Wp Revoked - How Can I Stay On Legally?

[BHBKK]

Dear all,

I have been working continuously for over 10 years in the kingdom. I always paid my TAX and hold a 1 year non-IM-B plus WP. Recently our company has been sold an investor and they are replacing all senior management. By end of this month I will have to quit and thus losing my WP.

I am aware I have only 7 days to apply for a new WP or have to leave the country. However, it will be impossible within this short time. Realistically I will need 3-6 months to find a new employer.[

What can I do? If understanding the current regulations I won't qualify for a tourist VISA as I already stayed 180 days in the country. Can I apply for a PR and stay on despite my WP is revoked? Any other options for me to legally stay in the country while looking for a new job?

All advices welcome!

Edited June 24, 2008 by Maestro
Changed font format to default for better readability - Maestro

[monty]

You have indeed 7 days to leave the country when your WP is turned in (do need to pay 1900 Baht for the privilege though).

You can get a tourist visa no problem! The 90 day per 180 day ONLY counts for people staying here on 30 day visa free arrival stamps.

Staying in Thailand when holding a visa or extension of stay does not count towards the 90 days!

Since you now have to pay for the 7 days, you might as well leave on the same day to go get a tourist visa!

[2008bangkok]

Sorry Monty i beg to differ....the OP hasnt stated how he has got his NON -B visa, if it was issued outside the thailand then he is okay to stay until the end of the NON-B and if he does a visa run before it expires then he can make that visa last 15months, if he is on an extension of stay based on his work then yes he has to leave within 7 days but only if he is on an extension of stay based on work..

correct??

[2008bangkok]

Should it be the case that you do have to leave in 7 days..then you can get a toursit visa from Laos, penang(although i v heard Laos is better) you can do this indefinately aslong as you want the 180day rule only appl;ys to visa exempt people..ie people who come in with no other visa and get 30day stamp

[2008bangkok]

Who has to turn in the WP, me or my employer

[Mario2008]

It is actually 90 days of visa exempt entry in 6 months, a small but important difference.

You have to turn in the WP, with a letter from your employer stating you're fired as of...

[monty]

Sorry, 2008bkk is correct.

I was assuming that working for 10 years indicated he was on a 1 year extension based on his employment.

Indeed if he has a multiple entry 1 year visa (and doing 90 day border runs along with re validating WP every time), he will be allowed to stay until his 90 days run out, and additionally will be able to do border runs giving him 90 days each until his 1 year validity of his visa runs out.

Since he states he has a non immigrant B, the only extension he can have would be the one based on his employment (WP).

[monty]

with a letter from your employer stating you're fired as of...

the day you turn in the WP

[Mario2008]

Can't he apply for permanent residency and get an extension of stay based on that while is application is under consideration? He won't get it, as he no longer works, but it might last till he has a new job.

[BHBKK]

Thanks for your prompt reply. To answer your question, I got my first non-IM-B (3 months) in Germany before starting to work in Thailand. Within the 3 months I applied for a WP, which has been granted and I got a 1 year extension. Since then I got yearly extensions of my VISA and WP. My passport shows all details.

If I understand you correctly I can get Tourist VISA for 90 days and extend it for another 90 days but then would have to leave the country for 180 days. Right?

Currently I still qualify for the PR application. As far as I know I will get a 6 months VISA as long my PR application is under consideration, which will be automatically extended another 3 month, if the PR application hasn't been concluded. However, I am not sure whether revoking my WP has any influence of the PR application; e.g. will the PR application automatically dismissed, if I get my WP revoked? What will happen with my 6 month VISA? Will it be cancelled as well?

[2008bangkok]

Cant help you on the PR bit but the tourist visa will be 60 days extended for a futher 30 days..i belive that Laos are now issuuing a double tourist visa which means (i think) that you get 60 days then do a border run then get another 60 days then extend it by 30 days which would give a total of 150 days and then repeat the process as long as you like...

I stand to be corrected on this point though!!

[Mario2008]

The 90 day rule doesn't count to tourist visa's. It only applies to visa exempt entries. So you can get an unlimited tourist visa's.

[Lite Beer]

If I understand you correctly I can get Tourist VISA for 90 days and extend it for another 90 days but then would have to leave the country for 180 days. Right?

A tourist Visa gives you 60 days and can be extended for a further 30 days for 1,900 Baht.

There is no limit on how many back to back Visas you can get. Although some consulates set their own limit.

At the moment Vientiene Laos are issuing double entry tourist visas. With extensions and a border run this would give almost 6 months.

Edited June 24, 2008 by Lite Beer

[2008bangkok]

So what is the crack with the extra pages for other employers in your WP for, cant you just go from one employer to another to another be much more handy....does having a WP before help with the next application or is it irrelative?

[BHBKK]

So what is the crack with the extra pages for other employers in your WP for, cant you just go from one employer to another to another be much more handy....does having a WP before help with the next application or is it irrelative?

Yes, I can change the employer. Have done this before. However this time I don’t have a new employer at hand. The whole situation caught me by surprise, thus I haven’t looked for a new job yet. The current political and economic situations don’t help either and therefore I have to take into consideration that it might take me longer to find a new employer. Financially no problem at all I am only worried about my legal status. Laws in Thailand change so frequently and then are often applied inconsistently, so I want to know my options and choose the best.

Thanks to all of you for your comments

[monty]

So what is the crack with the extra pages for other employers in your WP for

You can hold several jobs simultaneous (as long as the other/first employer agrees).

So more then one employer/job can be stated on one work permit.

The additional jobs do have to be in the same province though, if the additional job is in another province, a seperate WP for that province has to be applied for...

The problem is that many employers will not agree for you to have a job with a different employer while you are still working for them. They will want you to cancel current WP first before you can move on to a new job...

[raro]

The additional jobs do have to be in the same province though, if the additional job is in another province, a seperate WP for that province has to be applied for...

not any longer. A friend of mine just went through this process and he had one job in bkk and another one in Chonburi in the very same book.

Onve more detail for the OP: Make sure that yuou cancel your non-immi B (assuming that you are on an extension) on the VERY SAME DAY the WP is returned. This is also the day you either have to leave the country or apply for the 7 days extra.

[monty]

not any longer. A friend of mine just went through this process and he had one job in bkk and another one in Chonburi in the very same book.

It's so <deleted> hard to keep up here in Thailand.

Means, whatever info you get from however knowledgeable people, always double check with the relevant authorities.

Doesn't mean they know though

[2008bangkok]

RThis is exactly the reason why i want to change my status from work to marrige i just cant afford it have to leave immedialtely..i tell ya that is one bad rule..yeah come on come and work in Thailand and help fuel the economy and when you have finished f off immediately..

[wca01]

My neighbour was fired 1 month ago. But he could find an agreement with his employer to keep his WP until he can find a new job.

WCA

[HarryHacker]

My neighbour was fired 1 month ago. But he could find an agreement with his employer to keep his WP until he can find a new job.

WCA

Thats fine but what happens when the Imm and Labor department find there is a hole as far as zero salary and unpaid tax for that period, especially when you want to get a new WP/visa extension?

[monty]

My neighbour was fired 1 month ago. But he could find an agreement with his employer to keep his WP until he can find a new job.

WCA

Thats fine but what happens when the Imm and Labor department find there is a hole as far as zero salary and unpaid tax for that period, especially when you want to get a new WP/visa extension?

No problem, as long as he keeps paying social security and his taxes as if he would be getting salary!

[2008bangkok]

No problem, as long as he keeps paying social security and his taxes as if he would be getting salary!

How would you do that??

It appears that monty is fast becoming my man of the moment with his advice n knowledge

[raro]

No problem, as long as he keeps paying social security and his taxes as if he would be getting salary!

How would you do that??

It appears that monty is fast becoming my man of the moment with his advice n knowledge

You just go to the local ta office with your tax ID and drop the cash on the counter...never heard of any report that they refused payments!

[digitalchromakey]

No problem, as long as he keeps paying social security and his taxes as if he would be getting salary!

How would you do that??

If you have a Work Permit, then you have been issued a Tax ID Number and also a Social Security ID Card and number.

Take these items to your local Tax & Social Security Offices and then pay them what you owe. If you provide some ID, they can often give you the numbers direct from their computer records anyway.

It's that simple.

[BHBKK]

My neighbour was fired 1 month ago. But he could find an agreement with his employer to keep his WP until he can find a new job.

WCA

Thats fine but what happens when the Imm and Labor department find there is a hole as far as zero salary and unpaid tax for that period, especially when you want to get a new WP/visa extension?

No problem, as long as he keeps paying social security and his taxes as if he would be getting salary!

Surely an option. However considering that personal income TAX can get as high as 37% it isn't a cheap one.

[monty]

To get in that tax bracket you'd have to have quite a nice salary though!

On a 50,000 Baht salary you'd pay not much over 3000 Baht taxes...

Taxes are calculated progressively over here, only the part over 4,000,000 Baht (333.333 Baht/month) gets taxed at 37%, never will they tax your entire income at 37%...

[BHBKK]

To get in that tax bracket you'd have to have quite a nice salary though!

On a 50,000 Baht salary you'd pay not much over 3000 Baht taxes...

Taxes are calculated progressively over here, only the part over 4,000,000 Baht (333.333 Baht/month) gets taxed at 37%, never will they tax your entire income at 37%...

You are absolutely right about the progression. I have been on a net agreement (10K EURO) so I never really cared about taxes. My admin has been taking care of it.

I estimated a tax rate slightly over 30% but even 30% would make this option rather unattractive.

I hope my latest salary won't haunt me further, if I am applying for a new work permit and quoting a lower salary. I heard that this can be an issue.

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[lopburi3]

Tourist visa is what he seems to need. There is no PR application possible in June.

[dbrenn]

Tourist visa is what he seems to need. There is no PR application possible in June.

I sympathise with the OP, and it is unfortunate he didn't apply for PR already. PR requires an unbroken three-year period of in country Non-Imm visa extensions prior to application, and PR applications as Lopburi3 points out are only accepted at each year end.

Once the OP leaves Thailand for a new visa, due to cancellation or expiry of his old visa, the three year clock will be reset and he will have to start again to accumulate another three years of continuous Non-Imm visas and tax returns before PR is a possibility. The only way that the OP can maintain the status he has already built up with respect to PR now seems to be finding another job in very short order, marriage, or some other way to keep his current Non-Imm visa alive.

Although PR does not confer many rights, it does become extremely useful in situations like this, as a job loss would not affect a PR holder's right to live in Thailand indefinitely. In spite of the high price or PR, it is therefore highly recommended for people who wish to make Thailand their permanent home, and can also lead to Thai citizenship. I've come across several people who have lived, worked and built their lives in Thailand a great many years and suddenly found themselves with no immigration status, facing ever tightening visa running rules, simply because they lost or gave up their job and never got around to applying for PR.

Anyway, best of luck to the OP, and I hope that he finds another job soon.