How has Immigration adjusted requirements for work permit/visa extension renewals during COVID?

[Misty]

Hi, has anyone renewed an annual work permit/visa extension recently?  How has Immigration adjusted their requirements in the current environment?  The reason I ask is that the official word is for people to minimize interactions, stay home, work from home, not overwhelm hospitals, etc

 

So does Immigration still want things like:

 

1) proof of a hospital blood test for tertiary syphilis

2) photographs of employees at office

3) face-to-face meeting with work permit/visa extension applicant

 

If so, any idea as to why, or if this may be adjusted soon?

 

Thank you, Misty

[problemfarang]

working in thailand for 14 years with work permit for 14 years...

 

never did any of your 3 item list.

All i did is went to the local clinic and told them i need a medical check for the work permit, and they do their things for... 5 min i think (180 baht). Then give me a piece of paper. Thats all. No blood test nothing. About pictures of the work or else.. never did a such thing. face to face.. again never.

 

Are you sure about your source or where ever you heard these 3 items? Well actually september is my work permit renewal time but im pretty sure nothing changed. 

 

If i were you i wouldnt worry about this. Although because of covid they might ask covid test result and its only maybe. 

[Misty]

39 minutes ago, problemfarang said:

working in thailand for 14 years with work permit for 14 years...

 

never did any of your 3 item list.

All i did is went to the local clinic and told them i need a medical check for the work permit, and they do their things for... 5 min i think (180 baht). Then give me a piece of paper. Thats all. No blood test nothing. About pictures of the work or else.. never did a such thing. face to face.. again never.

 

Are you sure about your source or where ever you heard these 3 items? Well actually september is my work permit renewal time but im pretty sure nothing changed. 

 

If i were you i wouldnt worry about this. Although because of covid they might ask covid test result and its only maybe. 

Thanks, I've worked in Thailand with a work permit for 28 years - for many years at multinational organizations in international institutional finance, for the past 15 years for my own company.  The requirements have certainly changed over the years, and depending on the type of company, whether one stop service center can be used, if the firm has BOI privileges, etc. 

 

I am sure that these have been the requirements for companies such as ours at Chaeng Wattana in recent years.  But I can't comment on your situation or why it's different. 

 

BOI privileged companies or other Immigration offices may have different requirements. I'm checking here to see if anyone knows of changes specifically due to COVID, and at CW.

 

Not worried, just making sure we're prepared.

Edited July 13, 2021 by Misty

[problemfarang]

well, good luck. hope all will be ok for you ????

[allane]

Strange post.  It looks to me that you have come on here hoping to find a stranger who will tell you that some Immigration requirements have been relaxed.  Are you then going to tell Immigration, if asked, "Some guy on a discussion forum said...." ?

If you want to know what Immigration's requirements are, ask them.

[Misty]

28 minutes ago, allane said:

Strange post.  It looks to me that you have come on here hoping to find a stranger who will tell you that some Immigration requirements have been relaxed.  Are you then going to tell Immigration, if asked, "Some guy on a discussion forum said...." ?

If you want to know what Immigration's requirements are, ask them.

Thank you, allane.  No, that's not how we use this subforum. Of course we've already been asking through the channels available to us. No useful answers as yet.

 

You may be unfamiliar with this particular subforum, but there are several folks who post here who have better channels available to them than we do. They have been quite helpful over the years on a variety of Labour Dept / Immigration related issues.

 

 

[Tom Parkinson]

I can’t comment on visa extensions, but I went to Muang Thong Thani to do my 90-day reporting on Monday morning, and it was business as usual. No changes of any sort in effect. 

[MarleyMarl]

I renewed my work permit about 2 months ago. I can't speak for going there, because my lawyer handles it for me.

 

But for the last 2 years, against my lawyers advice, I've just been going to a clinic for the medical, no blood test or messing around and was accepted just fine. Previously I would go to a proper hospital and spend half the day getting a medical.

[Misty]

1 minute ago, MarleyMarl said:

I renewed my work permit about 2 months ago. I can't speak for going there, because my lawyer handles it for me.

 

But for the last 2 years, against my lawyers advice, I've just been going to a clinic for the medical, no blood test or messing around and was accepted just fine. Previously I would go to a proper hospital and spend half the day getting a medical.

Many thanks for that. We went through a period of getting the medical done at a clinic with no blood test. Last year there was a change and the Immigration officer wanted to see a copy of a blood test.

 

Are you able to use the One Stop Service Center?  Years ago when I was a director at a major financial institution that qualified for One Stop, I never went to Immigration in person. That changed when I became a director/owner of my own small firm. 

 

Nowadays I don't use a law firm, just our accounting firm.

[NoshowJones]

On 7/13/2021 at 3:31 PM, allane said:

Strange post.  It looks to me that you have come on here hoping to find a stranger who will tell you that some Immigration requirements have been relaxed.  Are you then going to tell Immigration, if asked, "Some guy on a discussion forum said...." ?

If you want to know what Immigration's requirements are, ask them.

Even that's not much use sometimes rules can vary from day to day, also, interpretation of the rules can vary between officers.

[Misty]

Does anyone have a suggestion on where to get the required visa headshot photos (4x6cm, white background)?  I have plenty left from past years, but the photo needs to be in the last 6 months.  The normal place I would go is closed, at least for now.