Can I work remotely in Thailand on an ED visa while transitioning to a DTV later?

Question

Hi everyone! I'm Italian, a freelance ecommerce SEO consultant working remotely for clients abroad (none in Thailand). I'm planning to leave Italy from January and move to Thailand.

My plan:

1. Get an ED visa through a Thai language school for 1 year (study Thai and work remotely in my free time)

2. During that year, save up the 500k THB and then apply for the DTV

3. Register with AIRE (Italian registry of citizens abroad) so I'm no longer an Italian tax resident

4. Invoice my clients through an Estonian company (e-Residency), since I'll have to close my Italian VAT number

My questions:

- Has anyone worked remotely for foreign clients while on an ED visa? Any problems at extensions or with immigration?

- Can you recommend a reliable language school in Bangkok or Chiang Mai that handles the ED visa well (and isn't too strict if you also work)?

- Is it realistic to switch from ED to DTV after 6–12 months? Did you apply from inside Thailand or did you have to leave?

- Taxes: if I stay 180+ days I'll be a Thai tax resident. How do you handle money transfers into Thailand in practice?

- Anyone running an Estonian OÜ while living in Thailand? Any issues with Thai tax saying the company is managed from Thailand?

- Can you recommend an accountant or lawyer who knows both Thai and EU tax?

Thanks a lot, any experience helps! 🙏

Ask Thailand · Answer

An Italian freelancer planning to move to Thailand seeks advice on obtaining an ED visa for language study while working remotely, transitioning to a DTV, tax residency implications, and managing an Estonian company from Thailand. Responses clarify that the DTV cannot be applied for within Thailand and emphasize the restrictions on work with an ED visa. Recommended schools differ in attendance requirements and local visa rules are advised to be thoroughly researched.

Yilun ****** · Answer

One fact that matters for your plan: a DTV cannot be applied for from inside Thailand. It has to be applied for in the country of your nationality or a country where you hold permanent residence, so switching from an ED to a DTV would mean going back to Italy (or another country where you have permanent residence) to apply. On top of that, working is not allowed on an ED visa, so I would not build the plan around working remotely on it.

On the ED itself, the Bangkok 3+3+3+3 language school programme has no attendance requirement, while the Chiang Mai programmes require you to attend classes, with attendance counted by check-ins. You also can't pick the school yourself for these programmes. I can't help with the tax and company questions.

Henrik ***** · Answer

In a year, DTV may not excist any more, so don’t worry about anything until October-November next year.

If want to learn language it is a ED you need, but there are quite strict rules about attendance, since it is based on fulltime study, so there is a risk if you stay away from classes.

Language schools are not eligible for DTV.

As far as I remember, work isn’t allowed on ED.

You can not apply for DTV, when you are on another visa.

You can only apply in your resident country, and absolutely not from Thailand, and remember the oct - march is highseason for visa applications, so the processing time may be longer than the Embassy state on their website.

You don’t get residency rights on DTV, which is a tourist visa, hence you are not eligible for a Thai Bankaccount on DTV.

For residency rights, you need a real to have a real longtime visa, and a workpermit

Search the group for posts, and include the Embassy name in the search, prioritize posts after 15/9

Most of the questions can be answered by thoroughly reading the website of the Thai Embassy you will apply at, and the manual in the top right corner of the application website, which is a lot more trustworthy source than facebook.

Will ************ · Answer

One thing is for sure , you will be travelling home to Italy to apply for the DTV.

Can I work remotely in Thailand on an ED visa while transitioning to a DTV later?

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