Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing possible longer term Visa options for foreign nationals looking to come to Thailand. 

The long and the short of it, in a sense for those that are just coming for the first time there really is no, what we would call permanent visa option or long-term lease option in the sense that any longer term option, so one year or more, is going to be in the Non-Immigrant category. Basically it is effectively not possible to come into Thailand as an Immigrant Visa holder, just from the gate. You have to be in Thailand for a prolonged period of time to gain Permanent Residence. So understand, these are all non-immigrant categories. 

Now, as we have discussed in other videos for example the Thailand Elite Visa, that is an option that a number of folks decide to pursue because they want to take advantage of the fact you can buy those in five year increments; your membership in five year increments up to 20 years most of those packages and that is very appealing to some folks but again it is a Non-Immigrant Visa. It still has to be renewed on a yearly basis even though presumably it has got a five year validity you either have to leave the country once a year or you have to go down and deal with the extension. Again Business Visas, O Marriage Visas, Retirement Visas, these are all while long term in nature, these have a temporary overtone to them, a temporary theme. You are a non-immigrant, you are not an immigrant to Thailand. For that reason, it is best to look at it through that paradigm or through that lens I should say. 

Now that doesn't mean that you can't be here a long period of time. I know a number of Business Visa holders that have come in and been in Thailand for years if not decades; same with retirees. Some folks opt to eventually get Permanent Residence if they become eligible and apply for that and then they are PR and then they are basically done ever leaving Thailand. So again, it is factually dependent, it is circumstantially dependent but just keep in the back of your mind that the notion of long-term kind of has an asterisk next to it and there are some caveats associated with that.