Cannot apply for Thai work-permit because there is no void stamp on previous non immigrant dependent visa.

[Ama Rylls]

Hi All,

 

I would be grateful for some advice in this matter. 

I am currently in Thailand on a business visa, I had a non-immigrant dependent visa last year through my dad's company. 

When I left the country last year to return with a different visa, the immigration officer at the airport did not stamp my visa with the infamous void stamp (see example attached) - A regulation that came out in July 2018 when I left the country so it applies to me.

I spoke to the HR person at my BOI company, who told me that my application for a work-permit will be rejected because my old non-immigrant visa does not have a void stamp, even though it has a used stamp.

I am also told that the void stamp needs to be acquired before the visa expires, and since the visa expired last year there is no way of getting it now at chaengwathana. 

My options are to leave the country and come back with a fresh new passport so they cannot see the previous stamp was not voided. 

 

The other thing is that my HR person told me in the past they had to use an external immigrations consultant for roughly THB 60,000 to get the old visa void stamped.

This rule seems ridiculous to me because I left the country before that visa expired, and came back with a different visa - nothing illegal. The immigration officer simply did not render the old visa void with a stamp - their mistake! 

 

Any ideas how I can get a void stamp?

[ubonjoe]

If you had an extension or non-o visa as a dependent based upon your father's extension of stay there is no requirement for them to be cancelled or voided. A visa stamped used means it is not valid for anything which is same as being canceled or voided.

It think they are confusing your past visa/extension with an extension of stay based upon working that has to be canceled. 

It seems somebody may be scamming you for a 60k baht fee,

[Ama Rylls]

Thanks ubonjoe, 

 

I appreciate your help!

I ran your points by my HR person, who told me that they don't care what type of visa it was anymore. Every visa needs a void stamp, regardless of employment visa or not, and everyone has to go to chaeng wattana before it is expired. 

Now since I did not do this, HR is saying that they will not accept my work-permit application.

 

According to HR - there was a case in my company with another person of the same nationality not having a void stamp on a previous non-immigrant visa, albeit it wasn't a dependent visa, and the case was rejected. 

So the options recommended to me are - leave the country and come back with a new business visa on an entirely new passport. 

 

Or try to pay a consultant who can't guarantee helping me even for a fee of 60k+ baht. 

Any truth to this?

[ubonjoe]

5 minutes ago, Ama Rylls said:

Now since I did not do this, HR is saying that they will not accept my work-permit application.

Perhaps you should go to the work permit office and ask about the purported requirement.

Even for those working that did not cancel there extension had no problem getting the work permit application done. It is immigration that has stated it had to be canceled.

The work permit office does not care about your past visas or extension of stay only a work permit from before that was not canceled.

 

[Dnyy]

Can't you just apply and if they reject your application you can proceed with plan B? 

[Ama Rylls]

1 hour ago, Dnyy said:

Can't you just apply and if they reject your application you can proceed with plan B? 

The HR person is unwilling to make the application on my behalf as they are strapped for money already, and they won't want to spend THB 12k++ supposedly knowing the application will be rejected. 

[KarlS]

12 minutes ago, Ama Rylls said:

The HR person is unwilling to make the application on my behalf as they are strapped for money already, and they won't want to spend THB 12k++ supposedly knowing the application will be rejected. 

It begins to sound as tho a new job is the answer. 

[Dnyy]

13 minutes ago, Ama Rylls said:

The HR person is unwilling to make the application on my behalf as they are strapped for money already, and they won't want to spend THB 12k++ supposedly knowing the application will be rejected. 

Seems high, I thought a WP is somewhere around 3,000 THB.

 

https://www.interactivethailand.com/corporate/thailand-work-permit/

[Ama Rylls]

5 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

Perhaps you should go to the work permit office and ask about the purported requirement.

Even for those working that did not cancel there extension had no problem getting the work permit application done. It is immigration that has stated it had to be canceled.

The work permit office does not care about your past visas or extension of stay only a work permit from before that was not canceled.

 

sure that is a good idea, I will give it a shot.

 

[Ama Rylls]

2 hours ago, Dnyy said:

Seems high, I thought a WP is somewhere around 3,000 THB.

 

https://www.interactivethailand.com/corporate/thailand-work-permit/

not what I'm told - I will look into it, thank you for your help.