Ave Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 Sorry for repeating a slightly different version of the 90 days renewal issue but having read lots of posts and not finding a clear answer to my problem which could be quite urgent, here how things are for me at the moment. I have a work permit and a regular non-imm B visa. My passport is usually retained by the visa officer at work who is supposed to be responsible for visa formalities. This person is also supposed to remind us of when renewals are due. Before the summer holidays I took my passport to go abroad. It had 90 days renewal notice stapled on it. It indicated 31 August as I recall but I am not totally sure because it was taken out. I flew back into Thailand on 15 August and the notice was removed by an immigration officer whilst travelling. I thought that everything was in order and that my 90 days' calculation would start again once left and then returned to Thailand. did I get all this wrong? My visa expires next March by the way. When I went back to work and gave my passport back to the visa officer they told me that the notice should not have been removed from my passport, that I should have paid for overstay and that now I have to pay 2000 Baht. This sounds very strange to me. While I try to understand this I am refusing to pay any money to the school's visa officer. Also they were supposed to take note of my renewal due date and remind me of it anyway. That's part of their job. I am very worried because I have a very low salary and cannot afford to pay for what appear to be other people's mistakes. The reason why I am totally suspicious about this officer is the fact that several other employees have had to pay double of the amount for visa fees when in fact didn't have to. Nobody is making an official complaint, they don't seem to be bothered I want to do something to stop this scam but I need to make sure that I am in the right when it comes to my situation. Can someone help me find out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Explorer Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 OP, Did you get a re-entry permit before going out of the country? Explorer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2008bangkok Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 Lets put it this way.. if you leave the country then your 90 days start from when you arrive back in thailand make no mistake about that, whether the notice has to be removed or not im not 100% sure but i would say so as that is no longer the day you next go back to report so why do you need it...it sounds like this guy either doesnt know his job correctly or he is hoping that you dont know the visa laws correctly!!! I just wanna add that it gives me the hump when people blatently tell you hoese crap and then expect you just to believe it, it get right on my nerves!! Good luck OP but try not to piss the guy off two much he might 'accidently forget to remind you next time'! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon43 Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 Slightly OT, but that 'visa officer' has absolutely no legal right to retain your passport. Passports are the property of the issuing government. Am I saying that you should refuse to hand it over? Well, perhaps I'm saying that you would be better off finding a new (and better) employer. Good luck Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joskydive Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 (edited) Your 90 days starts from the day you arrived back in Thailand and if you check your stamp from immigration you will see the date that you need to go for your next visa run. They stamp your passport and arrival card with this date. If you had overstay, they would have collected that money at the airport. Where can they say you overstayed if you left before your 90 days were up? I'm also under the impression that you are required to have your passport at all times, for Police spot checks, so why are you having to leave it with this person anyway? Here in Pattaya people have been fined for not having their passport on them for inspection and a photocopy was not acceptable, not that I like to carry such a precious document around all the time. Edited October 14, 2008 by joskydive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubonjoe Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 Are you talking about 90 day report. If yes it starts again when you re-enter the country and you report 90 days after. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soutpeel Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 (edited) If you leave the country before your 90 day report date and then return, 90 days starts again the day you re-enter Therefore if your reporting date was 31st August and you left on the 15th, and say you arrived back in Thailand on 1st Sept, your 90 day count would begin again from 1st Sept. You were not on an "overstay", somebody doesnt know what they are talking about or you have been scammed. Also technically the fine is not for overstay, its failure to report, different thing. I am in and out all the time and take the notice out of my passport once I am through immigration, as basically, the reporting date is invalidated the minute you are out the country and have never been told I cant do this or been fined for doing so. The simplest way to prevent this happening is take care of the 90 day report yourself, hold your own passport, fill in the form yourself and take it the immigration yourself, you dont need someone to do this for you...its takes 10 minutes to do, also you have a 7 day leeway either way on reporting date. At least this way if you do end up getting a fine for reporting late at least you know its legit Edited October 14, 2008 by Soutpeel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy1308 Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 Just a thought. The OP mentions the non-B but does not say if it's a multi-entry. I think I am correct in saying that if it was single entry then it would have expired when the OP left Thailand. Could the fee mentioned by anything to do with the re-issue of a non-B ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soutpeel Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 Just a thought. The OP mentions the non-B but does not say if it's a multi-entry. I think I am correct in saying that if it was single entry then it would have expired when the OP left Thailand. Could the fee mentioned by anything to do with the re-issue of a non-B ? Pretty sure if you manage to invalidate your Non-imm B by not having a re-entry permit, it cant be re-issued in country, if it had expired you have to go out and get a new one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PoorSucker Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 Just a thought. The OP mentions the non-B but does not say if it's a multi-entry. I think I am correct in saying that if it was single entry then it would have expired when the OP left Thailand. Could the fee mentioned by anything to do with the re-issue of a non-B ? When doing 90-day reporting he's on extension of stay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracer Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 Just a thought. The OP mentions the non-B but does not say if it's a multi-entry. I think I am correct in saying that if it was single entry then it would have expired when the OP left Thailand. Could the fee mentioned by anything to do with the re-issue of a non-B ? When doing 90-day reporting he's on extension of stay. seems the easiest way is to check dates of visa (ie check ALL stamps on latest visum stamp in your passport especially valid until etc and if you have with you have it checked somewhere what you have....). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astral Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 I flew back into Thailand on 15 August and the notice was removed by an immigration officer whilst travelling. I thought that everything was in order and that my 90 days' calculation would start again once left and then returned to Thailand. did I get all this wrong? My visa expires next March by the way. You are quite correct. Once you exit and re-enter (with a re-entry permit!!) the 90 days starts again. When I went back to work and gave my passport back to the visa officer they told me that the notice should not have been removed from my passport, that I should have paid for overstay and that now I have to pay 2000 Baht. This sounds very strange to me. While I try to understand this I am refusing to pay any money to the school's visa officer. Also they were supposed to take note of my renewal due date and remind me of it anyway. That's part of their job. Either this visa officer does not know what he/she is talking about, or they are operating a scam. There is no 2000 baht fine as you did NOT miss the reporting day, you were outside the country. There is no "overstay" fine, that would have been collected at the airport. You should be in possession of your passport, not the school. They can request the passport if they need to go to the immigration office on your behalf. I suggest you take this up with someone more senior at the school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubonjoe Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 I can tell you they would not be holding my passprt. There is a requirement that you carry your passport with you at all times. Besides that I can't see how you can function without it. Every time I turn around I need it for something. Bank, credit card purchases and etc. If you are paying for your own extensions, work permit and etc. I think I would demand an official reciept for everything or do it myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astral Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 Off topic posts removed. Lets stay with the subject please. Astral Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MP5 Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 Off topic posts removed.Lets stay with the subject please. Astral The re-entry permit is the issue I think Did you (The OP) get one before leaving the country YES or NO? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ave Posted October 14, 2008 Author Share Posted October 14, 2008 OP,Did you get a re-entry permit before going out of the country? Explorer Yes. I have a multiple entry permit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ave Posted October 14, 2008 Author Share Posted October 14, 2008 Slightly OT, but that 'visa officer' has absolutely no legal right to retain your passport. Passports are the property of the issuing government.Am I saying that you should refuse to hand it over? Well, perhaps I'm saying that you would be better off finding a new (and better) employer. Good luck Simon you are soo right! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ave Posted October 14, 2008 Author Share Posted October 14, 2008 I flew back into Thailand on 15 August and the notice was removed by an immigration officer whilst travelling. I thought that everything was in order and that my 90 days' calculation would start again once left and then returned to Thailand. did I get all this wrong? My visa expires next March by the way. You are quite correct. Once you exit and re-enter (with a re-entry permit!!) the 90 days starts again. When I went back to work and gave my passport back to the visa officer they told me that the notice should not have been removed from my passport, that I should have paid for overstay and that now I have to pay 2000 Baht. This sounds very strange to me. While I try to understand this I am refusing to pay any money to the school's visa officer. Also they were supposed to take note of my renewal due date and remind me of it anyway. That's part of their job. Either this visa officer does not know what he/she is talking about, or they are operating a scam. There is no 2000 baht fine as you did NOT miss the reporting day, you were outside the country. There is no "overstay" fine, that would have been collected at the airport. You should be in possession of your passport, not the school. They can request the passport if they need to go to the immigration office on your behalf. I suggest you take this up with someone more senior at the school. Thank you astral, that's what I thought all along but was not sure. Yes, I'm totally aware of the fact that I should be keeping my passport and I did question that in the past. We were told from the beginning that the reason for having to give it to the school visa officer is that they can better manage visa and permits renewals. It actually worked ok until I realised that I can't trust them anymore. In principle this passport retainment was done so that employees didn't have to worry about missing their expiry dates.. I am not extremely popular at the moment as I have made a few waves for standing up to some cases of discrimination but then I don't have so much to lose really... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ave Posted October 14, 2008 Author Share Posted October 14, 2008 I can tell you they would not be holding my passprt. There is a requirement that you carry your passport with you at all times. Besides that I can't see how you can function without it. Every time I turn around I need it for something. Bank, credit card purchases and etc.If you are paying for your own extensions, work permit and etc. I think I would demand an official reciept for everything or do it myself. that's what I am planning to do for the time I am there. cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ave Posted October 14, 2008 Author Share Posted October 14, 2008 wow, I don't know how to thank you all for your immediate advice! If I have to calculate 90 days from my arrival in Thailand, then, it should not be earlier than 13 November. This woudl give me enough time to get my passport back, take it to immigration and have it checked, hoping they'll be willing to give me the correct information. I'll let you know how things develop. This should be interesting.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mario2008 Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 You can read it here: http://www.immigration.go.th/nov2004/en/base.php?page=90days Read the note under the information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astral Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 90 days from the latest arrival stamp in your passport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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