What Are My Options?

[gadg]

Hi ...

After browsing the web for a bit, I decided I needed some help to figure out this maze of information about visa for Thailand. Hopefully you guys can help me out in trying to figure out what my options are and what the best one would be for me.

Sometime next year, I'd like to get on a plane to Thailand and try and build a new life over there. I will not have an employment contract set up over there, but I'll start looking for a job once I live over there. I expect to take a while before this happens, but have sufficient funds to go without a job for a while.

I am 30 yrs of age, live in the Netherlands, have the Dutch nationality and currently work for the dutch federal govt.

What are my options?

Any help is much appreciated.

regards,

Rob

[Thaiquila]

Someone might as well say it, so I will be the first.

You probably do not have many options if you want to work.

You sound very fluent in English so if you have a university degree I would presume you could get a job as an English teacher.

Whats the story behind the story though? That would be a step down for you from a government job in the Netherlands.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Marry a Thai is one way out. Meanwhile, talk to the Thai Consulate-General in Amsterdam about getting a multiple entry Non-Immigrant O class visa.

[lopburi3]

I would really urge you to consider this move very carefully as you should have a lot of years ahead of you and living without a safety net or money would not be a good option. As said about the only large employment area is English teaching and although your ability is probably better than most you are not from a native speaking country so that is also limiting. Although you can live comfortably here on less than there (if you don't party too much) you really need to take a calculator and figure out how many years you can work and how much money you can save with the lower salaries here as it will not be nice to live here 20 years but then have to leave because you can not support yourself or your visa requirements. This isn't "the big rock candy mountain" if anyone can remember that song.

[gadg]

Thank you all for your concern. I appreciate it and I have indeed thought this through.

I've set a timeline for myself to succeed. If I am not able to build a life that I am comfortable with, within that timeframe of 1 year, I will cut my losses and move on. I don't expect it to be easy, I do expect it to be different. I've got it made here, have a great job. Time to start over again. I know, no sensible person would think this way. For some reason I feel I need to make this move. I doubt I will be working as an english teacher. I think my main market will be the big multinational companies. I know it will be hard for me to find a job there because of the prejudice surrounding young, single farang men and because of the difficult process the company would have to go through to get a work permit for me. On top of that, there is a limited supply of jobs and a large market of candidates. So the chances are against me. After about 6 months I think I'll have a pretty good sense of the chances of succes, if I don't see it happening I will also start looking in other countries in Asia.

I'm well aware of the difficulties I'm facing. Why make it hard for myself and not move to a place where I'll have a better chance of succes right away? Well, applying for jobs from over here is very difficult for any country in Asia. I can't just hop over for an interview, there are a lot of variables for companies, etc. So I figured I'd position myself somewhere 'in the middle' so it's a lot easier for me to fly to for instance Singapore for an interview. So really it's not Thailand in particular, although I would love to build a life there. It's just that Thailand is cheap so my savings will go longer, but also, my best friend lives in Thailand. If I'm going to take this ride, I might as well do it near my friend who is already living and working over there.

Although I appreciate any further feedback on the above, my question about 'what are my options' was actually more about what kind of visa can or should I apply for, what are the pitfalls and how do I get around those. There was one reply in this general direction.

[...]talk to the Thai Consulate-General in Amsterdam about getting a multiple entry Non-Immigrant O class visa.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Why O class? Is 'multiple entry' more difficult to obtain than single entry?

Is there anything else different about a Non-Immigrant visa over a Tourist visa, other than the term it is for?

Edited October 16, 2005 by gadg

[lopburi3]

You can not work on a tourist visa.

[gadg]

You can not work on a tourist visa.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Can I work on an O-visa, because I thought that wasn't allowed? But if I can, wouldn't that fact make it really difficult to obtain such a visa?

Edited October 16, 2005 by gadg

[Maestro]

Can I work on an O-visa, because I thought that wasn't allowed? But if I can, wouldn't that fact make it really difficult to obtain such a visa?

To work in Thailand, you always need a tourist visa.

With a non-O visa, you can apply for a work permit.

With a tourist visa, after finding an employer in Thailand, you would have to travel to a Thai consulate, e.g. Penang, to apply for a non-B or non-O visa.

What purpose to write on your visa application form for a multiple non-O? As you’ve probably read in this forum, consulates in general issue this visa only for the purposes of “planning to retire in Thailand”, for which one needs to be near or over 50, or “visiting family and friends”, for which one needs a Thai wife or other close relative in Thailand. There have been some reports of certain consulates giving multiple non-O visas for other purposes, and Lopburi seems to think that Amsterdam might give you such visa based on your general plan to look for employment while in Thailand, without having a prospective employer at the moment, or that it’s a least worthwhile talking to them about it.

[Maestro]

With a tourist visa, after finding an employer in Thailand, you would have to travel to a Thai consulate, e.g. Penang, to apply for a non-B or non-O visa.

I believe I have to correct myself: it seems that with any type of visa, including a Tourist Visa, one can apply at the Immigration Office for a change to another type of visa, e.g. to non-O. The fee for a visa change is THB 2,000, if I remember correctly.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Very close. It is 1900 baht for any extension ( including the one year one ) cheaper to get an O before you leave home, rather than a tourist visa and an extension.

[Maestro]

Very close. It is 1900 baht for any extension ( including the one year one ) cheaper to get an O before you leave home, rather than a tourist visa and an extension.

Isn’t the visa change, from tourist to non-O or non-B, a separate item being added up on the cash register?

Change visa: THB 2,000, thank you very much.

Extension of stay: THB 1,900, thank you very much.

Or do you really get both in one go for the price of THB 1,900?

[Sunbelt Asia]

Isn’t the visa change, from tourist to non-O or non-B, a separate item being added up on the cash register?

Change visa: THB 2,000, thank you very much.

Extension of stay: THB 1,900, thank you very much.

Or do you really get both in one go for the price of THB 1,900?

It's two fees.

As well on the change on a Non B from a tourist.... the cost and hassle of getting your Dutch diploma notarized and then translated by the Embassy and then certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Much easier to get the “B” or “O” visa in your home country then to change it from a tourist visa here.

www.lawyer.th.com

[taxin]

Marry a Thai is one way out.  Meanwhile, talk to the Thai Consulate-General in Amsterdam about getting a multiple entry Non-Immigrant O class visa.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

But how will marrying a Thai make things easier ?