Dear Editor/Ronny,
My friend (and also family because he is married to my Thai wife's cousin) recently moved to Thailand permanently. He has been married for 11 years just like me. I have been living in Thailand for 4 years now. Province of Sa Kaeo). He's here on a marriage-based visa, so no problems. He has a (Belgian) son from his previous marriage. This one is now 25 years old.
When he had an interview with the consul in Berchem, he asked what his son should do to come here permanently. The consul said he would provide a non-immigrant O, which is valid for 90 days. In those 90 days, the son had to apply for a new visa based on family reunification, so we went to the immigration office in Aranyaprathet, where the officer said he could not qualify for that visa as he was too old for it.
Apparently wrong information from the consul… Immigration said that he can do a visa run to Cambodia every 30 days, stay there for one night and come back. Quite cumbersome I think, but surely there must be another possibility to come and live here at his age? The official told him the best way was to marry a Thai here, and immediately introduced someone to his office… TIT….
Now you are the best source of information I can imagine, hence my question to you: What options are there in this case? He wants to invest here with his father in a Thai restaurant, where my friend's Thai wife would become the manager.
Regards,
Dirk
Dear Dirk,
Not easy already. He is already 25 years old and that is already a problem. He is then regarded as an adult who must make his own application to obtain a period of residence and without parents as a reference. You can only apply for family reunification until you are 20 years old as a child of a parent who lives in Thailand (or he must not be able to live independently and then older than 20 years is also allowed)
Possibilities?
1. If the consul wants to give a Non-immigrant “O” Single entry, maybe he also wants to give a Multiple entry? He only has to make a “border run” every 90 days. Gives them time to perhaps sort things out in Thailand regarding the matter.
2. Ensuring that he can be registered as an employee in that case.
It will not be that simple of course and he will have to obtain a work permit in advance. Not all tasks are open to foreigners, but I think maybe as a manager, accountant, cook or something like that, it should be possible to solve. There are also regulations when you include a foreigner in the business. Thought, among other things, 4 Thai for 1 foreigner that have to work there.
You should raise your awareness locally when they start up the business.
3. Get married, have children or have a guardian.
Quite a firm decision, of course, to be able to arrange your stay in Thailand in this way, but for people under 50 it is indeed a possibility.
4. Visa waiver. 30 days indeed and can always be extended by 30 days. Limited to 2 entries via land border posts. And if you are going to do that more via an airport, then that is possible, but one day you will also receive questions there. Not really something to do long term. Are you going to have problems.
5. Perhaps the consul will grant him a METV (Multiple Entry Tourist Visa). This gives him 60 days per entry, which he can extend by 30 days within Thailand. This visa has a validity period of 6 months. If he then performs another “border run” just before that 6 month anniversary, he will receive 60 days for the last time, which he can then extend by another 30 days. With that visa you can already bridge almost 9 months in Thailand (“Border runs” included). Then he has to go back to Belgium for a new METV.
The problem here will be that he will have to provide proof of income to obtain that visa. But perhaps a statement from his account with a sufficient amount on it will also suffice for the consul. Paying attention, working or obtaining a work permit with an METV is not possible.
Anyway. Moving to Thailand as a 25-year-old also means that you close many doors behind you.
But maybe he's wealthy enough. In the latter case, the Thai Elite Visa might be something. Can be done from 20 years old. Not cheap, but maybe that doesn't stop him: www.thai-elite.com/
Regards,
RonnyLatYa