# Advise on moving to Thailand needed



## Barryhorne (Mar 5, 2010)

Hi 

Im an Englishman who lives in Nottingham UK with my Thai wife who i married in Thailand in september 2009 - we plan to live in the UK until she can apply for her indefinate leave to remain but I was looking at options for our future and whether moving to Thailand to live is doable - im nearly 30 and she is 26 - i reckon if we sold up here in 2 -3 years time we could have about 40-50k to take with us. I have read that i can get a 1 year visa but would need to travel to the border every 3 months is this right? What about after this 1st year could i extend this to stay longer or even permantly? My wife has a degree and her family have a house/land in Ratchaburi although we would like to live in Hua Hin but im not sure what i would do work wise - any advice would be much appreciated. 

Thanks Barry


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## blue eyes (Aug 17, 2009)

You will have a VERY hard time finding a job that is legal in Thailand.The way that the government works is ,Thai people only, if they can, then maybe some one else.That pretty much sets you to teach english and that is it.Unless you have a large stash of cash and wish to invest it in Thailand.Good luck.


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## Guest (Mar 6, 2010)

Hi Barry, welcome to the forum.

Rather brusquely put! But _'blue eyes'_ reply does rather sum up the situation. Other than teaching, farang/thai couples do go into the likes of the bar/restaurant business occasionally, with the farang obliged to be the minority partner under Thai law, but you hear all manner of disaster stories about this. A successful example is a Dutch guy I know who with his Thai wife has a dive school and holiday business on one of the islands. Another friend is struggling to make ends meet with a poorly located 7-Eleven franchise. All in all, if you are interested in starting a business, spend some time talking to the local expats - and concentrate more on the horror stories before investing any money..

So unless you are in a very specialised field of employment where there is a shortage of Thais, you will find it virtually impossible to get a job I'm afraid. Teaching English is one obvious area where there is work available, but generally speaking, in order to get a bona fide position along the lines of the one in this post added yesterday, you need both a degree yourself, and a TEFL/TESOL qualification, and even better, a teaching diploma.

In your favour is the fact that you are looking two or three years ahead. You could, for example, get a diploma in teaching English as a foreign language. But you don't mention if you have a degree yourself, or equivalent qualification.

Being married to a Thai you can get the spousal visa, for which the biggest obstacle is having to maintain a Thai bank account for 3 months prior to application with a minimum balance over that period of 400,000 baht, roughly 8,000 sterling these days. A multi-entry one year spousal non-immigrant 'O' visa is possible - but with this visa you cannot work.

For a proper teaching job (as opposed to the cowboy positions offered on the cheap to English-speakers without the correct visa by less reputable language schools, paying poorly) the school will sort out the work permit for you.


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## KhwaamLap (Feb 29, 2008)

frogblogger said:


> Hi Barry, welcome to the forum.
> 
> Rather brusquely put! But _'blue eyes'_ reply does rather sum up the situation. Other than teaching, farang/thai couples do go into the likes of the bar/restaurant business occasionally, with the farang obliged to be the minority partner under Thai law, but you hear all manner of disaster stories about this. A successful example is a Dutch guy I know who with his Thai wife has a dive school and holiday business on one of the islands. Another friend is struggling to make ends meet with a poorly located 7-Eleven franchise. All in all, if you are interested in starting a business, spend some time talking to the local expats - and concentrate more on the horror stories before investing any money..
> 
> ...


Sorry FB have to correct you here - you can work with a non-Imm 'O' marriage Visa, it is legitimate to get a Work Permit on one (I and many people OI know here do as unlike a Non-Imm 'B', if the WP is lost due to travel without reentry visa or becoause of loss of job, you ndon't have to go home).


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## Guest (Mar 6, 2010)

Ah ok, well that's good news - so to be precise you can't work (yet) on a marriage visa, but you can apply for a work permit when you have the visa, without leaving LOS.


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## KhwaamLap (Feb 29, 2008)

frogblogger said:


> Ah ok, well that's good news - so to be precise you can't work (yet) on a marriage visa, but you can apply for a work permit when you have the visa, without leaving LOS.


Yes, but of course you can't work on _any_ Visa; all require a work permit. The 'O' for marriage works just like a 'B' for work/business except that there is a requirement to show income (up to half that of a retirement Visa 'OA' - 40k/month or 400k lump sum) and it is not reliant on the work permit.


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## Guest (Mar 7, 2010)

Ok KL, but you've lost me on the last bit (up to half, 40K/m or 400K lump). That threshold means what exactly? You mean you can't earn more than that figure?

Just dotting the 'i's, as I've been in LOS on retirement, tourist, visiting family visas to date and my next trip will be with the marriage visa.


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## cnx_bruce (Feb 2, 2010)

Just to address that last post ... currently the official position is that you must provide a statutory declaration stamped by your embassy that you have an income of at least 40,000 baht per month. This is for people on the non-immigrant type '0' who seek an extension of stay based on marriage to a thai. When you are interviewed by the Immigration dept they MAY ask to also see proof of this income, e.g. copy of a rental contract where rental income of your home in farangland is the main source of income.

At one stage in the past there was a need for 400,000 baht deposited in a thai bank AND the minimum monthly income mentioned previously. This is not now the case although you might perhaps happen to find yourself in front of an immigration dept officer who claims it still is.


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## tezza (Apr 29, 2011)

Hi Barry,

I'd be careful with selling up and moving there... imagine it goes pear shape.. might be a better option to work hard, take a bit more time (you are young), pay off most of your mortgage if you can and then rent your place in the UK and live off the profits/complement by teaching english...


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