With children to Thailand: the visa hangs on the school or on you, and child benefit stops

Yes, you can move to Thailand with school-age children, but the question that comes first is not which school, but on which visa your child enters. That is either a parent's visa, if that parent has a route that takes family members along, or a student visa of its own (Non-Immigrant ED), with a letter from the school or from an authority under the Thai Ministry of Education. The O-A retirement route is not an obvious path for a family with young children. And on the Dutch side the child benefit stops: Thailand is not on the SVB's list of treaty countries.

On which visa does your child enter?

Route	For whom	What you need
LTR family member	spouse and children under 20 of an LTR holder, at most 4 together	approval from the BOI; per family member health insurance or 25,000 dollars in an account
Non-Immigrant ED (pupil)	a child going to primary or secondary school	letter from an authority under the Ministry of Education or from the international school, enrolment letter, proof that tuition and living costs can be paid
Non-Immigrant O (spouse)	the accompanying spouse of an O-A applicant	marriage certificate, notarised by a notary or your embassy

For the O-A visa the Ministry of Foreign Affairs names only the spouse as an accompanying family member, not the children. The O-A visa is moreover meant for those aged fifty or over who do not work in Thailand. Whoever comes with children therefore looks rather at a work route or a parent's LTR visa, or applies for an ED visa for each child through the school.

For an ED visa for a minor, the Thai embassy in Washington also asks for copies of both parents' passports and a flight itinerary showing that the child travels with both parents. If the child travels with one parent, a notarised consent from the other parent is added. Ask the embassy in The Hague which documents exactly they want; the ministry's list names the school's letter and the proof of funds.

The school is your visa address. An ED visa rests on enrolment at a school that can issue a letter. So don't wait to choose a school until you are in Thailand: no enrolment letter, no visa, and no visa, no stay for your child.

Which school do you choose?

The Dutch government lists the options abroad: a local school, where your child quickly learns the language and makes contact with children in the neighbourhood; an international school, mostly English-speaking, with an international curriculum or that of another country, handy if you move on again within a few years; a fully Dutch school abroad, with the Dutch curriculum; or Dutch distance education. If you choose local or international, your child can keep up Dutch through a Dutch Language and Culture school or through distance education.

The foundation for Dutch Education Abroad (NOB) supports that education on behalf of the government; schools and providers that join NOB receive a subsidy through NOB, and the Education Inspectorate supervises their quality. NOB's site has a world map of Dutch education abroad.

If you later return, the Diploma Recognition Information Centre can determine what a foreign diploma is worth in the Netherlands. Think of that already when choosing an international school.

What happens to the child benefit?

It stops. Whoever lives outside the Netherlands, or leaves to live abroad, is according to the SVB not insured for child benefit, not even if you still have a house in the Netherlands. For a number of countries outside the EU there is a treaty, but Thailand is not in the overview of treaty countries. How to stop your benefits and child benefit is in stopping benefits on emigration.

What does it cost?

Put the school fees and the visa per child in your budget: the ED visa asks for proof that you can pay tuition and living costs, for example with bank statements for the last three months. Which amounts the cost indication includes is in the cost indication for Thailand; the order of visa, school and move is in the journey at /thailand.

In Vertrekklaar this is phase 2 of 5 of the journey, step 2.5: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Thailand or go straight to step 2.5 in the open plan.