foreigners with Thai work permit stranded abroad

[luk AJ]

My wife has a Thai work permit for the last 20 years. when flight restrictions to Thailand were imposed she was on a business trip abroad.

Her work permit will expire on June 6. She will not be able to enter Thailand before this date. Will she be able to enter Thailand on a expired WP or what will she need to do before flying back?

[northsouthdevide]

Again, I'm by no means an expert, but I don't think you enter on a work permit. 

As far as I know, you enter on a visa, then apply for a work permit in Thailand. 

I think the visa must be none B, but I'm sure someone will come along later and correct me if I'm wrong. 

Also, I'm sure common sense will play some part in the way things pan out in the future. 

These are unprecedented times, so we're all watching to see what happens next with our own situations. 

[blackcab]

A work permit does not grant entry to the country; instead it allows someone in the country to work. Does your wife have a visa (obtained from a Thai embassy or consulate outside the country) or an extension of stay and a re-entry permit (obtained from an immigration office inside Thailand)?

 

What is the expiry date of the visa or the extension of stay?

[ubonjoe]

Until on or about May 30th it is unknown what will be needed to enter the country or if it will be possible then.

[luk AJ]

1 hour ago, blackcab said:

A work permit does not grant entry to the country; instead it allows someone in the country to work. Does your wife have a visa (obtained from a Thai embassy or consulate outside the country) or an extension of stay and a re-entry permit (obtained from an immigration office inside Thailand)?

 

What is the expiry date of the visa or the extension of stay?

I think that a work permit is always connected to a visa, as she is already working and living in the country for the last 20 years it is an extension of stay obtained by the Thai immigration office. The question is how is she supposed to re-enter Thailand once air space is open knowing her WP will be expired at that time.

 

[blackcab]

When does your wife's extension of stay expire? It is this which will determine if she is admitted into the country.

 

If her work permit is expired, but her extension of stay is active, once she is in the country she will be able to talk to the Ministry of Labour to see if they can help her backdate her application so she has a continuous work permit history. If this can happen then her next extension of stay can be made at immigration as normal.  Of course if your wife obtains her extension of stay and her work permit from the One Stop at Chamchuri Square then her work permit and her extension of stay will probably expire on the same day so there will be no chance to do this.

 

If your wife's extension of stay expires before she can enter the country then she will have to make a fresh application for a work permit and and fresh application for an extension of stay.

 

What you really need to know is the expiry date of your wife's extension of stay (which will be stamped in her passport).

 

[garygooner]

Look at blackcabs comment again. When does her visa extension expire? If it's not for a while then she'll be able to return when there are flights. Her company will then have to apply for a new wp I believe. 

[Kalorymetr]

Why won't she just let her HR figure this out?

[luk AJ]

22 minutes ago, blackcab said:

When does your wife's extension of stay expire? It is this which will determine if she is admitted into the country.

 

If her work permit is expired, but her extension of stay is active, once she is in the country she will be able to talk to the Ministry of Labour to see if they can help her backdate her application so she has a continuous work permit history. If this can happen then her next extension of stay can be made at immigration as normal.  Of course if your wife obtains her extension of stay and her work permit from the One Stop at Chamchuri Square then her work permit and her extension of stay will probably expire on the same day so there will be no chance to do this.

 

If your wife's extension of stay expires before she can enter the country then she will have to make a fresh application for a work permit and and fresh application for an extension of stay.

 

What you really need to know is the expiry date of your wife's extension of stay (which will be stamped in her passport).

 

Yes Chamchuri Square indeed same expiry date... June 6

[blackcab]

20 minutes ago, luk AJ said:

Yes Chamchuri Square indeed same expiry date... June 6

 

In this case I'm sorry to say but at this time there are no special allowances being given. If your wife does not enter Thailand and renew by June 6 then she will need to make a fresh application at Chamchuri Square.

 

It would be worth getting your wife's company to keep re-checking with the One Stop Service, as they may decide to make allowances - such as allowing the application to proceed without the applicant being in the country.

[luk AJ]

7 minutes ago, blackcab said:

 

In this case I'm sorry to say but at this time there are no special allowances being given. If your wife does not enter Thailand and renew by June 6 then she will need to make a fresh application at Chamchuri Square.

 

It would be worth getting your wife's company to keep re-checking with the One Stop Service, as they may decide to make allowances - such as allowing the application to proceed without the applicant being in the country.

Blackcab and others, thank you very much for your contributions, indeed it should be the job of the HR department but it may be that they don't check all options. I suppose many foreigners could be in the same position as my wife because many choose to return to their home country and didn't expect the long lockdown.  

[Kalorymetr]

I am in the exact same position, but I am waiting till the middle of the month to see if Thai government lifts the ban for WP holders. If not, my HR will contact immigration/embassy and figure this out and they are in the know I tell you.

I will keep you posted.

Edited May 8, 2020 by Kalorymetr

[luk AJ]

8 minutes ago, Kalorymetr said:

I am in the exact same position, but I am waiting till the middle of the month to see if Thai government lifts the ban for WP holders. If not, my HR will contact immigration/embassy and figure this out and they are in the know I tell you.

I will keep you posted.

great, thanks!

[Mops59]

As far as I know with a valid visa and work permit you at able to return. But have to quarantine for 2 weeks in hotel in Bangkok at your own expense. Ask the embassy for update info about repatriation.

[luk AJ]

What if you arrive with a Covid-free certificate at hand?

[BritTim]

23 minutes ago, Mops59 said:

As far as I know with a valid visa and work permit you at able to return. But have to quarantine for 2 weeks in hotel in Bangkok at your own expense. Ask the embassy for update info about repatriation.

Right now, only Thai nationals can return, and then only under repatriation agreed with the embassy. Short of a special exception granted by the Prime Minister, even permanent residents of Thailand cannot return. Maybe, there will be limited exceptions in the June/July time frame, but I would not count on it.

[BritTim]

21 minutes ago, luk AJ said:

What if you arrive with a Covid-free certificate at hand?

Unless a Thai national, you will not be able to board a plane to Thailand. You could try arriving by private yacht and scuttling it so you must be allowed ashore. Failing that, it is difficult to see how a return can be arranged, regardless of any kind of papers you might offer.

[FritsSikkink]

28 minutes ago, Mops59 said:

As far as I know with a valid visa and work permit you at able to return. But have to quarantine for 2 weeks in hotel in Bangkok at your own expense. Ask the embassy for update info about repatriation.

There are no flights for foreigners to enter the country.

[brewsterbudgen]

21 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

There are no flights for foreigners to enter the country.

Hopefully next month...

[Kalorymetr]

One's HR could negotiate with the embassy to have their "essential" employee let on the repatriation flight - given there are any from your country or country you are allowed to travel. 

 

Question is, what is cheaper for the company - new visa/WP or this.

I think everything has been said here, now we wait.

[FritsSikkink]

40 minutes ago, Kalorymetr said:

One's HR could negotiate with the embassy to have their "essential" employee let on the repatriation flight - given there are any from your country or country you are allowed to travel. 

 

Question is, what is cheaper for the company - new visa/WP or this.

I think everything has been said here, now we wait.

With what embassy? 

[BritTim]

51 minutes ago, Kalorymetr said:

One's HR could negotiate with the embassy to have their "essential" employee let on the repatriation flight - given there are any from your country or country you are allowed to travel. 

 

Question is, what is cheaper for the company - new visa/WP or this.

I think everything has been said here, now we wait.

The embassy has no say in the matter. Only the Prime Minister can give an exemption to the total ban on foreigners entering Thailand at this time.

[impulse]

As I recall, once I got onto a WP, my extension of stay was tied to my WP.  When the WP expired, or if the company terminated me and cancelled my WP, my extension of stay was no longer valid and I needed to get a 7 day extension for some time to leave the country.  (It was one of the precarious conditions for a lot of expats whose companies didn't want to deal with things like severance issues.  Cancel their WP, and they have to leave the country and come back on their own dime and their own time to fight us at the Labor Board)

 

After my WP expired and I left the country, I came back several times on visa exempt.  Eezy peezy then (2018), but who knows into the future?  And obviously, on a visa exempt status with no WP, my legal employment options were non-existent.  There were agents claiming to be able to expedite long term visas starting out on visa exempt, but I never bothered so I can't say whether they could come through.

 

I'm sure there are thousands of expats and hundreds of companies in the same boat as the OP's wife, so I hope they come up with a reasonable policy to re-activate WP's and the associated extensions of stay without onerous requirements like going all the way back home and re-applying for a qualifying visa.  Especially now with insurance requirements or Covid certifications and whatever else they may implement.   But I haven't seen anything yet.

[EricTh]

Is it a big problem to apply for a new work permit after 1 June?

 

 

[Kalorymetr]

1 hour ago, BritTim said:

The embassy has no say in the matter. Only the Prime Minister can give an exemption to the total ban on foreigners entering Thailand at this time.

Yes, ofcourse, but no one will go to him directly. This will be decided by one of his minions, and embassy could ask that person.

[luk AJ]

2 hours ago, EricTh said:

Is it a big problem to apply for a new work permit after 1 June?

 

 

yes, a new WP means to start the whole procedure again. If done in time, it is an easy extension.

 

[luk AJ]

2 hours ago, impulse said:

As I recall, once I got onto a WP, my extension of stay was tied to my WP.  When the WP expired, or if the company terminated me and cancelled my WP, my extension of stay was no longer valid and I needed to get a 7 day extension for some time to leave the country.  (It was one of the precarious conditions for a lot of expats whose companies didn't want to deal with things like severance issues.  Cancel their WP, and they have to leave the country and come back on their own dime and their own time to fight us at the Labor Board)

 

After my WP expired and I left the country, I came back several times on visa exempt.  Eezy peezy then (2018), but who knows into the future?  And obviously, on a visa exempt status with no WP, my legal employment options were non-existent.  There were agents claiming to be able to expedite long term visas starting out on visa exempt, but I never bothered so I can't say whether they could come through.

 

I'm sure there are thousands of expats and hundreds of companies in the same boat as the OP's wife, so I hope they come up with a reasonable policy to re-activate WP's and the associated extensions of stay without onerous requirements like going all the way back home and re-applying for a qualifying visa.  Especially now with insurance requirements or Covid certifications and whatever else they may implement.   But I haven't seen anything yet.

Thank you Impulse, very to the point and indeed I hope the authorities will find a more easy and practical solution..

[luk AJ]

5 hours ago, FritsSikkink said:

There are no flights for foreigners to enter the country.

this is exactly the point, there are no flights back to Thailand to be in time for extension of WP and visa. Repatriation is for locals not for foreigners wanting to come back to Thailand..

[blackcab]

For those people who think otherwise, I'll make this very clear:

 

Unless you are a Thai citizen, you will not be admitted into Thailand. You can have a Covid19 free certificate, a million dollar health insurance policy, a work permit, permanent residence, a Thai spouse and Thai children, and you are still not going to be admitted.

 

Entry is for Thai citizens only, and even then only on a pre-arranged repatriation flight or pre-arranged land border crossing. There is an exception if you can get personally approved by the Prime Minister, but you are going to have to be extremely, extremely well connected to get that.

 

Understand that the repatriation of Thai citizens is the government's number one priority, above all else. The government has publicly pledged to leave no Thai citizen behind.

 

There are limited state quarantine facilities in Thailand, and the number of repatriations of Thai citizens is being managed so that there are adequate quarantine facilities for Thai citizens when they land.

 

As a result of this you would have to be very special indeed to be placed ahead of the many, many Thai citizens who have registered to be repatriated and who are still waiting to have their repatriation to Thailand confirmed.

[scorecard]

17 hours ago, blackcab said:

When does your wife's extension of stay expire? It is this which will determine if she is admitted into the country.

 

If her work permit is expired, but her extension of stay is active, once she is in the country she will be able to talk to the Ministry of Labour to see if they can help her backdate her application so she has a continuous work permit history. If this can happen then her next extension of stay can be made at immigration as normal.  Of course if your wife obtains her extension of stay and her work permit from the One Stop at Chamchuri Square then her work permit and her extension of stay will probably expire on the same day so there will be no chance to do this.

 

If your wife's extension of stay expires before she can enter the country then she will have to make a fresh application for a work permit and and fresh application for an extension of stay.

 

What you really need to know is the expiry date of your wife's extension of stay (which will be stamped in her passport).

 

 

There are plenty of officers at the ministry of labour who speak good English and they don't bite. Why not give them a call and get some real advice and perhaps even put some course of action into place quickly in regard to the work permit issues.

 

An alternative could be to call the ministry of labour complaints centre (at Din Daeng), again plenty of good English and they are good listeners (I know from experience, I went there with a buddy a couple of years back). Never judgmental, always very helpful to get your case sorted or get you into a different relevant path re the work permit items.

 

Edited May 9, 2020 by scorecard