Hello there,

this is my first post on this forum. I am a graphical designer and I would like to live and work in Thailand. Right now, I am on a tourist visa for 3 weeks (I still have 9 days left). I have been applying for jobs, but the chance to get hired within this short period of time is not realistic. Is there a way for me to stay in Thailand (on a non-immigrant visa), continue my job search and then apply for a work permit once I found a company that is willing to hire me?

I also could freelance, but I am not sure if this can work out w/o having a Thai national to register my business for me? I'd be very thankful for some advice.

No you can not work without a work permit and you have no valid reason for a non immigrant visa. Unless you want to study. You should be able to obtain a tourist visa from a nearby Consulate to allow 60 day stay which could be extended another 30 days to give more time (subject to your passport country) - but suspect employment in that field would be very hard to find for non-Thai.

Yeah, it's gonne be under the table for you for now. I have some friends here in your field. The usual problems of full-time designers being paid peanuts back home is ten times worse here (for the usual reasons that no one appreciates good design and everyone has a nephew who is "a designer"), so while there's some theoretical possibility of obtaining a work permit, it's highly unlikely unless you network your way into a circle of people and impress them. Just skip the pain for now, get an Ed Visa, learn some Thai and start networking around the expat orgs. Whatever you do in your spare time to support yourself is another matter, of course.

You can get a job as a graphic designer, if you find the right connections. However, this has nothing to do with your tourist visa, which is going to expire, so prepare to leave the country. Come back on a new tourist visa, or on an educatinal visa (you would need some documents from the school before you leave) and build up relationships in your field.

It's not easy find a job in your field (too many foreigners in any field are squeezing into Thailand), but that doesn't mean it's impossible. Other people have succeeded, why wouldn't you?

Once you have a job, the company will give you documents with which you can apply for a non-immigrant business visa. Note that visas are always issued abroad, so that would mean another trip abroad.... And once you have that visa and are back in Thailand, you can apply for the work permit. The business visa doesn't mean you are allowed to work, it just means you are allowed to apply for the work permit.

You can also apply for a work permit on any other non-immigrant visa, for example the educational visa, but there are too many details and twists in the law to mention them all here. My second paragraph above is the most important one: If you want to achieve something, you can.

Thanks for your replies! I have some private reasons to stay in Thailand and I am well aware that the salary is not going to be as "high" as in some Farungland, but as long as the job is nice, I can pay my bills and won't starve, I'm good. The lack of appreciation for design is rather a general issue, I've also faced this in western countries. Just like everywhere in the world, I will have to find the right people and circles.

The ED visa is a really good option for me, but my tourist visa is going to expire in 2 weeks, if I decide not to go back to my country in 7 days. The process to get the ED visa with the school's help would take 3 - 4 weeks, and I would not really want to do the overstay thing. I'll have to leave the country to obtain the ED visa anyway, but what will I do in the meantime? Last option would be going back to my country, apply for ED visa from there and get another ticket to Thailand. It would be better if I could get this done here, while I'm already in Thailand.

Depending on nationality you can cross land border for 15 day - fly back for 30 days - obtain tourist visa at any nearby Consulate for 60+30 days.

Try some sign shop.

Thais really like signs outside their shops.

Try some sign shop.

Thais really like signs outside their shops.

Yeah . . . but they are (generally) not really 'designed' lol

I blame Microsoft, everyone now thinks they are a 'designer' . . .

I'm a Mac + Linux user, and I enjoy teasing my thai friends whenever their windoze screws up... fun, fun, fun

We have asked about the visa thing already, the immigration office said if I take a bus to lets say Cambodia, I will get 15 days, if I use a plane, I'd get 30 days, but fying is a bit more expensive, unless someone knows where to find cheap flights?

Where are you located?

Where are you located?

I'm in BKK right now.