Question About Visa Type

[Hobgoblin]

Hi,

I'm planning on moving to Pattaya this fall from the US with a friend of mine. My question is what type of visa would I need if I don't plan on working, studying or any other of the purposes for obtaining a 90-day non-immigrant visa? I'm too young to be a retiree.

My income comes from freelance website programming paid through PayPal and a US bank, ergo - I with draw money from an ATM whever I need it, and I don't actually WORK in Thailand, however I plan on staying and spending money on rent, internet access, utils, TV, etc.

I would assume the closest would be a 60-day tourist visa, but would that be a problem when trying to rent a house or buy a motor-scooter? And if NOT, is there any way to avoid doing a visa run into Cambodia every 60 days?

The bottom line is a visa for someone who HAS enough money to support themselves for years and years, but is like an early retiree.

Thanks for any help!

-Mike

[Indo-Siam]

Hi Mike -

The simple answer is - along with many others like you, you cannot stay longer than 60 days at a time, plus occasionally a short-term extension.

The cost of staying here long-term without doing visa runs is: setting up a company (or getting married to a Thai, or getting a qualifying job here).

For start-up companies, Thailand DOES NOT CARE that you say you don't need a formal office, don't need an accountant, don't need capitalization inside Thailand, don't need four Thai employees, and you don't need to be paying yourself a locally taxable income. Satisfying these requirements is the "price of entrance" to establishing a long-term presence here.

If these requiremenst are burdens upon you - Thailand does not care. If you struggle for 22 months, and then collapse penniless of exhaustion - Thailand DOES NOT CARE - not even a tiny little bit - all they care about is that for 22 months, you carried on your back a landlord, an accountant, a banker, and four Thai employees. You do not matter. If you don't like the rules, THAILAND DOES NOT WANT YOU - as far as they are concerned, you can go start upn your business somewhere else.

If you give them what THEY want, they will grudgingly give you what you want. But you must pony up first - every time.

Based on macro-level things such as geopolitics, and the accelleration of implementation of key parts of the the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (advancing the elimination of import duties between AFTA nations to zero - originally scheduled for 2020, then advanced for 11 key industries to 2010, then advanced this past January to 2008 for those same industries), Thailand is in the early stages of a major strategic boom period. If you are a bin multinational player, and wou want to export to ASEAN nations from within ASEAN, where do you set up shop? The Philippines? Indonesia? Malaysia? Vietnam? Singapore? How about Thailand? Thailand will be winning a big slice of the new investment. A big, BIG slice. I'm not talking about for little entrepreneurs - I'm talking about for big industrial players. Along the way, the rising tide will lift all boats.

Thailand is poised to do REALLY well over the next six years or so - forget all the "sky is falling" sex tourists and layabouts. I suspect that within two to three more years, Thailand will get REALLY SERIOUS about cleaning out all the dead wood - Thailand will be thriving, and will be able to stand the heat.

Good luck!

Steve

Indo-Siam

[Hobgoblin]

The visa runs don't bother me - I plan on making trips abroad about 4 times a year, which leaves only 2-3 TRUE visa runs a year...

So do landlords generally care if you are a Thai citizen or hold a 90 day NI visa? Or can you still rent a place to live with a simple tourist visa?

I would imagine that there are lots who dont care, as long as they get their ฿ 25,000 per month.

[astral]

Landlords do not care what type of visa you have, as long as they get their money, plus a 1 or 2 month deposit (which you may never see again, if you have to leave Thailand quickly).

However the lease may help you to get a Non-immigrant visa.

A couple of years ago a friend was able to get a Non-Imm visa by showing his house lease and money in a Thai bank 400K.

Though whether that will still work I am not sure.

I have heard that you can now buy a car with a Tourist Visa, but again Not Sure.

However there are "black cars" around. You get the registration book, which is in a Thai name, but with the book you can pay the yearly registration and buy insurance.

[Axel]

The visa runs don't bother me - I plan on making trips abroad about 4 times a year, which leaves only 2-3 TRUE visa runs a year...

So do landlords generally care if you are a Thai citizen or hold a 90 day NI visa? Or can you still rent a place to live with a simple tourist visa?

I would imagine that there are lots who dont care, as long as they get their ฿ 25,000 per month.

You can rent a hotel room or a serviced apartment with a 30-days via exemption.

The owner or landlord has to report your stay to the police. Do they do it? My own experience, yes. Yes, but for sure not every time I come back from a trip. As you leave the country abt. 4 times a year, and never stay more than 90 days, you yourself do not have to report your address to immigration, just fill it into your TM-card everytime you arrive. I neither know of any laws that you have to inform your landlord anytime you go on a trip.

But then, there might be somewhere a law that one day will be pulled out again.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

The visa runs don't bother me - I plan on making trips abroad about 4 times a year, which leaves only 2-3 TRUE visa runs a year...

So do landlords generally care if you are a Thai citizen or hold a 90 day NI visa? Or can you still rent a place to live with a simple tourist visa?

I would imagine that there are lots who dont care, as long as they get their ฿ 25,000 per month.

You'll definitely need a Non-Immigrant visa to get a Thai drivers license. And it'll be wise to get a drivers license for insurance purposes. If you do manage to get a Non-Immigrant visa you'll be fine on just those 4 trips abroad.