single entry vs multiple entry Non B visa

[illy]

I have just been informed that the consulate I have been using [Hobart, Tasmania, Aust] for the last 5 years no longer issues multiple entry non B visas.

 

Just need a quick answer regarding getting a single entry Non B visa VS a multiple entry non B visa from another  consulate. I have a work permit and the consulate advised they can issue a single entry visa and I then apply for an extension here in Thailand. [I am in Phuket]

 

I have always used a one year multiple entry visa issued from Australia [for the last 12 years] and simply do a visa run to re stamp my passport, so i have no idea what the process is to get extensions on a single entry issued visa in Thailand or the costs involved.

 

I know this info is probably contained in the forum pages but I am travelling now to Australia to get my visa issued and  am not online long enough to research.

 

Any help Greatly appreciated.

 

illy

[HooHaa]

you can extend the visa to multiple at most airports before flying out for around 2k.

[ubonjoe]

The basic requirement to apply for an extension of stay based upon working is here. https://www.immigration.go.th/content/service_1

You will need a minimum salary of 50k and the company will need to have at least 4 Thai employees to apply.

You can get a multiple entry non-b visa at the consulate in Penang Malaysia if you have a work permit valid for at least 8 months.

[ubonjoe]

9 minutes ago, HooHaa said:

you can extend the visa to multiple at most airports before flying out for around 2k.

No extension can be applied for at an airport. You seem to writing about getting a multiple re-entry permit which is not what the OP needs. He is asking about applying for a one year extension of stay.

[Mattd]

Could also get a ME non b from Canberra if he has time whilst in Aus.

[ubonjoe]

15 minutes ago, Mattd said:

Could also get a ME non b from Canberra if he has time whilst in Aus.

Or at the official consulate in Sydney.

But the chances of getting one for working is slim to none these days.

[illy]

6 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

The basic requirement to apply for an extension of stay based upon working is here. https://www.immigration.go.th/content/service_1

You will need a minimum salary of 50k and the company will need to have at least 4 Thai employees to apply.

You can get a multiple entry non-b visa at the consulate in Penang Malaysia if you have a work permit valid for at least 8 months.

checked that web link out, pretty much what I have and do but the paper work looks massive.. the 12month multiple non B issued in Aust  looks easier to get.

[illy]

5 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

Or at the official consulate in Sydney.

But the chances of getting one for working is slim to none these days.

contacted both the Melbourne and Canberra consulates.. Melbourne looks easier esp using the "by Mail" application. Because I had applied for and received so many visas prior to this [12 years ] the staff on the old Brisbane office and Tasmania office made it very easy for me as they knew me. Now I have to start "all over" again...Multiple entry 12 month Non B looks like the best option. But it take 21 days!! I am there for 22!!

[illy]

It seems that they have changed the rules re multi entry 12 month non B visas.. now they are on a 'case by case basis' and the option for a multi entry visa is not even on the FORM A from most of the Australian consulates. 

Does anyone know how long this has been the situation? I been getting multi entry visa sfor 12 years and this is teh first tie i have  any problems.

 

[ubonjoe]

1 hour ago, illy said:

Does anyone know how long this has been the situation?

For about one year. It started when they took away the honorary consulates authority to issue multiple entry visas.

Embassies and official consulates have been difficult for longer than that.

For sometime now the consulate in Penang has been the only nearby location that will issue a multiple entry non-b visa. 

[Oldgumshoe]

Is there some advantage in getting a ME non B visa? I sent my passport and application for a SE non B to the Royal Thai Embassy in Canberra as the Brisbane Hononary Consulate had closed. All good got the passport back within about a week. I then was able through my employer in Thailand to get a WP. That was a few years ago. Since then I get a ME re-entry permit each year and annually the company does all the work for an extension of stay and my WP extended for another year.

I think this is an alternative for the OP. Cheers.  

[BritTim]

14 minutes ago, Oldgumshoe said:

Is there some advantage in getting a ME non B visa? I sent my passport and application for a SE non B to the Royal Thai Embassy in Canberra as the Brisbane Hononary Consulate had closed. All good got the passport back within about a week. I then was able through my employer in Thailand to get a WP. That was a few years ago. Since then I get a ME re-entry permit each year and annually the company does all the work for an extension of stay and my WP extended for another year.

I think this is an alternative for the OP. Cheers.  

It is a good option in most cases. However, the extension of stay on the basis of working has some requirements (that the work permit itself does not) which may preclude getting an extension. In that case, a multiple entry Non B may be the best alternative.

[illy]

5 minutes ago, BritTim said:

It is a good option in most cases. However, the extension of stay on the basis of working has some requirements (that the work permit itself does not) which may preclude getting an extension. In that case, a multiple entry Non B may be the best alternative.

I have my own company [self employed] in Thailand and the extension of a single entry WP  requires a exhaustive list of company details, documents,accounting fees etc etc..in the long run i believe it's MUCH cheaper [even though its gone up $60au since last time] to get a ME visa than keep re applying every three months it seems.

[Oldgumshoe]

I am a little confused, single entry WP? and reapplying every 3 months?

I would conceed that getting an extension of stay in my case seems to require an increasing amount of paper work each year, but the WP seems relatively simple, but I'm not the one doing the footwork. 

Due to my travel commitments the multi re-entry permit is an advantage and I actually find that I only need to do a 90 day report about once a year, so life is not that complicated on that front.

[Mattd]

10 minutes ago, illy said:

I have my own company [self employed] in Thailand and the extension of a single entry WP  requires a exhaustive list of company details, documents,accounting fees etc etc..in the long run i believe it's MUCH cheaper [even though its gone up $60au since last time] to get a ME visa than keep re applying every three months it seems.

It is most definitely not cheaper to use a ME non b as opposed to an extension, it might be, or appear to be, easier to get the ME non b, rather than collate the documentation, in reality, so long as the company has the documentation and the rest of the requirements are met, then it is by far cheaper than going out of the country every 90 days. The only exception would be if a person travels a lot and can use the ME visa in that way.

[4evermaat]

22 hours ago, Oldgumshoe said:

Is there some advantage in getting a ME non B visa? I sent my passport and application for a SE non B to the Royal Thai Embassy in Canberra as the Brisbane Hononary Consulate had closed. All good got the passport back within about a week. I then was able through my employer in Thailand to get a WP. That was a few years ago. Since then I get a ME re-entry permit each year and annually the company does all the work for an extension of stay and my WP extended for another year.

I think this is an alternative for the OP. Cheers.  

 

In case your employment is terminated early, your extension of stay based on employment is technically invalid on that day.  However, with a multiple non-b, the visa itself is independent from your employer.  So you can continue to enter/exit thailand unlimited times until the visa expires, even if you lose your job.

 

The same is actually true for any extension of stay.  If the reason for that extension is no longer valid, the extension is supposed to be invalid on that day.  You are supposed to either leave the country immediately or go to local immigration and request a 7 day extension (and then leave the country).   In practice, some people ride it out and then leave until the extension expires.  That can be tricky if your employer calls immigration to assist in cancelling the extension.  But extensions due to marriage that is ended by divorce or death is unlikely to be reported.

[JackThompson]

1 hour ago, 4evermaat said:

If the reason for that extension is no longer valid, the extension is supposed to be invalid on that day.  You are supposed to either leave the country immediately or go to local immigration and request a 7 day extension (and then leave the country).   In practice, some people ride it out and then leave until the extension expires.  That can be tricky if your employer calls immigration to assist in cancelling the extension.  But extensions due to marriage that is ended by divorce or death is unlikely to be reported.

In cases of death of a Thai spouse - I have read a couple reports where an IO at the local immigration office said it was not a problem to stay until the end of the extension.  I'm not sure if that is an official-rule, or just a polite-courtesy, given the circumstances.

[ubonjoe]

11 minutes ago, JackThompson said:

In cases of death of a Thai spouse - I have read a couple reports where an IO at the local immigration office said it was not a problem to stay until the end of the extension.  I'm not sure if that is an official-rule, or just a polite-courtesy, given the circumstances.

It is official and appears on the acknowledgement of conditions of stay form. 

 

[illy]

Mattd... you may be right.