Hi all,

 

I would like to tap into your wisdom. I, my wife and our 2 children are planning to come to Thailand for a 6-month sabbatical and I would like your advice on how I can minimize visa runs, especially because our children are very young.

 

These are the details:

• We will arrive in Thailand on 15th January 2017
• We will leave Thailand on 13th July 2017
• As you see the period we plan to stay in Thailand is not more than 6 months. Flight tickets are booked
• We will stay in Koh Samul for this period. We have arranged accommodation already
• My wife is a Greek passport holder, living and working in the UK. We will do this sabbatical during her maternity leave (one of the 2 children will be an infant, a few months old)
• I am a Greek passport holder, living and working in the UK. I am currently employed but I plan to resign from my work for this sabbatical and find a new job in the UK after we finish this sabbatical
• We have plenty of savings for our 6 months in Thailand, we can provide bank statements etc
• We do not plan to work in Thailand nor stay there after July 13th. Our life is in the UK and we plan to come back. We just want to spend time by the beach with our young family and de-stress from hard work for a little while

 

What is your advice? 

 

I assume that I will have to go for a multiple entries tourist visa which allows for 60 days per trip and is valid for 6 months. Does that mean that we:

- arrive and stay for 60 days

- leave the country, come back, stay for 60 days

- leave the country again, come back, stay for 58 days

- go back to the UK

- that is 2 visa runs in total

 

Is that our only choice?  Can this be optimized further?

 

I read that you can go locally to Koh Samui and get an extra 30 days added. If I can do that then we should be able to able to do only 1 Visa Run? Can someone explain how that would work in the scenario abroad?

 

Many thanks,

Dimitrios

 

 

 

 

 

 

One idea to consider is having you and your wife do visa runs at different times (the other staying with your kids) and not taking the kids on visa runs at all. While technically this means the kids will be on overstay when you eventually leave, in practice no penalty is assessed.

 

If you end up having problems with getting multiple entry tourist visas from the UK, you might consider coming on single entry tourist visas and flying using FireFly from Samui to Penang (two night stay) to get a further SETV there.  You would then need to extend each SETV for 30 days at the immigration office in Samui (costs 1,900 baht).

The Multiple Entry Tourist Visa (METV) would be the best choice.

• You'd be granted permission to stay for 60 days on every entry.
• You can extend any 60 day entry, once, by 30 days at the Samui office for 1,900 baht.

You are staying 180 days. 

• If you don't use extension then you would need to do 2 border runs (BR). 60 BR 60 BR 60 
• If you use 30 day extensions of stay (30x) you only need 1 border run. 60 30x BR 60 30x
• There are companies that do border runs from to the Malaysian and Myanmar borders.

Many thanks for your replies. Really appreciated.

Good luck as Greek Nationals getting METV's from London.

Ronuk, would that be a problem?

 

I have been living in the UK for 14 years and my wife for 7 years. We do not hold British passports but I have an ILR (EE Permanent Residence Card).

 

Would our nationality be a problem?

 

Should I try to get a METV from Athens maybe?

 

Your comment worried me, please elaborate

 

Best,

Dimitrios

 

4 hours ago, dkofodimos said:

- go back to the UK

You don't have to return to the UK after doing 2 border runs for a new entry. There is no requirement to do that.

 

1 hour ago, Ronuk said:

Good luck as Greek Nationals getting METV's from London.

Why? If you look at the requirements on the embassy website it does not mention only those from the UK can get the visa. http://thaiembassyuk.org.uk/?q=node/45

The OP has now posted they have ILR for the UK which means they are legal residents there.

ubonjoe,

 

the "go back to the UK" comment was there because my sabbatical would have ended . We plan to do a 6-month sabbatical then come back.

 

Things are now a bit more complicated because I plan to resign from my current employment. Of course ,my wife will be employed, she will be on a 12-month maternity leave and she can get that employment letter but I plan to resign, spend a great 6-months in Koh Samui and then come back and find a new job.

 

As for the legal residence, Yes. We live here, pay taxes here. Actually my children will have British passports (as they are born in the UK and I am already settled in the UK), I and my wife Greek passports. 

 

Best,

Dimitrios

4 hours ago, elviajero said:

The Multiple Entry Tourist Visa (METV) would be the best choice.

• You'd be granted permission to stay for 60 days on every entry.
• You can extend any 60 day entry, once, by 30 days at the Samui office for 1,900 baht.

You are staying 180 days. 

• If you don't use extension then you would need to do 2 border runs (BR). 60 BR 60 BR 60 
• If you use 30 day extensions of stay (30x) you only need 1 border run. 60 30x BR 60 30x
• There are companies that do border runs from to the Malaysian and Myanmar borders.

 

Agree with one caveat. On a normal border run day 90 (or 60) of the previous stay is also day one of the next stay. So unless they stay out of Thailand over night they will loose one day on each border run and will come up one day short if using extensions and two days if going for two border runs.

 

Sophon

Thanks Sophon,

if we are only to do 1 border run we would go somewhere for 5-6 days.

Best, Dimitrios

Good idea - make it a mini holiday in the region.

You have no need to rush out & in.

I have noticed that the London Thai embassy states that you need a letter from your employer to get an METV. If the OP resigns he wont be employed. Does anybody know how strict the London embassy is on this letter to demonstrate employment?

4 hours ago, dkofodimos said:

Things are now a bit more complicated because I plan to resign from my current employment. Of course ,my wife will be employed, she will be on a 12-month maternity leave and she can get that employment letter but I plan to resign, spend a great 6-months in Koh Samui and then come back and find a new job.

Since your wife will be on maternity leave and has a job to go back to they will likely accept her's as proof you have a reason to return to the UK after your trip.

You might want to consider applying at one of the consulates instead of the embassy. You probably would find them to be a more flexible in their requirements.

5 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

You don't have to return to the UK after doing 2 border runs for a new entry. There is no requirement to do that.

 

Why? If you look at the requirements on the embassy website it does not mention only those from the UK can get the visa. http://thaiembassyuk.org.uk/?q=node/45

The OP has now posted they have ILR for the UK which means they are legal residents there.

Sorry. I Should of elaborated that the Thai Embassy in London are very difficult to deal with for anything other than SETV even for UK citizens. They stick ridgedly to the rules and seem to have no Leeway regarding anything. As Greek citizens, I think you will encounter issues, particularly with Brexit and Article 50 about to be implemented at anytime but until you apply, then nobody will know for sure. I would certainly have a plan B just in case.

If you can avoid London, I would do so.

Thank you very much all. All replies relly appreciated.

 

We will aim for a METV first with a SETV as a backup.

 

I will get my wife and the newborn at the embassy as well, hopefully it will help

 

Best,

Dimitrios

 

9 hours ago, dkofodimos said:

Ronuk, would that be a problem?

 

I have been living in the UK for 14 years and my wife for 7 years. We do not hold British passports but I have an ILR (EE Permanent Residence Card).

 

Would our nationality be a problem?

 

Should I try to get a METV from Athens maybe?

 

Your comment worried me, please elaborate

Do not worry. Your nationality wouldn't be an issue even if you didn't have ILR.

 

Resigning from your job before applying for the METV will likely cause problems as having a job/work is one of the main criteria The Thai Embassy in London are looking for.

 

If you have a problem with the METV you could still get one for your wife and children and get a SETV for yourself. When you do the border run after 90 days (60+30 extension) days you should have no problem getting a second SETV during your 5-6 day trip. 

11 minutes ago, elviajero said:

Do not worry. Your nationality wouldn't be an issue even if you didn't have ILR.

 

Resigning from your job before applying for the METV will likely cause problems as having a job/work is one of the main criteria The Thai Embassy in London are looking for.

 

If you have a problem with the METV you could still get one for your wife and children and get a SETV for yourself. When you do the border run after 90 days (60+30 extension) days you should have no problem getting a second SETV during your 5-6 day trip. 

Do not assume getting METV'S in London isn't going to be a problem, particularly multiple applications involving children.

They do not just issue them like postage stamps.

9 minutes ago, Ronuk said:

Do not assume getting METV'S in London isn't going to be a problem, particularly multiple applications involving children.

They do not just issue them like postage stamps.

Please take the time to read what's written.

 

I have not assumed getting METV's isn't going to be a problem and warned the OP of a potential problem if he resigns from his job before applying. I was correcting your comment that his nationality would be a problem which it won't. Neither would multiple applications or with children have any impact if the criteria is met.

A baiting post has been removed that is part of bickering contest between two members. Time to end it.