Tourist visa to Thailand questions

[rsn 135]

I have already purchased tickets to visit my g/f in Thailand (4th visit) at the end of this year. I plan to stay for 7 weeks. In order to do this, I believe that I will need to apply for a 60 day tourist visa. Is that correct?

While in Thailand for those 7 weeks, I will need to check in to my office 5 days a week or so, over the internet, and complete some tasks. I will also likely have to call in to meetings. I'm worried that this is not permitted on a tourist visa, but I'm not entirely sure this is true. I won't be accepting a job in Thailand or doing any work related to Thailand at all. I'll simply be keeping current on my tasks and responsibilities at my job back in the U.S. Can someone knowledgeable advise me on this matter? If this is not permitted, please let me know how I can make this work, as I cannot take a vacation without working for more than 3 weeks, and my g/f and I have decided that we need at least 7 continuous weeks together before we can decide if we should get engaged or not.

[Dakine 26]

I have already purchased tickets to visit my g/f in Thailand (4th visit) at the end of this year. I plan to stay for 7 weeks. In order to do this, I believe that I will need to apply for a 60 day tourist visa. Is that correct?

While in Thailand for those 7 weeks, I will need to check in to my office 5 days a week or so, over the internet, and complete some tasks. I will also likely have to call in to meetings. I'm worried that this is not permitted on a tourist visa, but I'm not entirely sure this is true. I won't be accepting a job in Thailand or doing any work related to Thailand at all. I'll simply be keeping current on my tasks and responsibilities at my job back in the U.S. Can someone knowledgeable advise me on this matter? If this is not permitted, please let me know how I can make this work, as I cannot take a vacation without working for more than 3 weeks, and my g/f and I have decided that we need at least 7 continuous weeks together before we can decide if we should get engaged or not.

my g/f and I have decided that we need at least 7 continuous weeks together before we can decide if we should get engaged or not.

VERY smart move. More people should take your example.

Lots of "gone sour" online relationships are poping up now. Probably do to lack of knowing each other better.

Sorry can't help you with the work part. Looks like no biggy tho.

[toma1 10]

I have already purchased tickets to visit my g/f in Thailand (4th visit) at the end of this year. I plan to stay for 7 weeks. In order to do this, I believe that I will need to apply for a 60 day tourist visa. Is that correct?

While in Thailand for those 7 weeks, I will need to check in to my office 5 days a week or so, over the internet, and complete some tasks. I will also likely have to call in to meetings. I'm worried that this is not permitted on a tourist visa, but I'm not entirely sure this is true. I won't be accepting a job in Thailand or doing any work related to Thailand at all. I'll simply be keeping current on my tasks and responsibilities at my job back in the U.S. Can someone knowledgeable advise me on this matter? If this is not permitted, please let me know how I can make this work, as I cannot take a vacation without working for more than 3 weeks, and my g/f and I have decided that we need at least 7 continuous weeks together before we can decide if we should get engaged or not.

I've spent a LOT of time in Thailand and my answer should put your mind at ease...

First, you can either apply for a 60 day visa OR you can put that money toward a nice CHEAP Air Asia flight to Penang, KL, or Singapore for you and your gf. Just leave some time before your 30 day visa expires. When you return, you will get another 30 day stamp. We did this TWICE this summer. You can do it for up to 90 days of stay. Absolutely legal.

And don't worry, you can keep and work at your USA job while you are in Thailand. No problem AT ALL.

You can PM me for my email address and I would be happy to answer any questions you have about Thai immigration.

AIR ASIA:

http://www.airasia.com/site/th/en/home.jsp

Edited October 12, 2008 by toma1

[rsn 135]

I have already purchased tickets to visit my g/f in Thailand (4th visit) at the end of this year. I plan to stay for 7 weeks. In order to do this, I believe that I will need to apply for a 60 day tourist visa. Is that correct?

While in Thailand for those 7 weeks, I will need to check in to my office 5 days a week or so, over the internet, and complete some tasks. I will also likely have to call in to meetings. I'm worried that this is not permitted on a tourist visa, but I'm not entirely sure this is true. I won't be accepting a job in Thailand or doing any work related to Thailand at all. I'll simply be keeping current on my tasks and responsibilities at my job back in the U.S. Can someone knowledgeable advise me on this matter? If this is not permitted, please let me know how I can make this work, as I cannot take a vacation without working for more than 3 weeks, and my g/f and I have decided that we need at least 7 continuous weeks together before we can decide if we should get engaged or not.

I've spent a LOT of time in Thailand and my answer should put your mind at ease...

First, you can either apply for a 60 day visa OR you can put that money toward a nice CHEAP Air Asia flight to Penang, KL, or Singapore for you and your gf. Just leave some time before your 30 day visa expires. When you return, you will get another 30 day stamp. We did this TWICE this summer. You can do it for up to 90 days of stay. Absolutely legal.

And don't worry, you can keep and work at your USA job while you are in Thailand. No problem AT ALL.

You can PM me for my email address and I would be happy to answer any questions you have about Thai immigration.

AIR ASIA:

http://www.airasia.com/site/th/en/home.jsp

I like your suggestion about the Air Asia flight but my girlfriend and I have both agreed that she should keep her current job. She would have to quit in order to take that much time off, and we think it will look good on her visa app if she keeps her job for as long as possible. There are other reasons too, but that is one.

Are you 100% positive that I can work at my USA job over the internet while in Thailand? I just want to be sure, because I saw the following blurb on the visa app:

ATTENTION FOR TOURISTS AND TRANSIT VISA APPLICANTS ONLY: You declare that the purpose of your visit to Thailand is for pleasure only and that in no case shall you engage

yourself in any profession or occupation while in the country

[Benika 1]

When my sister lived in Ireland with her husband (he had an Irish work visa) she worked online for a company back in South Africa and since it was not an Irish company and she still got payed back in South Africa they did not see it as working in Ireland.

Another friend of mine is a freelance writer living in France (they tend to be much more strict about these things in Europe) and since she is still being payed back in England she does this on a British work visa.

Both these people checked first before doing it, so I would not be very worried. Generally the requirement is that you dont make money in the country that you are on vacations in.

Beni

[Devkpaik 1]

I have already purchased tickets to visit my g/f in Thailand (4th visit) at the end of this year. I plan to stay for 7 weeks. In order to do this, I believe that I will need to apply for a 60 day tourist visa. Is that correct?

While in Thailand for those 7 weeks, I will need to check in to my office 5 days a week or so, over the internet, and complete some tasks. I will also likely have to call in to meetings. I'm worried that this is not permitted on a tourist visa, but I'm not entirely sure this is true. I won't be accepting a job in Thailand or doing any work related to Thailand at all. I'll simply be keeping current on my tasks and responsibilities at my job back in the U.S. Can someone knowledgeable advise me on this matter? If this is not permitted, please let me know how I can make this work, as I cannot take a vacation without working for more than 3 weeks, and my g/f and I have decided that we need at least 7 continuous weeks together before we can decide if we should get engaged or not.

You do NOT need to apply for any type of visa. You may land in the country with no problems and head through immigration, where there you will get an automatic Visa on Arrival. This is valid for 30 days. However, when these 30 days are up, you need to leave the country and re-enter. When you re-enter you receive another 30 day visa on arrival. Like the person above me stated, you can do this for a total of up to 90 days. However, you MAY also apply for a tourist visa. With this visa, it's TECHNICALLY a 90 day visa, however they only give you 60 days, then you get the option to extend for like 1,500 baht. This can be done at many different places.

You need to post this question in the sawasdee thread which is a thread entirely pertaining to Thailand visas.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...&start=3690

[toma1 10]

I have already purchased tickets to visit my g/f in Thailand (4th visit) at the end of this year. I plan to stay for 7 weeks. In order to do this, I believe that I will need to apply for a 60 day tourist visa. Is that correct?

While in Thailand for those 7 weeks, I will need to check in to my office 5 days a week or so, over the internet, and complete some tasks. I will also likely have to call in to meetings. I'm worried that this is not permitted on a tourist visa, but I'm not entirely sure this is true. I won't be accepting a job in Thailand or doing any work related to Thailand at all. I'll simply be keeping current on my tasks and responsibilities at my job back in the U.S. Can someone knowledgeable advise me on this matter? If this is not permitted, please let me know how I can make this work, as I cannot take a vacation without working for more than 3 weeks, and my g/f and I have decided that we need at least 7 continuous weeks together before we can decide if we should get engaged or not.

I've spent a LOT of time in Thailand and my answer should put your mind at ease...

First, you can either apply for a 60 day visa OR you can put that money toward a nice CHEAP Air Asia flight to Penang, KL, or Singapore for you and your gf. Just leave some time before your 30 day visa expires. When you return, you will get another 30 day stamp. We did this TWICE this summer. You can do it for up to 90 days of stay. Absolutely legal.

And don't worry, you can keep and work at your USA job while you are in Thailand. No problem AT ALL.

You can PM me for my email address and I would be happy to answer any questions you have about Thai immigration.

AIR ASIA:

http://www.airasia.com/site/th/en/home.jsp

I like your suggestion about the Air Asia flight but my girlfriend and I have both agreed that she should keep her current job. She would have to quit in order to take that much time off, and we think it will look good on her visa app if she keeps her job for as long as possible. There are other reasons too, but that is one.

Are you 100% positive that I can work at my USA job over the internet while in Thailand? I just want to be sure, because I saw the following blurb on the visa app:

ATTENTION FOR TOURISTS AND TRANSIT VISA APPLICANTS ONLY: You declare that the purpose of your visit to Thailand is for pleasure only and that in no case shall you engage

yourself in any profession or occupation while in the country

You could just go for a weekend. There is no minimum stay outside the country required to get a new stamp.

I am 100% positive. You cannot accept a Thai job... believe me, they don't care that you will be earning money elsewhere and spending it in Thailand.

[toma1 10]

But yes, if you absolutely don't want to leave then, yes, you need to apply for the 60 day visa.

[Devkpaik 1]

I have already purchased tickets to visit my g/f in Thailand (4th visit) at the end of this year. I plan to stay for 7 weeks. In order to do this, I believe that I will need to apply for a 60 day tourist visa. Is that correct?

While in Thailand for those 7 weeks, I will need to check in to my office 5 days a week or so, over the internet, and complete some tasks. I will also likely have to call in to meetings. I'm worried that this is not permitted on a tourist visa, but I'm not entirely sure this is true. I won't be accepting a job in Thailand or doing any work related to Thailand at all. I'll simply be keeping current on my tasks and responsibilities at my job back in the U.S. Can someone knowledgeable advise me on this matter? If this is not permitted, please let me know how I can make this work, as I cannot take a vacation without working for more than 3 weeks, and my g/f and I have decided that we need at least 7 continuous weeks together before we can decide if we should get engaged or not.

I've spent a LOT of time in Thailand and my answer should put your mind at ease...

First, you can either apply for a 60 day visa OR you can put that money toward a nice CHEAP Air Asia flight to Penang, KL, or Singapore for you and your gf. Just leave some time before your 30 day visa expires. When you return, you will get another 30 day stamp. We did this TWICE this summer. You can do it for up to 90 days of stay. Absolutely legal.

And don't worry, you can keep and work at your USA job while you are in Thailand. No problem AT ALL.

You can PM me for my email address and I would be happy to answer any questions you have about Thai immigration.

AIR ASIA:

http://www.airasia.com/site/th/en/home.jsp

I like your suggestion about the Air Asia flight but my girlfriend and I have both agreed that she should keep her current job. She would have to quit in order to take that much time off, and we think it will look good on her visa app if she keeps her job for as long as possible. There are other reasons too, but that is one.

Are you 100% positive that I can work at my USA job over the internet while in Thailand? I just want to be sure, because I saw the following blurb on the visa app:

ATTENTION FOR TOURISTS AND TRANSIT VISA APPLICANTS ONLY: You declare that the purpose of your visit to Thailand is for pleasure only and that in no case shall you engage

yourself in any profession or occupation while in the country

You could just go for a weekend. There is no minimum stay outside the country required to get a new stamp.

I am 100% positive. You cannot accept a Thai job... believe me, they don't care that you will be earning money elsewhere and spending it in Thailand.

You don't need to go for a full weekend. You can go for an hour. It doesn't matter how long you go. You can go on a tour with a company that brings people on visa runs.

Also, you will be listening in and participating in meetings from your work in the US via a computer.

1) How will they EVER know you are doing this, and;

2) It's not illegal to listen in and participate in a meeting for your work while you are on a visa on arrival.

You are reading too much into this and getting worried over nothing.

[daboyz 36]

I lived in Thailand and worked for a US company for 2 years on Tourist visas. I traveled around Asia so much , that I was usually not in Thailand for 30 consecutive days. Once they had the coup in 2006, they changed the rules. Now you can only stay in Thailand for 90 days in a 6 month period. If you are married to a Thai, you can apply for a Non-Immigrant O visa. The Thai embassy rules are constantly changing regarding this. For a period of time, Penang will give you this, then they will stop. I got mine in Singapore, and it was not a problem. This will give you a one year visa, and you would have to check in with immigration every 90 days. There is a wealth of information at this site:

http://www.thaivisa.com

[daboyz 36]

To add to that, you can always do a "visa run" I did this many times. You can take a bus from Bangkok to Cambodia and back. It's an all day affair. You just walk over the bridge, they stamp your passport, you walk back in to Thailand. Voila 30 more days. If I remember the total cost was about 2000 THB and this included the Cambodia visa and lunch. They also show english movies on the bus. The only bummer is that it's approx 5 hours each way to the border from Bangkok.

[villaspurs 65]

Whenever I go on vacation, I always have to stay linked in to work and participate in conference calls, answer emails, read reports, etc. As long as you aren't earning income from a Thai company, you should be fine.

Enjoy your trip!

[rsn 135]

Thanks everyone for your helpful responses. I can't believe how helpful the people on this site are! I can see this is going to be a very useful resource for me if me and my g/f decide to go for the K1 visa in February/March of '09. Even if this doesn't happen, I will be sure to remember this site in case I come across anyone else who is in a similar situation. Thanks again.

[Imua 0]

How did this thread end up in S. Asia???

Anyway, chok dee!! Wish I was going to Thailand - our plan was to go through BKK from Nepal when G get his visa, unfortunately Thai Air doesn't fly out of JFK any more so it's more difficult for us.

[toma1 10]

How did this thread end up in S. Asia???

Anyway, chok dee!! Wish I was going to Thailand - our plan was to go through BKK from Nepal when G get his visa, unfortunately Thai Air doesn't fly out of JFK any more so it's more difficult for us.

Not everyone knows the difference between S. Asia (India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, etc...) and S.E. Asia (Thailand, Lao, Viatnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia, etc.)... it's an honest mistake.