I have this friend (American) who is new to Thailand, he has been here for 2 years mostly on some 3-month ED Visa stamps - I don't know exactly how he got it but he used some suss agent.

Now he will finally get a job in a company here but the company asked him to go see an agent to sort the paperwork.

This agent gave him two options:

Option 1 - go to a nearby country and wait in there for the work permit paperwork to go through, and he would come back to Thailand on a Non-B Visa. This however could take an unknown amount of time. The agent didn't say how long because it's a goverment process.

Option 2 - go to a nearby country and come back on a Tourist visa, the agent could then apply for the paperwork here and get him the Work permit and a compatible visa. I checked with Chatgpt and apparently this is possible because they can convert his type of visa.

Given that he has been here for a while on consecutive ED visa stamps, could the immigration agent not accept his entry if he tries to enter with a tourist visa? He does have a legitimate job offer to show.

Trying to enter as a tourist with a history of short-term ED visas is always a risk.

Because visa exempt is currently still 60 days, I would recommend your friend use a border bounce agency. The agency will drive him to a land border and bounce him out and back in. If they can't guarantee he will get back in, they won't even take him.

There are ways to get this same type of thing at the airport, but those seem to be in flux right now, and the land borders are much more reliable and always have been, if you use an agent that specializes in that.

Else he can go with option 1, which is how most people get their non-B. It takes a LOT more paperwork to convert from tourist to non-B inside of Thailand than it does to get a non-B from a Thai embassy. That's why most companies send their new employees out of Thailand to get the non-B visa.

When I obtained my WP, I flew to Singapore and get a Non-O B Visa to return to Thailand. Upon entry, I completed the steps to obtain the WP. I then applied for my extension based on a WP. This was 13 years ago, and it all went smoothly. The Singapore embassy treats the entire process as a revenue stream and runs it very efficiently. I flew in, slept, woke up the next day, went to the embassy first thing in the morning, had lunch at a coffee shop, picked up my passport with visa in the afternoon, flew back that night. That allowed for no errors, so I would typically suggest leaving a day or two after the embassy appointment before you return. I believe this route will be much easier than attempting it in country.

4 minutes ago, timendres said:

When I obtained my WP, I flew to Singapore and get a Non-O B Visa to return to Thailand. Upon entry, I completed the steps to obtain the WP. I then applied for my extension based on a WP. This was 13 years ago, and it all went smoothly. The Singapore embassy treats the entire process as a revenue stream and runs it very efficiently. I flew in, slept, woke up the next day, went to the embassy first thing in the morning, had lunch at a coffee shop, picked up my passport with visa in the afternoon, flew back that night. That allowed for no errors, so I would typically suggest leaving a day or two after the embassy appointment before you return. I believe this route will be much easier than attempting it in country.

This is probably the easiest way. I got my non-immigrant B this way almost forty years ago. I guess some things don't change.

1 hour ago, timendres said:

When I obtained my WP, I flew to Singapore and get a Non-O B Visa to return to Thailand. Upon entry, I completed the steps to obtain the WP. I then applied for my extension based on a WP. This was 13 years ago, and it all went smoothly. The Singapore embassy treats the entire process as a revenue stream and runs it very efficiently. I flew in, slept, woke up the next day, went to the embassy first thing in the morning, had lunch at a coffee shop, picked up my passport with visa in the afternoon, flew back that night. That allowed for no errors, so I would typically suggest leaving a day or two after the embassy appointment before you return. I believe this route will be much easier than attempting it in country.

There is no more appointment. There is no more visiting the embassy at all. It's all done online (except for Laos where you have to pay in person). So you cannot guarantee it will be a single day affair any longer. Most embassies say it can take up to 15 days, but they all vary. Laos is usually 2-3 days for a non-immigrant visa, while Malaysia is around a month for almost all visas.

On 7/22/2026 at 3:18 AM, FarangFB said:

I have this friend (American) who is new to Thailand, he has been here for 2 years mostly on some 3-month ED Visa stamps - I don't know exactly how he got it but he used some suss agent

Do you realize how ridiculous that post is.

First he is not new to Thailand.

"Has been here, 2 years"

Why do you need to mouthpiece for him.

Frankly IMO your thread not credible

54 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

Do you realize how ridiculous that post is.

First he is not new to Thailand.

"Has been here, 2 years"

Why do you need to mouthpiece for him.

Frankly IMO your thread not credible

Yes it does, I don't know exactly how he did it but he has multiple ED stamps for 3 months and he asked for my help so I posted here.

1 hour ago, BrandonJT said:

There is no more appointment. There is no more visiting the embassy at all. It's all done online (except for Laos where you have to pay in person). So you cannot guarantee it will be a single day affair any longer. Most embassies say it can take up to 15 days, but they all vary. Laos is usually 2-3 days for a non-immigrant visa, while Malaysia is around a month for almost all visas.

Oh. Thank you for that update. I guess I should have expected things to be online now.

Do you know, can one do all of the online stuff such that they can "time" their arrival in Singapore such that one only needs a couple days in Singapore?

5 minutes ago, timendres said:

Oh. Thank you for that update. I guess I should have expected things to be online now.

Do you know, can one do all of the online stuff such that they can "time" their arrival in Singapore such that one only needs a couple days in Singapore?

You can completely fill out the online application, and then as soon as you enter Singapore you can submit it. If timing is important, best to arrive on a Sunday night or Monday morning (after checking for holidays) to ensure that the time spent there is all business days where the application will actually be processed.