Employed in the US, living in Thailand?

[burnblue]

I'm in the early stages of researching a possible move to the Chiang Mai area with my wife. I am employed as a software designer and am able to perform my job anywhere with a solid internet connection. That being the case, I would love to live in Thailand for a year or more.

My wife's family is Thai, though most of the immediate family lives here in the US. Her mother is still a Thai citizen, if I remember correctly. We have each been to Thailand many times and love the culture, and reckon we'll be a good fit.

At any rate, I'm wondering if anyone here has any experience with holding a job with a foreign company while living in Thailand. Does one still need a work permit? Which non-tourist visa would be required?

I plan on talking to the Thai consulate in LA about all this, but I thought I might get some info here to arm myself with beforehand

Thanks

[frogblogger]

Originally Posted by burnblue

I'm in the early stages of researching a possible move to the Chiang Mai area with my wife. I am employed as a software designer and am able to perform my job anywhere with a solid internet connection. That being the case, I would love to live in Thailand for a year or more.

My wife's family is Thai, though most of the immediate family lives here in the US. Her mother is still a Thai citizen, if I remember correctly. We have each been to Thailand many times and love the culture, and reckon we'll be a good fit.

At any rate, I'm wondering if anyone here has any experience with holding a job with a foreign company while living in Thailand. Does one still need a work permit? Which non-tourist visa would be required?

I plan on talking to the Thai consulate in LA about all this, but I thought I might get some info here to arm myself with beforehand

Thanks

Be careful how much information you give to the Consulate at the outset... work permits are needed, but are not easy to obtain. Is the foreign company in question already established in Thailand? If so, and the requisite number of Thai employees are working for it, then it should be more straightforward. If not, ie in the case of a company wishing to set up over there, or if you are thinking along the lines of self-employment, it can be considerably more complicated, with quite a number of hurdles... most of which are in place to ensure a foreigner doesn't get a job a Thai can do.

There are those who work on the internet part-time (and none of the business originates in Thailand), and haven't bothered with declaring themselves under the Thai system. I'm not suggesting you do this, just pointing it out. Such people get the likes of a multi-entry non-immigrant 'O' visa for a year - in your case 'visiting family' would be one criteria for acceptance. It would have been easier had your wife had Thai nationality on the strength of her mother being Thai, I imagine.

In theory to obtain these visas a Thai bank account is needed, with a sum of Baht deposited - 800,000, or 400,000 if you have a Thai spouse. This sum can be offset by proof of income - but then you enter the realm of problems if the income is of business origin, and you might be asked why you are applying for a non-immigrant 'O' instead of a work visa in that case.

Different consulates are more or less strict in applying the rules. There is allegedly one in Europe where the non-immigrant 'O' is handed out on the strength of a self-certification letter stating you have sufficient funds for your stay. It's all very haphazard and a bit of a minefield. Tread carefully, and don't give too much info to the Thai consulate until you are sure of your position. They can be really helpful, or occasionally sticklers for the letter of the law.

[burnblue]

Thanks for the info, FrogBlogger. I am definitely aware of the Thai propensity to be sticklers for the rules - the last time I was there I had a 30 day tourist visa which I extended with a border run to Burma. My passport was stolen, and when I went to leave the country the airport passport control guys couldn't find my Burma re-entry in the system. They found my exit from Thailand into Burma, and my friend was with me with matching stamps 2 minutes later than mine, but they wouldn't accept that I didn't sneak into the country (even though re-entry was either free or pretty close to it!).

At any rate, my company has nothing to do with Thailand and doesn't plan to. I would be doing the same thing I do now, except instead of doing it at home in California, I'd be doing it at home in Thailand.

We're going to see about getting my wife a Thai passport - it's theoretically possible since her mother is still a Thai national. If we can do that it seems this whole process will be a lot easier.

[blue eyes]

Originally Posted by burnblue

We're going to see about getting my wife a Thai passport - it's theoretically possible since her mother is still a Thai national. If we can do that it seems this whole process will be a lot easier.

As long as your wife has a Thai birth certificate she can get a Thai passport.But the big deal is she has to go in person to the Thai embassy.Not the consulot.Once a Thai always a Thai.