Getting A Work Permit

[CWMcMurray]

My Situation:

I need to get a work permit for a job I have been offered and I have begun the process but I am not sure if I am going about it the correct way.

I currently have a non im visa that has been extended for the purpose of studying at a Thai University.

The company said that they would not be able to switch to Non B without a letter of graduation from the University.

I have a Thai wife and I can get an extension for the reason of living with my Family. It is my understanding that by changing the reason for extension, my company will then be able to apply for a Work permit once I change my status.

I went to immigration yesterday and after being bounced around a few times (from Rm 203 to counter 1 to rm 101 to counter 1 back to rm 101) I was told by Rm 101 I had all of the documents needed to apply for extension for 'Thai Wife' but I would need to cancel my extension for Studying first "Yok Lug".

I went back to counter 1 to tell her what they told me in rm 101 and she said they can't 'Yok Lug', that I am just changing my reason for extension. I told her I know but rm 101 used these exact words...

She then asked her supervisor, who said that I would need to go back to my university and get a form stating that I am still currently a student and bring it back.

Once she has that, she said that she will give me a form stating that I am still a student but that i have chosen to extend under 'Thai wife' rather than for studying. Then I can take this to rm 101 and they can issue me my extension.

Once I do this then the company will apply for a Work permit.

My Questions:

1. Why is it necessary to get a document from the school stating that I am still studying?

2. If I give her this form, will this information end up in some database that will prevent me from getting a work permit after I extend for 'Thai wife'

3. Would it be better to just leave the country without a re-entry permit which will cancel my original visa and just start over again with Non O

4. If I start over again will I have any problems with obtaining a work permit?

5. Does anyone have any first hand information of someone receiving a work permit without finishing their degree? (I have 1 class remaining and will finish it next term)

**Note**

1. I will not be working as a teacher, so from my understanding, a degree is not mandetory in order to get a work permit.

2. Is this understanding correct?

[2008bangkok]

Here's what i recon

1.. Just a weird thai thing..unfortunately you just have to roll with it

2 No if you give her the form then you should get a extension there and then, then apply for WP

3 No as a extension of stay means you dont have to leave every 90 days

4. Maybe, maybe not

5. Dont know

If i was you i would just get all the necessary paperwork you need and take a nice book and a nice smile down to the immigration, try and take a thai lady with you who can then explain everything and brown nose for you, IMHO having a extension of stay is much better than either a NON-B or NON 0 in the fact that if you plan on staying here long time eventually (after 3 i think) you can apply for residencey but even if you are not then at a bare minimum it means you dont have to do visa runs every 90 days

[CWMcMurray]

One additional point...

If I can take care of all of this inside Thailand I would prefer that.

I would also prefer to keep my present visa if possible, I am planning on applying for PR in 2 years (need 2 years of taxes) and If I have to start over I would need to wait for 3 years before applying for PR.

But at the same time, the most important thing is to get a work permit, if that means I need to leave the country and restart the clock, so be it.

I am planning on going back with the form they requested on Thursday and the HR manager for the Company said that he would like to acompany me and my wife to see if he can help in any way.

Do you think that there is anything he could do to assist me in this matter, given the fact that the extension has nothing to do with the company?

[2008bangkok]

I think your startin to panic..

Just one thing to note though ias that if you are applying for extension based on marrige you have to show a monthly family income of 40k+, do you meet those requirements??

[monty]

Bunch of questions here!

Indeed you cannot get a WP on a non immigrant ED.

You can on a non immigrant O. To get an extension based on being married you and your wife need to have had a combined average income of 40,000 Baht or more over the last 6 months.

Getting the WP at labor department will depend on a lot of reasons. Basically they will want to see degrees, but relevant work experience can be taken in consideration as well. Keep in mind that the whole reason of existence of the WP system is to avoid foreigners taking jobs Thai people can do. I guess you are studying alongside Thai people, who after finishing their degree will have (supposedly) the same capabilities as you apart maybe language wise.

1. Why is it necessary to get a document from the school stating that I am still studying?

No idea, never done it, and doubt many have done this before

2. If I give her this form, will this information end up in some database that will prevent me from getting a work permit after I extend for 'Thai wife'

same answer as above

3. Would it be better to just leave the country without a re-entry permit which will cancel my original visa and just start over again with Non O

definitely an option!

4. If I start over again will I have any problems with obtaining a work permit?

Depends on your situation. Age, experience,...

5. Does anyone have any first hand information of someone receiving a work permit without finishing their degree? (I have 1 class remaining and will finish it next term)

Many have done so, but they are mostly people with extensive experience (several years) in their field so they can be considered experts

[CWMcMurray]

Here's what i recon

If i was you i would just get all the necessary paperwork you need and take a nice book and a nice smile down to the immigration, try and take a thai lady with you who can then explain everything and brown nose for you, IMHO having a extension of stay is much better than either a NON-B or NON 0 in the fact that if you plan on staying here long time eventually (after 3 i think) you can apply for residencey but even if you are not then at a bare minimum it means you dont have to do visa runs every 90 days

Thank you for the advice, my wife will be going with me and I have all of the necessary documents needed for the extension ( the official in rm 101 was nice enough to take a quick look through all of my documents before sending me to counter 1). This will be my first extension for 'Thai wife' so I believe that my wife and I will both need to be present and may need to be interviewed by the immigration official.

The HR manger from the company will be going with us, I think he will be able to handle explaining and the part about ensuring that the official understands how thankful we are for her assistance...

[monty]

On an aside, as I see you are planning on going for PR, you'll need to have a pretty high salary (reckon the absolute minimum is around 80,000/month) to be considered for residency...

[CWMcMurray]

I think your startin to panic..

Just one thing to note though ias that if you are applying for extension based on marrige you have to show a monthly family income of 40k+, do you meet those requirements??

Not panicing just trying to be pro-active. I want to ensure that everything is done in a manner that will allow the company to apply for the work permit.

Yes, I have the 40,000 min requirement. I have already secured the nesseary form from te US embassy. Yesterday she just took the amount and multiplied it by 33 and moved on without any comment.

Edited June 24, 2008 by CWMcMurray

[2008bangkok]

I think your startin to panic..

Just one thing to note though ias that if you are applying for extension based on marrige you have to show a monthly family income of 40k+, do you meet those requirements??

Not panicing just trying to be pro-active. I want to ensure that everything is done in a manner that will allow the company to apply for the work permit.

Yes, I have the 40,000 min requirement. I have already secured the nesseary form from te US embassy. Yesterday she just took the amount and multiplied it by 33 and moved on without any comment.

Once you have the extension your company will be able to apply for a WP doesnt guarentee you will get it though, if all else fails then you can get the company to give you there work papers etc and go to laos and get a non b..

good luck and post the outcome(and how long you were there)

[monty]

Once you have the extension your company will be able to apply for a WP doesnt guarentee you will get it though,

It's not the extension which enables him to apply for a WP, it's the change of status from ED (education) to O (family reasons)!

if all else fails then you can get the company to give you there work papers etc and go to laos and get a non b..

Not sure if I get this one.

If he doesn't get his WP on his Non immigrant O, he'll more then likely will not be getting it on a non immigrant B either. The non immigrant B doesn't allow you to work without a WP!

On top of it, when going for a Non immigrant B, he'll lose his one year extension based on his marriage!

[2008bangkok]

Once you have the extension your company will be able to apply for a WP doesnt guarentee you will get it though,

It's not the extension which enables him to apply for a WP, it's the change of status from ED (education) to O (family reasons)!

if all else fails then you can get the company to give you there work papers etc and go to laos and get a non b..

Not sure if I get this one.

If he doesn't get his WP on his Non immigrant O, he'll more then likely will not be getting it on a non immigrant B either. The non immigrant B doesn't allow you to work without a WP!

On top of it, when going for a Non immigrant B, he'll lose his one year extension based on his marriage!

Monty ill take you word over mine any day of the week especially as you anwserd my questions in another thread but just to clarify my point

Once you have the extension your company will be able to apply for a WP doesnt guarentee you will get it though

It's not the extension which enables him to apply for a WP, it's the change of status from ED (education) to O (family reasons)!

The extension of stay is what he is going for so i was just saying that for his particular case..

and the point about laos was just incase they turn him down for his extension of stay he can always go to Laos and get a different visa to start the WP process

[CWMcMurray]

Bunch of questions here!

Indeed you cannot get a WP on a non immigrant ED.

You can on a non immigrant O. To get an extension based on being married you and your wife need to have had a combined average income of 40,000 Baht or more over the last 6 months.

I have always been a bit confused on this point.

When I originally received my visa, it was a Non Im ED visa. I have extended for the past 4 years while in school.

I have seen it mentioned many times in this forum that I am not changing my visa, I am changing my reason for extension.

So in this situation can I get a work permit even though the original visa was for ED based on the fact that I am changing the reason for extension.

-or-

Does the original visa need to be a Non Im O or do they only look at the reason for the latest extension?

[CWMcMurray]

It's not the extension which enables him to apply for a WP, it's the change of status from ED (education) to O (family reasons)!

IF I understand correctly, this means that it is only the reason for the last extension that is important, the original purpose or type of Non Im is not relevant.

[2008bangkok]

Bunch of questions here!

Indeed you cannot get a WP on a non immigrant ED.

You can on a non immigrant O. To get an extension based on being married you and your wife need to have had a combined average income of 40,000 Baht or more over the last 6 months.

I have always been a bit confused on this point.

When I originally received my visa, it was a Non Im ED visa. I have extended for the past 4 years while in school.

I have seen it mentioned many times in this forum that I am not changing my visa, I am changing my reason for extension.

So in this situation can I get a work permit even though the original visa was for ED based on the fact that I am changing the reason for extension.

-or-

Does the original visa need to be a Non Im O or do they only look at the reason for the latest extension?

Good point that murray...but you still have paranoia in your questions....forget your old visa..once you have a new extension of stay it will be based on marrige nothing from before matters they are not gonna be interested in previous visa's just the one that is current when they want to issue the WP

[monty]

CWMcMurray,

There's some slight misconceptions going around.

You are NOT changing the reason for extension per se.

You effectively are changing your visa status. A change of visa status costs 2000 Baht (as opposed to the 1900 Baht for an extension!).

You can switch to O or B non immigrant status regardless on what visa you are presently staying (even 30 day on arrival), as long as you have at least 21 days remaining on your stay AND you have all paperwork in order to qualify for a 1 year extension on your chosen status (i.e. the income when non o marriage, or WP plus income plus company qualifications when going for Non B ).

So the two things are intertwined, you are effectively doing a change of status, but to be able to receive that you have to qualify for an extension based on marriage (+40,000 Baht/month combined income).

When you have done all the above, your will have in your passport a stamp saying that your visa status is now non immigrant O, and as such are now free to proceed with applying for a work permit. Your previous visa status does now simply not count anymore!

[2008bangkok]

Monty....

Sorry i am really interested in this thread for my own personal benefit aswell...just one thing will they actually give him a Non-O?? I thought a extension of stay was not actually a visa as such and just meant that he is allowed to stay in the kindom for a futher 12 months

[monty]

Yes, they will actually give him a non immigrant O.

Looks something like this:

In my case I originally entered on a B visa (bottom left corner stamp). In his case it'll probably indicate ED.

The bigger stamp at the left top indicates your current visa status.

If he still has his original passport where he entered Thailand with, only the top stamp will be there as the original will be on one of the first pages.

In my case, I went through quite e few passport already, hence the smaller stamps referencing to my original entry...

As you can see, it's not a visa per se, but a stamp indicating your visa status.

Visas can only be given at embassies and consulates, not within Thailand, but they can change your current status.

[CWMcMurray]

Ok, I think I finally understand...

Their are two seperate ways to change your status:

1. If you entered under any type of visa other than Non IM - you would go to Rm 203 to change your Visa to Non IM: _{The type of NON IM would be determined at that time and in order to do this you would need all of the same documnetation that would be needed if you were going to extend for that type of Non Im visa}

2. If you already have any type of Non Im visa- You can efeectively 'change your visa status' from one type of Non Im to any other type of Non Im simply by applying for the appropriate extension, _{for Non Im ED go to window #1, Non Im B Rm#1 desks 1-15, Non O Rm#101 Desks 16-22. You would need the appropriate documents required for each type of extension but each time you extend you may infact change to wich ever type of Non Im you qualify for at the time.}

This probably means that a better translation of what the lady in RM #101 said would be that she needs something from Counter#1 transfering my 'case' from Counter #1 to Rm 101 and counter one will only do this after I bring them the form they requested from the university. If this in fact only for in internal tranfer of my 'case' then most likely it will not have any effect on WP.

[2008bangkok]

Yes, they will actually give him a non immigrant O.

Looks something like this:

In my case I originally entered on a B visa (bottom left corner stamp). In his case it'll probably indicate ED.

The bigger stamp at the left top indicates your current visa status.

If he still has his original passport where he entered Thailand with, only the top stamp will be there as the original will be on one of the first pages.

In my case, I went through quite e few passport already, hence the smaller stamps referencing to my original entry...

As you can see, it's not a visa per se, but a stamp indicating your visa status.

Visas can only be given at embassies and consulates, not within Thailand, but they can change your current status.

Nice 1 case closed on that one..cheers monty

[monty]

2. If you already have any type of Non Im visa- You can efeectively 'change your visa status' from one type of Non Im to any other type of Non Im simply by applying for the appropriate extension, for Non Im ED go to window #1, Non Im B Rm#1 desks 1-15, Non O Rm#101 Desks 16-22. You would need the appropriate documents required for each type of extension but each time you extend you may infact change to wich ever type of Non Im you qualify for at the time.

You might call it applying for extension based on another reason, it is still changing visa status and charged 2000 Baht.

You would not be able just to apply for another extension of stay, unless you are in the last (i think, not sure here) 30 days of your current extension!

[lopburi3]

This is keyed to original post numbers:

1. You need to establish that you still qualify for the extension of stay you are currently using (student) so that is the reason for the paperwork I suspect.

2. No. There is no prohibition on study - just not working when here on a visa for study.

3. It seems they are willing to work with you so why not give it a go - if there are problems you can always leave/return.

4. Work permit is another story - starting over or doing this way should not effect that - what will effect it is wage as they now seem to be tied to the visa extension of stay income by nationality schedule (rather than the old 35k or whatever they decided). Expect this is not a problem for you.

5. You answered this with your comments - degree is not required for most work permits but if you are a young student with no proven abilities it might be a hard sell for the persons supporting your work permit (but that is there worry).

[CWMcMurray]

Well, so far so good....

I spent nearly nine hours waiting in line and faced a bit of a scare but it all worked out n the end, I will go and pick up my visa extension on the 25th of next month.

I took my document from the university to counter one and they put a stamp in my passport 'canceling' my ED extension and I got my number for room 101. I entered the que at 9:00am and I was 961, so only 52 people to go before me...

Ther manager at the company that wants to hire me came along but after 2:00pm he couldn't stay any longer and needed to get back to the company.

Around 3:30pm it was finally our turn, wewent to counter 19 and with a summary glance at our aplication we were told that my wife is from Korat, we would need to go their to apply for our visa extension. When we explained that we did not live in Korat and in fact we had never lived in Korat she mentioned that we could request to be allowed to apply in BKK.

We then went to desk #4 and pleaded our case and were told that we could apply in BKK but that I would need to write a letter requesting permission to do so and explain our reasons why.

Ok, no problem... 5 minutes later the letter is finished, but their is a new couple at desk #19 so we need to wait until they are done.

As the time approaches 4:30 both my wife are getting nervous because according to the sign on the wall, the office closes at 4:30 and we are hoping that we will be able to get everything finished before they close for the day.

Around 4:45, we go back to the desk and we are interviewed by the customs officer. She was a very pleasant lady and affirmed that we had all of the necessary DOCs asked us about where we met and where we worked and about our daughter. The whole process was not intimidating at all and closely resembled conversations I have had countless times when I met someone for the first time (the only exception being the questions about how much money we both made and where it came from).

Then paid the fee, turned in our application and she stamped my passport and said to come back in a month.

So after I get my new visa extension the company will go ahead and apply for the work permit, I will update this again once we start that process...

[pauleastasia]

I was searching for a similar topic. I think I'll post a new thread for my case, but just want to add a comment on the above here.

I have a work permit and am on a non immigrant ED so it is indeed possible (I read so people saying it was not possible before I tried and succeeded), I am not working as a teacher though. I have been studying at Bangkok University for the past 3 years and had a work permit for the past 2. Renewal have been quite painless, in my case the work permit has probably been the easy part.

My question was the feasability of obtaining an Non-Immigrant B as I want to work full-time and therefore will not meet the minimum number of course to renew the Non-immigrant ED.

[lopburi3]

As of the latest (June) change it should not be possible to obtain a work permit using and ED visa from reports we have seen here. Was yours issued recently?

Edit: see you have had several years so yes it was possible - but believe new issue is now not possible.

[CWMcMurray]

Update: Extension for reason of staying with family (ie Thai wife) went through without any problems.

My employer has already applied for work permit, and did not seem to think he would have any problems getting it.