How Can I Legally Stay In Thailand Without Leaving The Country

[jazzbo]

but it is entirely unneeded to obtain A multiple entry non immigrant visa... however in general they will issue only 1 of them... So what if you find an accommodating NGO of your choice Under Royal Patronage and you make a contribution EACH YEAR for the next 10 years establishing your proof of your business relation to Thailand.? You seem to underestimate the effect on a Consulate anywhere in the world upon receiving a Letter from such an organization.

[jazzbo]

... of course without ever getting married the OP can solve all his problems and never have to leave the LOS again 9 months from today according to Police Order 777/2551 2.18, at least for the next 20 years.

[Tod Daniels]

Christ for someone alluding to the fact they want to stay in thailand "forever", the O/P has sure gone out of the way to discount the various methods other posters have suggested he go about this overly ambitious undertaking (aka; a pipe dream ).

I also find it quite the quandary that the O/P wants to stay here in the glorious "Land 'O Thais" (where last time I checked the national language is hmmm, lemme think again, THAI), yet freely admits he'd rather get an ED visa and break the law right out of the gate by NOT studying thai than undertake the (obviously huge time investment ) of the minimum 4 hours a week mandatory study per MOE rules.

My question to the O/P is; How do you anticipate communicating with the indigenous natives who populate this country; via mental telepathy, or perhaps mime? A person might think, if someone wanted to live in a foreign country 'forever', they might have at the very least a small incentive to learn the basics of the native language. Then again, maybe not..

please turn out the light when you leave..

The mind wobbles at the sheer insanity of some posts.. ..

Edited December 20, 2009 by tod-daniels

[clockworkorange]

There is no requirement for a Police Check that I know of.

The OP has admitted that he is a criminal. Why help him settle here by telling him he can bend the rules by doing border runs? He has not told us what crime(s) he has committed, and for all you know he could be a menace to Thai society.

Some of us have families here, and care for their safety. Please act responsibly before advising criminals how they can live among us unregulated.

Edited December 20, 2009 by clockworkorange

[Lite Beer]

There is no requirement for a Police Check that I know of.

The OP has admitted that he is a criminal. Why help him settle here by telling him he can bend the rules by doing border runs? He has not told us what crime(s) he has committed, and for all you know he could be a menace to Thai society.

Some of us have families here, and care for their safety. Please act responsibly before advising criminals how they can live among us unregulated.

All I do is state the rule and answer questions.

There is nothing in the requirements about a police report. Fact.

[whatchamacallit]

There is no requirement for a Police Check that I know of.

The OP has admitted that he is a criminal. Why help him settle here by telling him he can bend the rules by doing border runs? He has not told us what crime(s) he has committed, and for all you know he could be a menace to Thai society.

Some of us have families here, and care for their safety. Please act responsibly before advising criminals how they can live among us unregulated.

FYI: With so many already among us here in Thailand - how much worse off are we going to be with yet one more

[Phatcharanan]

As a US Government Certified Braille Transcriber here in the Kingdom -- actually the only such person in SE Asia -- I am personally aware of this; and I think others might enjoy a similar experience as well and get their Visa in the bargain.

Actually, there are several. I believe that most of them (Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia) have followed the actual NLS training program...........as opposed to the run-of-the-mill, self-study correspondence courses.

Edited December 20, 2009 by Phatcharanan

[whatchamacallit]

.....as opposed to the run-of-the-mill, self-study correspondence courses.

Oh No... Khun P......... I wonder who???

[Phatcharanan]

Golly Gosh ! No idea .

[jazzbo]

Braille Certification Courses / Eligibility for the Courses: ... for Library of Congress certification. To qualify for enrollment, a person must be a high school graduate, a citizen or resident of the United States, or a U.S. citizen residing in a foreign country ( http://www.nfb.org/nfb/Braille_Certification.asp )

As far as being the only one, that's what I was told by people who do the Braille work here in Thailand for the Ministry of Education and work with groups in Lao, Cambodia, etc. Regardless, no big deal; there are only about 30 thousand such certified persons in the USA and they rarely leave the country.

[jazzbo]

I added the information about my Braille work to show that --although the circumstances were obviously different -- there is some substance to my suggestion that arranging to make a substantial donation to an NGO in Thailand possibly under royal Patronage, could result in a Letter of Invitation that would yield a 'B' Non-Imm Visa. I also suggest that such a structure could be repeated over multiple years. I DID in fact receive 2 'B' Visas 2 years in a row before converting to the Extension of Stay based upon Retirement.

Whatever the OPs original query, I wanted to offer the possibility that there is an avenue for a long-term stay for those under 50 and can afford to spread some of their largess and do something here in the Kingdom of which they can be very proud.

[DegenFarang]

... of course without ever getting married the OP can solve all his problems and never have to leave the LOS again 9 months from today according to Police Order 777/2551 2.18, at least for the next 20 years.

So if you have a child or get married you can get a visa which will never require you to leave Thailand again? If I'm already here on an ED visa would I have to leave and then come back again or could I just go to immigration and inform them I was now married or had a child and get this new visa?

Thanks for all the suggestions. I liked the NGO idea and wouldn't have a problem donating 100k baht or a bit more for such a visa, however I would not be willing to take an airplane to get the visa. All of this stems from my irrational fear of flying which I cannot overcome.

[DegenFarang]

My question to the O/P is; How do you anticipate communicating with the indigenous natives who populate this country; via mental telepathy, or perhaps mime? laugh.gif A person might think, if someone wanted to live in a foreign country 'forever', they might have at the very least a small incentive to learn the basics of the native language. Then again, maybe not..

Most of the Thai's I speak to can speak English just fine. Maybe you should stop dating bargirls.

Edited December 20, 2009 by DegenFarang

[DegenFarang]

There is no requirement for a Police Check that I know of.

The OP has admitted that he is a criminal. Why help him settle here by telling him he can bend the rules by doing border runs? He has not told us what crime(s) he has committed, and for all you know he could be a menace to Thai society.

Some of us have families here, and care for their safety. Please act responsibly before advising criminals how they can live among us unregulated.

LOL

I didn't say I was running from the cops, I said I had a criminal record. I've been in Thailand for over four years, so it is obviously a fairly old one.

Edited December 20, 2009 by DegenFarang

[Spoonman]

In fact I think I'm exactly the kind of long term resident the government wants.

Considering the constant changes to visa's and what not i was under the impression the gumbyment dont want any long term residents.

[DegenFarang]

In fact I think I'm exactly the kind of long term resident the government wants.

Considering the constant changes to visa's and what not i was under the impression the gumbyment dont want any long term residents.

They don't want those who are poor and/or working illegally. They don't have any problem with retiree's. There just aren't that many people younger than retirement age who want to live here long term and legitimately do not need to work. If there were more of us I"m confident we'd have our own visa class.

[jazzbo]

So if you have a child or get married you can get a visa which will never require you to leave Thailand again? Yes... after receiveing youir initial non-Imm Visa:

777/2551 2.18 In the case of a family member of a Thai(applicable only to parents, spouse, child, adopted child or child of his/her spouse):

Permission will be granted for a period of not more than 1 year at a time.

4) In the case of a child, adopted child or child of his/her spouse, the said person (child) must not be married, must be living with the family, and must be less than 20 years of age

;

40K B per month or 400K B in bank applies... and thanks for the comment on the NGO option.

[lopburi3]

The above is an extension of stay and not a visa and requires renewal every year with proof of relationship/support/financials required at each renewal.

[DegenFarang]

The above is an extension of stay and not a visa and requires renewal every year with proof of relationship/support/financials required at each renewal.

So are you saying if I'm currently on an ED Visa I could go and apply for this 'extension of stay' without leaving the country? Or would I have to leave the country and re-enter on a certain type of visa as the above poster stated?

And is there 90 day reporting or just the requirement to renew once per year?

Edited December 21, 2009 by DegenFarang

[Dakhar]

The language requirements are very very reasonable DegenFarang, so dont worry, we will help you, also speaking at least some Thai can only benefit you. So far Walen never had a case where an ED visa of our students was not extended so before you make any drastic changes to your visa status talk to us, we will help you and make sure you have no problems. Trust us, you will be just fine.

Walen School

This all just started within the last couple of days, how would you know? Ya, maybe I'll be ok for my next extension and possibly the one after that - but your claims of me being able to extend for the next 10 years are beyond retarded. You don't know to what extent they are going to extend this testing, or how far they are going to take their enforcement i.e. warnings and then rejections of Visa's - possibly banning certain school's altogether. Everything about the ED visa extensions over the long term is very much in doubt at this point...if you wont admit that you are delusional.

[monty]

So are you saying if I'm currently on an ED Visa I could go and apply for this 'extension of stay' without leaving the country? Or would I have to leave the country and re-enter on a certain type of visa as the above poster stated?

And is there 90 day reporting or just the requirement to renew once per year?

Yes you can.

If you qualify for a 1 year extension you can convert to the proper visa, and then get the 1 year extension.

So if you are here on a non immi type ED, with at least 21 days of stay remaining you go to immigration with all paperwork supporting your application (if for the married option you have to bring along your wife as well).

If they consider your paperwork complete they will then convert to a non immigrant O visa (fee 2000 Baht), and then take your application for the married person extension (fee 1900 Baht).

You will get a 30 day under consideration stamp, during which time your file will go to Bkk, and if approved after those 30 days they will stamp in the full year.

Every foreigner on an extension of stay allowing him to remain in Thailand over 90 days has to do the address reporting. Every 90 days!.

[lopburi3]

Actually there is no conversion as the ED visa is non immigrant - only the reason for extension of change would change.

[monty]

Actually there is no conversion as the ED visa is non immigrant - only the reason for extension of change would change.

I think they might need to convert between type of non immigrant.

If not so, then some immigration offices use it as an excuse to create extra income.

A friend of mine had to fill out the paperwork (TM 87) to convert from a non immigrant type B to a non immigrant type O at a fee of 2000 Baht, all with official receipts, before they would accept his application for an extension based on marriage.

I found this odd as well but he had his passport and receipts with him to show me!

[jazzbo]

So Kuhn DF, after at most one exit from the Kingdom to obtain the proper Visa, all that would be required is an Extension of Stay renewal each year @ 1900 Baht,, whatever documentation is required by your local Immigration Office for the 400K Baht per year / 40 K Baht per month provision, 90 day reporting (no fee involved), and if you manage the paperwork things properly, you might NEVER have to exit the Kingdom again... I guess you would have no need for a Re-entry Permit

I'm not married to a Thai. Now all that would be required is either a Thai wife, who you could have today or a baby to support -- no marriage required for the baby option just a 9 month wait.

[Mario2008]

Have to agree with Lopburi, there is no conversion from one category of non-immigrant to another one. Given the receipts, it was probably a misunderstanding of the rules by the immigration officer.

[DegenFarang]

So are you saying if I'm currently on an ED Visa I could go and apply for this 'extension of stay' without leaving the country? Or would I have to leave the country and re-enter on a certain type of visa as the above poster stated?

And is there 90 day reporting or just the requirement to renew once per year?

Yes you can.

If you qualify for a 1 year extension you can convert to the proper visa, and then get the 1 year extension.

So if you are here on a non immi type ED, with at least 21 days of stay remaining you go to immigration with all paperwork supporting your application (if for the married option you have to bring along your wife as well).

If they consider your paperwork complete they will then convert to a non immigrant O visa (fee 2000 Baht), and then take your application for the married person extension (fee 1900 Baht).

You will get a 30 day under consideration stamp, during which time your file will go to Bkk, and if approved after those 30 days they will stamp in the full year.

Every foreigner on an extension of stay allowing him to remain in Thailand over 90 days has to do the address reporting. Every 90 days!.

Thank you for the very helpful reply! Now to go find me a wife or a kid! Shouldn't be too hard in Thailand

[DegenFarang]

Have to agree with Lopburi, there is no conversion from one category of non-immigrant to another one. Given the receipts, it was probably a misunderstanding of the rules by the immigration officer.

Minor technicality as far as I'm concerned. Either way I don't have to leave the Kingdom so all is good.

[jazzbo]

Now to go find me a wife or a kid! Shouldn't be too hard in Thailand You do not have to be married for the 2.18 Extension of Stay but any child for whom you are the legal father would have a claim on your estate. A fascinating tale on that score is the late Larry Hillblom who was the 'H' in DHL. Excerpt from the Wikipedia entry:

After his death, his estate was the subject of lawsuits from children fathered across the Pacific. According to Saipan law, illegitimate children born after a will has been drawn up are entitled to make a claim on the estate... Girls from several Asian and Pacific countries made claims that he was the father of their children.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Hillblom

[kwilson76]

DegenFarang, I am in a similar position to you. I want to move to Thailand on a permanent basis, but because I don't have a job or study lined up, I am under 55 and am I not married to a Thai, I can't seem to find a reasonably simple way to do this!

I plan to move in February, but I am finding this visa issue so difficult, it is almost making me change my mind. I take no comfort in extending tourist visas, to one day be denied renewal. I am leaving Australia permanently, I have quit my job and sold all my possessions. Unfortunately I don't have unlimited funds and the town I will be going to is one of the poorest in Thailand. This is something I dearly want to do, and end up teaching English to the children there, even if it is unpaid. This process is way too difficult if you want to do the right thing.

Good luck for you, you seem to have found a way.

[moe666]

kwilson are you over 50 if so retirement visa works for you.