Quote: (07-28-2016 07:25 PM)Kamaki4 Wrote:
With almost all of the long stay visas, no need to leave the country, so I don't know what you're talking about. Once the 1 yr visa expires, just go to immigration and extend it for another year. I know one married guy who hasn't physicaly left Thailand in 9 years, although why anyone would want to stay in any country that long without leaving, escapes me.
So you're suggesting people should get married so they can stay long term? In Thailand, unlike other SEA-countries, you need a good reason to get a long stay visa. And they make it hard to get one to limit the amount of broke-assed farang loitering in Thailand without spending enough money. If you want a long stay visa, you need to
- be over 50 and have a combination of a ฿65k/month pension and ฿800k bank deposits
- be married to a Thai national and have a declared, combined income of ฿40k/month
- study at a university/language school
- work at a Thai sponsored place of employment (usually hard to get and the salary sucks)
- get a Thai Elite card
So unless you're a coffin-dodger or plan to get married, it's usually language school or Thai Elite unless you want to go on visa runs every 3/6 months (or it used to be, when they allowed it). And generally the former is better if you're not too wealthy and busy, and the latter is better if you're a high roller with a busy schedule.