Incorrect Visa Obtained

[Sami81]

A person I know went to Laos to get a Non-O (dependent) visa, but came back with them issuing a Non-B instead.

They will not be working, and immigration has said they cannot help to change the visa.

 

Has anyone had a similar issue? 

Is there a way to get this fixed without having to leave the country and reapply all over again?

[Tanoshi]

You either go back to the Embassy/Consulate that issued the wrong Visa, or take it to the Ministry of Foreign affairs in Bangkok.

Those are the only options.

[BritTim]

Two points:

1. As already stated, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Consular Section in Bangkok can change the visa. They will want to contact Vientiane to confirm that the Non B visa was issued in error.
2. Depending on the immigration office you deal with, there may be no real need to change the visa. Both gave a 90-day non immigrant entry. The written rules indicate that you can request the same extensions regardless of the type of non immigrant visa that was used to enter the country. Unfortunately, some immigration offices may not agree with the rules as written (nothing new there) so getting the visa type changed may be necessary in practice.

[Danielsiam]

Can he get troubles, using that kind of wrong visa ? in exemple, he just need to stay 90 days.. 

[BritTim]

Just now, Danielsiam said:

Can he get troubles, using that kind of wrong visa ? in exemple, he just need to stay 90 days.. 

If he just needs the 90-day entry, there should be nothing to worry about. He is doing nothing illegal. The only possible issue I could imagine is a suspicious immigration official at some point in the future deciding there is suspicion of illegal working because he"intended to work" earlier. Really, though, I think that is far fetched.

[Danielsiam]

3 minutes ago, BritTim said:

If he just needs the 90-day entry, there should be nothing to worry about. He is doing nothing illegal. The only possible issue I could imagine is a suspicious immigration official at some point in the future deciding there is suspicion of illegal working because he"intended to work" earlier. Really, though, I think that is far fetched.

Great, because, if ever I get the wrong visa like this, I don't know if I will go back to the desk and ask for correction, maybe they will told to go come back the next day to pick up the right visa, which it can be a big pain who don't like stay 1 more night in Laos especially

[elviajero]

Embassies/consulates issuing the wrong category of non-immigrant visa happens.

 

Presumably they want to apply for an extension of stay as a family member of another foreigner that has a 1 year permit to stay. If so there is no reason why immigration can’t still issue the extension even with a ‘B’ category. The requirement is to enter with a non-immigrant visa, which they’ve done.

[glegolo]

May I ask.... Is this just another example of wrong WORDING again? Cause I have NEVER seen a VISA called dependent before. I guess there are no VISA called dependent at all....

 

I guess that what the thread-starter talks about in some way, is that his friends needs a Non Immigrant O VISA that his friends later, inside Thailand, can convert into an EXTENSION OF STAY BASED ON DEPENDENT.... which is NOT a VISA....

 

Cant understand why none of the earlier posters answering, have pointed this out.

 

glegolo

[steve187]

39 minutes ago, glegolo said:

May I ask.... Is this just another example of wrong WORDING again? Cause I have NEVER seen a VISA called dependent before. I guess there are no VISA called dependent at all....

 

I guess that what the thread-starter talks about in some way, is that his friends needs a Non Immigrant O VISA that his friends later, inside Thailand, can convert into an EXTENSION OF STAY BASED ON DEPENDENT.... which is NOT a VISA....

 

Cant understand why none of the earlier posters answering, have pointed this out.

 

glegolo

others not as pedantic as you maybe

[Crossy]

The exact terminology matters not in this case, it's obvious what our OP's friend was applying for.

 

The terminology IS important in many areas (visa vs extension of stay for example) but this isn't one of them.

 

 

 

[glegolo]

17 minutes ago, Crossy said:

The exact terminology matters not in this case, it's obvious what our OP's friend was applying for.

 

The terminology IS important in many areas (visa vs extension of stay for example) but this isn't one of them.

 

 

 

You have edited your post now I can see.... But to answer you Non Immigrant O and you calls it "for others".. I do not have that wording in my countries thai embassy homepage but it is called "spouse/family".....

 

So Crossy what does this poster really mean then?? Can you explain to a poster that do NOT understand.... is he meaning what I thought he meant? 

 

glegolo

[Maestro]

11 hours ago, Sami81 said:

A person I know went to Laos to get a Non-O (dependent) visa, but came back with them issuing a Non-B instead...

 

Sami81, how did the person referred to above fill out the following section of the visa application form:

 

 

Did the person tick the box "Non-Immigrant" and as purpose of visit write "dependent"?

[Sami81]

1 hour ago, Maestro said:

 

Sami81, how did the person referred to above fill out the following section of the visa application form:

 

 

Did the person tick the box "Non-Immigrant" and as purpose of visit write "dependent"?

Yes. It was marked Non-immigrant. And in the purpose, wrote "Non-O, Dependent"

 

[Sami81]

11 hours ago, BritTim said:

Two points:

1. As already stated, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Consular Section in Bangkok can change the visa. They will want to contact Vientiane to confirm that the Non B visa was issued in error.
2. Depending on the immigration office you deal with, there may be no real need to change the visa. Both gave a 90-day non immigrant entry. The written rules indicate that you can request the same extensions regardless of the type of non immigrant visa that was used to enter the country. Unfortunately, some immigration offices may not agree with the rules as written (nothing new there) so getting the visa type changed may be necessary in practice.

Thank you for this.

We will try the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Consular section.

I appreciate the help. Thank you.

[Tanoshi]

2 hours ago, glegolo said:

So Crossy what does this poster really mean then?? Can you explain to a poster that do NOT understand.... is he meaning what I thought he meant? 

The OP means the Non O Visa was applied for the 'purpose of being a dependant'. 

i.e. A child would be a 'dependant' of their Mother or Father.

 

Extensions of stay are issued based on the 'purpose' of either retirement or marriage.

The stamp above the extension permit denotes the 'purpose' of issue.

Edited February 14, 2018 by Tanoshi

[Mattd]

As the OP's friend has entered using a non-b visa and unless he intends on getting a an extension of stay, then he really doesn't have to anything at all, he has his 90 day entry already and no one will question this at all, a non-b is not only issued for working, it can be issued for other business reasons.

However, if he intends on applying for an extension of stay based on a dependent, immigration will most likely need the visa category changed to non-o and this would be better done sooner rather than later.

[Maestro]

3 hours ago, Sami81 said:

Yes. It was marked Non-immigrant. And in the purpose, wrote "Non-O, Dependent"...

 

1

 

That was probably the reason for the confusion. Not very familiar with the word "dependent" and not wanting the person to waste a day by asking it the following day what it meant with it, the consular official probably decided that it is an employee (dependent on an employer for its livelihood) and gave it a non-B visa.

 

Looking at the website of the consulate in Vientiane, for example, the word "dependent" appears nowhere on the page about the non-immigrant visa, but "employment", "pursue a family or spouse" (whereby pursue is obviously used to mean visit), etc are given as valid reasons for a non-immigrant visa.

[BritTim]

26 minutes ago, Maestro said:

That was probably the reason for the confusion. Not very familiar with the word "dependent" and not wanting the person to waste a day by asking it the following day what it meant with it, the consular official probably decided that it is an employee (dependent on an employer for its livelihood) and gave it a non-B visa.

Each visa type has its own set of requirements. It is unlikely that the OP provided evidence from a prospective employer that a work permit had been applied for on his behalf. I would imagine documents showing family relationships were provided instead. I think it much more likely that the overworked Vientiane consular official just made a dumb mistake.

[elviajero]

9 hours ago, steve187 said:

others not as pedantic as you maybe

Makes a change!

[Colabamumbai]

15 hours ago, Danielsiam said:

Great, because, if ever I get the wrong visa like this, I don't know if I will go back to the desk and ask for correction, maybe they will told to go come back the next day to pick up the right visa, which it can be a big pain who don't like stay 1 more night in Laos especially

I always enjoy a few days or weeks in Laos, without going there for a visa. I started doing that in the early 70's. It is a nice break from here.

[elviajero]

9 hours ago, glegolo said:

May I ask.... Is this just another example of wrong WORDING again? Cause I have NEVER seen a VISA called dependent before. I guess there are no VISA called dependent at all....

 

I guess that what the thread-starter talks about in some way, is that his friends needs a Non Immigrant O VISA that his friends later, inside Thailand, can convert into an EXTENSION OF STAY BASED ON DEPENDENT.... which is NOT a VISA....

 

Cant understand why none of the earlier posters answering, have pointed this out.

 

glegolo

Yes, wrong (terminology) wording again.

 

There is no visa or extension of stay issued on the basis of being a dependent.

 

Presumably the OP’s friend was applying for a non ‘O’ based on their relationship (husband, wife, child, etc) to another foreigner that was simultaneously applying for a visa or had an existing 1 year permit to stay.

[BritTim]

2 hours ago, Colabamumbai said:

I always enjoy a few days or weeks in Laos, without going there for a visa. I started doing that in the early 70's. It is a nice break from here.

Off topic, I know, but I am genuinely curious.

I started going to Laos a bit in 1988. Before that, it was really difficult to get visas. How did you manage it?Did you have a local guarantor?

[sandyf]

On 2/14/2018 at 9:50 AM, Sami81 said:

Thank you for this.

We will try the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Consular section.

I appreciate the help. Thank you.

Last August I was issued a Non B instead of Non O by the embassy in London. I didn't notice until I returned to Thailand, not that I could have done anything about it in the UK. When I applied for an extension based on retirement, immigration refused to accept the visa and said I must get it changed at the MFA. When I went to the MFA they said I must leave my passport so they could investigate and they would let me know when it was available for collection. I explained that would be a problem as immigration had only given me 36 hours to get back or I would need a new bank statement. He asked us to wait and he went off to try and find out. When the office closed at 15.30 I thought I had had it but shortly after he came out and said he had found someone to sign it off, so I went and filled in the forms and they stamped my passport with the change.

If you go the MFA, the info desk on the second floor may well try and tell you that you have come to the wrong place and to go to immigration down the road, just tell them you need to go to the visa office on the 3rd floor and they will let you up the stairs.

 

[sandyf]

On 2/14/2018 at 2:16 PM, BritTim said:

Each visa type has its own set of requirements. It is unlikely that the OP provided evidence from a prospective employer that a work permit had been applied for on his behalf. I would imagine documents showing family relationships were provided instead. I think it much more likely that the overworked Vientiane consular official just made a dumb mistake.

Quite.  

Three different people at the MFA came and asked me the same question, "What documents did I send with my visa application?"