Visa, work permit, and visa runs?

[winner]

I received my Non-Immigrant B Visa today.  It is a multiple entry and says that it is good until July 10, 2004.  When I clear customs will I only get 90 days? Can anybody walk me through the year and the best way to use the visa? Will I have to do Visa Runs? Do I need to get reentry permits?

I will get a work permit after I get there. After I get that and it is coordinated with the Visa, what will happen?  Will I have to do Visa runs during the year?

One more scenario.  How do I renew the Visa at the end of the year?

Thanks for your help guys!!!!!!

[Sunbelt Asia]

When I clear customs will I only get 90 days?

YES

Can anybody walk me through the year and the best way to use the visa?

You would have to leave every 90 days by crossing the border and coming right back.

Will I have to do Visa Runs?

Without getting a one year visa after being granted your work permit, you would.

Do I need to get reentry permits?

No

I will get a work permit after I get there. After I get that and it is coordinated with the Visa, what will happen?

You just leave every 90 days

Will I have to do Visa runs during the year?

Yes with a multi-entry visa

One more scenario.  How do I renew the Visa at the end of the year?

One day or so before your visa expires bring these items to Immigration:

- your passport and work permit

- copies of your passport (the same pages that are listed above)

- copy of your work permit

- copy of your employment contract (this can be a letter from the company accepting you for employment and stating your gross monthly salary and duration of employment)

- 1 passport photo

- copy of forms showing the company has applied for a taxpayer ID number for you or the actual tax ID card

- copies of recent PhorNgorDor 1 forms (probably for the last six months) PhorNgorDor 1 is a form that lists the salaries and tax paid for every member of a company. The company must pay the total taxes each month and they get a little yellow receipt to show they have paid. For each month you must copy the first page, the page your name appears on, and the receipt showing the company paid

- (if teacher) an approval letter from the Education Ministry stating why an English school must hire farangs to teach

- some people are asked for a copy of their bank book

It's lots of paperwork. I had to sign my name for one of my employees... 43 times! With our company the total paperwork was 162 pages for just one employee!

[winner]

Greg

Thanks for the information.  One point of clarification.  After I get my work permit and eventually they extend my visa for the full year which I understand takes a few months do I still have to leave the country every 90 days?  Thanks

[huski]

Dear Winner,

After your one year extension you only have to report your current address to Immigration every 90 days. Your passport will then have a "Receipt of Notification" stapled to the last page.

[Indo-Siam]

Winner - One thing to prepare you for - you will need to get at least two work permits.  Upon arrival, you will have a 90 day entry permit.  When you obtain your work permit (which is a prerequisite for extending your entry permit), it will only be valid until the expiration of your current - 90 day - entry permt.

When you are within 30 days of expiration of your 90 day entry permit, you will then apply for an extended entry permit, using the "now valid less than 30 more days" work permit.

In practice - sadly - the entry permit extension process usually drags out through several "come back in 30 days" cycles.  This is somewhat related to corruption at Immigration (we usually have to pay a bribe to get approved permits back within 60 days).  This means that you may end up witha  situation where you have to get a sequence of several 30 day work permits, to "catch up" with your "return in 30-days" entry permit extensions.

Eventually, you get your entry permit extension - and at that point, you will almost certainly have a work permit that is within 30 days of expiration.  So - at that point, you apply for a one-year work permit.

Thankfully, the Labor Ministry makes it pretty quick and painless to get the interim work permit renewals - but you still do have to pay the fees, and somone hasto make the trips to Labor Ministry.

If it wasn't so time-consuming and costly, it would almost be a comical parody on how to run a system.

The one way around all this is if you have a qualifying BOI-promoted employer, and get to use the "One Stop" center.    That process is a quick and efficient one.

Good luck!

Steve Sykes

Managing Director

Indo-Siam Group