I am a 56 year old Australian National, I recently obtained a three month single entry Non-Immigration-B visa and would now like to apply for an extension of stay. I have visited the MFA and Immigration websites and the directions are not clear. I work for a private company (Siam Global Marine Safety) and have been employed as a safety consultant (pending Work permit approval). I understand that I need to get the extension of stay granted before getting the work permit, because the work permit expires at the same time as the visa.

I believe that when I go to Suan Plu to apply, I need to take a letter from my employer, stating the reasons they employed a farang for this position, all the company registration documents and certified true copies of my qualifications. Can anyone suggest what else to take in order to improve my chances of approval?

Cheers,

Dave

You can not even begin work without a work permit.

You must have work permit and company paperwork to qualify for an extension of stay - if they are allowing you to work now I suspect they may not be able to provide them.

Yup, agree with Lop, work permit first, extension of stay second then extend the WP to match the extension of stay.

There's a whole raft of paper required. If your HR people can't handle it then I suggest you talk to Sunbelt (see banner).

EDIT Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe it's now possible to get a WP against a retirement extension, if so our OP could possibly go that route for his extension.

Edited September 3, 200817 yr by Crossy

Thanks guys, I understand the requirement for the work permit and I required a receipt for form WP3 before I could go on the visa run. My company is in the process of putting the company documentation I need together. Am I to understand that I MUST have the work permit before applying for the extension of stay or will the WP3 receipt suffice? Wait, let me answer that one myself, I need the work permit! Any other documents you think I should take after I have the work permit (other than those the company is providing)?

Crossy, I also have heard that one can acquire a work permit when on a retirement visa but am not confident that this is in fact the case.

Edited September 3, 200817 yr by midasthailand

... and I want to warn those people who extend either with money in the bank or an income letter in Mukda Han (NorthEast), the lady officer up there now firmly requires (and she says it now has become law) a medical certificate as well as a map showing the applicants residence.

The last 10 days 3 applicants from different countries were forced to do that.