im sure this question gets asked many times but with the current changes to the education visa is there anyway a person can live there indefinitely with education visa renewels still? at the present I cant get retirement visa and not willing to risk marrying a thai woman anytime soon...

if I go to class regularly and apply myself with my studies can I still stay on 1 year extensions with the education visa or does it have a cap?

Edited January 29, 201412 yr by jaytaylor84

The only limit on ED visas and extension is your course of study. If school can provide a higher level of education then you can get the extension.

You should consider going to school and getting to the point where you could possibly work here.

so if I just continue taking languages is that a viable option? so education is best, ~longterm option and 2nd being work visa?

I don't think you could keep going to school to just study languages for much more than 5 years.

There is no work visa. You need a work permit to work and the proper visa/extension to obtain it.

If you can come up with 10 million baht to invest (condo and/or money in bonds and/or bank accounts) here you can get an extension of stay for that.

For a language school extensions will typically be for 90 days at a time. The course will be certified for a number of years, mostly 3 or 5 years. After that you can start a new course and you are not limited to Thai language.

University studies normally get 1 year extensions of stay.

You can do it on tourist visas but you have to keep going outside the region every 9 months to get a triple entry. Better to stay on 'ED' given your age so work hard and learn the Thai language with a view to working. I've been on tourist visas for the last 5 years without an issue but always go to the UK for a new one rather than apply in the region. 3 more years and I can apply for a retirement visa... Given the good exchange rate I should chuck a million in a Thai bank but it's a little to volatile at the moment so holding out.

Stick with the 'ED' in my opinion.

isn't there caps on all the visas so that one cant stay "indefinitely" in country? I was planning on using education visas until I meet the criteria for retirement visa..

isn't there caps on all the visas so that one cant stay "indefinitely" in country? I was planning on using education visas until I meet the criteria for retirement visa..

There are visas and extension of stay which are not the same.

Getting continuous visas from an embassy or consulates can be difficult.

Going to a language school you would qualify for extension of stay. Dependent upon where you are staying they can be 90 days, 180 days or one year. As said you will eventually reach a limit on how long you can keep doing it.

If you get an extension for working there would be no limit as long as you keep your job. The same can be said for other types of extensiona such as for investment.

How would the OP support himself? Sooner or later immigration will ask that question.

from investments ill have 1300 minimum a month..isn't that quite doable living on one of the various islands off of phucket, really thinking about koh phangan

Removed two posts suggesting overstaying and quotes of it.

Expired tourist visa means no car rentals, hotel stays, travelling due to police checkpoints, walking in public (police checks), and always a worry about being stopped.

Just do what I do….study Thai and it takes about 2 hours of waiting every 3 months. You do have to go to school though last time they spoke Thai to me.

Forget all that. You are young enough to travel. No need to stay in Thailand 365 days a year, just get a double entry and that will get you six months (with extensions). Fly out for a while, alternatively, to Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and spend a week or more there. Enjoy all of this part of the world. Do not pidgeon hole yourself on some island, nor sign a lease for more than six months.

You will thank me later.... Its not all that expensive...and very entertaining.

Most of the disgruntled expats you read from here just hole up in one part of the country forever. Don't do that.

Enjoy.

isn't there caps on all the visas so that one cant stay "indefinitely" in country? I was planning on using education visas until I meet the criteria for retirement visa..

You are talking about 21 years before getting a retirement visa. Nobody can answer what you are asking because nobody knows the future.

isn't there caps on all the visas so that one cant stay "indefinitely" in country? I was planning on using education visas until I meet the criteria for retirement visa..

You are talking about 21 years before getting a retirement visa. Nobody can answer what you are asking because nobody knows the future.

yep..you are just too young to qualify for the retirement deal.

See Asia...enjoy....don't become a young retired expat dodging those visas.

Travel it up....meet people your age....might come up with connections all over Thailand, as well as neighboring countries.

Yeah...you can do it forever...if you watch your habits and live without big luxuries...on your income...if thats forever.

Do not buy houses/cars/condos. Live In...no need to marry. (Or maybe that is advice too late given)

enroll in school when options run out. Save that for later. You can learn the language just by mingling/studying at home. Get some Thai gals to help you out.

from investments ill have 1300 minimum a month..isn't that quite doable living on one of the various islands off of phucket, really thinking about koh phangan

that hugely depends on you, I lived comfortably in Cha-am (and now Bangkok) for less than 1/3 of that for more than six months.

not sure about the islands off of Phuket but then again, once you start partying, drinking, smoking, gambling or paying for girls, I reckon it would not be enough for a lot of people

I do none of the above.

Two off topic posts removed.

Probably not.

When I was younger I used to live in Thailand for a year or sometimes two on a succession of visas.

Then, when my funds started running low I would find a job outside of Thailand and go to work for a year or two.

When I had the money to come back to Thailand I would stay as long as I could until my funds got low again .... and then I would go somewhere with another job.

I did this for a number of years.

Eventually I retired, and now I live in Thailand long term stay as a retiree.

It's possible to do, but I don't recommend it.

I'm sure you won't believe this, but, from my experience, I'll just tell you there will come a time when you will be tired of life in Thailand ..... and you will be glad to get away for a year or so.

I'll just tell that it's very likely the things you find so appealing about Thailand at 25 may be boring to you when you reach 45 or 50.

But you're still young, and you will just laugh at that thought.

When I was 35 or even 45 I would have laughed also.

You'll learn, just like I did.

Edited January 30, 201412 yr by IMA_FARANG

well I suppose ill stay on education visa until I possibly cant anymore..thats my best long term option atm

the investment way, did they not raise from 10 to 30 million baht a few years ago ?

Register a Thai company, get a WP with an income of 50.000 THB a month and you can get an extension of stay for 1 year (you can reniew it every year). It will cost you about 6.000 B a month (SS, personal income taxes, accountant fee, etc.) plus 15.000 a year to close the balance. Plus of course the fee to register the company and get the WP and proper Visa. Talk to an accountant and they will explain to you how it works in details. This is a very simple way to stay here and many people do it in this way.

If you are interested, send me a PM, I have a Company for sale that could make you save some money...

your best legal and long-term option is as mentioned above...get an education here that will allow you to get a work permit later on (i.e. part-time English-teaching job). If you're planning to stay in Thailand a long, long time, then your stay here will be a lot more pleasant if you learn Thai, whether or not you get a visa out of it.

And rest assured....after a few years on the islands, you'll get bored and be seeking new horizons. So no use planning more than five years ahead.

Removed two posts suggesting overstaying and quotes of it.

Besides women and the ocean what schools are there on Koh.

Have you thought about teaching. Getting a work permit to teach is the best way to stay indefinitely.

29 year old us guy ...

from investments ill have 1300 minimum a month..isn't that quite doable living on one of the various islands off of phucket, really thinking about koh phangan

Presumably that's 1300 in US$??

Indefinitely is quite a long time. That amount (assuming dollars) might be adequate for bare bones existence in 2014, but unless the income has some sort of cost of living adjustment built in, it won't be adequate indefinitely. I own my condo, have comprehensive medical insurance and still manage to spend more than two times that amount per month now while leading the sort of life that would not appeal to many 29 year olds for very long. And even if you hold out to retirement age, $1300 won't get you a retirement extension.

Do you have insurance in case of illness or injury? At 29 it won't be too expensive, but the cost will probably rise faster than inflation.

Right now education visas and serial tourist visas aren't that difficult to manage, but there seems to be a trend toward raising the bar as they discover an increasing number of farang indigents or farang who work locally while on permissions-to-stay that prohibit work or chronic over-stayers. Hopefully you will have a fall-back plan in the event that "indefinitely" turns to 7 days to exit following an extension refusal.

Even if you do become fluent in Thai, the opportunities to find employment in Thailand for foreigners are bound to be increasingly limited as unemployment continues to be a problem both in the developed and developing countries.

Edited January 30, 201412 yr by Suradit69

Asking if a person can live on "x" amount of funds is a useless exercise. Someone said they could live on a third of that and suraditt says you need double that.

I make $1000 a month teaching and I put just under half in the bank. I would study Thai for the Ed visa, but I would take it seriously and actually try to learn it.

a lot of people on TV deride those of us who teach English, but I find it rewarding and gives me a sense of community. I also feel more comfortable on a proper

B Visa with work permit.

At the language school I attend there are some people there 10 years with a student visa....

I'm here on an education visa, it's good for something like 12 years as long as I keep going to school.

Another way to stay here is find a job or volunteer.

I don't think you could keep going to school to just study languages for much more than 5 years.

There is no work visa. You need a work permit to work and the proper visa/extension to obtain it.

If you can come up with 10 million baht to invest (condo and/or money in bonds and/or bank accounts) here you can get an extension of stay for that.

Is that 10 million a ball park figure or is it specific, and if so why?

easy way is marry a Thai girl.

I don't think you could keep going to school to just study languages for much more than 5 years.

There is no work visa. You need a work permit to work and the proper visa/extension to obtain it.

If you can come up with 10 million baht to invest (condo and/or money in bonds and/or bank accounts) here you can get an extension of stay for that.

Is that 10 million a ball park figure or is it specific, and if so why?

That is the minimum amount according to clause 2.5 of police order 777/2551/

B. Investment of no less than Baht 10 million:

The alien:

(1) Must have been granted a non-immigrant visa (NON-IM).

(2) Must have evidence of transferring funds into Thailand of no less than Baht 10 million.

(3) Must have evidence of investing in the purchase or rental of a condominium unit for a period of

no less than 3 years issued by a relevant agency or government, at a purchase or rental price of no

less than Baht 10 million; or

(4) Must have evidence of investing in the form of a fixed deposit of no less than Baht 10 million

with a bank which is registered in Thailand and has Thai nationals holding more than 50 percent of

its shares; or

(5) Must have evidence of investing in the purchase of government or state enterprise bonds of no

less than Baht 10 million; or

(6) Must have evidence of making an investment as set out in Criteria (3), (4), or (5) with a total

value of not less than Baht 10 million.