Extending Student Visa

[nahkit]

A friend of my son is currently doing an internship with a company in Bangkok on a 3 month student visa which is due to finish in a couple of weeks. He recently applied for an extension of stay and was told by the immigration officer that he needed to obtain a work permit before they could give him the extension. The company that he is doing the internship with have said they don't know how to do this (or can't be bothered) but they do want him to stay for a few weeks more. After the internship finishes, he plans to stay for a few weeks as a tourist.

As the immigration won't give him the extension of stay without a work permit and the company won't go through the process of obtaining one for him, what are his alternatives for staying here for the extra few weeks?

He's talking about doing a border run to Laos but when I spoke to him on the phone I got the impression that there was no way he could come up with 20,000 baht if asked to show it.

He's half-thai and is travelling on an EU passport, he doesn't have a Thai passport. He speaks fluent Thai and has relatives up in Isaan who he has stayed with many times in the past. 

Any idea on how he can stay for another month without producing the 20,000 baht? He plans to spend his extra few weeks with his relatives so living expenses aren't really a problem.

[ubonjoe]

17 minutes ago, nahkit said:

He's half-thai and is travelling on an EU passport, he doesn't have a Thai passport. He speaks fluent Thai and has relatives up in Isaan who he has stayed with many times in the past. 

If he has proof one of his parents is Thai he can get a one year extension of stay based upon having Thai nationality. If he has a Thai birth certificate that is all he would need.

[darrendsd]

He doesn't need to go to Laos if he is in BKK, Go to Ban Laem with this company, he will get 30 days which he can then extend for 30 days if needed, this will be enough to see him through his current trip

 

https://www.thaivisaservice.com/

 

It is very unlikely he will be asked to show 20k at this border, this is a very friendly border crossing, in the unlikely event there is a issue the TVS staff can help out

[nahkit]

48 minutes ago, darrendsd said:

Go to Ban Laem with this company

Thanks for the reply, what does he need to take from the company, a member of staff or a letter?

[darrendsd]

8 minutes ago, nahkit said:

Thanks for the reply, what does he need to take from the company, a member of staff or a letter?

Certainly not a member of staff and I doubt a letter will be needed either, others will be able to confirm

[nahkit]

37 minutes ago, darrendsd said:

Certainly not a member of staff and I doubt a letter will be needed either, others will be able to confirm

Sorry, I didn't understand what you meant when you wrote " Go to Ban Laem with this company " (and still don't).

[jackdd]

In this case he has only one option: Get another education visa

With an extension for being a Thai national or getting a tourist visa, or a visa exempt he would always end up working illegally. I would not risk being deported for an internship, then he better stops after 3 months.

[ubonjoe]

27 minutes ago, nahkit said:

Sorry, I didn't understand what you meant when you wrote " Go to Ban Laem with this company " (and still don't).

He is suggestion he do a border hop for a visa exempt entry using with a company that does the border run to Ban Laem.

[darrendsd]

5 minutes ago, jackdd said:

In this case he has only one option: Get another education visa

With an extension for being a Thai national or getting a tourist visa, or a visa exempt he would always end up working illegally. I would not risk being deported for an internship, then he better stops after 3 months.

I would suggest you read what you the OP has said

 

28 minutes ago, nahkit said:

Sorry, I didn't understand what you meant when you wrote " Go to Ban Laem with this company " (and still don't).

Please click on the link provided, he travels to Cambodia with the Visa Run company, he will get a 30 days Visa Exempt 

[ubonjoe]

11 minutes ago, jackdd said:

With an extension for being a Thai national or getting a tourist visa, or a visa exempt he would always end up working illegally. I would not risk being deported for an internship, then he better stops after 3 months.

An internship does not require a work permit.

The problem he has is that there is no extension of stay possible unless it is sponsored by a university here as part of a course of study.

[jackdd]

1 minute ago, ubonjoe said:

An internship does not require a work permit.

The problem he has is that there is no extension of stay possible unless it is sponsored by a university here as part of a course of study.

Yes, but with an education visa it's possible to make an internship.

I'm quite sure if he gets caught on an "internship" with a tourist visa he would be arrested for working illegally.

[jackdd]

8 minutes ago, darrendsd said:

I would suggest you read what you the OP has said

Or you? OP said that the company wants him to stay longer, so i assume he wants to continue the internship for a total length of more than 3 months. So your advise is to get a visa exempt and risk getting deported?

[PoorSucker]

Just go get one year extension of stay at immigration for 1900 baht. 

Only need proof one of parents is Thai, no problem. 

[nahkit]

3 minutes ago, jackdd said:

Or you? OP said that the company wants him to stay longer, so i assume he wants to continue the internship for a total length of more than 3 months. So your advise is to get a visa exempt and risk getting deported?

Actually, I wrote that the company "want him to stay for a few weeks more" and then he wants a few weeks as a tourist. I would leave it up to him to decide if he wants to risk a few weeks. I'm guessing that the fact that he has a Thai mother would mean he could always get back in again even if he was deported.

[darrendsd]

32 minutes ago, jackdd said:

Or you? OP said that the company wants him to stay longer, so i assume he wants to continue the internship for a total length of more than 3 months. So your advise is to get a visa exempt and risk getting deported?

 

 

The OP's friend wants to stay a few more weeks, I AM NOT SUGGESTING that he gets a Visa Exempt in order to carry on with their Internship, the Visa Exempt is to cover  "the extra few weeks"

 

The OP has since clarified what I knew they were saying anyway, the extra few weeks are for Tourist purposes, a Visa Exempt is perfect for this, cheap and a 1 day trip

[elviajero]

1 hour ago, jackdd said:

In this case he has only one option: Get another education visa

With an extension for being a Thai national or getting a tourist visa, or a visa exempt he would always end up working illegally. I would not risk being deported for an internship, then he better stops after 3 months.

The friends son is Thai and has the same rights as any other Thai to work. He can't be deported unless his Thai nationality is revoked, and that's not going to happen under any normal circumstances.

[elviajero]

4 hours ago, nahkit said:

He's talking about doing a border run to Laos but when I spoke to him on the phone I got the impression that there was no way he could come up with 20,000 baht if asked to show it.

He's unlikely to be asked to show 20K. If he was, and can show proof of his Thai nationality, they couldn't legally deny entry even without a Thai passport.

 

The best option is to get a 1 year extension as a Thai to sort out his immigration status. 

 

He doesn't need a work permit.

 

How old is he?

[Swimman]

18 minutes ago, elviajero said:

The friends son is Thai and has the same rights as any other Thai to work. He can't be deported unless his Thai nationality is revoked, and that's not going to happen under any normal circumstances.

Only if he has a Thai passport or another means of proving citizenship. One suspects he does not have a Thai passport or there would be no need for visas etc 

[nahkit]

8 minutes ago, elviajero said:

He's unlikely to be asked to show 20K. If he was, and can show proof of his Thai nationality, they couldn't legally deny entry even without a Thai passport.

 

The best option is to get a 1 year extension as a Thai to sort out his immigration status. 

 

He doesn't need a work permit.

 

How old is he?

Twenty-two

[elviajero]

1 minute ago, nahkit said:

Twenty-two

Then he should do is go and apply for a Thai passport. At that age he doesn't need his parents permission.

[elviajero]

5 minutes ago, Swimman said:

Only if he has a Thai passport or another means of proving citizenship. One suspects he does have  Thai passport or there would be no need for visas ect 

It's confirmed in the OP that he doesn't have a Thai passport. How many Thais do you think don't have Thai passports? Proving his citizenship, with a Thai parent, and family in Isaan shouldn't be an issue.

[Swimman]

1 minute ago, elviajero said:

Then he should do is go and apply for a Thai passport. At that age he doesn't need his parents permission.

Wouldnt he need relevant proof of being Thai?  Bith certificate, Tabian Ban entry, ID card?  

[Swimman]

2 minutes ago, elviajero said:

It's confirmed in the OP that he doesn't have a Thai passport. How many Thais do you think don't have Thai passports? Proving his citizenship, with a Thai parent, and family in Isaan shouldn't be an issue.

With respect, there is no mention of this person having parents in Esaan and neither is there any mention of him having any documentation which proves him to be Thai. If your advice is to be followed the documentation will have to be provided. 

[elviajero]

1 minute ago, Swimman said:

Wouldnt he need relevant proof of being Thai?  Bith certificate, Tabian Ban entry, ID card?  

Yes. I was commenting on the possibility of being deported, which cannot happen all the time he is Thai. He became Thai at birth regardless of any supporting paperwork confirming that nationality. If required, proof of being Thai should be easy. He is in Thailand already and has all the same rights as any other Thai.

[Swimman]

1 minute ago, elviajero said:

Yes. I was commenting on the possibility of being deported, which cannot happen all the time he is Thai. He became Thai at birth regardless of any supporting paperwork confirming that nationality. If required, proof of being Thai should be easy. He is in Thailand already and has all the same rights as any other Thai.

Let's hope you are right ----  Using your argument anyone without documentation from anywhere in SEA could claim to be Thai.

[elviajero]

2 minutes ago, Swimman said:

With respect, there is no mention of this person having parents in Esaan and neither is there any mention of him having any documentation which proves him to be Thai. If your advice is to be followed the documentation will have to be provided. 

I didn't say he had parents in Isaan!

[elviajero]

1 minute ago, Swimman said:

Let's hope you are right ----  Using your argument anyone without documentation from anywhere in SEA could claim to be Thai.

I didn't say he wouldn't need documentation.

[jackdd]

5 minutes ago, elviajero said:

Yes. I was commenting on the possibility of being deported, which cannot happen all the time he is Thai. He became Thai at birth regardless of any supporting paperwork confirming that nationality. If required, proof of being Thai should be easy. He is in Thailand already and has all the same rights as any other Thai.

Well, not necessarily completely deported, but at least a few days in IDC until somebody of his family supplies proof that he is Thai, nothing that i would fancy.

[elviajero]

54 minutes ago, jackdd said:

Well, not necessarily completely deported, but at least a few days in IDC until somebody of his family supplies proof that he is Thai, nothing that i would fancy.

The IDC is a possibility depending on how things played out, but it’s highly unlikely.

 

Detention is not deportation.