Hello i am a 22 year old US citizen who is planning on a trip to Thailand in a few months. I have been researching visas and work permits and am looking for some solid answers as i have not been able to find them anywhere else. Basically i am wondering is it hard to get a non immigrant visa or work permit? I am a cook and was also wondering if that is something i could do for work in Thailand or if it is not aloud for foreigners. I am planning on applying for a double entry visa before i go to Thailand and then trying to apply for non immigrant once i am there and have found work. I am looking to stay in Thailand for up to a year. Is this a good way to go about that? Thanks in advance for any help.

Starting out with a 2 or 3 entry tourist visa is the certainly the best option.

Dependent on your qualifications and experience as a cook you might be able to find work. Once you find a job your employer would apply for your work permit and then you would be able to go out for a non-b visa and then pickup you work permit. Then you could possibly them get an extension of stay dependent upon your employers qualifications and your salary (minimum is 50k baht).. If not you would need to go out again and obtain a multiple entry non-b visa and make border runs every 90 days.

Okay. How many multiple entry visas can one get? Is there a limit? So cooking is not something that is restricted to Thai citizens? If I made under fifty thousand baht i would not be eligible for visa extension? Would you happen to know and average wage for a cook? Mostly is it larger reasteruants that are willing or able to apply for a work permit? Like hotels?

There are people that have been getting multiple entry non-b visas for years because the company or business and/or salary does not qualify for the extension.

You would not be working as a cook in the job description it would be as a manager or some type of supervisory position.

The minimum salary is dependent upon the country you are from for you it will be 50k others go as low as 25K.

I have no idea what a cook gets paid..

Alright, so I would have to be skilled enough to manage or supervise in a kitchen or they would just say that on a permit and I would do a lower skill job if not qualified for managing? If I need a non imigrant visa to get a work permit but they won't renew my visa to stay and I get a multiple entry visa won't that overlap my non imigrant visa? Or can you hold both at once? Or get non imigrant till you get permit and then get multi entry visa? How long does a work permit last?

There are single entry and multiple entry non immigrant visas. You cannot get a multiple entry visa without a work permit at a nearby location so you have to get a single entry and then leave the country again after getting the work permit and leave again to get a multiple entry.

You might do a little leg work in advance on a site like this:

http://www.careerjet.co.th/chef-jobs.html