Living in Chiang Mai

Hi Louis

Good Evening

Many thanks for your enquiry through the blog feature on our website, we always try our very hardest to answer enquiries promptly & honestly, if having read our information you have further questions, please do not hesitate to post again.
Thai Visas – to cover a 3 month period – your choices:

1/ obtain a “Tourist Visa” from the Thai Consulate in Ireland, this will give you a maximum of 60days in Thailand, at the end of the 60 day period you MUST leave & re-enter Thailand either overland (Myanmar 4 hours by bus each way), this will give you 15 DAYS MORE ONLY, so if you want 3 months in total you will have to do 2x overlandvisa runs. The other option is to take an international flight (Chiang Mai-Laos is the closest), returning on the next flight that will give you 30DAYS MORE.

International flights are +30 days, overland is +15 days – VERY important to remember.

The Tourist Visa is currently free (just a £15 administration fee), this is for single entry only.

2/ obtain a Non-Immigrant “O” class visa – this is for extended stays longer than the 60 days possible on the tourist visa, and again available in Ireland BEFORE YOU LEAVE. The “O” class visaallows you to stay in Thailand for 90 days continuously after which you HAVE to do a visarun, which then gives you a further 90 days, thisvisa is for a 12 month period. You do have to pay for this visa the cost is roughly £100.

With BOTH the above types of visas you need to decide if you want to visit any other countries during your stay in Thailand, IF YOU DO YOU MUST GET A MULTIPLE ENTRY VISA.

In terms of accommodation, there are lots of cheap flats/apartments available in the city, these are very basic rooms usually just with a fan (no aircon), if this is the sort of place you want the best idea is to book a cheap hotel for a couple of nights when you arrive & go hunting around the city.

If you want something a little nicer, renting an aprtment or house will be the best option, prices start from around 10,000thb/month, but LOCATION is the key here, if it’s near the city centre it will be considerably higher priced than say 8-10kms out (thats the distance we live from the city centre). If you go for the cheaper “out of town” location, you will need transport, as most public transport is not very organised, maybe you could rent either a motorcycle or a small car, they are both relatively cheap compared to Europe.

Here are a couple of weblinks to Estate Agents in Chiang Mai who both have good rental portfolios:

1/ House in Chiang Mai – Ask for Klaus, English speaking very friendly people.

2/ Jasmine Homes – Ask for Steve, English speaking again very friendly people.

If you plan to stay for a while in Chiang Mai you probably want to rent a house or an apartment. It has a few advantages over a hotel and it can be cost saving. Don’t hesitate to contact Dong or Ban at House Chiang Mai. They are so helpful to find the perfect home for any expat and they speak fluent English.