Wp About To Be Issued - 1 Day Before My Visa Expires!

[BuckeyeHudson]

Hello - I've tried to figure this out by reading other posts but haven't quite managed.

I'm going to be working for a small Thai non-profit. I'm here on a non-immigrant O visa, and my to-be employers have been great in helping me with all the paperwork, and went for me to the Labor Dept to submit my application for a WP. The Labor Dept gave us a slip saying the WP has been approved and I should pick it up this Friday, June 15. But my O visa expires Saturday, June 16. I should have thought about this problem before, but on hearing that the WP was approved I somehow fell into denial that there would be complications.

From reading various threads here, my impression is that I should apply for an extention of the visa, will probably get one of those "30 day consideration" stamps or if I'm very lucky a longer stay, and then go to extend the WP since the WP can only be extended for the length of my visa.

So it seems to me I should go to Suan Phlu earlier this week to apply for the extension--maybe show them the WP approval slip?--before going to the Labor Dept on Friday, so that I can ask to extend the WP right away to the new visa expiry date.

But my employer called the Labor Dept, and her understanding is that I have to go to the Labor Dept first, fill out the WP.5 form and pay a 750 baht fee before going to Suan Phlu later that same day to apply for the visa extension.

This is confusing to me, since if I go to the Labor Dept. first, all they'll see in my passport is a visa set to expire in 24 hours. And if a WP can't outlast a visa, what kind of extension would they be offering? Something that's just long enough for me to apply for a visa extension? The Labor Dept person didn't say how long the extension would be for, and were apparently very brusque with her and didn't want to discuss it, just told her I had to show up Friday and fill out the form.

My to-be employers are great people but really busy, and don't have the money for outside legal services for this kind of thing--already the govt fees are no small thing--and have never had to go through the process to get a WP for a foreigner before, so we're all a little confused. Any advice would be appreciated (especially if it turns out I should be going to Suan Phlu tomorrow or the day after!), thank you very much for your words of experience.

[Crossy]

It's been awhile since I did this, but IIRC it goes something like this:-

1. Get WP, it will be valid only until your current permit to stay stamp.
   
2. Then, immediately go to immigration and get an extension based on your work permit (there used to be an immigration desk at the labour dept. don't know if it's still there though). You may get an under-consideration stamp (I never did).
   
3. Go back to the labour department and extend your WP to match the visa extension.
   

Rinse and repeat as long as it takes to get everything sorted.

EDIT If you're working for a non-profit your salary may not be enough to extend the visa, you must then go with your WP to an overseas consulate and beg them to issue you with either a non-B (multi) or a non-O (multi, if you fit the required profile to get one). Whatever happens you'll be doing 90 day border runs and extending your WP each time.

Edited June 12, 2007 by Crossy

[astral]

Rinse and repeat as long as it takes to get everything sorted.

I love the description.

But it is correct.

[BuckeyeHudson]

Thank you for the replies! So, I will cross my fingers for the visa extension and for a less-than-soul-crushing level of traffic between Din Daeng/Suan Phlu/Din Daeng on Friday.

[BuckeyeHudson]

- er...now it seems the Labor Dept. called my to-be employer this morning, and said that despite giving the okay last week, they've decided they need more info before they decide whether or not to give me the WP (they say the job description isn't detailed enough). So I won't be able to pick it up Friday as said before, the employer needs to go by herself to "fix" the application.

So the best the employer and I can figure is that now we should go to Suan Phlu to request a visa extension first. We won't have the WP to show to Immigration on either Thursday or Friday, so it doesn't seem to make sense anymore to wait until my last legal day in Thailand to try to extend.

Honestly we're still confused and thrown by this last thing, so if anyone's reading this and thinks this is a bad idea, or has a better idea, please feel free to let me know. Thanks -

[Sunbelt Asia]

- er...now it seems the Labor Dept. called my to-be employer this morning, and said that despite giving the okay last week, they've decided they need more info before they decide whether or not to give me the WP (they say the job description isn't detailed enough). So I won't be able to pick it up Friday as said before, the employer needs to go by herself to "fix" the application.

So the best the employer and I can figure is that now we should go to Suan Phlu to request a visa extension first. We won't have the WP to show to Immigration on either Thursday or Friday, so it doesn't seem to make sense anymore to wait until my last legal day in Thailand to try to extend.

Honestly we're still confused and thrown by this last thing, so if anyone's reading this and thinks this is a bad idea, or has a better idea, please feel free to let me know. Thanks -

You won't be able to get the 30 day under consideration stamp for the extension of stay based on business, without a work permit ( new rules since Oct 1st 2006)

You could go outside the country to get a new non immigrant visa. When your work permit is ready at the labor Dept, you will find its already expired. You will have to get the work permit revalidated ( done the same day) and pay another 850 Baht in government fees to correspond to your new 90 day stamp.

Another way is to get a 7 day extension on your 90 days. Your new work permit would still be expired. You would need to pay 850 Baht in government fees to revalidate it for the remaining 4 or 5 days left on the 7 day stamp. Then rush to Immigration to apply for the extension of stay based on business.

www.sunbeltasiagroup.com

[BuckeyeHudson]

Hi, thank you, this is helpful. One thing - on the Immig Dept's website, I just noticed that there are a number of categories they list for applying for a visa continuation, one of which is working for a charity (that's the category we applied under for the original visa, not as a business). In the documents it says I need, it says "work permit or application for work permit" which implies that even if the WP isn't done, they might extend the visa (on the Thai page instead of "application" it says ใบรับคำขอ the receipt authorizing pickup of the WP, which I do have).

Maybe this is also something that changed in October and they just haven't changed the website? Is it just wishful thinking to hope that they might give some sort of extension? Maybe it's the 7 days you mentioned. Either way, thanks again, I appreciate the advice.

Edited June 13, 2007 by BuckeyeHudson

[Sunbelt Asia]

Hi, thank you, this is helpful. One thing - on the Immig Dept's website, I just noticed that there are a number of categories they list for applying for a visa continuation, one of which is working for a charity (that's the category we applied under for the original visa, not as a business). In the documents it says I need, it says "work permit or application for work permit" which implies that even if the WP isn't done, they might extend the visa (on the Thai page instead of "application" it says ใบรับคำขอ the receipt authorizing pickup of the WP, which I do have).

Maybe this is also something that changed in October and they just haven't changed the website? Is it just wishful thinking to hope that they might give some sort of extension? Maybe it's the 7 days you mentioned. Either way, thanks again, I appreciate the advice.

If you are looking at the National Police Order No 606/2006 paragraph 7.20 it requires the copy of a work permit.

www.sunbeltasiagroup.com