jim hayes

Hi guys,

I will be going to Savannakhet shortly to obtain a 1 year multi-entry marriage based non o, for various reasons i want to apply before my current extension of stay expires. Is this possible or do i have to wait for the current extension to expire?

Thanks

When I applied for my passport I was told that they would keep it for one month, after that i guess they send it back to the Uk

Sorry,didn't see Ubonjoes post before mine!

A former work colleague of mine was in the same situation last year and was able to sort out all documentation but there was a fair bit of legwork involved!

Good luck on whatever you decide to do.

Not sure of the exact requirements but if you want to change schools you will need paperwork from the new school to extend the visa and your current work permit will either have to be updated or replaced. If you leave your current school at the end of your contract i think this may effectively cancel your current extension of stay which leaves no time to find a new job before you have to leave the country,hopefully somebody with experience of your situation will be more helpful.

I think there is some confusion here, if your current extension of a Non O visa is based on marriage to a Thai you can extend again on the same basis.You state that a school representitive went along with you last time which suggests you may have a Non B visa in which case the school will need to provide documentation for the extension.

I have a marriage based extension of a Non O visa and i work in a school with a work permit,this is perfectly legal but not all labour offices will issue a work permit for a Non O.

What type of visa did you originally obtain and what was the current extension based on?

I applied to renew my passport on 6th Jan. payment was taken on 12 th Jan. and today (22nd Jan.) i received an email that it is ready for collection!

When i applied my appointment was for 12.35 but i arrived an hour early and was allowed in,waited about 10 minutes before being my number was called and 10 minutes later was on my way. So,all in all a really good service and turnaround time no complaints whatsoever.

OK,glad it went smoothly.I've always found the staff there very helpful.Is copying the entire a passport a new requirement?

Yeah gotta agree with you wholeheartedly Jim, the staff there are always extremely patient and helpful, best in my experiences with Thai immigration over 10 years though I have never had a bad experience. It's actually quite a pleasant ordeal if it weren't for the distances we have to travel.

No offence intended to you/ your comments, but just to be on the safe side, I also had my wife ring the office to double check on the requirements and they stated every page in passport. For safety reasons I decided to go the whole hog and give them copies of everything. Not to say they maybe would have been happy with only that which was included in your list. I also know from experience that Thai bureaucracy is addicted to using up as much paper as they can. Makes me wonder where it goes? There must be huge warehouses full of the stuff....or is it sold off to recyclers and the funds used for the annual Xmas/New Years party??

I think that the section i've highlighted in red is the best advise to anybody with immgration/visa/extension questions,ring your local office to determine the requirements for that office.There is a lot of good advice on here but it's best to check,a good example is the letter from the village leader which most people don't need or aren't even aware of. Agree with you about the amount of paper used,it's crazy but that's the system.

OK,glad it went smoothly.I've always found the staff there very helpful.Is copying the entire a passport a new requirement?

So, ordinary tourists are the least desirable! 555

Forgot to mention that you need to copy every page of the bank passbook that shows any transactions and if you have a yellow house book you should take hatt along as well.I was told the same thing after my first extension about subsequent years being easier but the only difference is you don't need an independant witness.

I've often wondered about the letter from the village leader ( i live in a small village in Kalasin),if you live in a town or city you obviously don't need this but is something else required instead?

I did my third "marriage" extension at Sakon Nakhon last week,your wife must go with you to sign a declaration but you don't need a witness.

2 copies of everything as well as the original documents where possible:

Form TM7

Passport id page

Visa

Departure card

Previous extension stamp

Marriage cert. and registration sheet ( this shows the signatures of you and wife,witness and registrar)

Bank letter dated the day that you are applying

Bank passbook updated to the date that you are applying

Wife blue book

Wife id card

Letter from village head + id card

Map of village with your house marked

4 Photo's of you/wife around the house ( 1 showing the address) you need 2 sets of these

2 passport type photo's of yourself ( obviously!)

The marriage certificate and signature sheet are double sided so make sure the copies are the same i.e on a single sheet of paper.

It helps if you fill in both TM 7 forms and seperate the documents into 2 sets

I emailed Trendy on 12th November requesting an appointment for 3 dates in January 2015, i received a reply within 48 hours stating that my appointment was for the 6th Jan, @ 12.35 which was my first requested date.So,it seems an appointment can be made about 8 weeks in advance.

Hi, I am not an expert but I think the top photo is a Java Barb also called a Silver Barb ( Thai name Pla Tapien Kao ) and the other is a Black Shark Minnow also called a Black Shark Carp ( Thai name Pla Ka ).

Well done for catching these lovely fish.

The best advise is to contact your local immigration office to find out what documents you require, different offices have different requirements,When i applied for my first extension of a marriage based non o visa i needed all the documents listed on the immigration bureau website and all those listed in Udon Joe's post.

In addition i needed a letter from the village leader confirming where i lived ( a small village in Isaan ) along with a signed copy of his i.d, card and a neighbour who attended the office with me as a witness along with originals and copies of his i.d. and blue book ( house registration)

Remember to take all your original documents as well as 2 copies of everything,inc, the photo's of you around the house.

Yes you can get a work permit with a non o visa based on marriage ( i have one) it's just a case of getting the correct paperwork from the school together with your own.Hopefully the school that has offered you a job will have a staff member who knows what to do but don't count on it!

Good luck

jim....thanks for your reply....I went back to my local immigration today, spoke to another officer and I told him it is possible to get a work permit etc and keep my non o visa....he said no you cannot you must change to a B visa. jim if I had any hair left I would of pulled out by now......when you applied for your permit did anybody suggest you needed a B visa or was it never mentioned....

Hi Nongsangcity, don't worry about immigration as they do not issue work permits.When i started work last year the school insisted that i must get a non b visa which i resisted. When i applied for the work permit at the labour office the clerk seemed unsure about my non o visa but she made a quick phone call and all was well,i paid the fee and returned the next day to collect my permit. I have recently obtained a renewal of my work permit for this school year.

This is all my own experience which is no guarantee that you will have the same, unfortunately you wont know for sure until you apply yourself at your local labour office.

Some documents that you need to apply are double sided so make sure you photocopy both sides on a single sheet of paper.

Hope this helps and if you need any more info. please ask

Cheers

Yes you can get a work permit with a non o visa based on marriage ( i have one) it's just a case of getting the correct paperwork from the school together with your own.Hopefully the school that has offered you a job will have a staff member who knows what to do but don't count on it!

Good luck

thanks for the reply, i am familiar with the websites you mention and they are very good but unfortunately they do not cover my area.I will try to find a local tackle shop and ask them about fishing in this area.

Found some info in the archived section so will go exploring next week

cheers

I need to renew my UK passport in the near future,i have a Thai driving licence,work permit and house registration for foreigner(yellow book), i'm guessing i can use either of these as proof of my address in Thailand but do i need to get English translations?

Yes your address must be translated

Thanks, sorry to be dim i know my address in English but does the translation have to be carried out by a translation service and printed on their headed notepaper?

I need to renew my UK passport in the near future,i have a Thai driving licence,work permit and house registration for foreigner(yellow book), i'm guessing i can use either of these as proof of my address in Thailand but do i need to get English translations?

Hi everyone,

I am currently living in Kamalasai which is about 15km from Kalasin town and wonder if anybody knows of any fishing parks in the area. I have fished at Sri Nuan in Khon Kaen and Luckana lake in Udon Thani but am looking for something a bit closer to home, whilst i am happy to catch any species of fish i'm not particularly interested in pulling out 1kg sawai all day long and i dont expect to catch monster catfish or carp but fish around 10kg would be nice.

Maybe i'm asking too much but any feedback will be greatly appreciated.

Cheers