Whats the diff between being on ext of stay based on Marriage or O ?

[ubonr1971]

A few days ago we went to see the accountant about setting up a limited company and registering 1 million capital etc. They said that the list of requirements to get me the WP is cumbersome and expensive. They asked if I would actually be doing much work for my wifes business anyway. The reality is that I probably will not be very involved. After saying this the guy said to me that I should change my ext of stay (currently non B based on employment) to an O stamp. He said if Im on an O stamp and my wife is thai the immigration will not be too bothered. Tomorrow he was going to make enquiries about the O visa and about whether I need to cancel my WP. I immediately told them that the work permit is based on employment at my uni in a different province and that it would definitely have to be cancelled. Do you agree with this? 

 

Can you shed any light on this guys idea about changing to the O visa? Is it a daft idea or should I stick with first doing the 60 day ext and then move to the new province. Then do the marriage visa?.

 

We have a baby as well for the record. Also we would be residing on the top floor of the building. I would execute the TM28 and the landlord would do the TM30. 

[BritTim]

There are three different cases that need to be considered:

• Work permit and extension of stay based on working with your wife's (or, at least, a Thai owned) business. Unless the business is substantial (at least 4 employees) you will likely be unable to do this. As you have been advised, it is quite difficult. On the other hand, once successful, you can be comfortable that it is 100% legal.
• Multiple entry Non O visa based on having a Thai spouse. This is very easy to obtain by a two-day (one night) visit to somewhere like Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam or Savannakhet Laos. However, the visa only allows 90-day stays in Thailand (unless extensions of stay are applied for). Thus, you will typically end up needing to do border bounces every now and again unless you travel regularly anyway. Also, getting a work permit is no easier than on a Non B visa (may even be harder if dealing with some labor offices).
• A one-year extension of stay based on Thai spouse. When dealing with some immigration offices, the paperwork for this can be annoying, but it will likely be a convenient option otherwise. Again, it does not help you get a work permit.

It seems your accountant is advising you to work without a work permit. If you can do this quietly without your involvement being visible, you could consider it. If you are going to be working in a visible role, I would counsel against it. It would be illegal and, while you might not have a problem, the potential consequences are serious.

[Rhys]

 The extension of stay based on Marriage to a Thai, yes, is a pain but it goes as scheduled... they yank it because simply they can...

[Phuket Man]

The 12 month extension of stay based on having a Thai Wife is pretty simple to do.

Did mine a couple of weeks ago and it took 30 minutes.

[MaeJoMTB]

Can't work on O Visa, ends when date on passport ends.

Can work on marriage extension, ends on day marriage ends.

[ubonjoe]

On 3/4/2018 at 4:54 PM, MaeJoMTB said:

Can't work on O Visa, ends when date on passport ends.

You can get a work permit and work with a multiple entry non-o visa.

On 3/4/2018 at 4:54 PM, MaeJoMTB said:

Can work on marriage extension, ends on day marriage ends.

It ends due to divorce but not if the spouse passes away (remains valid until it expires).

A divorce does not happen quickly so there would be time to get something else such as a multiple entry non-o visa.

[overherebc]

4 hours ago, MaeJoMTB said:

Can't work on O Visa, ends when date on passport ends.

Can work on marriage extension, ends on day marriage ends.

Worked for years on a non o visa, maybe 8 or 9 in a row.

When the job ends the 'visa' stays valid. An extension doesn't stay with you and ends on the last day of employment unless it's based on being married then you keep it.

Edited March 4, 2018 by overherebc

[poanoi]

well, the immigration officer at jomtien simply refused to extend my marriage visa,

requiring more and more proof i had transferred my money to thailand,

and when i did by showing a trash can full of atm slips,

it still wasnt good enough, she just kept delaying until time was up. to add insult to injury there wasnt even any requirement

 to prove transfer in the regulations

Edited March 4, 2018 by poanoi

[ubonr1971]

On 3/4/2018 at 5:11 PM, ubonjoe said:

You can get a work permit and work with a multiple entry non-o visa.

It ends due to divorce but not if the spouse passes away (remains valid until it expires).

A divorce does not happen quickly so there would be time to get something else such as a multiple entry non-o visa.

 

 

Im still trying to decided what to do in my situation. My teaching job finishes at the end of this month and then in april we move to another province (new city). Due to this, I understand that I should take a 60 day ext based on being married with a baby. I assume its based on the existing non b stamp?

 

Anyways, when we were down in the new city last weekend a visa guy told me that he would look into me getting a non O and try not to cancel my WP. The situation is that my wife and I want to open a business and I will not be officially working as such but might do minor computer work. 

 

Am I best to do the marriage stamp or the Non O and try to keep the WP? After reading the threads Im still confused about what to do and whats the difference between the 2 visas ie advantages / disadvantages for me. 

 

thanks if your able to help. I suppose the immediate solution is just to take the 60 day ext based on marriage/baby at my current provincial immigration office. Then move to the new province and take things from there. But what should I do with the WP? Please spell out my options if you can. thanks

[BritTim]

21 minutes ago, ubonr1971 said:

Due to this, I understand that I should take a 60 day ext based on being married with a baby. I assume its based on the existing non b stamp?

You can (a single time per entry to Thailand) get a 60-day extension of your permission to stay to visit your Thai wife. This is allowed with both non immigrant and tourist entries.

 

23 minutes ago, ubonr1971 said:

Am I best to do the marriage stamp or the Non O and try to keep the WP?

If the job on which your work permit was issued ends, your work permit should be canceled. If you want to change from a work permit based on teaching to one working for a Thai company, this requires a new work permit application. As I indicated earlier (and you have been advised by your accountant) there are conditions which are probably difficult to satisfy.

 

25 minutes ago, ubonr1971 said:

But what should I do with the WP?

Your existing work permit should be canceled. You then need to decide whether to try to meet the conditions for a work permit with your wife's company.

[MaeJoMTB]

On 3/4/2018 at 5:11 PM, ubonjoe said:

It ends due to divorce but not if the spouse passes away (remains valid until it expires).

A divorce does not happen quickly so there would be time to get something else such as a multiple entry non-o visa.

Marriage extension has a 'de facto' clause, IMHO that means it ends when she informs immigration the relationship has ended.

You could be right, but I wouldn't want to risk it with Chiang Mai immigration.

Edited March 6, 2018 by MaeJoMTB

[ubonjoe]

43 minutes ago, MaeJoMTB said:

Marriage extension has a 'de facto' clause, IMHO that means it ends when she informs immigration the relationship has ended.

Immigration would not cancel the extension unless a divorce certificate was presented. You wife cannot just walk into a immigration office and get it canceled.