Can one invest in a local business or enroll in a language school while on an Elite Visa in Thailand?

@Patrick ***********

thanks

@Patrick ***********

forget the DJing, it is a tangent I dont really care about. It would be a bonus but if it's not possible then I will just never do it. So on to the other two things: You would invest without learning the language and expect it to go well? Who is the dreamer?

the other option I'm considering is volunteering for a year but almost every foreign student whose Ed visa is expiring is jumping on that and I imagine it will not be easy to get for much longer.

@Steve ******

pretty much. I want to be able to stay longterm without a full time job, without back to back quarantines to exit and reenter every year, eventually get married for love but if not, still have the possibility of starting a business in the next couple of years once there is a bit more tourism. It seems the Elite visa is the way unless you have 10m spare cash, i was just checking what options that still allows me to do in those 5 years.

and you're right, I don't know much about the subject which is why I'm here asking questions. I thought that was the purpose of this group

@Patrick ***********

i suggest learning some manners and brushing up on your English. I am trying to ensure that I do NOT do anything illegal. I want to understand the rules so I don't unintentionally break them and have problems... I moved here 18 months ago and have DJ'd 0 times because I haven't found a viable way to do so legally (i don't think one exists with an Ed visa anyway)

the DJing stuff is just a tangent anyway, my main concern is how to stay in the country so I can continue my Thai classes, get back the 3 months of classes i never got because of covid, live in the property I bought here, continue feeding my cat, have a little more time to decide if my gf is the woman I want to start a family with... without having to apply from abroad (which is so expensive that i would guess 95% of foreign students will have to go home when their current visa is up, instead of continue their studies. Even if someone can afford it, its 14 days in quarantine twice, just to get out and back in, serious mental health risk. If I hadn't bought property here I'd be off) ... Elite visa is not cheap but if it means no expensive quarantine for 5 years it's actually not that bad, if I am still allowed to continue my studies and invest in a startup (which would likely employ at least 4 Thais anyway but probably wouldn't have the capital to pay myself a salary of almost 5x the average local wage on top of that).

@Patrick ***********

it was half a million last time i checked (went up?) and lasts 5 years. It's hard enough to come up with that money upfront, let alone then paying 4 monthly salaries +50k to myself, just to be able to DJ recreationally 😂

Good to know but still not close to 10m

i put a big chunk of my wealth into purchasing a condo here already, just trying to find a way to stay here and spend my income from other investments without having to work full time... make a small business here and contribute more to the local economy. Learn the language for 2 years first. Maybe that was a foolish dream. In my defense I spent the last 10 years in Taiwan and they make it so easy to live there the Thai rules came as quite a shock. 9 months into the 2 year language studies plan with 3 months of classes I can't collect unless i leave the country to apply for a 2nd year... in normal circumstances no problem. In this pandemic, seriously?

@Kool ******

you're right but unfortunately I don't have that kind of amount to invest in 1 basket, in a place with significant political tension and potential instability. Would be madness unless I had at least 100m total wealth imo

@Oliver *******

thanks for the clarification. p.s. Mostly we just spin plates in homage to our deck spinning predecessors because there's not much to watch anymore. But that also requires a work permit if 1 or more person might gain a few moments of joy from it

@Kool ******

so a work permit with no salary is a thing here? I was led to believe I need 50k salary

@Oliver *******

ok thanks. No work permit and not DJing as a result. Just curious if there was a way to do it occasionally and legally on an elite, volunteer or education visa while also having 49% stake in the establishment I'm doing it at, without being deemed to be working (unpaid) illegally. Sounds like no, barring employing 4 Thais to carry my equipment and paying myself 50k 😅

would love to get back on the decks a few times a month just for the enjoyment and social side of it, but scared about falling foul of labour laws and being ejected into the half of the world that is letting covid run rampant 😅 no longer about the elite visa specifically but basically is there a way to be very part-time freelance legally here or is it a case of full time hours or no work permit? Sorry if this should be a separate post...

@Oliver *******

thanks. I assume investing 49% equity in a business and then DJing for free just to improve the revenue one gets a cut of would constitute working, or would it be a loophole of sorts?

@Thomas *******************

I heard I can get an extra month via a letter from the British embassy, but yes it feels like I have to hurry up and choose a way this week. Knowing my luck, after getting Elite paid for and approved I will then probably discover they u-turn and make it possible for students to reapply from Thailand. To wait or not to wait...

@Michael *******

thanks

@Michael *******

any idea of timeline they were proposing to start making that possible? Got a little over a month left to find a way to stay here without leaving and applying for a new visa abroad, which sounds like a logistical, financial and mental health nightmare at the moment... got 3 free months of Thai classes to cash in and seems they've made it impossible for me to do so without almost a month of aggregate quarantine time... or changing my Ed visa to something else.

@Garrett **********

thanks