Singaporean Wanting To Reside In Thailand

[DavidSingaporean]

i have some questions, will really like someone to advice me.

im a singaporean, 28 this year. i have a thai gf that i wish to take of care her. she is fine with me as even tho im not any rich guy out there. we just simply want to be together which we all know, things aint so simple. i cant live on her money as im a guy afterall and moreover, how long can her money last i dont know.

situation is such, shes doesnt want to stay singapore neither does she want me to work in singapore to provide her finance support, she just want to be together. however on my side, its not as easy as she wants. there no way Thailand govenment will allow me to stay in thailand if i doesnt have a job with working permit.

even if i were to marry her, i still need income of 40,000k per month. anyay i quitted my job and will be going thailand on March.

after looking through all visa regulation and stuffs, there most straightforward is to have a job in Thailand.

i need some advice on how can i set my foothold in thailand with a Diploma and 5 years experience in the shipping/retail industry. i can speak basic thai tho...

im stress up as i quitted my 3k sgd job but now i face many blockage on thailand side. someone please give me some useful guide.

[beano2274]

Sorry but I would not have quit my job before lining another one up, even for love.

Have you tried "Maersk"?

you do not need an income of 40,000baht, that is for an extension of a visa based on marriage.

Edited January 25, 2013 by beano2274

[thaifkrlim]

Take care of yourself before you take care of another.

soon after you move to Thailand , you will realise that you are just another ordinary guy in Thailand and nothing special to her, the initial attraction is no longer there, then you ' become smaller and smaller and turn to dust

[mrtoad]

It seems you have gone about this all the wrong way. Why would you quit a job, and then hope to find something in Thailand? Especially, as you now admit that you are stressed. There are literally thousands of people rocking up in Thailand to be with their Thai GF, but are not even contemplating how difficult it is to get a job - whatever your skills, the job market is very competitive, and you'll need to be able to offer something that a local staff can't offer. It's not going to be that easy, and you would certainly have been better of in SGP, but you have made that decison, hope it works for you, but you're likely to find that you are limited to sales jobs with commissions only, or teaching English. Sorry if that sounds negative.

[beano2274]

It seems you have gone about this all the wrong way. Why would you quit a job, and then hope to find something in Thailand? Especially, as you now admit that you are stressed. There are literally thousands of people rocking up in Thailand to be with their Thai GF, but are not even contemplating how difficult it is to get a job - whatever your skills, the job market is very competitive, and you'll need to be able to offer something that a local staff can't offer. It's not going to be that easy, and you would certainly have been better of in SGP, but you have made that decison, hope it works for you, but you're likely to find that you are limited to sales jobs with commissions only, or teaching English. Sorry if that sounds negative.

Can forget the teaching job, judging by the original post.

[DavidSingaporean]

Lets put it this way, she knows im not rich from the first day till now. Her family is decent as i have met them and they all are in good finance position, not rich ill say but not needing care from someone else. lets skip the part on her.

im just thinking how to settle down in Thailand for a start, at least a job to take care of myself as i know using her money is not a solution no matter how many times she offer it.

i dont need a highly paid job because i have plans for business later and she settled my housing problem already

all i need is a job and a work permit. i need few months to plan my business.

need some good advice. teaching english am i qualified?

[mrtoad]

It seems you have gone about this all the wrong way. Why would you quit a job, and then hope to find something in Thailand? Especially, as you now admit that you are stressed. There are literally thousands of people rocking up in Thailand to be with their Thai GF, but are not even contemplating how difficult it is to get a job - whatever your skills, the job market is very competitive, and you'll need to be able to offer something that a local staff can't offer. It's not going to be that easy, and you would certainly have been better of in SGP, but you have made that decison, hope it works for you, but you're likely to find that you are limited to sales jobs with commissions only, or teaching English. Sorry if that sounds negative.

Can forget the teaching job, judging by the original post.

I don't think poor grammar excludes people from that job in Thailand.

[mrtoad]

all i need is a job and a work permit. i need few months to plan my business.

need some good advice. teaching english am i qualified?

Sorry to break the news, a job and a work permit are not that easy to get either. There are many here working with no WP.

Teaching English? If you have a pulse and some smart clothes you'll be fine.

[krisb]

Take care of yourself before you take care of another.

soon after you move to Thailand , you will realise that you are just another ordinary guy in Thailand and nothing special to her, the initial attraction is no longer there, then you ' become smaller and smaller and turn to dust

For gods sake thats just ridiculous.

[krisb]

Sorry but I would not have quit my job before lining another one up, even for love.

Have you tried "Maersk"?

you do not need an income of 40,000baht, that is for an extension of a visa based on marriage.

Can you explain what is maersk please? Also what do you mean by 40k baht income and the visa based on marriage bit. I dont understand

[beano2274]

Sorry but I would not have quit my job before lining another one up, even for love.

Have you tried "Maersk"?

you do not need an income of 40,000baht, that is for an extension of a visa based on marriage.

Can you explain what is maersk please? Also what do you mean by 40k baht income and the visa based on marriage bit. I dont understand

Maersk is a shipping company if the Op knows the business as he states then he would know them.

When you go for an extension of stay based on marriage at Thai Immigration you require an income of 40,000baht per month or 400,000 baht savings in the applicants name.

better explanation?

[krisb]

Sorry but I would not have quit my job before lining another one up, even for love.

Have you tried "Maersk"?

you do not need an income of 40,000baht, that is for an extension of a visa based on marriage.

Can you explain what is maersk please? Also what do you mean by 40k baht income and the visa based on marriage bit. I dont understand

Maersk is a shipping company if the Op knows the business as he states then he would know them.

When you go for an extension of stay based on marriage at Thai Immigration you require an income of 40,000baht per month or 400,000 baht savings in the applicants name.

better explanation?

So 400k in savings or income of 40k per mth, easy. So how long do they extend the visa and how long is the initial visa?

[beano2274]

The visa is extended by a year, firstly they give you a 30 days stamp, on the 30th day you go back to Immigration to get the stamp put in your passport, the 30days is under consideration (they do checks to make sure things are as you say). You need a lot of documents and also your wife if extending due to marriage.

[DavidSingaporean]

thanks for some helpful advise guys.

as for those that are negative, i will not ignore neither, however, tell me what i have to lose if things with her dont work out? except maybe few months time? and i can easily get back a job in Singapore with my experience.

Marry is not under my consideration as long as there is alternative. i need to know more of her before that stage.

im thinking of applying 1 year student visa, working illegaly in thailand teaching english while i focus more time on my business.any school to recommend? and what you guys think of this idea?

thanks to all anyway~ im glad for the advice whether positive or negative. my only concern is, not to be dependfent on her.

[beano2274]

The ED visa will probably give you 90 days, and you will need to renew it every 90 days, when you go to Immigration they might ask for proof that you have attended classes, plus documents from the School.

You think it might be so easy to get a job as you have the experience, if things do not work out and you go home, but you will be going against other people for the job.

[thaibeachlovers]

Take care of yourself before you take care of another.

soon after you move to Thailand , you will realise that you are just another ordinary guy in Thailand and nothing special to her, the initial attraction is no longer there, then you ' become smaller and smaller and turn to dust

I concur.

Big mistake to leave Singapore. If she won't move there, you have a problem that you don't realise.

[Berkshire]

With Singapore being so close, couldn't you just keep working there and see her, say, every weekend? You'd be able to afford to set her up in an apartment in Thailand without a problem. Do that for awhile and by the time the AEC comes around in 2015, you shouldn't need a visa to stay in Thailand (from what I understand, anyways).

[ironbark]

Singapore is an asean country. I think you have very different and easier immigration rules. You should check them first.

[DavidSingaporean]

keep the girl issue aside guys. trust me, my mind is clear and i fully understand the risk i am taking. and i fully understand i am not dropping Singapore for sure dont misunderstand me.

my main concern is to know how do i support myself. i dont need much, a income of around 25,000 - 30,000 baht for the first few months, any recommendation i can try? i predict i will take 3 month before investor money come in and im able to roll up my business. i just want a job to feel more secure there, thats all.

if other wise, i will have to take up a school course for 1 year ED visa, but i will also need recommendation on where can i go to apply for english teacher"illegally" and whats the rate they pay? (please advice on this)

[thaibeachlovers]

keep the girl issue aside guys. trust me, my mind is clear and i fully understand the risk i am taking. and i fully understand i am not dropping Singapore for sure dont misunderstand me.

my main concern is to know how do i support myself. i dont need much, a income of around 25,000 - 30,000 baht for the first few months, any recommendation i can try? i predict i will take 3 month before investor money come in and im able to roll up my business. i just want a job to feel more secure there, thats all.

if other wise, i will have to take up a school course for 1 year ED visa, but i will also need recommendation on where can i go to apply for english teacher"illegally" and whats the rate they pay? (please advice on this)

Working illegally is a good way to enjoy Thai hospitality for free! Not recommended.

See ajarn.com for info about teaching, and there is a forum on here as well.

[Trembly]

Where in Thailand are you?

[ravip]

Take care of yourself before you take care of another.

soon after you move to Thailand , you will realise that you are just another ordinary guy in Thailand and nothing special to her, the initial attraction is no longer there, then you ' become smaller and smaller and turn to dust

OMG Is this what happens to all expats coming into TH?

At what stage are you in presently?

I feel very sad for you

[DavidSingaporean]

i am in Singapore working

i be in Bangkok at March.

As i said, my mind is clear, nothing to feel sad for me.

i have plans in mind what to do and what i want to achieve. definetely better than 3k salary per month struggling in SG.

and i have plans to retire in Thailand if my business succeed. to me, nothing is good about living Singaporean other than the title, "Singaporean", struggling 25 years debt to pay off a 3 room flat 92sqm. thats not i want in life.

i just need a stepping stone for the start few months so i looking for advice from you guys.

For sure i wont starve or suffer even i dont have job but i do not want to be incomeless for few months, i wanna know more channel to earn keep in Bangkok with my current capability.

[Trembly]

You generally need a bachelor's degree and a TEFL / CELTA / Trinity Certificate to teach English and earn a living wage.

If Mandarin Chinese is one of your native languages then there is also some demand for that in terms of teaching and translation / interpretation services.

I remember an advertisement from about a year ago looking for a ship-broker / hold-space broker fluent in Chinese . . .

Edited January 25, 2013 by Trembly

[rattler]

Stay in Singapore its a MUCH better country in all respects, you'll go crazy here.

Forget the girl if she wont move to Singapore.

[Trembly]

Stay in Singapore its a MUCH better country in all respects, you'll go crazy here.

Forget the girl if she wont move to Singapore.

If you like living in a highly taxed and regulated environment that resembles a giant shopping mall then I suppose Singapore is hard to beat.

Singaporeans are some of the most stressed out people on the planet; I wonder why?

It would be interesting to hear what Singaporean David's business idea is, but I understand if he doesn't want to publicly divulge for OPSEC reasons.

Edited January 25, 2013 by Trembly

[MrHammer]

Hi David,

Everything is possible, also in Thailand. However, the job market is not easy to break into, since they generally prefer to hire Thai for language and salary reasons. As suggested already, Mærsk the shipping company is big and should have some office in both Singapore and Bangkok.

I'm sure you could find an illegal teaching job for 20-25K somewhere, but I have never teached so don't know how. If you can speak another language like Chinese, that would probably be in demand as well. Speaking English and Chinese might be able to get your foot in the door at a Thai office international company. However, connections are key here as most jobs are not advertised. You could try searching jobsdb.com in Thailand.

There's also the option of doing work for Singaporean companies over the internet. But you should probably get such a job in Singapore. Lastly, there's the option to freelance on sites such as Elance.com and Odesk.com. I don't know if you have skills which are in demand there.

I would recommend talking to other Singaporeans in Thailand. After all, one is more likely to hire fellow national, so that may help to your advantage. Meetup.com has a lot of good groups to participate in to meet some people and maybe find employment that way. All in all, I'd save up some money or get some credit to live off for the first 3 months.

[soihok]

I know where Davidis coming from, I have lived 11 years in Singapore and believe me, 3K a month is not going to get you a nice standard of living.

So David, as you say, you can easily go back there to another 3K a month job so what have you got to lose?

Too many negative people will tell you "oh no, don't do it, you'll get eaten alive". etc.

I left the the UK in 92 with a one way ticket to New Dehli and about 3K US dollars, now I'm living the dream ( although in KL at the moment not Thailand), but that will be my ultimate destination once I stop working.

I say "GO FOR IT" David, if you don't do it you'll never know and will forever be kicking yourself for not doing it.

If it goes pear shaped, no one can blame you for not trying.

[barefoot1988]

Hi mate, im a singaporean as well. I am not too sure about your plans, but i wouldn't recommend teaching illegally. Unlike many other embassies, ours would not give much or any aid in the event of deportation. You are gonna get in a real nasty situation and remain in the thai prison for a long time if you get caught and you will face additional charges when you are back to sg. You should know what happens when you had a criminal record in singapore, so don't risk it.

Your best bet is probably getting a chinese teaching certificate, english could be possible but most school would prefer a naive speaker, or rather a caucasian. Alternatively you could searching thai recruiting website (jobsdb etc) and arranged for a phone interview. It would be real good to speak fluent teochew dialect here as well, in time you are gonna realise many chinese here don't even speak chinese but dialects

If you are going for the business route, do take care. Despite being part of asean, being asians etc etc singaporeans and malaysians business owners are ironically the ones targeted

The next last thing is on our military reservist. do not ignore the usual ippt crap, recalls, overseas notication etc etc. Its a true pain in the arse if you don't have a proper visa to get it exempt. I had to came with all shlt of excuses to the co and nearly had to shave my head for a detention barrack holiday stay

Edited January 25, 2013 by barefoot1988

[Choonpon]

Singapore is indeed a very stressed country to live in. Everything is regulated, so much that everyone's mind is pretty much the same;)

Standard of living is extremely high too. Paying mortage loans, credit card bills, car loans, etc...seems to be fully occupied in most Singaporeans' lives.

Go live your dream OP! Life is too short to waste. Go back to your family in Singapore should you not able to survive in Thailand. Good luck:)

Ps: teaching english may not be ideal, judging from the grammer mistakes in your posts.

Edited January 25, 2013 by Choonpon