Am I in huge trouble?

[DjChris28]

Hello,

 

So in March 2020, I had started my new job in Thailand. Had an immigration B visa and also a work permit. After a few weeks staying in Thailand, the COVID crisis came and everything started going into lockdown. I was having a problem finding a place to rent since the Thai's were actually rejecting renting to foreigners and my time in my hotel which the company put me up in was running out. My government back in Australia was advising all Australians to come home. They weren't clear on if this included expats. Due to the job that I was in (It was in the tourism sector) and due to fear of me losing my job eventually with no planes flying back to my home country and then having no access to income and potentially having to live off the street with no money, I did the unthinkable. I booked a plane and literally flew the <deleted> out of there without cancelling the work permit or visa (Understand I was essentially running for my life on what I thought would be the last planes out of Thailand to my country for awhile). 

 

I contacted the company hours after I left and told them I had left the country. They weren't happy to say the least but they cancelled remotely my work permit. They also gave me a letter which I have to bring next time I reenter Thailand. It's all in Thai so I don't know what it says. When I got back home to Australia, everything was locked down. Only now as I live in Melbourne where restrictions have been lifted can I now go to a Thailand consulate here. To this day, there is still a immigration b visa in my passport that technically hasn't been cancelled in the normal way.

 

I'm thinking of going to the Thailand consulate here in Melbourne to explain the situation. Should I be doing this?

 

Will I have problems reenter Thailand in the future because of this? I will want to get an elite visa too in the future. I hope I haven't blown my chances.

Edited December 13, 2020 by DjChris28

[ubonjoe]

You extension became invalid on the day you left the country. No problem to enter the country again.

The only problem that might occur is if you want to apply for another extension based upon working since you did not formally cancel your extension. Since you have a letter from your former employer stating the day your job ended you should not have a problem

[FritsSikkink]

2 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

 Since you have a letter from your former employer stating the day your job ended you should not have a problem

"They also gave me a letter which I have to bring next time I reenter Thailand. It's all in Thai so I don't know what it says."

[ubonjoe]

2 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

"They also gave me a letter which I have to bring next time I reenter Thailand. It's all in Thai so I don't know what it says."

I am under the assumption that it is a termination letter. I cannot think of anything else it could be.

He has not broken any rules or regulations. People leave the country all the time without canceling their extensions.

[Natai Beach]

Take a photo of the letter and post it here. 
I will read it and let you know what it says.

 

Or go to a Thai restaurant in Melbourne and ask them.

[Lacrimas]

1 hour ago, DjChris28 said:

Hello,

 

So in March 2020, I had started my new job in Thailand. Had an immigration B visa and also a work permit. After a few weeks staying in Thailand, the COVID crisis came and everything started going into lockdown. I was having a problem finding a place to rent since the Thai's were actually rejecting renting to foreigners and my time in my hotel which the company put me up in was running out. My government back in Australia was advising all Australians to come home. They weren't clear on if this included expats. Due to the job that I was in (It was in the tourism sector) and due to fear of me losing my job eventually with no planes flying back to my home country and then having no access to income and potentially having to live off the street with no money, I did the unthinkable. I booked a plane and literally flew the <deleted> out of there without cancelling the work permit or visa (Understand I was essentially running for my life on what I thought would be the last planes out of Thailand to my country for awhile). 

 

I contacted the company hours after I left and told them I had left the country. They weren't happy to say the least but they cancelled remotely my work permit. They also gave me a letter which I have to bring next time I reenter Thailand. It's all in Thai so I don't know what it says. When I got back home to Australia, everything was locked down. Only now as I live in Melbourne where restrictions have been lifted can I now go to a Thailand consulate here. To this day, there is still a immigration b visa in my passport that technically hasn't been cancelled in the normal way.

 

I'm thinking of going to the Thailand consulate here in Melbourne to explain the situation. Should I be doing this?

 

Will I have problems reenter Thailand in the future because of this? I will want to get an elite visa too in the future. I hope I haven't blown my chances.

 

I did the same and at the immigration they didn't initially allow me to extend the spouse visa I came back to Thailand with. Always close the loop. If the company gave you the letter show it to them the moment you extend your initial visa you come to thailand with (or to the elite visa office) 

[Ventenio]

i'm sure the termination letter means nothing....90%

 

BUT there is a form after they cancel your work permit.... I think they CAN check a few boxes which means things were not good....

 

maybe this gives you headaches going forward....

 

but since it's in the tourism sector, my feeling is this isn't applicable

 

i wouldn't worry about anything.  consider yourself with no visa, and start over 

[tonray]

Google translate app has a photo translation feature...works a charm, I use it to read all the noticed we get in the Moobaan from the Security/management staff.

[DjChris28]

Ok just checked and did a translation. Yes it's a termination letter. Nothing bad on it, just says my name and the dates my visa finished and "books sent to BOI"

[ronaldo0]

I left in June and was going to return within a few months but I am still in uk and my work permit expired in October and my visa expires in 5 days . I read that I will be fined 8000bht for not cancelling the work permit and also read that unless I said different it would be renewed. Does anyone know the correct answer ?

The work permit was through a company I had with my wife that my house is under and we added the work permit for a catering service , but due to Covid I won’t need it until tourism returns. 

[MushyPeas]

Trouble started when as a grown man you refer to yourself as a "DJ". 

[tomazbodner]

15 minutes ago, ronaldo0 said:

I left in June and was going to return within a few months but I am still in uk and my work permit expired in October and my visa expires in 5 days . I read that I will be fined 8000bht for not cancelling the work permit and also read that unless I said different it would be renewed. Does anyone know the correct answer ?

The work permit was through a company I had with my wife that my house is under and we added the work permit for a catering service , but due to Covid I won’t need it until tourism returns. 

I believe it was 2000 baht. Or "at least 2000 baht"... something like that.

 

If you were doing it in Bangkok at Ministry of Labour, and you applied for a new work permit, they'll send you to police station behind it, to clear the fine (20 minutes) and come back before they do a new one. At least my Korean colleague that I was helping with work permit after she didn't cancel one from previous employer in several years, had that procedure. They didn't make any fuss out of it. It was 2000 baht for her.

[RickG16]

Where do you DJ Chris?

[ronaldo0]

5 minutes ago, tomazbodner said:

I believe it was 2000 baht. Or "at least 2000 baht"... something like that.

 

If you were doing it in Bangkok at Ministry of Labour, and you applied for a new work permit, they'll send you to police station behind it, to clear the fine (20 minutes) and come back before they do a new one. At least my Korean colleague that I was helping with work permit after she didn't cancel one from previous employer in several years, had that procedure. They didn't make any fuss out of it. It was 2000 baht for her.

Yeah it was someone in samui I think that wrote it and they said they were going to have to go to surrathanni to pay the 8000bht fine . ????

Will be getting robbed via using ASQ upon return anyway so will assume I will be paying something for not cancelling the work permit. My wife did say before that to cancel it she was told it was 2000bht and needed to be done two weeks before expiry date . 

[tomazbodner]

4 hours ago, ronaldo0 said:

Yeah it was someone in samui I think that wrote it and they said they were going to have to go to surrathanni to pay the 8000bht fine . ????

Will be getting robbed via using ASQ upon return anyway so will assume I will be paying something for not cancelling the work permit. My wife did say before that to cancel it she was told it was 2000bht and needed to be done two weeks before expiry date . 

Last time I was cancelling work permit, I did it on last day of work. I had to print out my own 2 copies of cancellation form, and they punched through the work permit, stamped one copy of that form and gave it back to me, and kept the other. Certainly nobody said anything about doing it 2 weeks before.

[Sydebolle]

Making a runner was not the best idea in your life; you should have played it by the book - to start with. 

Get the letter translated by a competent person. Then look at your options; whatever you hear, tourism will not need expatriates like you anytime soon as they have to redefine the product "Thailand" first again and might carry on being focussed on masses rather than quality tourism (GIT over FIT, in technical terms). 

Your visa expired the moment you left and if your employer was nice, they just returned the work permit to the labour department; otherwise there is unfinished business there. If latter just went under the big carpet of "mai pen rai" I cannot tell you though. 

And, next time, you might want to leave the job in an orderly fashion; you made a less-than-perfect example for possible successors. How can the foreign business community always complain over the Thai attitude of walking/running away if caucasians are doing the very same? Your employer would have had to live with your decision but it would have been done the way it should be done - my unimportant grain of salt to the subject! 

[NCFC]

On 12/13/2020 at 12:20 PM, DjChris28 said:

 

 

Will I have problems reenter Thailand in the future because of this? I will want to get an elite visa too in the future. I hope I haven't blown my chances.

When my first job finished I left Thailand without realising I needed to cancel my work permit. When I came back a couple of years later to start another job, they just sent me to the police next door to pay 1,000 baht fine (A few years ago). Never any problem with anyone about it. You'll be OK, especially as it's all related to Covid times.