sfmadison2

On the 'Latest Reports of Getting a Visa in the Region' page, the most recent report from Yangon is from 2009.

Obviously not the most popular place to go for a visa run as the Burma visa adds a whole other element to the process, but all this aside, is Yangon a viable place to apply for a Non-Imm B visa? I am starting the process of working for a new company, and have always wanted to visit Burma, so would like to take care of both at once if possible.

Many thanks for any info somebody might have.

-Colin

ok, i see what you're saying now.

That doesn't make sense to me, I'm afraid. You would think that Laos, being a Buddhist country, would have less problems with the Buddhist robes. The idea that a Muslim country would be more helpful on the same account is not immediately intuitive to me.

Anyway, I'm not surprised you haven't seen this problem before. I just talked to the US consulate in BKK and they said it doesn't come up often. They suggested I get a temp. passport issued since I don't have time to wait for a real one.

Well, that's what's so frustrating about it. I do look somewhat similar--much more similar than i would if I had a beard in my passport photo, say--but the Laos immigration guys are hung up on the monk's robe which you can see one my shoulders. It's obviously not something that can be questioned with logic though--it's one of those things where they've decided this is unacceptable. I talked to a guy at one of the tour agencies in Nong Khai who said he had seen Thai people denied entry before for the same reason.

At any rate, I've shaved my head again to look somewhat closer to what I look like in the picture. Maybe that will help wherever I decide to go, though I'm hoping that other countries just don't see it as an issue. Like I said, neither the US or Thailand had any problem, so it may just be a hang up specific to Laos.

I will look into Malaysia. I live in Chiang Mai, so increased distance seems to make things more expensive. Though maybe it's marginal compared to going to Phnom Penh. Previously I wasn't aware that it took 4 days to get things processed there.

Thanks.

Mario, do you see this as an issue I could encounter elsewhere? I really have no idea, but it does worry me a little. The only experience I have with it is when I flew back to the States, and then coming back into Thailand. My hope is that somewhere like Cambodia--especially at the airport--is unlikely to see it as a problem.

Thanks guys. I just got turned away at the Nong-Khai - Vientiene border, so exploring other options. I have a rather strange situation, but I think it might well be an issue with Laos being stricter than other neighboring countries. At this point I'm thinking my best bet is to fly into somewhere, so I thought of Cambodia.

I don't know much about Burma or Vietnam, though I did use Malaysia (Penang) many years ago. At this point it's just a matter of trying not to spend too much in travel costs, and go somewhere it's considered rather straightforward (read: easy) to get a visa.

The issue, in case anyone is interested, is that my passport picture shows me as a monk (i was ordained for several years). I guess for the Laos officers at that border, that's unacceptable, as the picture and the person don't "match". In fact I didn't even get that far, as the Thai officers assured me it wouldn't work, and they wanted to save us all the trouble of me being stuck in the no-man's land between countries. I speak Thai fluently, so there was no issue with misunderstandings, that i'm sure of. They just said that they'd had this issue before and there was no way the Laos guys would let me in.

As I don't have time to do a new passport before the visa runs out, I'm trying to decide where to fly into (not Laos). Right now I'm leaning towards Cambodia, but open to suggestions.

Cheers.

Hey guys. I can't find much recent info on using the Phnom Penh consulate for getting a Non-Imm visa. The most recent thread seems to be this one:

but it's still a year old.

The current visa availability sticky says it's still a go, but the latest report of getting a visa in the region (Maestro's post: ) is from 2009.

Anyway, just thought I'd ask here in case anyone has been recently:

Can a Non-Imm ED visa be obtained easily in Phnom Penh? How many days does it take? (I thought the standard was drop it off in the morning, pick it up in the afternoon the next day, but some of these threads suggest that it could take 3 days.)

Also, if you fly in, it is straightforward to buy the cambodian visa at the airport? You don't need to apply over here in advance, do you?

Sorry, it's been a long time since I've done this. Thanks in advance for any info you might have.

The company possibly doesn't mind sponsoring you for a WP because the tax & social security due on a salary of 50k/month is less than the corporate tax due on 600k/year - assuming the company is profitable.

can you elaborate on what you mean by this statement? sorry, having trouble following the logic.

Thanks, Lopburi.

ubonjoe: i'm a bit confused by your answer, could you elaborate a bit? are you saying that it's possible to get a work permit--thus working legally in thailand--yet not be eligible for the extension? I thought the procedure was: a)take a letter to a consulate outside thailand and get a three-month non-imm b)during the last 30 days of that visa, go back to immigration with your newly-acquired WP and get another 9 month extension, effectively making it a 1 year visa, and c) provided you are with the same company, retain eligibility to extend for another year at the end of that. and of course not have to leave the country every 90 days.

Many years ago (8?) i worked for a major university in BKK where my base salary was around 25k per month. How was it that they were able to get me a work permit & extension, although my salary was nowhere near 50k?

Thanks also, Mario2008, for your answer.

crill30: thanks for the information about minimum capital needed.

ubonjoe: i'm a bit confused by your answer, could you elaborate a bit? are you saying that it's possible to get a work permit--thus working legally in thailand--yet not be eligible for the extension? I thought the procedure was: a)take a letter outside thailand, get a three-month non-imm b)during the last 30 days, go back to immigration with your visa and newly-acquired WP, and get another 9 month extension, effectively making it a 1 year visa, and c) provided you are with the same company, retain eligibility to extend for another year at the end of that. and of course not have to leave the country every 90 days.

Many years ago (8?) i worked for a major university in BKK where my base salary was around 25k per month. How was it that they were able to get me a work permit & extension, although my salary was nowhere near 50k?

Gone: I think you're overreacting a bit, though I respect your sentiments. I know I put "employ" in quotes, though i also put it without quotes, and as you might see from my post, I am looking to go about it in as legitimate a way as possible. Still, I respect your concerns, and I will concentrate my efforts on trying to find a way that is not illegal. How about investing capital in a Thai business venture? Does that entitle one to any visa rights?

After hopelessly sifting through bits and pieces of other threads in search of an answer, I've decided to just post this directly and hopefully hear from some of the experts on this one:

My Thai friend owns a large business in Bangkok. I brought up the possibility of him "employing" me with his company, in order for me to get a legitimate visa (which i assume would be an non-imm B, further extended upon getting a WP). I may or may not do actual work for him, though either way it seems unlikely that I would draw a salary. He said we would need to look into whether this is possible, because he's not sure about the starting capital requirements.

The facts:

--He currently employs around 30 thai employees.

--His company already sponsors the visa for one foreigner, who is co-founder of the company (i don't know him).

--The registered starting capital for the company was 7 million baht.

1) His concern is that this starting capital amount is maybe not enough to cover 2 foreigners working for the company? From what I can find, it seems like it shouldn't be an issue, but I'm certainly not an expert on thai visa law.

2) If in fact I am right and he is legally able to employ/"employ" me, what sort of hoops would we need to jump through in order to make sure everything is on the level and I don't become a burden to him? I believe I would need a tax ID, a WP, anything else?

Many thanks in advance for any light those who have come before me might be able to shed on this issue (sorry, terrible sentence). Once it comes time for paperwork, I'm not averse to hiring a lawyer who is familiar with the particulars of these cases. Prior to this, though, I'm just trying to get an understanding of whether it's possible, so I can further inform my Thai friend of the situation.

I am currently residing in Chiang Mai.

thanks, ubonjoe, i think you're right.

thanks to others for the suggestions as well.

Having this discussion over in another thread, but do you have any idea what is required from the portland office in terms of acquiring an O-visa?

Is it possible to get this visa with a letter from a thai friend, or is it mostly being looked at as a retirement visa (which anyone under 50 is ineligible for)?

hmm. seems people have conflicting information on this.

regardless of whether an O-visa is obtainable for visiting friends or not, i still wonder about the feasibility of residing long-term on a visa like this. after all, how long can you really 'visit' before you're actually living here?

It is not that simple. Do not believe any consulate will issue for such a reason.

thanks, lopburi. i've read many of your answers on here over a long period of time, so i'm inclined to believe you, even if it's not what i want to hear.

if i can figure out what the procedure is, i think most likely i will need to help my thai friend to file the paperwork necessary for me to obtain a non-imm B & work permit as a member of his staff. i will search the forums for this information (though if anyone knows the link off-hand, that would of course be appreciated as well )

thanks all for your help.

I would continue on the multiple entry non-imm ED (letter of reference from the school or institution) or non imm 'o' for visiting friends (letter of reference from friend). Then use an honorary consulate to secure your visa and keep going. Seems like the one in Dallas, TX or Portland, OR are your best bets.

Question: so you want to work for thai company?

thanks for the response, i'm reading up on that now. i hadn't considered the "O" but i wonder why more people don't recommend this if it's really as simple as needing a letter from a friend.

no, i don't really want to work for a thai company. i have thai friends who have thai companies--fairly big ones--and my idea was that i could do a little translation work for them at times in exchange for being an 'employee'.

thanks again for the responses.

thanks lopburi and IMA for your responses.

i agree with your suggestions about finding legitimate work with a company that's already set up to employ foreigners. In addition to this option, however, i'm interested in your statement about a thai company needing to have a position "that allows a work permit to be issued."

I will look through the forums for this, but specifically: what exactly does a thai company need to do in order to have a position which qualifies a non-thai to obtain a work permit? Surely this issue has come up before, and perhaps someone has been generous enough to document the procedure/forms required.

Thanks again!

thanks lopburi and mario for your response.

If you find employment that is an option but that is much more than someone saying you work for them or that you are a good person - they have to have a position that allows a work permit to be issued and work permit has to be issued.

where can i find out more about this, specifically, having a position that allows a work permit to be issued? what does that involve/what would it mean to create such a position?

(by the way, the reason i was having trouble posting before was because i used a smily emoticon which--when i looked at it in html--is actually a link. making it by hand as opposed to using the emoticon option from the editor solved it.)

Although I feel like I understand the visa process moderately well, I'd be interested to hear other people's opinions on what the best way to go is, given my situation. Searches through the archives didn't produce anything which completely answers my question. So:

Given the facts below, what sort of visa would you recommend trying to get?

--I'm American, in my 30's, not-married, and intend to stay in Thailand long-term.

--I've been on a Non-Imm ED for the last 5 years, but it will expire in November.

--I'm not currently working, though trying to set up an exporting business.

--I know some well-off Thais who would be willing to help me out with references/forms if need be.

--I speak Thai fluently, and spent several years in a Thai monastery.

--I have no criminal record, and have a decent amount of savings.

Not sure if all of these facts are relevant to the issue at hand, but I thought I'd write down everything so as to avoid possible important omissions.

My thinking is that this may come down to asking somebody to vouch for me, or include me as an 'employee'. If this is the case, I want to understand what my best option is so that I can make it as straightforward as possible for a Thai friend who might be asked to help me out.

Any feedback from those well-versed in possible visa paths is very much appreciated....

Thanks a lot,

Jack