Trying To Figure Out The Right Visa Plan

[penguinchris]

I'm a US citizen, age 23.

Basically, I'm trying to figure out a visa situation that will let me stay in Thailand for maybe six months to a year. If I decide to stay longer than that, then I by necessity will have to have found a decent job in Thailand as I won't be able to afford it So, I can worry about work permits and so on at that point.

I have been in communication with a guy at Chiang Mai University about a part-time job doing english-language editing. If I get that job, then I presume I can get a "B" visa which will give me a year… correct?

Now, the reason I'm asking here is that I'm not sure they'll offer me the job. In the case that they don't, my current thinking is to get the 3-month tourist visa, and to try to line up some work while there.

However, I will be arriving on a one-way ticket. I know in a recent thread someone asked if they actually care that you have a return flight for a tourist visa, and apparently they don't… but how does one work this? The two times I've been to Thailand previously (both for the full 30 days that are allowed without a visa) I just wrote the flight number for my return flight on the arrival card… can I just leave that blank without raising suspicion?

I'm OK with multiple trips to consulates and so on, I just want to make sure I'm planning this out properly.

Executive summary of my plan:

a) Get the job and be all set with the B visa (which I guess involves 'consulate runs' every three months?), or,

Arrive with a 3-month tourist visa (which involves one border/consulate run after two months?)

------- 1) Try to line up some work...

------- 2) Then, get a B visa or work permit and be all set for a little while longer

Does this sound reasonable? Am I approaching this the right way? Is there perhaps an easier way?

(if it matters, my reason for wanting to live in Thailand for a while is so that I can take a much-needed break from what I'm currently doing - I'm a grad student and will finish my MSc in May - and, naturally, to develop my relationship with a girl (a Thai student) I met in Chiang Mai…)

Edited March 4, 2010 by penguinchris

[SeanMoran]

I Iarrived on a one-way ticket with a multiple entry (60 day x 3) tourist visa, and just wrote the letters TBA on the return flight for my departure card. No problems at customs, but it's because of the proper tourist visa.

[Mario2008]

a. If you get a job offer and papers to confirm it you can get a non-B visa and possible extensions of stay if you have a work permit and meet the requirements.

If not, you will have to come on a tourist visa, which is 60 days and can be extended by 30 day for 1,900 baht. No return ticket is needed when you have a visa. When you find work get a work permit, and a non-B from abroad..

[Musongman]

Are you sure that is correct Mario, that you don't need a return ticket if you enter Thailand on a visa such as a Tourist Visa?

I would be very surprised if at check-in I wasn't knocked back because I did not have a return or ongoing ticket out of Thailand.

A one-way would suit me in lots of circumstances but I have always believed that a return ticket was necessary with a visa or otherwise?

[SeanMoran]

Are you sure that is correct Mario, that you don't need a return ticket if you enter Thailand on a visa such as a Tourist Visa?

I would be very surprised if at check-in I wasn't knocked back because I did not have a return or ongoing ticket out of Thailand.

A one-way would suit me in lots of circumstances but I have always believed that a return ticket was necessary with a visa or otherwise?

Yes Mario is correct.

[TerryLH]

OP

Don't worry about what you put on the arrival/departure card. If you have a problem, it will be with the airline when you check in for your flight, not with Thai Immigration.

[Mario2008]

Are you sure that is correct Mario, that you don't need a return ticket if you enter Thailand on a visa such as a Tourist Visa?

I would be very surprised if at check-in I wasn't knocked back because I did not have a return or ongoing ticket out of Thailand.

A one-way would suit me in lots of circumstances but I have always believed that a return ticket was necessary with a visa or otherwise?

As another poster said, I'm correct. Airlines can check in a IATA database what the requirements are to enter a country. It will show them that you don't need a return ticket if you have a visa from a consulate or embassy.

[Lite Beer]

Mario is correct.

[SeanMoran]

Mario is correct.

There's nobody as correct as Mario is correct, is there?

<is that right>

[Mario2008]

Right.