Hello all,

So I'm in a bit of a pickle. I'm a UK citizen who entered Thailand on a non-imm type O visa (multiple entry, valid until april 2022) on the grounds that I have a Thai spouse. The 90 period expired and I could not leave/reenter due to COVID restrictions so I chose to extend it at the immigration office. My wife could not make it with me due to a family emergency so the officer advised I extend on a COVID extension visa to prevent overstaying. I wasn't warned that doing this would prevent me from going back and changing/extending my type O visa normally. So now I have to leave and renter the country some time this month, as I'm not able to apply for a work permit on this useless COVID extension visa. 

I am not vaccinated and accept I will have to do a 14 day quarantine here in Thailand upon my re-entry, my question is what is the quickest (and cheapest) way to leave and re-enter? Most countries have their own border restrictions which involve quarantine, I would love to do a land border run but it seems the land borders are all closed? 

So far, it seems I will be able to fly to mexico and fly back immediatley without quarantine at the mex end, but this is a very long and costly flight, surely there is a better way to do this? 

Any advice is appreciated. 

Moved to here.

If possible you should put 400k baht in a Thai bank in your name only for 2 months and the apply for a one year extension of stay based upon marriage.

You could apply for another 60 day covid 19 extension or a 60 day extension to visit your wife to have the 400k baht in the bank for 2 months.

When you add up the costs of flying to another country and returning to get a new 90 day entry and the cost of 2 weeks quarantine it could be close to the 400k baht needed.

OP, slightly surprised that the IO didn't suggest plan as outlined by ubonjoe.

The added. option is that you still have the 60day (to visit Thai wife) along with option to obtain covid extensions.

In that time you can organize the 400k.

Any plan to exit Thailand is just a crazy plan. 

17 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

OP, slightly surprised that the IO didn't suggest plan as outlined by ubonjoe.

Reading the OP, I get the impression that the immigration officer has told him that the options given by Joe are unavailable, and his only option is to leave Thailand. This should, of course, not be true. However, the OP could have a problem if his immigration office is being obstructive. The practical solution might be to use an agent.

3 minutes ago, BritTim said:

Reading the OP, I get the impression that the immigration officer has told him that the options given by Joe are unavailable, and his only option is to leave Thailand. This should, of course, not be true. However, the OP could have a problem if his immigration office is being obstructive. The practical solution might be to use an agent.

I think the problem he had was due to his wife not being with him.

That is required for the 60 day extension to visit him and for the one year extension.

The IO in my experience wouldn't know his a*** from his elbow let alone how to advise the OP on his best way forward.

He only wanted to get him out of the office in the quickest possible time, sadly their is little or no customer service training in the IB.

1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

Moved to here.

If possible you should put 400k baht in a Thai bank in your name only for 2 months and the apply for a one year extension of stay based upon marriage.

You could apply for another 60 day covid 19 extension or a 60 day extension to visit your wife to have the 400k baht in the bank for 2 months.

When you add up the costs of flying to another country and returning to get a new 90 day entry and the cost of 2 weeks quarantine it could be close to the 400k baht needed.

So i think for extent this visa he must apply 30 to 45 day before expires and his visa will expire april 2022 

so how because now AUG 2021 ? 

1 hour ago, DrJack54 said:

OP, slightly surprised that the IO didn't suggest plan as outlined by ubonjoe.

The added. option is that you still have the 60day (to visit Thai wife) along with option to obtain covid extensions.

In that time you can organize the 400k.

Any plan to exit Thailand is just a crazy plan. 

Totally agree with my spiritual guide Ubon Joe n Dr J .... Oooommmmm shanti Oooommmm lol ???? No need to leave at all.

1 hour ago, mehrdad said:

So i think for extent this visa he must apply 30 to 45 day before expires and his visa will expire april 2022 

so how because now AUG 2021 ? 

The visa expiration date means nothing now since he already in country. A visa cannot be extended.

That only date that is relevant now is his permit to stay date he got when entering the country. That is what he would be extending.

The 30 and 45 days is only the earliest day the application can be done. A extension of stay can be applied for up to the day his permit to stay ends.

Thanks for your reply Joe,

I've got the 400k in bank, only moved last week, we attempted to apply for a marriage extension yesterday but were denied because it's not been in my account long enough (we were advised that we might be able to get away with it if I also showed my job offer/contract showing my pending income over 40k, but no luck). 

My dilema is that I have a great job offer that is willing to wait until the start of september for me, but not much longer, so I'm really trying to get my visa sorted before then. I should be able to start it remotely while locked up in hotel quarantine. 

Some more planning shows that a flight to dubai and back again will be an option. Dubai only require a 72h valid PCR test for entry, no visa. I'll just lurk in the airport for 12h and return back to thailand. I have a friend in the hotel so total costs will be probably about 60-70k thb. 

The alternative seems to just be wait out the 2 months money period, during which I'll have to do another COVID extension to my visa, then apply for the marriage 1y year visa with my wife. I'll lose my job offer doing this though, which was hard fought and a rare chance for someone of my skills. 

Very frustrating that the land borders are closed or all this could be avoided quite easily. Very upset at the moment.

If you can get the necessary documentation with your employer's assistance, it should be possible to apply for a work permit and an extension of your permission to stay based on working. It may be difficult to get it done in time, however, and your immigration office may be obstructive. There may also be a legitimate reason to deny an extension based on working if your income is not high enough (the required amount depends on nationality).

4 minutes ago, Kazium said:

I've got the 400k in bank, only moved last week, we attempted to apply for a marriage extension yesterday but were denied because it's not been in my account long enough (we were advised that we might be able to get away with it if I also showed my job offer/contract showing my pending income over 40k, but no luck). 

You can apply for the one year extension with the covid 19 extension you have now. It extended the 90 day entry you got with your non-o. It does change you to a different type of visa entry.

You can apply for the extension up to 30 days early or 45 days at some offices before the 60 day extension ends when you have the 400k baht in the bank for 2 months.

You could still get a work permit with the covid extension since it a extension of your non-o visa entry. Your employer would need a copy of your marriage certificate to apply for the work permit to prove you non-o visa was issued based upon marriage to a Thai.

If you go to Guam, you can get vaccinated, too, so I've read.

What about an agent? Aren't they magicians of sorts?

5 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

The visa expiration date means nothing now since he already in country. A visa cannot be extended.

That only date that is relevant now is his permit to stay date he got when entering the country. That is what he would be extending.

The 30 and 45 days is only the earliest day the application can be done. A extension of stay can be applied for up to the day his permit to stay ends.

True ???????? 
that was my wrong understanding 

The 20th August will be 45 days before my current extension expires. 

Would I be able to go to the main immigration office in Bangkok and apply for a fresh extension to my type-o on the basis of marriage on this date? 

Regarding work permit, the lawyer working for my employer has said they are not able to apply for a work permit whilst I am on the covid extension. This may be because they're a foreign company applying for a BOI work permit, not a standard one.

36 minutes ago, Kazium said:

Would I be able to go to the main immigration office in Bangkok and apply for a fresh extension to my type-o on the basis of marriage on this date? 

Are you living in Bangkok?

Not sure they will do the 60 day extension to visit your wife that early. The are wanting people applying for extensions during the last 3 days of their extensions now at Chaeng Wattana immigration.

 

40 minutes ago, Kazium said:

This may be because they're a foreign company applying for a BOI work permit, not a standard one.

That could be the reason for the problem. There are different rules in effect for them when using the one stop center.

As Ubonjoe say... Your Visa has expered.. But you do not need a Visa to stay in Thailand, you need permition to stay until ...
I myself got Non-O. 12 month multy. Expired November 2020. My last 90 dayes permition of stay Visa expiered Febuar 2021.
Have then stayed in Thailand up till now, on covid extentions, and will get a new 60 dayes when that expiers. So No Proplem...
You need a Visa to Enter Thailand. You need permition to stay to be in Thailand. Do not mix up the diferens betwene Visa, and permition to stay.

 

I am in bangkok yes, I've been going to 'The Government Complex' for my torture immigration applications. 

I'm aware that they're requesting people don't come until 3 days prior, but is that just a request or a rule? 

 

6 minutes ago, Jorgendk said:

Have then stayed in Thailand up till now, on covid extentions, and will get a new 60 dayes when that expiers. So No Proplem...

Do you have a work permit and are working in Thailand?

If you want i can contact with the agency im using. So far i suggested this agency more than 5 people on this forum and they are all happy!

 

You can get your 1 year expansion probably for 25K

 

send me private msg if you are interested.

good luck

3 minutes ago, Kazium said:

Do you have a work permit and are working in Thailand?

NO. Non O maried to Thai.

Ok.

I guess for clarity my main objective here is getting a work permit ASAP, everything else is pretty minor and I'm willing to go to fairly extreme lengths to ensure it.

7 hours ago, Kazium said:

I've got the 400k in bank, only moved last week, we attempted to apply for a marriage extension yesterday but were denied because it's not been in my account long enough (we were advised that we might be able to get away with it if I also showed my job offer/contract showing my pending income over 40k, but no luck). 

60 day extension to visit your wife, followed by a 1 year extension for reason of marriage.

Where did you get your Non O multi entry. It couldnt have been the UK as only single entry is issued. 

59 minutes ago, Jorgendk said:

You need a Visa to Enter Thailand. You need permition to stay to be in Thailand. Do not mix up the diferens betwene Visa, and permition to stay

Many do not need a visa to enter Thailand. They can enter visa exempt and obtain Non O at immigration if they want.

I'd suggest contacting an agent just to see if they can help.  If they can't, you have lost nothing.  If they can, it's cheaper and easier than a flight, several PCR tests, and a quarantine.  The challenge is finding a good one, and it seems someone has a recommendation above.

 

I'd also point out that, though it's technically illegal to work in Thailand before your work permit is issued, it's not uncommon at all.  I worked "illegally" for several months when I first arrived, pending a WP through a BOI company, because the gov't agency that approves WP's in my field (oil and gas) only meets a few times a year.  I was nervous about it, but later came to find out that most of our expat employees had to do the same.

 

14 hours ago, jimn said:

Where did you get your Non O multi entry. It couldnt have been the UK as only single entry is issued. 

Australia, I was living there for a few years prior to moving to Thailand. They granted me a 1 year multi entry visa, which is extremely difficult to make use of at the moment due to the borders being closed and nearly every country requiring quarantine.

 

 

12 hours ago, impulse said:

I'd suggest contacting an agent just to see if they can help.  If they can't, you have lost nothing.  If they can, it's cheaper and easier than a flight, several PCR tests, and a quarantine.  The challenge is finding a good one, and it seems someone has a recommendation above.

Yeah, I've done this over the weekend, a couple have got back to me. The one recommended appears to be a scam so I haven't responded further. 

With my current extension date being valid up until 4th Oct I believe I can go to the office and apply for a new extension based on visiting my wife on the 20th August (45 days before extension end). I'm not sure if they count the 45 days from the final day of validity (oct 4th), or the actual first day of expiration (oct 5th)., that will be the difference between a friday or a monday visit. 

 

 

12 hours ago, impulse said:

I'd also point out that, though it's technically illegal to work in Thailand before your work permit is issued, it's not uncommon at all. 

Yeah, I'm aware of this. My employer has (unfortunately?) said that they intend to do everything by-the-book and not allow me to work ""illegally"". I respect it, but it's frustrating. 

19 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

Many do not need a visa to enter Thailand. They can enter visa exempt and obtain Non O at immigration if they want.

Yes that i right. From some countrys you can enter without a visa (visa extempt).
I was mainly pointing out that a vise give you the right to enter the contry, it is the permition to stay that give you the right to stay.
Therefor it do not matter if your visa has expired. My visa expiered nerly a year ago, and many is in thayland 5 - 10 years after there visa has expired.
The main point I was trying to make, was not to mix up your Visa, and your permition to stay..
You so often se peapol writing "I need to get my vise extended" while in fact it is ther permition to stay, they need to get extended.

 

On 8/14/2021 at 7:01 AM, DrJack54 said:

Many do not need a visa to enter Thailand. They can enter visa exempt and obtain Non O at immigration if they want.

As a US citizen I know I can enter visa free for 30 days. Or get tourist visa for 60 days and extend for 30 days while I’m there. How can I change my tourist visa or get the Non O at the immigration office without being married to Thai ?