Everyone wants to come and live in Thailand these days, it's comfortable, cheap and an enchanting place which is attracting an increasing amount of foreigners. It's also relatively easy to enter the Kingdom and continue staying indefinitely. The locals aren't fussed and the immigration officials apply the rule only when motivated by underhand gratuity. But they can, and do, give you the run around, so pay attention to your options.

In general, the government is more interested in attracting 'monied' foreigners, rather than foreigner dropouts who tend to swell the ranks of ex-pats here. Everyone is welcome provided you have a good excuse to stay here or a generous monthly income to live off.

The following are the common and accepted ways, legal or otherwise, to remain here in Thailand.

30 day visas
These are issued to most nationalities upon entry to the Kingdom and can be extended once, for 10 days, by visiting your nearest immigration department before the expiry date. The fee for this is 1,900 baht. Overstay fines are 500 baht per day and can jeopardise your future applications. Every time you leave and re-enter Thailand at any border post, a new 30 day visa is issued, no matter how short your exit stay is.

60 day tourist visas
These are issued by Thailand Embassies abroad for a variable fee (about $15/£10) and can be collected on-the-spot. Once in the Kingdom you may renew this visa for a further 30 days at your nearest immigration department before the expiry date. The fee for this is 1,900 baht.

Visa runs
For many in Chiang Mai, the 30 day visa is all they bother with, for the paperwork necessary for a non-immigration visa is sometimes problematic. Fortunately, the Myanmar border is only a three-hour drive away and many conduct a monthly 'visa run' to the Mae Sai border north of Chiang Rai. Some have continued this routine for a year or more. From September 2004 onwards the immigration officials have been asking to see proof of at least 10,000 baht for each 30 days you intend to stay, this would have to be in hard cash or shown in a Thai bank account book. Than If you are in Bangkok the best solution from Bangkok is a 4 hour bus ride to the Cambodia Border and back which usually most busses leave at around 6:20am in morning and arrive back at Bangkok at 4.30pm & costs 2000 baht and can have lunch in casino included.

Non-immigrant visas
This is the most popular and realistic way of remaining long term in Chiang Mai. With a Non-immigrant visa you can remain in Thailand for up-to three months at a time and this can usually be extended several times, theoretically allowing you the right to stay here for up to a year. Typically you could apply for one of these in order to study full-time, take up a job, investigate starting a business, and a number of more obscure excuses. In each instance you need a plausible excuse with verifiable paperwork to apply. If you have a letter from a prospective employer the immigration authorities may issue you a single entry visa, advising you to up-grade to a work permit. Obviously a single entry visa will last no more than three months if you need to leave and re-enter the Kingdom to extend it. Make sure you get a multiple entry visa (which costs more).

There are several types of non-immigrant visas, the most common include;

Type B:
for conducting business or employment

Type M:
for journalists accredited as press representatives

Type O:
if you are a taking care of dependent or are retired (over 55).

IM:
investors who meet the Board of Investment requirements

ED:
education study or observation



If you're after a non-immigrant B visa, allowing you to stay for three months and renew for a further three months (twice more), you need to go to the nearest Thai consulate. If you are already in Thailand, then the nearest ones are;

Ventiane, Laos - which is notoriously slow and you often need to bribe your way to the front of the queue.
Penang, Malaysia - is so fed up with visa-runners that you'd better make sure you have all your paper work in order to avoid a run around.
Rangoon, Myanmar (Burma) - which isn't a popular option, though most people we've heard of going there have had few problems.
Phnom Penh - which is the closest to Bangkok, though the razing of the Thai embassy there in January 2003 has created disorganisation.

Visa services
There are many companies offering to help you secure a long-stay visa or work permit (by means fair or foul) and often it's worth paying the fee (about 20,000 baht) to let them 'get on with it'. As we have experienced ourselves, even an honest and legitimate attempt to secure a work permit through the correct channels can be frustrated by unreasonable obstacles (read: 'bribe me'), and these visa services usually know who the right people are to 'buy bottles of whisky' for, saving you the red tape chase.

Basically, although there are laws in place and the Thai immigration get tired of all the foreigners invading their city, money lines pockets easily in Thailand and the system is completely porous to those who don't mind entering into 'the system'. We don't encourage it, if your intentions here are genuine, then there are legitimate options open to you.

Caught red handed
In mid-2003 the Thai police apprehended Hambali, a high ranking member of the JI terrorist group. He was found to be in possession of a fake visa stamp and a crackdown ensued. It materialised that many foreigners who had been paying 2000 baht monthly for their passports to go on a 'visa run' without them, had actually been having the passports unwittingly inked with a fake stamp. Several unlucky people had their passports confiscated and destroyed; some even less fortunate even spent time detained and were subsequently deported.


Work permits
This is first prize for those wishing to stay here long-term, as it doesn't require frequent renewing, nor hefty financial stipulations, but the red tape run around is incredible. Naturally you have to have a job offer from a company that meets the stipulated criteria for employing foreigners. There also has to be a plausible excuse why they can't hire a Thai for the job. It is the company's responsibility to apply, and at least 15 documents (including detailed statements about the company's position) are required, along with a fee and a health certificate from you. This can take up to two months and you need to be in possession of a non-immigrant B visa. Incredibly, once the work permit is issued, you then have to carry out the whole rigmarole again to satisfy the Immigration department before they will give you a one-year visa. In all, the process can take several months and cost more than 10,000 baht in various fees. There are also hefty stipulated minimum salaries set (scaled according to your nationality) in order to qualify.

Because of this, some companies, particularly language schools, are reluctant to offer permanent jobs, complete with work permit (besides, there need to be four Thai employees for each foreigner), and many employees have to resort to three-monthly visa runs, which are widely undertaken.

Be aware that once you have a work permit you will still be fleeced of 1000 baht for a re-entry permit every time you leave the country.

Retirement visas
People over the age of 55 wishing to stay here may apply for a retirement visa, but they need to prove they have sufficient money to remain here. According to the Immigration department this is 40,000 baht per month (on which you can live very comfortably here). You will also have to show at least 200,000 baht in your bank account, but they usually only check this once a year.

Permanent residence
This is granted to people who have been living here for more than five years or have a wife and family to support, however the one-off fee of 195,000 baht is rather ridiculous and renders this option largely unreasonable to most. In addition, you have to show you have an income of at least 40,000 baht per month and a bank balance of 200,000 baht, not to mention a mountain of paper work.

Business owner
As a business owner, you have the right to secure a work permit or 1 year, renewable non-immigrant B visa. Quite a few foreigners choose this option if they are serious and have the money required. Thai law states that a company cannot have more than 49 per cent foreign ownership. Furthermore, the founding charter must bear the signatures of seven directors: these can be of any nationality as long as the share agreement places the majority of ownership in Thai hands. The benefits of a company are that it can own property (land) and it overcomes several of the obstacles concerning rights of foreigners here. However, you need to find a trusting partner and for many this is usually a Thai wife or husband. Strangely, foreign women married to Thai men enjoy more rights than their male counterparts.

Several companies around town specialise in setting up companies. The main stipulation is a minimum capitalisation of two million baht, although this is only 'on paper' and there are ways to afford yourself a one year grace period to meet this financial entry qualification. For every two million baht capital and four Thai employees, your company may employ one foreigner, provided you have a good excuse. The paperwork for securing the work permit and accompanying visa is quite daunting, so arm yourself with patience and a good accountant who knows who to 'speak to' in the manpower department.

Some companies even offer to 'take care' of everything, meaning they will arrange six silent Thai directors and have the majority share of the company signed over to you. Technically this renders the company illegal, but this loophole is seldom noticed by the authorities. It does, however, open you to the risk of being swindled.

Visas are also granted to investors who have considerable interests in a new business venture here. The financial qualifications for this, however, are quite substantial and the Board of Investment will grant you all sorts of privileges, but the capital expected is in the range of a million baht - no too unrealistic to most - however all your activities and documentation need to be entirely transparent and open to their scrutiny.

Thanks for posting those details, Daniel. Enlightening to say the least, but at least very `do-able` for anyone contemplating working in Thailand.

Did they change the retirement Visa rules? Last year when I was there I was told it was 50 to obtain one, not 55.. you just added 5 years on to my wait, damn you. :-)

Just go for a multiple non img B.