From non-B to F visa - neighbouring countries? Or do at CW

[sussex]

Hi,

 

My work contract is changing and I will be switching from a non-B extension of stay to F (for me and my dependents who are non-O). Also getting new work permit.

 

Ideally I would be able to do this at Chaeng Wattana but it seems the done thing is to go to a neighbouring country to apply for a new F visa at the embassy.

 

Anyone have any experience of switching from non-B to F in a day at CW, is it possible? Or if applying in a neighbouring country embassy, which country is best, Lao, Cambodia, other? 

 

Thanks!

[BritTim]

Are you doing the change simultaneously (i.e. one contract ending and another starting on the same day, or with an overlap)?

 

If so, visas are irrelevant. What you should be doing is changing the reason for your permission to stay. I am in a hurry right now, but I will refresh my memory on extensions working for a government or similar entity, and provide a suitable link later tonight.

[BritTim]

Take a look at Police Order on Extensions of Temporary Permission to Stay. The main sections to look at is are extensions under Reason 2.3 or Reason 2.27, though Reason 2.15 could also apply (only allows your permission to stay to be extended 90 days at a time).

 

What you want is a termination letter specifying the end of you current employment as about two to three weeks in the future. Using this, you visit the immigration office (Changwattana if you are in Bangkok) to have your existing permission to stay based on working truncated  At the same time, talk with them to make sure you are clear on the documents you require (probably under Reason 2.3) for your permission to stay to be extended. When you have those documents in hand. visit CW again for the extension.

[sussex]

Thanks for your response. It should be possible to have the cancellation of old WP overlap with the new one so that there is no break in the WPs and it needn't be done on exactly the same day.

 

The thing is the office are saying it's easier to do this by applying for a new F visa abroad, rather than trying to do the change of extension of stay in Thailand. There is a general reluctance I've noticed for enabling the in-country change - I know countless people who've been sent to Vientiane for new visas instead of doing the change here. I'd much rather do it all in one go here, especially since I'm looking to apply for PR soon so I don't want any breaks in my extensions of stay.

[sussex]

By they way I have asked one reputable visa agent and they have said it's impossible to do. I wonder if it's because it's going to be an F visa category extension...

[BritTim]

8 hours ago, sussex said:

Thanks for your response. It should be possible to have the cancellation of old WP overlap with the new one so that there is no break in the WPs and it needn't be done on exactly the same day.

 

The thing is the office are saying it's easier to do this by applying for a new F visa abroad, rather than trying to do the change of extension of stay in Thailand. There is a general reluctance I've noticed for enabling the in-country change - I know countless people who've been sent to Vientiane for new visas instead of doing the change here. I'd much rather do it all in one go here, especially since I'm looking to apply for PR soon so I don't want any breaks in my extensions of stay.

 

There may well be confusion between (i) applying for a visa at Immigration from an entry as a tourist (or visa exempt) which is complicated; and (ii) applying for an extension of your permission to stay when already on a Non Immigrant entry. You want the latter, and there is nothing fundamentally different about the extension whether you start from a Non Immigrant visa from an embassy or are already on a Non Immigrant entry. Talk to the office, and see if they understand this distinction. You do not need a new visa.