hey mak, per poster above me, you can just get out of the country on a short trip every 90 days which is what i'm doing when I'm in Singapore. Malaysia is just right around the corner. Besides, I do make it a point to go on a mini-vacation every 3 months.
I'm not up to date with the current Visa rules, but 9 months ago when I was there you were only allowed to stay a total of 90 days for every 6 months. So you would have to stay 90 days, then leave for 3 months, then come back again. The only other way around it is to get a work permit, a student visa, retirement visa, or *gulp* marriage. I was working there. Things were much easier over a year ago. You were able to stay as long as you wanted provided that you leave the country once a month (pain in the ass) to get a re-entry visa. But they changed the rule to get rid of all the old dirty foreigners. The Thai government at that time was trying to make Thailand more "Thai", and trying to get rid of that bad Thai image. I plan to move back in about a year. I will probably open up some type of sham business like an import/export and get myself a work permit. It's actually quite easy and the costs aren't too much. Or I just might become a student (I'm 26 now).
What about current trading conditions ? good wireless internet ? VISA requirements , I have read that you have to do a VISA run every weeks instead of each month after you have stayed 90 days
NET: I connect using a CAT Telecom 4mb/s connection via cable modem. CAT Telecom run the international gateway. TRUE also do Cable based access, as well as DSL, they run most of their traffic via Singapore. Ping times to the US are around 280 - 320 ms. Wireless? ...Not as stable as a fixed line, imho. My speed drops to 1.5mbp/s when all the locals are onto facebook but the line is still stable. Good luck trying to stay logged on with your broker - tick for tick - with a wireless connection. I pay $20 PM for this btw. VISA: www.mfa.go.th - Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kingdom of Thailand TRADING: Local Thai exchange is mainly retail volume. Futures (eg SET index) not as liquid as ES or something like KOSPI. Excellant time zone here for trading EU/US hours. Previous board member said he kept the hours 10AM - 2AM. I do the same and It's ideal. Regards.
DSL/Cable Modem Wireless Router with your device set to static IP address and no other devices/users sharing either your WiFi or DSL/Cable. Sure you could use 3G if you are trading Forex, only need to monitor the baseline price (so low data usage) and don't mind some disconnects. I'm in Pattaya.