turkey    United Arab  Emirates  United Kingdom

Spain  United States of America  Vanuatu   Western Samoa  

Yemen  South Africa   Djibouti  South Korea (3 months)

__New Zealand

List of Countries Allowed 15 Days for Tourism without a Visa ON ARRIVAL:

Make sure you have a  valid passport (6-month validity with empty visa pages), proof of confirmed air tickets showing 15 days or less in Thailand, must have clean record in Thailand (no criminal history) and carry at least $200 per person or $400 per family. Extension are not be granted. Complete visa application (provided by Thai Immigration at port of entry), attach two recent passport-type photos, and visa fee of 300 Baht.

Albania Andorra Antigua and Barbuda Armenia

Azerbychan Bahamas Barbados Belarus

Belize Bhutan  Bolivia Botswana

Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon

Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Chile

People's Republic of China Colombia Comoros Costa Rica

Cote d'Ivoire Croatia Czech Republic Dominica

Dominican Republic Ecuador Equatorial Guinea  Estonia

Ethiopia Gabon Gambia Georgia

Grenada Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau

Haiti Honduras Hungary India

Jamaica Kazakhstan Kiribati Kyrgyz Republic

Latvia Lesotho Liberia Lithuania

Liechtenstein Malawi Maldives  Mali

Malta Mauritius  Moldova Monaco

Nauru Niger  Panama Paraguay

Peru Poland  Romani Russian Federation

Rwanda  St. Christopher and Nevis  Saint Lucia St. Vincent and the Grenadines

San Marino Seychelles Sao Tome and Principe Sierra Leone

Slovak Republic   Solomon Islands Somalia Suriname

Swaziland  Tajikistan Taiwan (Republic of China). Tranzania

Tonga Togo  Republic of Trinidad and Tobago Turkmenistan  

Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine  Uruguay  

Uzbekistan Vatican City State  Venezuela  Zaire

Zambia   Zimbabwe

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Kev ...the privileged nations as per your list get a permit for touristic purposes of 30 days on arrival, coditional on them having a confirmed outbound airticket within 30 days.  The less privileged line up on arrival, pay for, and get a VISA ON ARRIVAL. Some arrivers have to get a visa abroad for ANY visit purpose.

I hope that clears it for you

[george]

Here is a better list of countries:

» Visa requirements countries A-Z

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Well....dear Byron....there is no such thing as a one year validity tourist visa. Whether 6 or 66 entries. By creativity, and extesions, you may well stay a year, but your entries need to be made within 6 months. Check it with the RTE London. Ignore what I say at your peril ( and take a toothbrush if you do )

[lopburi3]

quote-Lapburi31

Americans are not allowed to obtain "visa on arrival" as that is only available for a few countries where applications would be difficult (no Thai consulate and such).  

LAPBURI ,do you find the following  in error?

Not sure what you want.  I am not about to read each list and compare with the official list at MFA visa page

but I can see that they are lists of countries that do NOT require a visa on arrival.  Not the small list of 14 countries that can obtain a "visa on arrival".  The USA is not on that list.

[jbaldwin]

I am in Thailand on a two year career break.  I got a 4-entry tourist visit in London, which allowed me to stay 9 months (it is valid for 6 month - on the last day you have final entry of 60 day then extend for 30 day).  I then went to Brisbane and was given a one year multi entry non-im "O" visa, which gives another 15 months.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Did Brisbane cancel the Tourist Visa ? If not, ensure that on arrival the officer notes your Non-Immigrant status on arrival. How long did visa issuance take in Brisbane ?

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Be aware that the Brisbane visa has a one year validity. Forget the Tourist visae you have.

[jbaldwin]

I only went to Brisbane after being in Thailand for nine months(ie the tourist visa had already expired).  Brisbane took about 15 minutes to issue the visa

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Sounds great Mr Baldwin....you'd obviously vote # 1 for Brisbane         Nice to know

[Byron]

Well....dear Byron....there is no such thing as a one year validity tourist visa. Whether 6 or 66 entries. By creativity, and extesions, you may well stay a year, but your entries need to be made within 6 months. Check it with the RTE London. Ignore what I say at your peril ( and take a toothbrush if you do )

I'll check with the British Embassy where I got the visa from - they never mentioned anything about using the entries up within 6 months and I told the guy at the embassy that I wanted to stay the year. I understood that, as long as you don't overstay, the visa is good for the whole year. As I say, I'll check it out and post the results.

Thanks for the info.

[Stevieboy]

Well....dear Byron....there is no such thing as a one year validity tourist visa.

Hi,Dr Pat Pong

Are you sure there is no such thing as a one year tourist visa as I was planning on getting one via The Hull consulate.

It states on their website

"d) Quadruple Entry (maximum)

Same principle as for Double Entry except that it allows for up to four visits within a period of 12 months"

http://www.thaiconsul-uk.com/Tvisas.htm

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Check with the RTE in London...a single tourist visa must be utilized within 90 days, multiples within 180 days. Hull must make its own rules...be careful.

[Byron]

Birmingham say my one year visa is all kosha and above board provided all entries are made within the dates on the visa. Am waiting to get through to RTE in London to get their confirmation on this - will update as soon as I know more.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

I reiterate....check with head office...The Royal Thai Embassy London. I guarantee there is no change to the rules as previously stated. Accordingly I believge you are misinformed.

[Byron]

London have confirmed that the six month ruling is correct and have suggested that I contact immigration in BKK just to make sure.

This, of course, has serious implications because it looks like the consulates are issuing one year tourist visas which are essentially invalid after 9 months. It was pure providence that I answered Holler's enquiry and if Dr. PP hadn't have been so adamant about the ruling, I could have been in a real state at DM when I flew back to BKK in March - so thanks for that Dr. PP!

This shouldn't disrupt my plans too much as I should just be able to get a new visa when I next leave the country - am off to NZ at Xmas. Hopefully there should be no complications there?? ???

Stevie-boy - you might want to take this up with the Hull consulate.

Holler's - hope you manage to sort things out your end!!

Okay, will post an addendum if Immigration say otherwise but am not getting my hopes up.

[Byron]

For what it's worth, have just spoken to Birmingham and they say that different Consulates and Embassies issue visas in different ways (they can say that again!!) and that their one year visa is valid even if London say otherwise.

Ho hum. Wait till I hear it from the hourses mouth (Thai Immigration) I guess. So much for standardization.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

The Thai Ministries make the rules not individual Consulates. I had heard that Hull did do this. One poster some time back said Thai Immigration thought Hull made a mistake and honored the longer period. Get the visa just before you go to Thailand    

[JimGant]

It's interesting to search the Web pages of individual Thai embassies and consulates in the attempt to glean immigration facts. No two seem to read from the same sheet of music, and, in fact, there seem to be completely different song books circulating. And the Hull consulate's Web page adds yet another twist in addition to one-year tourist visas (at least I'd never seen this option before anywhere, including this forum). I'm talking about the following:

http://www.thaiconsul-uk.com/Bvisas.htm

WRITTEN GUARANTEE:-

Persons requiring Non-Immigrant Visas who are not able to provide a letter of employment or appointment or marriage certificate are required to provide a letter of guarantee from someone who is prepared to meet any costs incurred by the applicant which they cannot pay themselves including the cost of repatriation if necessary.

The wording of such a letter to be as follows:-

Name of guarantor

Address of guarantor

Date

I (name of guarantor) have known (name of applicant) for ___ years and understand him/her to have sufficient funds to meet any reasonable costs which may be incurred during their stay in Thailand including the cost of returning to the UK. However, in the event of it being necessary I (name of guarantor) hereby undertake to meet any expenses which may be incurred by (name of visitor) including the cost of repatriation.

Signature of guarantor

Wow! A Nonimmigrant 'O' visa seems a much better visa than the Tourist example of this thread if one wants to spend a year (in this case, 15 months) in Thailand. I'm not sure what the 'gotcha' is, if any. Maybe you can't get the multiple entry variety(?). And some individuals might be hard pressed to find a guarantor. Anyway, even if this is creative visa interpretation by Hull, once you get the multiple entry Nonim 'O' stamp in your passport, you're good-to-go for 15 months, whether or not Hull was correct in issuing you one.

Has anyone else seen anything about a 'guarantor' for Nonim 'O' visas? Or is this strictly Hull?