I have looked around quite a bit but can't find a situation quite like mine and wanted to see if anyone might have some advice.

We are a family of 3 my wife and stepdaughter, and we want to move to Chiang Mai in May and stay for a year, putting our daughter in an international school there.

We are trying to find the best visa options for each of us. We run our business online and make 5-7 k monthly, but our balance does dip below 7k making me worried about the 7k for 6 months requirement on the METV visa. Also is it 7k per person? or per married couple?

We have no problem making border runs every 60 days but do not want to have to leave and interrupt our daughters school year should we not be granted reentry.

I will be taking US college courses online so taking more thai language classes is an option but putting alot on my plate at a time when I really want to be exploring. I know there is a guardianship visa as well but I heard there is a 15k USD requirement for this visa.

Basically I'm just trying to figure out the easiest option whether it be educational or if I can just come in on a tourist visa and we can make border runs. We are simply looking for the easiest and cheapest way to stay for a year.

Thanks in advance for your advice!

You could apply for a single entry tourist visa in your home country which will give you 60 days and can be extended at immigration for another 30 days=90 days.Then you could go to Laos and get another single entry tourist visa which can be extended by 30 days at immigration=90days. Then you could go to Burma and get a visa exempt which allows 30 days which can be extended at immigration by another 30 days=60days. Then you could go back to laos for a second single entry tourist visa which gives you 60 days that can be extended by another 30days at immigration and end your year with one more visa exempt entry in Burma.

Or you could also just make it easy and get a single entry tourist visa in your home country and than go to Vientiane 2 times for a single entry tourist visa. With extentions you will get one year.

Or if you are not working in Thailand you could attend a Ministry registered school to learn Thai and get an ED visa which will enable you to stay for 2 year.

Many options available.

Ps.

There is no cheap and easy way to stay in Thailand for an extended period of time unless you are married,working with a permit,retired, have an Elite visa or investment visa and even that's not always easy or cheap.

Edited January 15, 201610 yr by ldiablo

Your child can get an extension of stay based upon attending school so that takes care of her stay. You wife could then get an extension (only one parent can get the extension) for being her parent if you can put 500k baht in a Thai bank for 30 days to get the first extension.

If you could get her enrollment completed now and the paper work needed for a single entry non-ed visa she could get it before starting your trip. Dependent upon where you apply you both might be able to get multiple entry non-o visas for being her parent. If not a single entry non-o visa would be a certainty.

You should contact one of the honorary consulates about the METV to find out what their ;requirements are.

You could do the year just on single entry tourist visas without a problem.

You guys are awesome thanks so much. I owe you both a beer lol.