BritTim

Vital question: are you currently in Thailand on an entry from a Non B visa, or do you have an extension of stay on the basis of working?

If you are on the 90-day permission to stay from entering with a Non B visa, your permission to stay remains valid until the end of the 90 days and (assuming it is a multiple entry visa) you can do a border bounce for a fresh 90-day entry.

My suspicion, however, is that you are on an extension of stay from immigration based on working. If that is the case, your permission to stay ceases as soon as you are not working and (as you are already aware) you cannot work without the work permit. I think you immediately need a letter from your employer, perhaps granting you a one month leave of absence (so your employment contract remains intact) but to confirm your temporary cessation of employment. With that visit immigration to have your current permission to stay cancelled, and do a border bounce for a 30-day visa exempt entry  As an alternative, cross your fingers and hope the failure to cancel your extended permission to stay is not noticed. That has potential serious consequences.

To clarify what I believe is your concern: you just need to ensure that you do not go on overstay. For a minor offence, you should not normally be deported as long as you are in compliance with immigration laws.

Your permission to stay based on attending school remains valid as long as you are attending classes. Indeed, this is the best way as your permission to stay will not end when the court case is finalised,

If you have stopped attending school, it might be safer to apply for an extension of stay based on the court case. This carries a risk. If you have upset the police, they can possibly detain you when the court case finishes on the basis that your permission to stay has expired, and take action accordingly.

I would advise you to religiously satisfy the conditions of your permission to stay based on studying.

I do not have first hand knowledge but, as @ubonjoe states, there have been several credible reports that, not only single Non O (retirement), but even multiple entry are possible. Apparently, in addition to the basic financial proof of 800,000 baht in the bank or 65,000 monthly income, they also require "proof of retirement". This has been a difficult hurdle for some to satisfy.

You do not specify the expiry date of your visa. Without that, we cannot answer most of your questions.

You can get an extension of your current permission to stay to add 60 days to your current mid April permission to stay date. This will cost 1,900 baht and your wife needs to accompany you to immigration.

it might be technically legal to organise a seminar in Thailand without a work permit, if it is of short duration, and such seminars are infrequent. I think Thailand, in principle, wants to arrange trade shows (including side seminars) where participants definitely are not expected to have work permits. Anything of short duration that is educational also tends to be looked on favourably. The problem is that one senior official who takes it into his head that you are doing something improper can put you in a world of hurt. Any time the law in Thailand is unclear, and your activities will be highly visible, the best advice is to play it safe.

4 hours ago, RobertL said:

What about the Olympics? We have airline tickets to Tokyo we were supposed to fly but now they’re talking about cancelling the Olympics! So I don’t know what to do. I don’t know if the tickets are refundable yet. I’ve been looking online everywhere frantically for the last 24 hours trying to get an idea of what might happen with the Olympics! We were supposed to fly in May and stay in Tokyo all summer but now I don’t know. Is japan on the list? That’s still 3 months away from the Olympics 

The Japanese authorities have announced that they will make a final decision about the Olympics in early May. At this time, I would say there is a high probability that the Olympics will be postponed, but nothing is certain. I would suggest waiting a few weeks before taking any precipitate decisions yourself.

42 minutes ago, unblocktheplanet said:

To do a same-day border hop, does this not require a Cambodian visa?

Both a Cambodian visa (which can be issued on arrival) and, assuming you do not have a multiple entry business visa for Cambodia, a waiver by Cambodian immigration of the Cambodian law that mandates an overnight stay. Avoiding the overnight stay often requires a present of 200-300 baht to the Cambodian officials.

I believe the information sent is flight number, date of arrival, and planned immigration clearance location, plus just the personal information available from the machine readable zone of your passport:

Quote

  Official Travel Document Number (Passport or other official travel document number)

  Issuing State or Organization of the Official Travel Document (Name of the State or Organization responsible for the issuance of the official travel document)

  Official Travel Document Type (Indicator to identify type of official travel document)

  Expiration Date of Official Travel Document (Expiration date of the official travel document)

  Surname/Given Name(s) (Family name and given name(s) of the holder as it appears on the official travel document.)

  Nationality (Nationality of the holder)

  Date of Birth (Date of birth of the holder)

  Gender 21. (Gender of the holder)

The system allows for transmission of such things as visa number, visa date and place of issue. However, I do not believe airlines are required to include these by Thai immigration.

It refers specifically to visa exempt entry by land. You are only allowed two of these per calendar year, and the length of time out of Thailand is irrelevant. If entering by land with any kind of visa issued at a consulate (including a tourist visa) there is no limit. If trying for a visa exemption by air, there is no hard limit, but immigration officials at airports will deny you visa exempt entry if, in their view, you are using visa exempt entry to stay longer than is compatible with regular tourism. How strict the officials are on this varies from airport to airport.

I believe this news article, posted a few hours ago, is accurate about the measures being introduced: https://vietnamnews.vn/politics-laws/652869/viet-nam-to-suspend-visa-free-travel-for-south-koreans.html.

Carefully reading this article makes clear only those flying from infected regions of South Korea, Italy and Iran will be required to undergo quarantine. The measures do not require quarantine of visitors from other areas of those countries. At the current time, Thailand is definitely not affected.

37 minutes ago, Pawpal said:

Thanks again! 
I'm a permanent resident of Hong Kong so I have a Hong Kong APEC card and (so far at least) always been granted 3-month stays in Thailand. But always entering through airports. This will be my first time by land, hence my apprehension that the folks at Ban Phu Nam Ron might not be familiar with it. 

Indeed, that is a possibility. Ban Phu Nam Ron is not an entry point used much by business travelers, though I would expect they would see the occasional Myanmar businessman arriving there.

24 minutes ago, Pawpal said:

Would a better option for same day re-entry to Thailand be the Myanmar Ban Phu Nam Ron border crossing? (I'll be driving from Bangkok.) I'm concerned about whether or not they have experience with the APEC card.

At Ban Phu Nam Ron, they just want your money. You should be absolutely fine there. They have a mild scam going, but it still works out cheaper than using Cambodia. Incidentally, unless things have changed, the APEC card is of little value when entering Thailand by land. The US is not a full member, and the APEC card mostly just provides fast track entry at airports.

I suggest also including your nationality in your query. At some crossings, that is at least as relevant as the APEC card.

I would suggest avoiding Poipet on general principles. At other crossings, you should be OK on the Thai side, but may need to pay Cambodian immigration to be allowed same day return. There is a Cambodian law that mandates an overnight stay unless you have a multiple entry business visa for Cambodia.

Get advice from an immigration lawyer in the Philippines. It is well known that (especially young single female) Philippine citizens have a hard time getting permission to leave, but there are ways. As I understand it, going through an official course that advises Filipinas on what they are allowed to do and how to stay safe is viewed as an important step by Philippine immigration.

As others have stated, there is absolutely no problem getting an extension of your visa exempt entry.

As I understand it, it is not quite true that the Thai embassy in Manilla will never issue tourist visas to foreigners. The problem is that they are very restrictive in when they will do so. If you have been recently in Thailand, and are not in the Philippines on a long stay visa, they are very likely to refuse. 

Using Poipet for a border bounce with a multiple entry visa is a <deleted> shoot. You may be fine, but some have encountered severe problems. Using Poipet cannot be recommended, but I hope your luck holds if you decide to continue using that crossing.

8 hours ago, Peter Denis said:

Must be a mistake in the statement above.  How can your non-thai wife be on an O (I presume that's short-hand for a Non Imm O Visa) when she is too young for a retirement visa? 

To be eligible for a Non Imm O - retirement Visa (often referred to as a 'retirement' Visa) you do not actually need to be retired, you only need to be +50 years of age.

You can have a Non O visa (and extension of stay) as the dependant spouse of someone on a long term stay (such as entry on a Non O-A visa or one-year extension for retirement or one year extension based on working).

4 hours ago, TaaSaparot said:

Pretty sure the answer on the receipt is no, but will ask.

If no receipt was provided for the fine, it is pretty clear what is going on. As @ubonjoe implied, the 1,600 baht was likely divided up between the visa run company and immigration.

Did your friends get a receipt for the fine payment?

It is the first I have heard of this happening on exit anywhere.

39 minutes ago, dontpanic said:

One thing I forgot to ask was can you get the annual multi entry as apposed to the single entry 90 day with a Thai child without financial proof in Savannakhet or hcmc. I'm assuming not but just thought I'd ask.

 

Thanks. 

As far as I know, the only location within the region that provides a multiple entry Non O to visit your Thai child is Penang. Savannakhet and HCMC will not provide one. One person who lives in Myanmar was able to get one in Yangon, but I doubt they would provide a multiple to a non Myanmar resident.

The work permit does specify the work location. However, backward as Thailand is, the concept of employees working from home is not alien to Thai society. As long as you are working from home for the Thai employer specified in the work permit, you would be OK.