manonthemon

Hi,

Where to begin? I'm in a situation. To be precise - my girlfriend is.

She's Indian. She is 26 weeks pregnant. She's been here on a Non B visa but due some trouble with her job (you can read more about that here: ) she ended up on a tourist visa. The visa runs out on the 30-th.

Yesterday we've learned that her pregnancy is at risk. I wont get into medical details here, what matters is that she should stay at home and rest. Before we got that information we were planning to fly back to India on the 6th October and get her an ED visa, we wanted to stay in India for 3 weeks and come back. This holiday plans have been canceled for obvious reasons. But we still need to get her a visa.

The doctor wasn't happy about it but he DID allow her to fly there and back suggesting that the sooner we go the better it is (for her and the babies health) But if it's only possibile we'd still rather avoid flying. Hence my question - is it possible to get a tourist visa extension for medical reasons?

Today we're seeing another doctor to get a second opinion on that matter.

To sum it up, the facts are.

- She's indian so she can only get her visa in India (2 hour flight form here).

- She has all the documents for her ED visa (costed her 15k)

- She's 26 weeks pregnant. There is some complications and she should rest.

- Her visa runs out in 4 days.

- Te doctor allowed her to fly but from what I read it's better not to.

thanx for any info,

Hello,

The story continues, the plot thickens.

From what we’ve learned yesterday at the immigration Indians CAN NOT get a 30 days extension on their tourist visa - just 7 days and that’s what we got for her. But this means that we're left with a one-week gap between her visa date and her flight. Do you think overstaying for a couple of days would have any negative effect on her chances of getting an ED visa in a Thai consulate in India a few weeks later?

As for the agency - they did pay some of the money, half of it to be precise. It took many e-mails and texts to get them to do it but they did. I'm still not sure is it a total lack of professionalism on their side or just lack of goodwill.... or both. We're waiting for the rest of the salary.

In the meantime the school my GF applied to got her all the necessary documents for the ED visa. We're getting on a plane in 2 weeks and flying to Kolkata to get it. She's a bit worried about coming back to Thailand - her pregnancy shows a lot by now and we heard that Thai Immigration officers at the airport can be really mean to Indians getting into the country. But with a valid ED visa in her passport they have no reason to give her trouble am I right?

cheers,

Can't she hide the bulge under a saree?

She's not that much into traditional outfits. I'm not sure if she even has one here.

Anyway - do you know when should we go and get the extension at the immigration? Should we do it right away or better closer to the expiry date of her visa?

Hi,

We do have a written contract stating that they will provide a WP so I guess we do have a case in the DOL - if we have to and decide to go down that road. Like I said before - the agency also promised to provide us with a document stating that they we're processing her documents for a Non B Visa.

I'm perfectly legal here - Non B, WP and all. She was too but than changed jobs and that's when the trouble started. We hoped her WP would be just transferred to the new job and the Non B extended but that didn't happen. All this really comes down to the agency not doing what they we're obliged (by their own contract) to do.

Anyway - we're much calmer now, as we know how to get her an ED visa. I did check Air Asia policies concerning pregnant passengers and we're ok there too.

The question is - if and when we get her money back, should we still go DOL, just for, I don't know - justice?

Yes she can get the 30 day extension at immigration for her current tourist visa entry.

There are some countries that cannot get them but India is not one of them.

Thanx! Great, great news. Should we go and get it when the visa is almos expired or can we go and get it over with right away??

We're getting an ED visa. Like I said before - 15k for the course + the visa costs + the flight to India costs (we were planning to go there anyway so it's fine).

By the way - one school we contacted about the ed visa had a promotion on their website - 15k. When we called they said it's 20k cuz the promotions....isn't for Indians.......

fortunately we found a different school that isn't concerned with the nationality of their customers.

cheers,

Hi everyone,

We're taking it very slow and try not to make any mess. We're not reporting the agency yet, maybe never - we don’t want to do it for the sake of doing it but to get our money. We went to the agency today and actually got them to admit their fault in all this (much thanx to the incredibly calm and peaceful manner of my GF, It wouldn’t be that nice if I did the talking) and there’s a chance that they might actually pay. We'll see and I'll let you know about the outcome.

The visa is a different story - they did promise it (it's in the contract) and they didn’t provide. Today they agreed to give us a document stating, that they were in the process of getting it for us - not sure what we need it for but I guess it's better to have it than not to have it. Anyhow - we're left to deal with the visa situation on or own. We already found a school which will give us papers for an ED visa for 15k but we do need to fly back to India to get it.

We have 2 weeks on her tourist visa. What we need is 2 weeks more. My question is - can she get an extension at the Immigration? I know I could get it no problem, 1900B and it's mine (I have a EU passport) . But are the rules different for Indians in that matter?

Thanx for all the hints. The baby will be delivered here in BKK. We've chosen hospital and all. Thailand is our home.

HI,

Thanx for all answers.And better news this time - at least we can go to DOL and that's something we definitely want to do. You think that going to the police is a bad idea? The embassy suggested reporting a fraud.

We went to the agency today, had a very unpleasant conversation and nothing came of it.

We also consulted one of language schools that provide ED visas here in BKK. They told us that my GF could extend her visa for another 7 days at the immigration office. That, together with the 2 weeks that she has left on her visa, should be enough for them to process all the documents. Than we fly to India with the papers where she should get a one year ED visa in the Thai Embassy. The cost of the whole operation (language course, visa extension, visa fee) is around 25k Baht + 2k every 3 months for a visa extension.

We can deal with that. Now we need to get the money the agency owes her.

Cheers,

Thanx for all the replies

The Indian embassy claims, that we should contact the labour department and even police as we have been cheated by the agency, which offered a work permit and a visa and didn't provide.

As for packing and leaving – it's not that easy. We do have our lives here, I have a job, a flat with a one year contract, friends, everything. And by the way - I'm not Indian so it's not like I can just move there whenever I please.

We found a school which would provide an ED visa in less than 2 weeks (that's what my GF has left ton her tourist visa) but as an Indian she'd have to leave the country to get it.

What we're trying to do now is to extract her money form the agency (they owe her 2 months salary) and take care of the visa on our own.

Do you think any of the visa agencies / lawyers that advertise in Bangkok daily newspapers can be of any help in such situation? Siam legal etc?

Do you think that 6 months pragnency is a reason enough to aplu for a medical based extension of stay?

Does anybody know, if it's possible to extend a tourist visa at the immigration office in BKK? For an Indian?

Maybe that would give us enough time to apply for an ED visa here.

One more thing - I don't want to leave this like it is - is there any point in going to the Labour Departement with that? Not only did the agency mislead us on the visa issue but they fail to pay on time.

Get another employer.

It's close to impossible when you're 6 months pregnant. And they woun't be able to provide a visa in that short period of time anyway.

forgot to mention that the Agency fails to pay on time too. But that's not out biggest concern at the moment.

Any help much appreciated.

Hi,

I have a serious problem.

My GF (Indian) works as a teacher for an agency. When she signed her contract couple of months ago they promised to provide a visa and a WP. The confirmed that many times later. Then came delays, excuses etc. Then they asked her to do a visa run and get a tourust visa and primised to get her a non B based later. She did.

Today, 2 weeks before her visa runs out they announced that the will not be providing get the visa. Gave no reasons. It's to late for us to get a ED visa now and I honeslty don't know what to do.

My girlfriend is 6 month pregnant, It's not a time to get stressed, do visa runs (to get a new tourist visa she has to go back to India) etc.

What can we do ???

Manonthemon

check out this website naming places where charge different rates for Thai and for tourists.

http://www.2pricethailand.com/how-they-trick-foreign-tourists-into-paying-more/

Do you know which of these paces accept the WP?

cheers!

Madame Tussauds and Siam Ocean World give Thai prices if you can prove you work and reside here.

Thanks for the info! I wanted to go to the Ocean World for a while but the price was a bit off-putting!

Any more spots?

Cheers!

Excellent, the price of alcohol can't be high enough. It's one of the most dangerous drugs in the world, it causes death and mayhem in traffic, spousal abuse and all sorts of aggression. In another thread: "Drunken Swede kills tourist from New Zealand". I am convinced he would not have killed that guy if he were sober!

Who kill most people drunks or sober people?

Sober American soldiers would be the winners here I believe...

American soldiers are the winners everywhere...

I don't think they can compete with the Germans and the Russians - the last one's werent sober for sure though.

It should be all National parks, zoos, museums, etc.

I agree, It should. But unfortunately it isn't. There's no discount in the Grand Palace from what I know, same stands for Sukothai temples - I had to pay a full foreigners fare 2 weeks ago. That's just two examples.

And here's another piece of bad news. National Parks get more expensive soon. 500 B for foreigners and 100 for Thais. Used to be 400 for foreigners and 40 for Thais so instead paying 10 times more than locals well pay just 5 times more. Hooray! :/

Any other places where the work permit get's us in at a discounted rate?

cheers,

Work Permit - List of Discounts

Hi all,

Why don’t we make a list of spots in Thailand which offer discounted ticket rates for foreigners holding work permits? I hate the double pricing in this country and really appreciate when my WP grants me a fair price.

Places that come to mind are:

Khao Yai National park – don’t remember how much but the discount for the entrance to the national park was substantial.

Palace in Lopburi – It’s not official but I managed to persuade the people at the gates that I should pay the Thai price as I have a WP.

Any more spots you can think of? Please share. Places that DON'T offer discount are also welcome.

Cheers,