Uk Tourist Seeking Long Term Stay In Thailand

[Sean-UK-]

Hi

I'm 20 years old and from the UK and i'm looking to head out to Thailand in the summer. I'm trying to get my head out of the rat race and i'm planning on staying in Thailand for as long as i possibly can! Hopefully this will be at least a year to 18 months, although this all depends on getting the right visa! What I would like to know is, what would be my best visa option considering I don't have a definate length of time i'm planning to stay and i plan to move about the country alot.

I'm probably going to be living on a shoestring and won't have the money for expensive visa runs (air flights etc). Your advice is greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Sean

[BKK90210]

Your goal – to escape rat race and be able to stay in thailand without working? And you’re only 20 yrs old!

You best bet is to become “tee rak” to a rich old thai lady….or be married to one of them to get O-visa......

as long as you're still breathing and doesn't miss a toilet.....and if you're not too picky that is!

No Joke...I'm trying to be realistic here

[skylar]

If you also have an Australian passport, you may be able to take advantage of the B-A visa, which is valid for a year during which you can study, holiday and work in Thailand.

[sriracha john]

shades of Canadian Jesse...

look forward to your Scampish-like tales of adventure upon arrival, Sean...

[markuk]

Hi

I'm 20 years old and from the UK and i'm looking to head out to Thailand in the summer. I'm trying to get my head out of the rat race and i'm planning on staying in Thailand for as long as i possibly can! Hopefully this will be at least a year to 18 months, although this all depends on getting the right visa! What I would like to know is, what would be my best visa option considering I don't have a definate length of time i'm planning to stay and i plan to move about the country alot.

I'm probably going to be living on a shoestring and won't have the money for expensive visa runs (air flights etc). Your advice is greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Sean

give up work at 20 for a while to live of a shoestring - theres a wise idea.......

[PREM-R]

Bring around 250 Yabah tabs with you - That should keep you in Thailand for a few years - just kidding!!!!

[Niloc]

Come on guys, give the kid a break! I was first in Thailand running away from the army in 1965 and I was just 20, I had just enough money to by a plane ticket to Calcutta and I ended up in Leeds 11, Yorks stoking the boiler in 'unslet baths!!

At least he has the guts to leave his Mum, and he can at least spell!

[samran]

How shoestring is shoestring???

[Steve2UK]

Hi Sean,

OK - here's a serious (and, I hope, helpful) answer.........

As you're in the UK, you should be able to get yourself what's called a multi-entry "non-imm 'O'" visa valid for one year for consecutive stays of up to 90 days at a time. Cost will be £90 and you will have to exit Thailand for a few minutes every 90 days; if you plan your itinerary well, that should just be a matter of being close to and nipping across an appropriate border crossing at the end of each 90 days. Note - you may have to show 20,000 baht in cash when you do these border crossing "visa runs" (only show that you have it - not hand it over!).

Take a look at the Hull consulate website

http://www.thaiconsul-uk.com

and you'll find what you need. They are very friendly and helpful. Your reason for applying for this visa is to "visit friends" - don't worry, you're not going to be asked to give details of them. You might just have to provide a self-guarantee or something from a UK friend/relative taking financial responsibility for you - but that's about it.

BTW, I seem to remember that with some clever timing you can actually make the 12 months 15 months - but others will have to advise you on how viable that is......... never quite grasped it myself. Try doing a forum search on "15 months"?

Good luck and have a great time

PS This visa does NOT entitle you to do any kind of work in Thailand; in practice, you're still only a tourist...................

[Beachcomber]

Get a double or triple entry tourist visa from Thai Embassy before you leave the UK.

That will see you alright for six months. By that time you will have been here long enough to decide what to do next.

Visa runs don’t have to be expensive if you go by minibus or local transport.

Enjoy.

[Our Man in Samui!]

Hi

I'm 20 years old and from the UK and i'm looking to head out to Thailand in the summer. I'm trying to get my head out of the rat race and i'm planning on staying in Thailand f or as long as i possibly can! Hopefully this will be at least a year to 18 months, although this all depends on getting the right visa! What I would like to know is, what would be my best visa option considering I don't have a definate length of time i'm planning to stay and i plan to move about the country alot.

I'm probably going to be living on a shoestring and won't have the money for expensive visa runs (air flights etc). Your advice is greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Sean

Sean, well if you are a clever 20 year old, now, what I mean is shoe string works, to a degree, but the doe will run out real fast if you aint careful....

So if you want 4* travel you will be out here about 3 weeks mate!

Just watch out for the deep talking tall ladies....

Joking apart take care!Great place but it can be expensive so get yourself Lonely Planet to start It helps a wee bit

Regards

OuR maN iN sAMUI!!!

[britmaveric]

BTW having no dosh in Thailand is misery, so keep that in mind.

[Sean-UK-]

Hi again,

thanks for all the replies, especially the more serious ones! - perhaps more than a year out there is abit ambitious.

I'm currently drawing up an itinerary of places I want to visit and things I want to do while i'm in Thailand, but mostly I just want to relax, do some drawing, some thinking, read some books, spend some time with myself and with nature. I'm not into the bar scene and i'm not looking to hook up with thai girls, i'm just trying to find somewhere serene I can spend as much time as possible.

Now then, onto some more questions!

Because I don't know when i'll be coming back, would it be worth my while getting a one way ticket into the country? I've heard you can get turned away if you don't have a return flight ticket. If so, can i sell my return ticket anywhere once i'm in Thailand, would this be the wisest thing to do?

moneywise, how long woud you thing I could live out there for on say, 200,000 baht? (3,000 GBP) This is a very rough figure, I hope to be taking more, might be taking less, its still a long way off!

Also, will having a non-immigrant "O" Visa make visa runs any more difficult? What are the chances of getting a second visa if i wanted to stay more than 12 months? Are they generous with this kinda thing usually?

Thanks for any information

Sean

Edited March 22, 2006 by Sean-UK-

[britmaveric]

Hmmmmm lil over 500bht a day for a year, not counting lodging/food/transport? I don't think its enough, either shorten your trip to 6months or dbl the amount of dosh you will bring. This is living on an extreme budget.

Edited March 22, 2006 by britmaveric

[Sean-UK-]

Thanks for the estimate, i've no idea how much money i'm gonna go out with at the mo, i've currently got 3,500 in the bank with another 1000 overdraught just in case, i'm obviously saving all the time and working a full time job,my parents may help me out some as well (21 in july! ).

Its hard to estimate these things from books, so getting ideas from

people that are out there or have been out is very helpful, thank you.

I've just noticed in the thai visa application for multiple entry non-immigrant it states - "Its worth bearing in mind that with multiple entry visas, if you were to exit and re-enter thailand a few days before expire of your visa you would be granted a final 90 day stay even though the visa will expire a few days later. Furthermore it may be possible to be granted a further 30 days extension.."

Does this mean that i can stay over a year even though the visa has expired? or does it mean that I shouldn't be fooled by the fact that it will say 90 days when you only have a couple of days left?

Thanks again

Sean

[Axel]

Return a last time with the non-imm O just before it expires (make it one day before expiry to be safe) and you will get another 90 days, so total use nearly 15 months.

On the ticket bear in mind, that R/Trips are usually only valid for 12 months. As long as you have the visa, a one - way is ok.

[sriracha john]

with your resources currently at a smidgen over 16,500 baht per month, it'll be quite tough to last a year... so wouldn't worry too much about the one year visa

[jdinasia]

wow ... could you imagine ... trying to live in a 200 baht a day bungalow on some island and live off of 350 baht a day including EVERYTHING else? visa runs ... emergencies ... a beer once a week ... food etc?

[britmaveric]

wow ... could you imagine ... trying to live in a 200 baht a day bungalow on some island and live off of 350 baht a day including EVERYTHING else? visa runs ... emergencies ... a beer once a week ... food etc?

No I couldn't, sounds like misery to me, absolute minimum would be 1000 bht a day and that would be living on the edge. Can be done, but not sure it would be worth it.

[jdinasia]

hmmm on 1000 baht a day you could rent a small place for 6 months and it'd be doable.

hel_l if you can live in a small place you can do BKK on 40k and do it pretty decently if you have a life that doesn't revolve around bars

[Krub]

Hi again,

thanks for all the replies, especially the more serious ones! - perhaps more than a year out there is abit ambitious.

I'm currently drawing up an itinerary of places I want to visit and things I want to do while i'm in Thailand, but mostly I just want to relax, do some drawing, some thinking, read some books, spend some time with myself and with nature. I'm not into the bar scene and i'm not looking to hook up with thai girls, i'm just trying to find somewhere serene I can spend as much time as possible.

Now then, onto some more questions!

Because I don't know when i'll be coming back, would it be worth my while getting a one way ticket into the country? I've heard you can get turned away if you don't have a return flight ticket. If so, can i sell my return ticket anywhere once i'm in Thailand, would this be the wisest thing to do?

moneywise, how long woud you thing I could live out there for on say, 200,000 baht? (3,000 GBP) This is a very rough figure, I hope to be taking more, might be taking less, its still a long way off!

Also, will having a non-immigrant "O" Visa make visa runs any more difficult? What are the chances of getting a second visa if i wanted to stay more than 12 months? Are they generous with this kinda thing usually?

Thanks for any information

Sean

Hi Sean,

Good luck to you and I mean it in a nice way. I wish I had had your guts at your age to leave alone to a far away country.

Do your homework and you'll be fine.

Hull will give you a visa that with visa runs will enable you to stay over a year without returning to UK or going to a nearby country for a new visa but it will also mean going to border crossings every 90 days. With public transport it is cheap but not free.

If you wanted to settle somewhere in the sticks you could rent a room for 2 0r 3.000 baht a month but if you want to travel around Thailand that option seems not easy as to find those kind of places it means speak to the locals, etc.

Food is real cheap and I think that you could do it with 10 to 15.000 a month but it would be realy cutting it short and giving you nothing for emergencies, travel, telephone calls...

Regarding your sir ticket one way will be fine if you have a visa.

Do not count on selling your return ticket once here the name cannot be changed. One way return tickets are cheap but again not free.

Make sure you have insurance for medical or accident emergencies during your stay.

Do not attempt to work in any way as it might mean detention center.

You could if you really like Thailand once here look and find a job and then apply for the propoer visa/permits.

[Sean-UK-]

Hi,

Thanks for the information + good wishes,

People seem confident that i won't get chucked on a plane back to england when I arrive with only a one way-ticket and a non-immigrant visa. Now all i'm wondering is how much a ticket BACk from BKK to the UK would cost me? I've heard flights can be cheap, but i've never heard any figures. It would be nice to know just so i can put some money aside for getting back to the UK

Thanks,

Sean

[Chopper]

Flights are generally a good deal less expensive to book in Thailand than in the UK. You should be able to get a one way flight back to the UK for less than £300.00.

It is the responsibility of the airline to check if you have an outbound ticket when you check in at the airport in the UK. I always have a one way ticket since I book my return flight in Thailand when I go back to the UK.

I have been challenged once or twice as to why I have no outbound flight from Thailand and showing my visa has satisfied the check-in staff as Krub suggests.

I believe the airline should they ask, are just covering themselves since they will have to bare the cost of repatriating you if you are refused entry into Thailand. If you are pulled up on this and do not have a visa, inform the airline that you are prepared to sign a waiver negating them from this responsibility, it is then incumbent on you to have the funds to repatriate yourself.

I think the foregoing is correct, though I am sure if this is not the case someone will advise.

[Sean-UK-]

Thanks, that puts my mind at rest.