Hi, i am planning on moving to Thailand in April with my wife and 6 yr old son.

We currently live in Melbourne Australia and are both Australian citizens.

I run a small cleaning business that has a few sub contractors that do work for me. I plan to go to Thailand for 6- 12 months and manage my business via phone and internet.

I gather i will need a non-immigrant "b" visa. What about a visa for my wife? Are they included on my visa or does she need her own? She won't be working in Thailand.

Also what documentation do i need for my business?

It is not registered as a company in Australia, just a sole trader business with sub contractors that do work for me.

Thanks

The problem with your plan is that you have no basis to obtain a non-imm. 'B' visa, and as well your family.

You also can't own a company in Thailand and without being employed (foreigner sole proprietorship is not allowed) you can't legally work in Thailand.

A discussion will certainly follow about "phone and computer work", but that is the gist, you and you family are OK to stay only as tourists.

Edited November 11, 201411 yr by paz

Thanks. So what visa do all the people that work online use?

There seems to be heaps of expats in Thailand doing blogs or something on there computer.

I'm just trying to work out what visa i need to stay for 12 months.

They do that, but there is no visa for them.

You can use a double or triple entry tourist visa, doing border hops every two or three months.

If your son is enrolled in school he could get an ED visa. That could open the path to you and your wife having ":guardian" visa and extensions, but that is a stretch of regulations, and requires paperwork plus money in the bank.

Edited November 11, 201411 yr by paz

Only 1 parent, not both, can be a dependent of a child that studies in Thailand.

We were planning on home schooling our son.

What about a non immigrant "o" visa? Can i use that?

It is very confusing reading about the different visa's, just trying to find a way through so we can have our big adventure.

You should re-consider. There is no appropriate visa for what you want to do. You can get by for a while with Tourist Visas, get more and more connected with life here (and more disconnected from your life in Australia), and then find yourselves with no choice but to leave.

It's a trap, one that is fairly easy to fall into.

We were planning on home schooling our son.

What about a non immigrant "o" visa? Can i use that?

It is very confusing reading about the different visa's, just trying to find a way through so we can have our big adventure.

You do not qualify for a non-O visa at this moment. You only seem to qualify for a tourist visa.

You can get a double or even triple entry. It would give you a stay of 60 days per entry, and each entry can be extended by 30 days. So a double entry would give you up to 180 days with 1 time leaving and re-entering Thailand, a triple 270 days with two border runs.

Thanks. 270 days sounds good. By then we would need to make a trip back to Australia and then see if we want to stay in Thailand. I gather this is the tourist visa that i need to apply for before i leave Australia?

Yes, apply in Australia.

You could even get a new double entry tourist visa in Laos.

It's fairly straightforward to obtain a multi non-B from Melbourne, but you do need a letter from an Australian based company AND from a Thai based company. Since that is not the case for you, you may find it difficult to obtain a visa you need to live long term in Thailand, except for a tourist visa with 2 or 3 entries.

Thanks. If i can get a business visa, what visa do my wife and son need?

Thanks. If i can get a business visa, what visa do my wife and son need?

Non-imm. 'O' visa but that would be for 90 days only.

Thanks. So what visa do all the people that work online use?

There seems to be heaps of expats in Thailand doing blogs or something on there computer.

I'm just trying to work out what visa i need to stay for 12 months.

Want to be polite, but you need to grow up.

The fact are you can't get a "business visa" unless you start a business in Thailand, put up the money to hire 4 Thai employees, and come up with the money to legally register the business in Thailand and pay Thai taxes for your employees

Of yes, and a Thai person or group, must be the owners of 51% of that company. You can keep 49% of "your" company in your name.

Yes, there are many people who work on-line from Thailand.

But it is not legal, especially if they do not pay Thai taxes.

And, any activity, on-line done in Thailand is considered to be "work" in Thailand ...... and potentially at least is taxable .

And yes, the enforcement of the law is spotty at best.

But that doesn't man that you risk everything by doing it.

Your choice, do you feel lucky, mate?

Thanks. So what visa do all the people that work online use?

There seems to be heaps of expats in Thailand doing blogs or something on there computer.

I'm just trying to work out what visa i need to stay for 12 months.

Want to be polite, but you need to grow up.

Seriously!!! You are anything but polite. What is your problem?

I asked a simple question about visa's because i want to do the right thing and be legal in whatever i do. I just asked how so many seem to work online in Thailand, simple answer is illegally. N need to be rude.

Edited November 15, 201411 yr by ubonjoe
moved reply from quoted text

OP, IMA_FARANG is stating pure opinion, and their interpretation of law.

The fact is that recently numerous people working online in Thailand from a coworking space on Tourist and Education Visas were arrested in an immigration police raid, questioned and released without any charge or warning once it was ascertained that they did not work for Thai clients, did not deal with Thai clients, and did not get paid in Thailand.

Those actually tasked with locating individuals in breach of Visa conditions had absolutely no interest in charging and prosecuting the people they interviewed that were working online for foreign clients. To date, nobody has EVER been prosecuted for doing this. Enforcement is not 'spotty', it is non existant, and all points toward Thai authorities not considering people working online for foreign clients and being paid outside the country to be in breach of Tourist or Education visa conditions. Given the media reporting on the incident and subsequent lack of interest from the Labour Department, nor do the relevant authorities consider it to be 'working in Thailand'.

This current situation does not absolve one from paying taxes on income remitted to Thailand in the year it is earned, something that one does not require a Business Visa or Work Permit to do.

It is certainly true that the best course of action may be to keep things quiet about remote work when entering the country, since, as demonstrated by the fact that a number of people were arrested and questioned the concept of remote work is not well recognised by authorities.

An Education of multi entry Tourist visa is suitable for you, and in the event you decide to stay long term, you could invest in a Thai Elite card which will give you 5 years of entries.

No doubt this thread will now collapse into a bitter back and forth between those that envy people who work remotely and those who do so, including facile assumption by the detractors that remote workers are all operating porn websites, flogging fake bags on ebay, and can only afford to eat out of dustbins. This is an unfortunate regular occurance on this forum, and I suspect why you have been advised to 'grow up' by someone who has had a bee in their bonnet regarding remote workers on numerous threads on this forum before.

Edited November 15, 201411 yr by rwdrwdrwd

I'd like to retract part of that last paragraph, in fact the poster in question hasn't been especially critical or remote workers and hasn't been someone that partakes in the childish namecalling and belittlement of people that work remotely. They have simply made the same comment as they made above in most discussions pertaining to online workers.

I maintain however that it is pure opinion, and that the evidence (in particular the arrest of a bunch of remote workers and subsequent release without charge or warning) points to it not being an opinion shared by those tasked with enforcing Visa and Labour regulations in the country.

Edited November 15, 201411 yr by rwdrwdrwd