Can children accompany parents on an Elite Visa in Thailand without needing their own visas?

Elite Visa Visa Dependents Thailand Visa Rules Family Members Education Visa Thai Elite Visa Family Package Overstay Regulations

Oct 18, 2018

6 years ago

Gary *******

ORIGINAL POSTER

Hi folks.  This is potentially a silly question, but I wanted to check with this group just in case I have been misinformed.

We are a family of 4, with 2 young children (4 & 6 years old).  I enquired about the Elite Visa to see if we could pay for 2 adults, and the children be allowed as dependants.

The Elite Visa company said that the children need an Elite Visa also, which seems a little OTT to me given that they are young children.

I wondered if anybody had any experience with an Elite Visa, and if you know whether we could purchase for adults only, and the children be allowed to accompany us as dependants.

Thanks in advance

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TLDR : Answer Summary

The discussion centers around whether children need their own Elite Visas in Thailand or if they can accompany their parents under a single Elite Visa. Most responses affirm that every person entering Thailand requires an appropriate visa, but children under 15 can remain in the country as long as their parent's visa is valid without facing penalties for overstaying. The Elite Visa company initially suggested that all family members require their own visas but later confirmed the possibility of children overstaying without issues. Several alternative visa options, like education visas, were also mentioned for families looking to save on costs.

Gary *******

ORIGINAL POSTER

Hi all. Thanks again for all your advice. I wanted to respond with my findings after some people contacted me directly, and after speaking directly with the Thai Elite company.

The easiest and cheapest option would be to have guardian status, with my children on an education visa, but this isn't possible with the school my children go to. We can also learn Thai and get a 9 month visa, which we have already begun doing, but we want to stay longer, hence looking at other options post the 9 months.

It was suggested that my children could overstay with no problem, which prompted me to contact Thai Elite to get their thoughts. Initially they told me that all members need to be part of the elite visa, directing me towards their 'Family Excursion" membership, which would be 1.4M baht for a family of 4.

When I probed about the possibility of my children overstaying, they eventually confirmed that it was possible, which dropped the cost of membership to 800k baht. This was their actual response:

"Please be informed that every individual has to have a proper visa to enter Thailand or exempted for some nationalities regardless of their age. But once entered Thailand, children under 15 years old will be able to stay in the country as long as their parents’ visa is valid without having to pay overstay fine when the children overstay, and no bad record, also.

For example, you have Elite Visa and you can stay in Thailand for 1 year. Your child who is under 15 years old is also with you in the country on an exempted visa that allows him to stay for 30 days, in this case your child can stay with you more than 30 days without overstaying."