Savanna

Please advise

If I am changing from a tourist visa to a non-immigrant visa because I will be volunteering for one of the foundations in Chiang Mai:

1. Can I go to Bangkok to do it

2. Can my husband and daughter also get theirs changed at Bangkok at the same time

3. If I have to go to Penang do I need a visa to get into Penang?

Thanks

Hi, just wanted to know, I have joined a foundation for volunteering. They are doing a work permit for me. Can you tell me, if I get a work permit will my husband and daughter be able to get non imm visas as my dependants?

No I am already in Thailand. I am going to be doing volunteering and for that they give me a Non Imm B visa and work permit, my husband works offshore and will only be back end May beginning June so I was just wondering how I would go about getting him a Non Imm O as my dependant after the time I get my visa??

If I get a non immigrant type B visa is it possible for my husband to get the type O for being my dependant at a later date? ie. If I get the visa now and a month from now my husband comes to Thailand would we be able to go to a consulate and have him granted a non immigrant type O just for being my husband? Neither of us are Thai...

What is WETV?

Have any of you heard of DSTV? Apparantly the installation charge is 18900 and then you pay 300/month and they work with IP address' - I use to have DSTV in SA and if this is a reliable way of getting it then I wouldnt mind the upfront payment being so high.

The car rental payments are a killer, after a lot of research I found the cheapest vehicle was a Vios from Thai Rental and I am paying 18000bht/month.... if you find something cheaper let me know LOL

With a double entry tourist visa marked with "USED" on it I managed to get a bank account today at Bangkok Bank. The lady first told me I could not get one because I dont have a work permit, I just politely asked again for her to open me an account, then she looked at my passport and told me I cant get one because I am on a tourist visa, I then said to her I am in the process of applying for a non-immigrant visa but cannot do that unless I have a bank account with money in... she looked a bit confused but then opened the bank account. I was also told that I would receive 0.75% interest... I have no intention of actually putting in 500000bht for a dependant on a ED visa but at least I have my bank account. Moral of the story is to play "the game"....

Thanks Strap, but as someone who plans on being in Thailand for a couple of years, I doubt Hull is the way to go unless I leave Thailand to renew it in Hull each year.. I dont see any of the other consulates granting Non Immigrant visas without any form of paper work OR for "visiting friends"....

Are there trains from Chiang Mai to Laos?

1. If you get the visa exempt stamp would they want to see your forwarding travel arrangements?

2. What happens if you get the visa exempt stamp and you realise you are going to be staying longer than 30 days, can you extend or MUST you leave?

For someone trying to settle in Thailand this forum sure gets your hopes up and down faster than a yo-yo

Yes posting your passport to Hull is legal as long as you are not in Thailand..

No you cant receive a passport from a country unless you reside in it...

Has anyone on this forum had personal experience of posting off their passports to various embassy's or Hull in particular while not being in that country?

I know when I first started my investigating into getting a visa it clearly stated on the website for Hull Embassy that it was ok to post your passport to them to get the visa.... so why does the Thai Embassy then not force them to change this statement on their web page in order to stop all confusion on the matter??

I sometimes get the fish bowl effect on this forum.... yes you have a lot of valuable information and I appreciate all the assistance I have received but their will always be one poster who claims the opposite - maybe just to jerk our chains or give us false hope but none the less it is very disheartening....

Pointless, indeed, and full of nonsense. "...you have to get one of the Lao to fill in your Lao immigration forms and pay Bt100 to get another to fill in the corresponding Thai immigration forms outside the embassy."

That's where I stopped reading. The writer obviously has not the slightest idea what he is talking about. It is a complete waste of time to click on the link in the OP and read that useless article or reader's letter in the Pattaya Daily News. Utter nonsense.

--

Maestro

Yes, that article is packed with nonsense and it would seem the author was drunk while he wrote it.

Properly organised by a "non-moron", a visa run trip to Vientiane can be a pleasant experience.

Being someone that needs to do the visa run to Laos shortly and having a 4 year old to take with, can someone please give me a realistic rundown of what to do, how to do it and what to expect?

Thanks

For visa issue from Chiang Mai Vientiane would be the best location if going to Laos.

Does anyone know what would be the best to get to Vientiane? Air, bus, train or car.... or do you know of any places that perhaps offer travel packages to this destination?

Laos is a country - there are two Royal Thai Consulates - one of these is located in Vientiane as is the Embassy - the other is located in Savannakhet. There are no "honorary" Royal Thai Consulates in the immediate area - most of them are found in US/Europe.

So Vientiane or Svannakhet?

Does anyone know where the nearest Honorary Thai Consulate is from Thailand?

Look at Post No. 2

Is Laos an Honorary Consulate or a Thai Embassy?

Does anyone know where the nearest Honorary Thai Consulate is from Thailand?

Thank you for all the information.

If I am the one studying and applying for and ED Visa what would I need to show? And then would my daughter be able to be a dependant on my visa?

Hi can someone please clarify the following:

1. If I go and study at a university and I want to apply for an ED Visa, do I need that 500000bht in my account?

2. As above, my daughter is in Little Stars Preschool, they will be giving me paperwork today to say she is registered there, if I apply for her to get an ED visa must she show funds or do I automatically have to show the money as her guardian?

3. To apply for a ED Visa and I am currently on a tourist visa, do I need to leave Thailand or can I go to immigration to have it changed?

4. My double entry tourist visa is now used up, my exit date is 17 June, if I go to Mae Sai to get a new tourist visa do I need a visa to go there or do I just cross the border and go to the consulate and apply? Same question if I should choose to use Laos

Thanks

I read here somewhere that you have to have a Non Imm visa before you can apply for a work permit. They also show a sample letter the company should give you.

My question is, if the company gives you this letter stating they plan on employing you and you go to the consulate with the letter and your passport and they give you the Non Imm B visa, which will be valid for a year. Then when the year is up how do you renew that visa - at the consulate or at immigration?

The company should provide you will all the documentation you need to apply for your Non-imm B, and they should know the procedure..

They will provide you with a letter of intent to employ you and a whole heap of company documents....shareholders agreements, latest company tax certificate etc etc, generally the stack of doc;s is about an inch thick...

Take these documents with your passport to a Thai consulate which will issue an non-imm B...(I have done this through Singapore a couple of times over the last 6 years) pay your money to the consulate (not sure what it costs these days) come back the next day pick your passport up and you will have a Non-imm B in it with a single entry....come back to Thailand hand your passport over to the company and they will do the WP application...wait a couple of weeks or more and you will get your passport back and hopefully they will have arranged to get a multi-entry as well. You will also recieve a blue book about the same size as your passport...this is your W/P

Pretty simple process on your part..

Have root canal treatment is simpler and less painless!! LOL

You can apply for the work permit on your tourist visa (but you will need much more than a "letter") - once you receive the receipt (take a few days) you can then take the non immigrant B visa required paperwork, including the work permit receipt, to a Consulate to obtain a that visa. The visa will be single entry and allows a 90 day stay. Next trip, with the actual work permit and paperwork may allow them to issue a one year multi entry type which would then only require crossing borders every 90 days. Or if you meet the requirements for one year extension of stay from Immigration you would not have to leave the country.

I do not believe anyone is going to drive you to Vientiane (which is probably the closest Consulate). I suspect they are talking about a border run which does not provide the required non immigrant B visa.

Yes you have to pay tax. There are annual tax returns and withholding of tax is normal.

Sorry I am a bit confused. What receipt must I receive? And why would I have to still cross the border every 90 days if I am employed here?

Can you let me know what the whole process is ie.

1. Get letter of employment

2. ??

Hi I wonder if you can give me some information regarding work permits. I am here on a tourist visa which says "work prohibited" if someone gives me a letter of employment, how do I go about getting a work permit and once I have a work permit what visa do I qualify for. Also what taxes would I have to pay because I have a work permit ie. are there annual tax returns to complete or do they expect the employer to deduct tax from my salary.

Then, I have found someone who is prepared to help me with my visa run from Chiang Mai, they are going to charge me 3000bht and they use their vehicle and their petrol, does this sound reasonable?

Thanks

I have a double entry tourist visa that is valid for 6 months. I arrived in Thailand on 23 Feb 2008, my exit date is 23 April 2008. I am in Chiang Mai - my questions are:

1. What would the easiest visa run be (considering I have a 4 year old daughter going with me) I do have my own car?

2. When they stamp me back in, will I have 2 months or 1 month?

3. What documentation besides my passport would I need to show them?

Thanks

"What other paper work would I need to take with me to immigration besides my passport?"

dont know where you are but in pattaya the imigration office is in jontiem and they have a little shop next door can do photos and im sure they want a copy or 2 of your passport pages!

chris

I am in Chiang Mai

If the exit date is 23 April, when do I need to go to immigration to extend the visa for 30 days. And am I correct in saying it will cost 1900bht for the extention? What other paper work would I need to take with me to immigration besides my passport?