gsul10

Hello,

I'm married to a Thai citizen and we have a son together, unfortunately things have not worked out and she has moved back to Thailand with my son.

My UK company have given me the green light to work remotely for them out in Thailand which is great news but I have read conflicting information on the best way to secure a visa to live out there.

From what I have read so far it seems that I would not be able to obtain a work permit to live out there if working remotely for my UK company. It looks as though my best bet is to apply for a non immigrant o marriage visa to get out there. Is this correct?

would I be eligible to pay uk taxes or thai tax? and should i declare my work to the Thai authorities.

Any help or advice would be much appreciated. Thanks

dbj_brennan

I'm afraid you'll only get a work permit if working for a company registered in Thailand, not your company in the UK.

Assuming that you are under 50, the best visa you'll get is a non-immigrant O on the basis of having a Thai child. This visa is valid for three month visits, and does not allow working.

The other option is a Thailand Elite visa, valid for 5 years and allows one year at each entry, extendible for further years in-country until the 5 years is up. Working is also not allowed, and the cost for the visa is 500,000 Baht. Details are here: Thailand Elite

If you are caught working without a work permit, you could face deportation and blacklisting, so keep it quiet if you are one of the many 'digital nomads' working while living in Thailand without work permits.

You will pay tax in the UK if your income derives from there.

scot47

My observation has been that Thais do not flourish away from their Homeland. Any that I have met who came to UK or travelled to the ME could not wait to get back to the Land of Smiles,

dbj_brennan

Your above comment has nothing to do with the topic of this post.

scot47

You want me to unsay it ?

nonthaburi

Just to clarify about the visa a bit. You can get a three month Non-O, but you can also get a one year multi-entry from the UK too. Whether you get the one year or the single entry, you will still only get three months on arrival, but each 90 days is extendable at your local immigration for a further 60 which means you would only have to leave the country every 5 months or so.
Also, if you have 400,000 in a Thai bank a couple of months before you apply, you can get a one year extension on the initial three months. The best things to do is to go to your local immigration office as soon as you arrive and find out exactly what they need from you as it may vary from office to office. Something to bear in mind though, is that whenever you do an extension, your child must be there with you as some kind of proof that your reasons are legit. So if your contact with the ex and child is poor, this may be a problem.

PM me if you want any more information.

wanderlustruss

That's true. It'll be hard to obtain a work permit if you're working remotely as a freelancer. Best to set up your own business or be employed under a company to obtain one, and perhaps do the freelance work in a part time basis.

GabrielBr

If you are just working remotely, why can't you just have a tourist visa? All the "digital nomads" and kids who run online businesses and travel around do this, pretty sure they are just on a tourist visa... am I missing something? You would have to do visa runs every three months, but I think there is a new 6 month visa now for tourists?

Genesis