best visa for family for ED purpose

[Patrizia]

I'm planning to relocate to Thailand for one year with my partner and 2 boys. I'm trying to understand which visa would be best for us. The boys are aged 2 and 5 and they will be attending international schools. Should we apply for a 1 year ED Non-Immigrant visa? Would the letter from the school be enough for all the family (my self and my partner)? Or do we have to apply for a ED visa for the boys and a 90 days single/multiple entry for me and my partner and do the visa run? Given that the boys are under 7 ( I have read that you can only get a ED visa if you are 7 or over) how likely would it be to meet the eligibility criteria? As I understand initially we would have the 90 days visa that we extend after, but I'm worried that we will be stuck with different visas for the boys and for us. Also, is it better to apply from UK prior to get there? Any help would be appreciated, it's all a bit confusing..

Thanks

[johnatong]

You might get better answers if you were to explain what you and your partner plan on doing in Thailand.

[Patrizia]

Yes sorry We are both self employed here and own our property which we would rent, so we are not really looking at getting a work permit per se. I have a fashion business, and I would look into getting contacts for manufacturers in Thailand, although I'm not sure if this would qualify for the purpose of conducting business. My partner could teach english so I suppose he would fall into the B category of 1 year non-immigrant?

[johnatong]

Yes sorry We are both self employed here and own our property which we would rent, so we are not really looking at getting a work permit per se. I have a fashion business, and I would look into getting contacts for manufacturers in Thailand, although I'm not sure if this would qualify for the purpose of conducting business. My partner could teach english so I suppose he would fall into the B category of 1 year non-immigrant?

You might, with the correct paperwork, be able to obtain a visa based on business.

Your partner will not get a 1 year visa based on "teaching". S/he might get a 90 day visa with paperwork supplied by a Thai employer.

http://thaiembassyuk.org.uk/?q=node/49

Edited April 26, 2016 by johnatong

[Patrizia]

Thanks Johnatong this is the link I was looking at. When you say "correct paperwork" what kind are you referring to? From the embassy link it looks like something showing correspondence with trading partners in Thailand should suffice? Or not? What about the ED for the kids? Do you know of any age restrictions to get this visa? I'm also confused about showing or not having to show a flight ticket. From Siam Legal it looks like you have to but from Thai embassy there's no mention of it. And what about the 6 months tourist/60 days multiple entry? would this be a possibility for my partner if he had not yet applied to teach? I see a visa fee for it but not an explanation as to how it works..

[SoFarAndNear]

Yes sorry We are both self employed here and own our property which we would rent, so we are not really looking at getting a work permit per se. I have a fashion business, and I would look into getting contacts for manufacturers in Thailand, although I'm not sure if this would qualify for the purpose of conducting business. My partner could teach english so I suppose he would fall into the B category of 1 year non-immigrant?

You might, with the correct paperwork, be able to obtain a visa based on business.

Your partner will not get a 1 year visa based on "teaching". S/he might get a 90 day visa with paperwork supplied by a Thai employer.

http://thaiembassyuk.org.uk/?q=node/49

You might be able to get a Business Visa if a company in Thailand will invite you. Maybe one of the manufacturers. But honestly it is very unlikely. Even if this works then you probably just get a 90 days visa or (very very unlikely) a 1 year multiple entry visa. This would be only for yourself and not your partner.

I think better would be if you apply your children for school and get an ED for them. Then you can apply as parent for a guardian Non-O visa. You will need at least 500.000 Thai Baht on a thai bank account to get a 1 year extension. Also I think this counts to one parent only. But in case you have two children you might have a chance to get the visa for two parents.

Read here: http://gam-legalalliance.com/non-immigrant-o-guardian-visa/

Anyway just a personal comment. What you are doing will cost you a lot of money. International Schools for two children with all application fees will cost you at least 800k Thai Baht in the first year. Insurances for everyone. Plus a western family lifestyle. And and and and.... I dont know your finances but expect to have a least 1.5mio Thai Baht (30k £) ready before you come here with the full family.

I wish you good luck.

[PS2]

Like the previous poster said 1.5 million Thai Baht (30k £) / year.

If you are OK with that then maybe the Thai Elite program is for you.

http://www.thailandelite.com/

Teaching English will only pay around 30.000 baht / month

Edited April 26, 2016 by PS2

[Patrizia]

ok...food for thought there thank you! I have to say the school fees I have been looking at are much less than then 800K unless you are including the 500K that we would have to have in a Thai bank account? And that would only be if we wanted the Non-O visa am I correct? Wouldn't it be easier then to just have a 90 days and do the visa run a few times?

[PoorSucker]

Check out the METV.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/870548-the-multiple-entry-tourist-visa-topic-metv/

[Patrizia]

Thanks PS2..No we are looking at less than that. Do you mean 1.5 million Thai Bath including rent, schools,living costs etc? or just schools? It does seem a lot just for schools.

[Patrizia]

Thank you I will.

[ubonjoe]

There is no rule for how old children need to be to get non-ed visas after they are enrolled in a school. Some immigration offices though may have their own rules to apply for an extension of stay. For the 5 year old there would be no problem but for the 2 year it would be a maybe.

If both children were able to get extension of stay based upon attending school then both of you could get extension based upon being their parents. Only one parent for each child can apply for the extension. To apply for the extension each of you need 500k baht in a Thai bank for 30 day for the first extension and 90 days after that.

If either of you were to get an extension of stay based upon working the rest of the family could get extensions as their dependents.

[SoFarAndNear]

Thanks PS2..No we are looking at less than that. Do you mean 1.5 million Thai Bath including rent, schools,living costs etc? or just schools? It does seem a lot just for schools.

Yes all costs together for 6 months and school fees for the first year. I can't imagine that there is any serious international school which costs lesser then 600k - 800k baht in the first year for 2 children on nursery and kindergarten grade. All schools ask for an application fee of 100k - 200k for new students and 100k - 300k of tuition school fees per year. Also have to pay for Food at school and also school bus fees of another 50k - 100k per year. International Education is very expensive in Thailand compared to other things. Foreign teachers at international schools have a very high salary compared to english teachers in language schools or non international schools.

May I ask where do you plan to live in Thailand?

[Patrizia]

Thanks Ubonjoe, does it have to be a Thai bank?

And thanks SoFarAndNear, yes you are right about the school fees. We are planning for Phuket as we want to be near the sea and I have seen around 11 international schools there,so there's a bit choice. Most of the fees I have seen are around that amount although some offer discount for siblings and are slightly cheeper.

I'm still thinking that maybe it would be easier to do the visa run every 90 days and still enrol them at school..mh.. Does anyone know of any families doing this and having problems renewing the 90 days?

[johnatong]

I am not sure that you are thinking these plans through.

There are certainly not eleven international schools of repute in Phuket and transportation on the island can be difficult and expensive as is everything else when compared to other parts of Thailand.

You should post a well thought out question in the Phuket Forum for more detail.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/forum/31-phuket-forum/

[ubonjoe]

Thanks Ubonjoe, does it have to be a Thai bank?

And thanks SoFarAndNear, yes you are right about the school fees. We are planning for Phuket as we want to be near the sea and I have seen around 11 international schools there,so there's a bit choice. Most of the fees I have seen are around that amount although some offer discount for siblings and are slightly cheeper.

I'm still thinking that maybe it would be easier to do the visa run every 90 days and still enrol them at school..mh.. Does anyone know of any families doing this and having problems renewing the 90 days?

Yes the 500k baht must be in a Thai bank.

What do you mean by the 90 days. If you mean getting multiple entry non immigrant visa for education and being the parent of a child I doubt that you will be able to get them. If you mean getting tourist visa and extending each entry for 30 days that could be problem.

[Patrizia]

Thanks Ubonjoe, does it have to be a Thai bank?

And thanks SoFarAndNear, yes you are right about the school fees. We are planning for Phuket as we want to be near the sea and I have seen around 11 international schools there,so there's a bit choice. Most of the fees I have seen are around that amount although some offer discount for siblings and are slightly cheeper.

I'm still thinking that maybe it would be easier to do the visa run every 90 days and still enrol them at school..mh.. Does anyone know of any families doing this and having problems renewing the 90 days?

Yes the 500k baht must be in a Thai bank.

What do you mean by the 90 days. If you mean getting multiple entry non immigrant visa for education and being the parent of a child I doubt that you will be able to get them. If you mean getting tourist visa and extending each entry for 30 days that could be problem.

Yes I was looking into the METV or SETV. Why do you reckon would be a problem?

[ubonjoe]

Thanks Ubonjoe, does it have to be a Thai bank?

And thanks SoFarAndNear, yes you are right about the school fees. We are planning for Phuket as we want to be near the sea and I have seen around 11 international schools there,so there's a bit choice. Most of the fees I have seen are around that amount although some offer discount for siblings and are slightly cheeper.

I'm still thinking that maybe it would be easier to do the visa run every 90 days and still enrol them at school..mh.. Does anyone know of any families doing this and having problems renewing the 90 days?

Yes the 500k baht must be in a Thai bank.

What do you mean by the 90 days. If you mean getting multiple entry non immigrant visa for education and being the parent of a child I doubt that you will be able to get them. If you mean getting tourist visa and extending each entry for 30 days that could be problem.

Yes I was looking into the METV or SETV. Why do you reckon would be a problem?

If you get a METV or the SETV before traveling here you probably will not have any problems other than all the border runs needed. And with the SETV 2 or 3 visa runs. Do you plan on taking the children with you every time or are going to get them ED visas and extensions?

[Patrizia]

I am not sure that you are thinking these plans through.

There are certainly not eleven international schools of repute in Phuket and transportation on the island can be difficult and expensive as is everything else when compared to other parts of Thailand.

You should post a well thought out question in the Phuket Forum for more detail.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/forum/31-phuket-forum/

I agree, I certainly don't know how reputable they are, most of them look ok from their websites, but they are only websites..I also agree that Phuket is more expensive. I could of course homeschool them but I want them to be in contact with local children as I believe this is part of the educational experience I would like to give them. Phuket having more schools than other parts of Thailand (and being near the sea) was the reason behind the choice. Thanks for your input, I will definitely post a question about the schools in Phuket forum.

[Patrizia]

Thanks Ubonjoe, does it have to be a Thai bank?

And thanks SoFarAndNear, yes you are right about the school fees. We are planning for Phuket as we want to be near the sea and I have seen around 11 international schools there,so there's a bit choice. Most of the fees I have seen are around that amount although some offer discount for siblings and are slightly cheeper.

I'm still thinking that maybe it would be easier to do the visa run every 90 days and still enrol them at school..mh.. Does anyone know of any families doing this and having problems renewing the 90 days?

Yes the 500k baht must be in a Thai bank.

What do you mean by the 90 days. If you mean getting multiple entry non immigrant visa for education and being the parent of a child I doubt that you will be able to get them. If you mean getting tourist visa and extending each entry for 30 days that could be problem.

Yes I was looking into the METV or SETV. Why do you reckon would be a problem?

If you get a METV or the SETV before traveling here you probably will not have any problems other than all the border runs needed. And with the SETV 2 or 3 visa runs. Do you plan on taking the children with you every time or are going to get them ED visas and extensions?

I'm asking my self the same question. I suppose it would be easier to all go for the visa run. Probably a bit stressful but safer from the point of view of not being together in case one of us has problems. On the other hand it seems relatively easy to get them the ED, although as you said , the 2 year old could look odd. Then, me and my partner could go at different times for the visa run. What would you suggest? Did you have a similar experience or know of anyone who has?