Hi expats

I am a regular visitor to Thailand and am looking to try it out for a long term stay. I am not yet 50 until Aug next year but have sold my home in the UK. Which visa should I apply for in order to at least get me over there for a lengthy stay and check out if it suits me? Anyone advise? it probably would be my intention to buy a small business so should I arrange to look at so businesses for sale and apply for a one year business visa? Will that get me in? Should I just go for a 90 day? if I do then how do I complete the sections -

Purpose of Current Visit:
Evidence Substantiating your purpose of visit:

Any experienced visa ex-pats out there who can offer advice please

KJ

Your looking for about 9 months. Read up on 2/3 entry tourist visas. Easy. Also could break it up with few visa exempt stamps. Just come suck in how it feels for you.

As for a business do nothing for some time. Also don't buy a bar.

All you qualify for is a tourist visa or a ED visa based on undertaking an approved course of education unless you become a Thai Elite member.

http://www.thailandelite.com/glimpse.php

Edited September 13, 201510 yr by oncearugge

Your best bet is to get a triple entry tourist visa. That gives you 3 x 60 day stays which can each be extended by 30 days at immigration. If fully utilised you can get the best part of nine months here. You can get a second double entry tourist visa in a neighbouring country if necessary. Once you're 50 you can qualify for a retirement visa and annual 1 year extensions.

You can't get a business visa now unless you have a job lined up. Once you're living here on your tourist visa you can decide on business options and sort out a 'B' visa if and when required.

The other option would be a 5 year elite visa but that costs 500k upfront. As you're close to 50 and thinking about a business it may not be the best option.

OK thanks for advice guys - so I go for a tourist visa and enter 3 in the box (1,2 or 3 it says on visa form) - the purpose of visit then I dont need to expand upon?

Purpose of Current Visit: Tourism - travel?
Evidence Substantiating your purpose of visit: Show details of hotel bookings?

is that all I need to do? Will that just get approved?

Tourism is fine.

Include hotel booking information if you have it but it's not normally necessary. It should be approved without any problem.

With a 3 entry tourist visa you will have six months from the date it is issued by the embassy/consulate to make all three entries... not six months from your arrival in Thailand.

When you enter for the first time you'll get 60 days and towards the end of that stay you can apply at an immigrations office for a 30 day extension. Near the end of those 30 days you need to exit the country and re-enter. That will get you another 60 + 30 days as shown by stamps put in your passport by immigrations. But depending on when you first got the visa, you have to make sure you time your 3rd border exit & re-entry before the "use-by" date printed on the actual visa, which is likely to be a little before the total of 60+30+60+30 days has ended.

So you need to keep in mind the expiry dates on both your most recent immigrations stamp as well as the use-by date on the visa sticker

Best to apply for the visa as near to your departure date as possible.

When you reach 50 and want to apply for the extension based on retirement you'll need to be in Thailand on a non-imm O entry, either by getting a non-imm O visa in a neighboring country or by doing a conversion to a non-imm O entry in Bangkok. Generally, doing the former is less hassle than the latter.

Edited September 14, 201510 yr by Suradit69