Visa runs are inevitable if you plan to stay long-term in any country. Chris and I came to Thailand on triple-entry tourist visas but knew that we would have to switch to Non Immigrant Visas when I wanted to teach. Therefore, I needed to apply for a Non Immigrant Business “B” Visa and Chris needed to apply for a Non Immigrant Dependent “O” visa.
If we had been traveling alone (aka, if we were single), or if we both wanted to teach, it would have been a straightforward process to obtain two Non Immigrant B Visas.
Another option would be that Chris could have stayed on the Tourist Visa on which we originally came over (two entries remained). Unfortunately, we wanted to be on the same “visa run cycle”; he would still have to do a border crossing every two to three months on a Tourist Visa while I would be required to go to an Immigration Office every ninety days for a check-in.
Although Chris was eligible for a Non Immigrant Dependent O Visa (we are married, and unfortunately this does not apply to those dating or engaged), he didn’t fit the conventional definition of “a dependent spouse” as defined on the Thai Embassy website because:
- Neither of us are Thai; it seems that in most situations, one of the spouses is Thai
- Chris wasn’t a woman and I wasn’t his bread-winning husband (the concept of Chris being the dependent seemed to puzzle some Thai people, leading some to say that it could not be done)
- We arrived in Thailand on a Tourist Visa and not on a Non Immigrant Visa (otherwise, this could have been taken care of at an Immigration Office in Thailand)
For simplicity sake, below is what you need in order to apply for a Non Immigrant Visa at any Royal Thai Embassy or Consulate. In most cases, it is easiest to go to a neighboring country (no need to fly all the way home), so we chose to do our visa run in Vientiane, Laos. I was employed by a staffing company that handled the paperwork for me.
Items Required for Any Thai Non Immigrant Visa
- Single entry: 2,000 baht (roughly 65 USD)
- Multiple entry: 5,000 baht (roughly 160 USD)
- Passport with at least 6 months validity remaining
- Two 2″x2″ passport photos
- Photocopy of passport page, visa page, and last visa entry stamp
- Thai Visa Application (Form also provided at any Royal Thai Embassy or Consulate)
| NOTE: We have been advised that the Royal Thai Consulate in Vientiane no longer provides multiple entry Non Immigrant O Visas. Your best bet is to apply for the single entry, and then have it extended at Thai Immigration (the route we took). From there you can also apply for single re-entry permits as needed for 1,000 baht each, or get a multiple re-entry permit (provides for less hassle and more flexibility) that allows you to come and go as you please for 3,800 Baht. |
Extra Requirements for a Non Immigrant Business “B” Visa
Foreigners who wish to work as teachers in Thailand must provide the following documents to the Royal Thai Embassy or Consulate of your choosing. If you choose to do a visa run to Vientiane, Laos like we did, these requirements are also listed on the Thai Consulate’s website (Vientiane, Laos); use Google Translate to read it in a language other than Thai.
- Official letter from the Ministry of Education of Thailand, or other sub-authorities concerned, approving the employment of foreign academic personnel (takes three to four weeks to process)
- Recommendation letter addressed to the Embassy (stating about the employment and visa application) and accompanied with the certified copy of the ID of the endorser
- Employment contract
- Form of the Employment Certification
- Copy of registration certificate of the concerned academic institute
- Copy of applicant’s academic certificate/record (I provided my company with my college transcripts and they translated it into Thai)
- Copy of the previous/current work permit (if any)
- Copy of the recent police clearance or certificate of no criminal conviction
| NOTE: These are the requirements to apply for a Non Immigrant B Visa at the Royal Thai Consulate in Vientiane, Laos. If you apply at a different embassy or consulate, please contact them directly to confirm their application requirements; the exact requirements may be different. |
Extra Requirements for a Non Immigrant Dependent “O” Visa
This example is for a non-Thai married couple in which one spouse is working and the other is not.
- Photocopy of marriage certificate
- Photocopy of living agreement (lease, guesthouse agreement, something saying you live together in Thailand)
- Original letter from hiring company indicating the to-be employed spouse’s intention to work, while also mentioning the nonworking spouse’s name and that he or she will be of dependent status while the employed spouse is working in Thailand OR a photocopy of employed spouse’s work permit.
Items Required for Entry into Laos
Laos has their own visa requirements to enter their country.
- Passport
- One 2″x2″ passport photo
- $35 (From our experience exact change is not required, use crisp bills) OR 1,500 baht (equivalent to roughly $45, so use USD instead!)
- Tourist visa application (Form provided on arrival at Laos Immigration)
- Blue or black pen (the pens left out on the tables did not work)
| TIP: If you have some time and want to explore the country in which you’re applying for your visa then drop your passport off on Friday and pick it up on Monday. We had a great time discovering Vientiane, Laos over the weekend. |
Not Married?
If you aren’t married and plan to teach in Thailand and your significant other doesn’t want to go the same route we have heard great things about the Non Immigrant Education “ED” Visa options. It is possible to secure a one year education visa by taking a few short Thai language classes per week. We considered this option at one point, and still may pursue it in the future.
Extremely informative blog you wrote together – i don’t know how i can miss it for so long, instantly subbed your RSS feed and added you onto my German Facebook page for Thailand in the section informative blogs :) best wishes from a long therm expat from Germany !
I am a UK westerner having a Thai baby we both do not believe in marriage but do i get any visa rights with a baby I own business with a work permit, do I still need a work permit with immigrant b visa
Please contact a Thai lawyer for advice. We do not know the answer, but we do know that it is important that your name is on the birth certificate.
You can convert a Tourist Visa with 30 days left on it to a Non-B at Thai immigration within Thailand.
DUE TO THE OVERWHELMING NUMBER OF REQUESTS FOR HELP REGARDING INDIVIDUAL VISA SCENARIOS, WE ARE NO LONGER APPROVING COMMENTS ON THIS POST.
HOWEVER, YOU MAY BE ABLE TO FIND YOUR ANSWER IN THE COMMENTS BELOW. IF YOU WOULD LIKE PERSONALIZED ASSISTANCE, BOOK A COACHING SESSION WITH US.
Hi I would like to ask if i am still eligible to get a non-o visa, i am already 20 years old (this month) and i will be under my mom’s working visa. i would like to process it sooner because i have less than 5 months of stay here in Thailand if i didn’t get any visa.
Thank you for your help, and thank you for all the helpful info
According to bangkok.immigration.go.th, “In case of child/children, adopted child/children, or spouse’s children, they must live with the alien [working parent] as a part of the family and must not be over 20 years of age.” (Question 21)
It seems as though you will be eligible to apply for a Non Immigrant O Visa under your mom while you are 20 years old. As soon as you turn 21, you will be ineligible. Please confirm this information directly with the Royal Thai Embassy or Consulate at which you will be applying for your visa since rules are often subjective.
Hi, its January 2016 and the 30 day extension to my 60 day tourist visa runs out at the end of the month. Can anyone tell me the latest information about visas, specifically how to get a 1 year multiple entry as a tourist or at least a non working non immigrant. I understand Vientiane is no longer issuing multi-entries, but is it possible to get them elsewhere in the region, perhaps on a detour of Vietnam, Malaysia. Does anyone have any information about this? Also, can you clarify the extension permits, I’m not so clear on these. It sounds… Read more »
Vientiane, Laos issued double-entry tourist visas up until the new visa law happened on 13 Nov 2015. If you want the new METV (multiple entry tourist visa) you must go back to whatever country you hold a passport in and apply there (US? UK?). There are strict application requirements now. Every other country (Vietnam, Malaysia, etc) will now only granted a single-entry tourist visa. Since you have already extended your single-entry 60 day tourist visa, you must leave Thailand at the end of January. You can either do a border run (literally cross the border and come right back into… Read more »
We got it in England. I emailed the consulate asking about it and the lady said we have to apply for cat B. We’ll try to find a lawyer.
Thank you so much for your reply
Best wishes ;)
Hello again Chris and Angela
Me and my partner are on Phuket now… Nearly finished our PADI MSDT course. We came on single entry non immigrant type B-ED visa… We’re thinking of setting up the company and work as freelancers in diving industry.
My question is how to change our visa so we can set up a company?
No one seems to know our visa type :(
Thanks in advance for your help
Best wishes
Ela & Gary
We have never heard of a B-ED visa either. What country did you get it from? You can change your visa and set up a company but we would highly recommend talking to a professional about that. The intricacies are beyond our experience and we don’t want to steer you in the wrong way. Good luck!
Hi Chris and Angels! Both of you are very inspiring and glad to hear that there are bloggers like you who are actively interacting with the followers, I just find it rare for bloggers to be like this. I got a question, for people who are entitled to VER or Visa Exemption Rule who can stay in Thailand for 30 days do you have any idea that if they are allowed to extend their stay?
Aw thanks! We’re lucky we can keep up with all the engagement on our blog and social media platforms :) If you are eligible for the 30 day visa exempt stamp, the current rules (as of Nov 2015) allow you to extend your stay by another 30 days for 1,900 baht (it’s automatically tacked on to the day AFTER your stamp expires no matter when you apply for it). Actually, if you are visiting Chiang Mai, we wrote a post about extending a Thai tourist visa in Chiang Mai but the location (Promenada Mall), cost, and list of requirements are… Read more »
Hi! I’ve been working in Thailand for some time while studying part time in Bangkok. Now my Non o visa is finished and I go home this month to try to apply for a non B. The only thing is I work at a Thai NGO with only Thai/Karen staff, so they’ve never made contracts or anything before. I was wondering if you could help me figure out what they need to put for my salary in my contract. I’ve heard some things about that you need to earn the minimum wage of your home country, which seems quite ridiculous… Read more »
In our experience (as well as other teachers we know) salary is based on a monthly rate and not hourly rate. We’ve never heard about the rule of basing your salary against your home country’s minimum wage, but after what we know now we would never recommend anything under 30,000 baht per month, and that would be in schools out in the country. If you are a major city where the cost of living is much higher, 40k per month would be a much better starting point (that is, if you are an inexperienced teacher; if you are a teacher… Read more »
Hi Chris and Angela,
What a fantastic blog you have, guys! Thank you for posting info here to help us who are also planning to do the same as you did. May I just ask one bit of a question because all we have are just plans for now. Is it the potential employer who will have to work on the Official letter from the Ministry of Education of Thailand requirement?
Thank you!
Cheers!
Fritzie
You’re welcome! Yes, it is the employer who supplies the official letter from the Ministry of Education (assuming you are working for a school – the letter will be from somewhere different if it’s not a school or language institute). Once you’ve agreed to a contract, your employer will start processing the paperwork and get all the right stamps and seals, plus it’s written in Thai. It takes a few weeks to put together and then you will be handed a neat packet to take with you when you apply for your visa. Good luck!
Thank you very much for the info! You guys are a gem online! Cheers!x
Hey Chris and Angela, thanks for the useful information! I might have got it wrong, but does having a Non-O mean that you have to leave the country every 90 days? Or you just have to go to the local Thai Immigration to report your address as your spouse does? Thank you for your answer.
As long as you have a single entry Non-Immigrant O Thai visa that you’ve properly extended at a Thai immigration for the year (in conjunction with your spouse’s non-immigrant Thai visa we are assuming), then you only have to do report your address as your spouse does every 90 days. Much easier than doing a border run every 90 days!
Thank you very much for your help! I was confused about the extension issue, but now it’s clear. Thanks a lot :)
Yes it is, thank you very much!
Thank you so much! It has not been easy to get this kind of information (non-thai couple, wife the bread winner). As this post is almost years old, I hope the information still applies.
You’re very welcome. We’ve heard of no changes in the laws pertaining to the non-immigrant dependent and business visas, so you should be all set. Good luck!
hi there guys i hope that u guys can help about this……actually i applied non b visa from laos but they told me that i should wait atleast 3 to 4 weeks for the visa process ……i tried to ask them why but i couldnt get that answer from them yet…..so is there any way to check my visa process from the website or from the internet thats……
Max, this is news to us. It took 24 hours to process our Thai visas in Vientiane, Laos when we visited there in person in 2013. We do not know why they gave you such a long processing time. We don’t expect them to have the the set up to do status checks via their webpage, so you may just have to resort to old-fashion calling in to their office during business hours. We wish we could have been more help!
i dont know why they told me like this but now i dont have any choice except wait ….yea they also gave some sort of password if i wana know about my process so i must call to foreign affairs office in bangkok otherwise just wait and watch ……..can i check through website if u know any just let me know kindly …anyway thanx for ur help
God Bless u
Hi there im married to my thai wife. And we have a kid who is born in Thailand. I am thinking of applying for a non immigration O visa. However I would like to bring my mother who is divorced to come live with me. Is she able to apply for a non immigration dependent pass. And is it right that for the non immigration o visa I must have 400000 baht in a thai account. I am more concerned about my mother.
This is a question that you would be better off contacting the Thai Embassy in your home country. We are not sure how many non-citizen dependents your Thai wife is able to support legally by Thai law. However, we suggest that your mother apply for a retirement visa. That way, she is not dependent on you for legal paperwork. Some requirements (but not all), include being 55 years of age or older and having the equivalent of 800,000 baht in her bank (it doesn’t have to be a Thai bank) or a monthly stipend of 65,000 baht. Good luck!
Question: I have just gotten a job teaching English and so will be getting a Non-Imm B visa at the end of the month, but my husband is not working and needs a Non-Imm O. I showed your post to the school that’s doing my paperwork, and I don’t think they’re all that familiar with getting the Non-Imm O. I asked about getting a letter from them that states my intention to work and my husband’s status as my dependent (the third item on the list) and they asked me to write it and said they would sign it. Will… Read more »
Our letter was written in Thai. We suggest calling or emailing the Royal Thai Embassy or Consulate to which you are applying for your visas and ask them if they require the letter in Thai or if English is ok. The people trained there can read/speak English, but it’s best to double check with them directly.
OK. Thank you! One last question, did you both get a medical check?
Nope, only the teacher needs one (to get the work permit). I, Angela, went to a little clinic and it cost around 200 baht ($7)
It’s almost time for me to extend my Non-Imm B to a 1 year visa. How does that work in conjunction with the Non-Imm O–meaning, how can my husband also get his extended?
Your husband’s extension works on exactly on the same timeline as yours. While you must go in with your supporting paperwork from your employer, your husband will need to show proof that he is your husband and that you are living together. Under the heading “Additional Items Required for a Non-Immigrant Dependent O Visa” in this post, that will tell you what you need to bring. Once you get your extensions, all you’ll have to do is the 90-day reportings every day until your visa expires. Good luck!
Angela, quick question about your college transcripts. Are your college transcripts listed in your maiden name? Assuming you changed your name, did you need to provide a marriage license to get a Non-immigrant B visa?
Yes, my college transcript is in my maiden name, but I didn’t provide a marriage certificate to the Thai Consulate when I was getting my non-immigrant B visa. Nor do I need to provide a copy of my college transcript to the Thai Consulate. I provided those two items to my hiring agency. I was concerned about this too, but my hiring agency addressed the maiden/married name issue in one of the documents that was later submitted to the Thai Consulate. I was under the impression that the hiring agency is the one obligated to confirm that I am one… Read more »
Hello, I’ll be moving to Thailand in July to work at an international school in BKK. I know I will need my passport when applying for the visa at the Chicago consulate, but do you know if they will keep the passport while the visa is being processed? I read processing could take up to 4 weeks. I would like to travel during those 4 weeks, but would need my passport. Thanks for any insight you can provide.
Wow, we’re surprised to hear processing can take that long. EDIT **Our first two experiences have been a 24 hour processing time – drop paperwork and passport off the day before at the Thai Consulate or Embassy and pick up your passport with new visa and pay the next day. The third time we applied for visas took three processing days.** We cannot attest to a processing time if you are mailing it in. Perhaps if you call them up to verify their processing time (and why they would need up to four weeks, tikes!) and that you want to… Read more »
Thanks for all the information! I am going to Thailand in August 2014 and plan on finding a job once I get there. However, it seems as though I need to prove that I have a departing flight from Thailand… however I don’t wish to book a round trip flight from the US to Thailand. What was your experience with this? Should I just book a flight to a neighboring country? Also, did you need to prove you had 20,000baht to support yourselves while in Thailand? I am speaking in regards to the tourist visa- I think I will apply… Read more »
Although we had the supporting bank statements ($500 a piece or 15,000 baht in March 2013) and evidence of a ticket from Thailand to Kuala Lumpur (for our first border run), we actually were not asked for these documents when we applied for our tourist visas at the Thai Embassy in Washington DC. We have no idea why! (a fluke?!?) If you book a departing flight to whatever neighboring country’s city you plan to apply for a non-immigrant B visa, that will do the trick. You’re welcome!
Thanks for the helpful post! I’m about to head to Vientiane for my Non B and had a question about passport photos–any idea if the consulate accepts 2″x2″ photos?
The true size is 3.5 x 4.5 cm. We cut our existing square pictures to fit the box on the application form (linked to in this post). Easy!
Great idea! Thanks!
No problem!
Thank you for the post. Could Angela recommend an employment agency For teaching in Chiang Mai, or which one did she use? Also did you find it necessary to have a tefl to work or was a degree enough? Cheers
I recommend going through UniTEFL . Although I attended a different academy, I’ve read very positive reviews and know a fellow blogger who’s taken it and it’s what I wish I would have done instead. He says he felt totally prepared to teach and is looking forward to starting the last time I spoke with him. It’s a four week intensive course, challenging in class with plenty of homework. They take you to a nearby public school several times to show you what it could really be like teaching. You learn how to properly handle a class, too (big plus!).… Read more »
Thanks for the reply! Very kind of you. So your TEFL course was the same agency you used to find employment? Or do you recommend some other employment agency? I was asking two questions which may have been confusing: 1-an employment agency to use. 2 – whether tefl course was a good idea. I don’t think I am a natural, especially in handling crazy kids, so I am thinking more and more to do a course to give me some confidence and tools. Which course did you take that you weren’t happy with, may I ask? And how long ago… Read more »
Yes, the agency I earned my TEFL through is also my hiring agency, Text and Talk. It took a lot of stress of my shoulders knowing they would also help me find a job rather than cut me loose to the teaching world on my own. Text and Talk was much more laid back than UniTEFL. It was a six week program, but covered generally the same stuff covered in a four week course. I remember there was a lot of emphasis on creating lessons (which some school provide for you) and just a bit on English grammar. It costs… Read more »
Excellent. Thank you.
Hi guys, a lot of information on your site which I could use some help interpreting. I am entering Thailand on a single tourist visa. My agency that is employing me as a teacher says I can convert to a non immigrant B visa if I have at least 15 days left on my visa. Is this true? Am I likely to be able to get a year long multiple entry visa if I am only employed for one term (5 months)? It seems odd to me that I may have to tell the school I can’t come in as… Read more »
Based on our experience, we weren’t able to convert from a tourist to a B-visa. We’ve heard rumors about these “visa conversions” given only the Thai Immigration in Bangkok, but didn’t have enough hard evidence to take the risk. Instead, we had to leave Thailand and apply for a brand new B-visa at the Royal Thai Consulate in Vientiane, Laos! If your agency is willing to supply the paperwork for a one-year visa extension application, then you can get it even if you your working term is only five months. This is good if you don’t want to be bothered… Read more »
how about my situation i need help. currently i have a ed visai am now on a six months studying thai language and i want to convert my visa to non b immigrant visa, is it possible to convert ed visa to non b visa even if my ed visa did not expire yet, although we need to extend every 3 months, my plan is if my ed visa needs to be renewed i plan to exit to laos and get a non b visa is it possible,,,,
We’ve heard rumors that you can convert from one type of Non-Immigrant Visa to another – in your case, from Non-Immigrant ED to Non-Immigrant B – only at the Thai Immigration in Bangkok. Since we haven’t done it ourselves, we can’t give you direction on it. But it worth following that lead and checking it out yourself rather than doing a visa run to Laos. Good luck!
Hi Chris and Angela Have been reading your blog for about 6 months now, love all the great information and tips you provide. I’m heading over to Thailand around August 2014 – I’m in the process of finishing my degree at present and expect to graduate in another 8 weeks. My plan is to head to Chiang Mai and to a TESOL course possibly with SEE TEFL or at CMU. I already have a TESOL certificate but I did that about 8 years ago so thought it best to do another one to brush up and get some up-to-date information.… Read more »
If you don’t have a job lined up before you come to Thailand, the best thing to do is apply for a double or triple entry tourist visa at a Royal Thai Embassy or Consulate in Australia. This will give you time to settle in and find a job in Thailand, which is what we recommend doing. You’ll do a border run every 60 days (plus 30 days if you do an extension at any Thai Immigration Office within Thailand) for as many entries you have. When you find a job, get the supporting paperwork, and do a non-immigrant B-visa… Read more »
Hi Chris and Angela,
My partner and I are currently in Chiang Mai looking for work as English teachers. We both have university degrees and CELTA, and I have a Graduate Diploma of Education and have taught high school in Australia for 6 years. As we haven’t got jobs yet and our 60 day single entry tourist visas run out on Jan 7, we are thinking about what to do next. Should we just extend our tourist visas? Can we do so for 90 days?
Thanks,
Pip O’Shea
You two can extend you single entry tourist visas at any Thai Immigration Office for 30 more days (giving you a total stay of 90 days), which will put your expiration at Feb 6th. If you want to stay longer, you will have to do a visa run and apply for another tourist visa – either single (60 days) or double (120 days + one border run) entry. The Thai school year ends at the very beginning of March so it’s not the opportune time to apply for a position end of December or early January, unless a school lost… Read more »
Sorry, I forgot to add that we are both British, with degrees, a 120 hour TEFL qualification and plan on teaching English in Chiang Mai.
Great post! My girlfriend and I are heading for Chiang Mai in May 2014 and the visa process is one of my biggest worries! You mentioned that you found your teaching job through and agency and that they sorted out your visa for you. Who was this agency and would you recommend their service?
I read a MULTIPLE non immigrant O visa is no longer possible to obtain in Vientianne…what about a MULTIPLE non immigrant B visa? I prefer to get one in Laos instead of Penang…
A multiple non-immigrant O or non-immigrant B visa isn’t really necessary. Once you return to Thailand with your single entry visa you can extend it for a year and you can then purchase a multiple reentry permit. This is a one time permit that can be obtained the same day that you extend your visa and allows you to come and go from Thailand as many times as you would like throughout the year. This is what we opted for as it allows you much more flexibility and was much more desirable to have in our opinions. Here is a… Read more »
Thanks for the information! :) I’m planning to go to Bangkok next year (january) and i’ll be applying for an Ed Visa. Is it possible to “convert” (i don’t know the term to use) Ed Visa to Non-immigrant b visa once i finished studying?
We haven’t crossed that bridge yet and don’t know ourselves! From our research (but not from experience), you cannot simply convert the non-immigrant ED to non-immigrant B visa within Thailand. You must leave Thailand with the proper B Visa documents and apply for a B visa at a Thai consulate in another country. Ideally, these documents will be put together by your employer. If you haven’t lined up a job before the ED visa runs out, cross the border and get a tourist visa from a Thai embassy or consulate (good for 60 days and allowed an additional 30 day… Read more »
So helpful! Question, though—I got a non-immigrant B working/teaching visa in Vientiane, but it’s single-entry because they said that they didn’t offer multiple-entry visas at the consulate. You wrote that you could apply for a multiple-reentry at Thai immigration; does that mean Thai immigration at the border when I leave (Laos-Thailand), or the Thai immigration office at the city I’m teaching at (Chiang Mai)?
Hello, yes they issue single entry B visas in Vientiane. Once you arrive back in Chiang Mai you will need to apply for the multiple reentry permit at the immigration office near the airport. Glad your visa trip was a success!
The rules change day by day in Thai Consulates, and not just the ones in Asia. The best advice is to always apply at very small Honorary Consulates whenever possible, and never at an Embassy. The smaller the Consulate the more flexible they can be, and be ultra-polite, it’s amazing how they can bend the rules if they want to. Having said all that, unless you are either married to a Thai national or aged over 50 then it’s increasingly difficult or impossible to get a multi entry O visa in a neighboring country, which rules out Laos, Malaysia &… Read more »
I’m just back from the Thai Embassy in Vientiane and they refused to issue a 1y Non-Immigrant O (multiple entries). Not related to my specific case… apparently they just don’t issue any (anymore). Didn’t see that one coming: last year was given a 1y Non-Imm O at Savannakhet without a problem. Will be heading to a Thai immigration office, as advised by Ligeia and Mindy.
Yikes! Yes, the best thing to do is to apply for the single entry, and then either get single reentry permits as you need them for 1,000THB a pop, or apply for a multiple reentry permit for 3,800THB. The latter definitely gives you more flexibility and cost effectiveness if you plan to travel in and out of Thailand more than 4 times a year. Hopefully you were able to get the single entry! Best of luck!
Mexico. almost to Belize. I will be going there june 5th to see about it already
I looked into Belize as well when we were first trying to figure out where we wanted to move. It is beautiful. Ultimately we chose Thailand after we visited on our Honeymoon. Good luck with your decision making!
I am so ready. I was already looking into another country
That is the first step! Which country were you thinking of?
you have done the leg work for many folks. thanks
No problem. We hope to make things easier for those that would like to make a similar transition to a life in Thailand.
Great post! We’re a lesbian couple both living in Chiang Mai. Ligeia is teaching English and she has her non-imm “B” visa, and I’m on a volunteer non-imm “O” visa. So, we’re in a similar boat. Also, many times, a multi-entry visa is hard to come by from Thai consulates/embassies in SE Asia, but you can change your single-entry to a multi-entry at any Thai immigration office for 3,800 Baht.
Thank you! It is a good feeling getting everything in order, isn’t it? We have been looking into getting the multiple re-entry permit for 3,800 baht too. We are just dreading the Thai Immigration trip though…so crowded all of the time haha :)
Great info, thanks guys. Pla and I are on our way to Vientiane tomorrow morning to try to grab my Non B…wish me luck. Hope to see you again soon!
Thanks, Mike. Good luck with your trip! You have the advantage of already knowing your way around the area. Plus you will have Pla there for support. Let us know how things turn out.
Fantastic post! This information is sooo helpful to us :)
Glad we are able to help. We have another post coming soon about the specifics regarding the travel portion. Thanks for reading!