CWMcMurray

I came in on a non im "ed" and have extended it 3 years already; plenty of time left on it.

Thank you everyone

Do you know if I alter my visa inside of Thailand to an "O" for support of a Thai spouse can I get a work permit? This is what I thought I would do but I got a bit nervous when I got an email from Siam Legal stating that if I get the "O" inside of Thailand I can't get a work permit but if I get it outside of Thailand I can get one.

I know many people have already said that they have gotten a work permit on an "O" but has anyone got a work permit on an "o" they got inside of Thailand? Is there any difference between an "o" you get from immagration in Thailand and the one you get from outside?

Ok, it sounds like this is old news; I guess the hand written signs are the only thing new. I had never seen it before so I thought I would mention it.

I went to immigration in BKK last week to get my 1 year extension and I saw a hand written sign by the window where people go for extensions of thirty day stamps and tourist visas. It said "only 7 day extensions for all visas".

If I remember correctly you used to be able to get a 15 day extension for a tourist visa; has anyone else seen this or heard anything about this?

I would get the "O" visa first and use it and then just do a visa run for the last 30 days. You may be able to extend it inside of Thailand but I am not certain about what it would require and for how long; but I am certain that someone with more experience will be along shortly to tell you more about that...

Worst case senerio, you have to do a visa run and just get the 30 day stamp. He will be getting ready to leave in less than thirty days so he should already have his plane ticket, so no problems on that front.

If you do the 30 day stamp first and then do the visa run for an "O" it still may work out fine but I think you and he both will be worrying about it until he finally has that visa in his passport, so I say just for peace of mind if nothing else get the "O" first.

Ok, I am married to a Thai national and I will not be working as a teacher. So if I understand correctly, I can get my non im "ed" changed to a non "O" and then get the work permit.

I just handed in copies of my passport and all of my visas and extensions yesterday to the company I will be working for and they are going to pass them onto their lawyer and then call me back.

Does anyone know if it is true that I can change my non im "ed" to either a "b" or an "o" in country and is it true that if I change it to an "o" in country I cant get a workpermit? That sounds odd to me, is it a different "o" if you get it inside Thailand as opposed to outside? They would both be for support of a Thai spouse.

Really? I contacted Siam Legal and they told me that if I got my visa changed into a non-im "O" in Thailand I couldn't get a work permit but if I got it outside of Thailand I could get a work permit.

Did they give me incorrect info?

In order to get a non "B" and a work permit or an "O" and a work permit is your degree essential? If you have a company's lawyer doing everything for you will the Thai government require it even if the company doesn't?

Update on the insurance situation:

I went and talked to the insurance company today and the manager I spoke with was very nice. I asked him what we needed to do and how long it would take. He called up the person handling our case and then told me that he would be by our house tomorrow to interview me and my wife.

Then we just chatted for 5-10 minutes; he then told me that after the interview was finished they had everything they needed and we just needed to wait for about two months and then the check would be sent to the finance company.

I feel much better after meeting with him today, I will continue to update this as things progress...

I wasn't advising going in and paying 150,000 and applying for residency at the same time. I was thinking along the lines of filing your taxes at the end of the year declaring the money you made outside of Thailand and brought in during the year, which by Thai law you are supposed to do anyway. Then after 3 years of doing this you go in and apply for residency and you have your proof of paying tax for the previous 3 years.

I still don't know if it would work but I certainly wouldn't advise going in and trying to do it all in one shot.

Are there any lawyers out there? What do you think?

OK I wasn't sure; just throwing it out there to see what people think. Sounded like good legal reasoning but that doesn't mean it would actually work.

I just went to immigration today so I have an update:

I picked up my new passport from the embassy and then went to immigration; I did not have any problems what so ever in getting my old visa put into my new passport. Everything went very smoothly and everone at the immigration office was very professional and helpful and I think I spoke to just about eveyone who worked there.

I first went to the lost/stolen passport window (#4) and handed them my new passport, my police report, and copies of everything from my old passport (front page, visa, all extensions, departure card, entrance stamp) and a copy of my new passport. Granted if I didn't have the copies it may have been more difficult.

Next I had to go to widow #7, re-entry permits, in order to get a print out of the unused re-entry permit from my old passport. Then go back to window #4 and turn that in.

Then I picked up my passport with my visa, which was good until sept 14th but since I was already there I decided to get my next years extension and went to the appropriate window and told the lady working there my situation and asked her if I would be able to get an extension. She asked if I had copies of my old passport and I gave her another packet of all the copies, she seemed a bit relieved that I had all of the copies and smiled and said that it would be no problem what so ever.

So now I have my visa and my extension and then I went to window #3 to ask about when I would need to check in for my 90 days; I couldn't remember when I was supposed to come back. She told me to go up stairs to room 206 and when I went upstairs and told them my situation they weren't sure what to do at first. They said that if i could remember the day I came in last time they could easily look it up and let me know. Unfortunately, I couldn't remember and I asked her what should I do. I think she felt bad for me and allowed me to fill out a new 90 day form and start counting again from today. Although she allowed me to do this I got the impression that this is not normally done.

All in all a good day, I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to do all of this without leaving the country.

Next thing, I also talked to them about my internship while in school. If you are a full time student in a program that requires an internship, you do not need a work permit. The immigration official spoke with her boss, who said that if you are doing a school mandated internship you just need to get your school to write a letter stating that it is a required internship, the company that you will be working for and the dates that you will be working. Take that to immigration and hand it in, you are now legal.

Also I spoke with a lawyer and was told that I could change my ED visa to a B in Thailand and then apply for a work permit or I could change it to an O in Bangkok but I wouldn't be able to get a work permit or I could get an O outside of Thailand and then I could get a work permit.

Good post, highlighting the catch 22 of residency requirements. Namely either work outside Thailand, support Thai family, pay no Thai income tax so no PR. Or work in Thailand, support Thai family, don't earn enough to pay 50,000 Baht a year in Thai income tax so no PR.

It may not be worth it but if you really wanted Residency couldn't you simply pay the 50,000 in tax without a work permit and state that it is income from outside of Thailand?

Technically if you spend more than 180 days in Thailand you are supposed to pay taxes on any income made working outside of Thailand that is bought into the country in the same year that it was made.

Many people try to ensure that they do not bring money into the country until the following year to avoid taxes but if you want to pay taxes it shouldn't be a problem. Just tell them that you don't work in Thailand but you are claiming the income you made from outside. Then you can pay taxes and qualify for residency without having a work permit.

Has anyone ever tried this?

Is the bank within rights to ask for 50% of the remaining interest on the contract?

Not haveing read your contract I can not comment on your specific case but I am in a similar case and I consulted a lawyer and was told that most standard car loan agreements are set up that way.

Before even reading my contract or me telling him what bank it was or what they had told me, he said that the most likely outcome would be that if I paid off my loan early the bank would only discount 50% of the remaining interest charges not 100%.

I haven't haven't tried to negotiate with the bank but I would be very interested to know how it turns out if you try.

That being said, if you specifically discussed this matter with the loan officer before signing the loan you contract may be different.

Do you know anyone who made less than 80,000 and was not rejected?

I realize that it is a max number and not a min but it sounds like what you are saying is that even if you qualify in terms of Income and Income tax payments they may still turn you down for the sole reason that you don't make enough money.

Are you saying that the published income and tax criteria are not the actual income and tax criteria? Is there an unwritten ammount that is the real number?

Has anyone who is married got their PR making less than 80,000?

Very very unlikely that you will get a PR with an income less than Baht 80,000, even if you are married to a Thai.

WCA

Why not? I can see if you are from a country where it is very competitive but if you come from a country where they never reach the 100 threshold then I don't see how you could get turned down as long as you meet all of the minimum requirements.

On what are you basing this on?

Is there anyone out there who has met all of the requirements and still been turned down even if the 100 number has not been reached?

I have lived and worked in Thailand for over 10 years. I have held a work permit and yearly visa extensions for the whole period. I can speak and write Thai. I have supported myself from my earnings and saved over a third of my total salary.

Can I get permanent residency? No. Why not? I don't earn enough in Thailand to pay sufficient income tax to reach the threshold required for permanent residency.

The OP may not be fully aware of all the requirements. It is certainly not as straightforward as "3 years on extensions, right, here's the money, Where's my alien residence book."

I realize that the process is long and complicated but I'm fairly young and I could very well be living here for another 40 or 50 years. So it does seem like an easier path than applying for a visa every year.

I have researched it and spoke with a lawyer as well and I am guessing that you are not married? I have been informed that if you are not married the required income level is fairly high, 80,000 baht per month; but if you are married to a Thai national then it is much lower, 30,000 baht per month. If you are a woman married to a Thai man then I don't believe that there is any income requirement, they will look at your husband's financials but I don't believe there is any minimum requirement.

From my research it seems that it is only a 7,000 baht gamble with the 95,000 due only if approved.

I have been in Thailand for three years on Non Im visas and I am considering applying for residency and I was wondering why do so few people go that route? I have looked at the requirements and while I understand that many would not be able to qualify, many others would but choose not to try?

Is it the fee? (95,000 for married people and twice that for unmarried) This is alot of money but if you are planning on staying long term it may even out in the end and isn't your peace of mind worth it?

Or is it that most people are not planning to stay for more than a few years?

I would be interested to find out if you have done it, how did it go? How painful was the process? Did you do it yourself or have a lawyer?

If you haven't done it then why not?

I don't know about the visa but you could get an onward ticket today; just buy it online and print out the electronic ticket. I can't imagine they need a paper ticket, I haven't seen one of those things, or known anyone who has in years...

But I would keep an eye on this forum to see if someone else who knows whether its even necessary for you to leave the country gives you a better answer than mine. I have heard that if you let your visa expire then you will have to leave the country and get another visa, you will not be able to extend it but I do not know if there is a grace period or not.

**Looks like lopburi answered you while I was typing

Paypal ATM card.

Only available to very few people using paypal in Thailand:

The PayPal Debit Card is available to users who:

* Have a U.S. PayPal account

* Have been a PayPal member for at least 60 days

* Registered a credit card where the monthly statement is sent to a physical street address (not a P.O. box)

* Are Verified (completed PayPal's Verification process)

* Have upgraded to a Premier or Business account

* Are an active PayPal member in good standing, as determined by our Account Review Department

So basically only Americans, or others with a physical address in the US!

Ok then, I didn't realize that... So if you can get it go for it, if not then follow the advice of the other posters.

Also if you want to make withdrawls from your pay pal account, one way to do it is to get a paypal ATM card. You can then use any ATM to get money and they only charge a $1.00 fee per transaction.

Gosh darn it you guys, would you pause for a moment before suggesting seriously that a guy who's never (apparently) taught before, and has worked in trades such as drumming and construction, to teach English in Thailand? Most of us who have done it, bitched and moaned like cats being run over by a motorbike! Could you please refer to my prior post about how unsuitable most folks are, how difficult the work is, how lousy it pays, how the OP is not qualified, and how unlikely he'll be legal in Chiang Mai of all places? Gee whiz, the only employment I ever got (when I was overqualified) in Chiang Mai proper, was at 7,200 baht per month!!

What is this guy who only has about $10K now, supposed to do after 12 or 15 months, when his original B visa runs out? Spend $3,000 more running home to get another 12 month visa on which he won't get a work permit, either?

robeetle, if you're sitting at age 54 in the USA with no more than 12 or 13 thousand dollars, and don't possess the skills to teach English well, your chances of surviving here (in Chiang Mai, the only place you mentioned) are virtually nil. But if you're in love, true love as in Princess Bride, nothing else matters. Can you eat somtam for 3 meals per day?

I wasn't trying to say he should, would be qualified to or enjoy teaching. I just am saying that is about te only job he can realistically even attempt. He is not going to be hired by any MNC or Thai company, he doesn't have enough money to open any sort of business of his own and all of the work he has previously done he can't do here. I am just saying his options are slim... Just because he has never taught doesn't mean he can't ,it just means the percentage is low. If he does come he should just hope that he can teach, he loves it, and he can find a job with his qualifications in CM because he is absolutely going to need to find work. He will also face dificulty on the visa front at a time when it is getting more difficult to stay if you are not legal.I hope this better qualifies my above statement; I am in no way calling for unqualified teachers to come to Thailand or that it is an easy job that anyone can or should do.

I don't know for sure but I can tell you, anecdotally at least, that the term is used much more loosely in the US. Here in Thailand I think you need to be higher up before you are considered a manager in general, but as far as the definition for this study - who knows...

And I believe that is exactly your point