# Requirments for living in Thailand Long-Term



## BettyLee

My husband and I are contemplating a move to Thailand - mainly so we could live on my meager Navy pension and bank his income (he works from home for a US-based company and can live anywhere he has internet access). I am looking to find out if we can get a long-term visa rather than having to keep extending every 40 days or having to leave the country and come back - would rather just be able to put down roots for a few years. We have lived in foreign countries before, but now just looking to hopefully bank some $$ and live the simple life for awhile.


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## Mweiga

BettyLee said:


> My husband and I are contemplating a move to Thailand - mainly so we could live on my meager Navy pension and bank his income (he works from home for a US-based company and can live anywhere he has internet access). I am looking to find out if we can get a long-term visa rather than having to keep extending every 40 days or having to leave the country and come back - would rather just be able to put down roots for a few years. We have lived in foreign countries before, but now just looking to hopefully bank some $$ and live the simple life for awhile.


You don't give your age - if you're over 50 you can get a one year non-immigrant visa , also known as the "retirement visa" , which is easily renewed annually. Apart from your age , the only requirement is financial.

For under 50s longer term visas are technically possible but much more complicated requiring copious paperwork , several hoops to be jumped through and with varying degrees of success depending on who handles your application - for example the Non-Resident "O" visa or Working "B" visa. Many people just settle for the tourist visa extension and / or visa run options for simplicity.


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## BettyLee

Mweiga said:


> You don't give your age - if you're over 50 you can get a one year non-immigrant visa , also known as the "retirement visa" , which is easily renewed annually. Apart from your age , the only requirement is financial.
> 
> For under 50s longer term visas are technically possible but much more complicated requiring copious paperwork , several hoops to be jumped through and with varying degrees of success depending on who handles your application - for example the Non-Resident "O" visa or Working "B" visa. Many people just settle for the tourist visa extension and / or visa run options for simplicity.


I am 53 and retired Navy, however, my husband is 47 and not yet retired. So, could he get a one year visa as my spouse, or would he be held to the "under 50" requirements? My pension is about $1300/month, but he earns about $7K/month working from home for a USA company.


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## cnx_bruce

Betty, Google on "Thailand Ministry Foreign Affairs" and look for information on the retirement visa (non-immigrant type 'O-A'). One condition of the retirement visa is you are not allowed to work (and the Thai legal definition of work is very broad). So even if your husband could squeeze through as your spouse then he would need to keep mighty quiet about his work ... but at the same time be able to validate minimum savings/income requirements as per Thai regulations.


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## BettyLee

Mweiga said:


> You don't give your age - if you're over 50 you can get a one year non-immigrant visa , also known as the "retirement visa" , which is easily renewed annually. Apart from your age , the only requirement is financial.
> 
> For under 50s longer term visas are technically possible but much more complicated requiring copious paperwork , several hoops to be jumped through and with varying degrees of success depending on who handles your application - for example the Non-Resident "O" visa or Working "B" visa. Many people just settle for the tourist visa extension and / or visa run options for simplicity.


So then, how easy is the process of tourist visa extensions and/or visa run options - can you keep doing that indefinitely or is there a time period you need to leave the country and then start over again? I guess if that would be easier for my husband he could put up with it, as long as he doesn't have to leave the country. Thanks!


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## joseph44

BettyLee said:


> I am 53 and retired Navy, however, my husband is 47 and not yet retired. So, could he get a one year visa as my spouse, or would he be held to the "under 50" requirements? My pension is about $1300/month, but he earns about $7K/month working from home for a USA company.


Your husband is entitled to receive a dependent visa, leaning on your back.
You're basically entitled to a retirement-visa IF
- your monthly income is at least THB 65,000 (in your name only)
- you do have THB 800,000 in a Thai bank account (in your name only)
- or a mix (in your name only)

In your case you could opt for a mix of THB 35,000 income and a bank-account holding THB 380,000-THB 400,000.

Unfortunately the income of your husband doesn't count for YOUR visa. In 3 years you could swap the situation and get your husband a ret-visa and you a dependent visa. 

Beware: Your husband is about to perform labor in Thailand and should therefore obtain a work permit. Of course, he is doing a job indoors, but he should be careful in how he positions himself...........never fill in on any Thai form: employed.


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## BettyLee

joseph44 said:


> Your husband is entitled to receive a dependent visa, leaning on your back.
> You're basically entitled to a retirement-visa IF
> - your monthly income is at least THB 65,000 (in your name only)
> - you do have THB 800,000 in a Thai bank account (in your name only)
> - or a mix (in your name only)
> 
> In your case you could opt for a mix of THB 35,000 income and a bank-account holding THB 380,000-THB 400,000.
> 
> Unfortunately the income of your husband doesn't count for YOUR visa. In 3 years you could swap the situation and get your husband a ret-visa and you a dependent visa.
> 
> Beware: Your husband is about to perform labor in Thailand and should therefore obtain a work permit. Of course, he is doing a job indoors, but he should be careful in how he positions himself...........never fill in on any Thai form: employed.



We used to live in southern Baja Mexico, but the employment issue only arose if you actually worked for a business there in Baja, taking the place of a Mexican national employee. If you did anything online, such as what my husband does for his company, it didn't count for anything.

I read on one website (from my GOOGLE search) - that "employment" consisted of working or volunteering for a business in the country. (I believe that came from an embassy website) Another website stated - "Employment of any kind" is prohibited for a retirement visa or living in the country long term without a work permit.

Thanks for all the responses. If anyone has anything else for me to consider, I'm all ears.


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## Jalan

Bettylee, your husband works from his computer, ergo he must be very adept. Simply query the Thai Embassy's website in Washington DC and all the info is there, to include PDF's for medical and visa application etc.


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## The Mynah

joseph44 said:


> Mynah........I'm pretty new here, but with an answer you give you kill most forums or in other words........9-out-of-10 times when you ask Google to search for topics


Forums can be invaluable for debating views and opinions on not-the-norm matters. Unfortunately, much worthwhile information gets lost in pages and pages of drivel from people who just want to show they know something and want to give their 'advice'. Official matters that require up-to-date factual answers are best dealt with by reference to an official site which gives concise replies in the correct form of the required launguage, and not in a jumble of words that are often incomprehensible.


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## TomTao

BettyLee said:


> My husband and I are contemplating a move to Thailand - mainly so we could live on my meager Navy pension and bank his income (he works from home for a US-based company and can live anywhere he has internet access). I am looking to find out if we can get a long-term visa rather than having to keep extending every 40 days or having to leave the country and come back - would rather just be able to put down roots for a few years. We have lived in foreign countries before, but now just looking to hopefully bank some $$ and live the simple life for awhile.


I live in Thailand on my veteran's pension after serving in the Australian Navy, I am on a O class marital or spouse visa because of being married to a Thai. We have found that the more spacifically targeted questions you ask Thai Immigration the clearer the answers are, and each time you ask about the same subject you are given a little more information, you need to be clear on what you want to know and be persistant but not impatient, they respond well to patient polite questioning, they do not respond well to rude or impatient foreigners who come from a microwave society, having dealt with government departments back home, you should be well equipped for here. I was told a while ago to put a little extra in an envelope to speed things up. I have never had to do that and I do not reccomend doing so, if you get a concientious officer and you try to accelerate the process you could end up in trouble. They are always helpful if you are specific, polite and relaxed. God bless.


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