Visanon imm class b

[Enduro]

Kotu Baru very good and easiest immigration I have been.  

I now have Non Imm class B but not sure if this is the one I need!  I am paid by a british travel company in Bangkok to source motorbike tour companies in S.E.Asia to eventually operate tours for british tourists.  I will be in Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand (mostly Thailand) for about 9-12 months doing this.  

The company I work for does not have an office in Thailand only in London. My questions are...

 

1) As what I am doing is for tourism into Thailand will I be able to apply for a promotion Visa ? (I have only just heard of this). If not, Will I be able to get a working permit on my current visa if the company does not have an office in Thailand. (am I technically working ?)

2) I need is a visa that will allow travel freely in and out of Thailand for 12 months. Is my Non Imm Business the right one and if so what do I do to make it one year!  Please help! The whole visa situation seems to be so confusing.

Sorry for the many questions.

[Indo-Siam]

Hi -

You will get a lot of different guidance on this, but three items of information would help clarify your situation:

1.  What is your nationality (can you automatically get a 30 day visa on arrival upon entry to Thailand)?

2.  Assuming that you are paid directly to a bank account, where is that bank?

3.  What is the nature of the "closing transaction" that you will be making with Thai service providers?

If you can get a 30 day visa on arrival, and you are paid to a bank overseas, and you are just evaluating providers that will ultimately be contracted for by your British office - then I would say just forget about the non-immigrant visa - let it expire, and operate on 30 day visas on arrival.  No one in Thailand will care.

You cannot get a work permit without an employer that has an office in Thailand, and that is paying you (and withholding income taxes - and paying these to Revenue Department monthly).  You cannot get a long-term extension to a non-immigrant Class B visa without a work permit.  So - you can forget both of those approaches.

I initially worked here for 21 months in a regional role (working for a US company) that had me continually leaving and entering Thailand. I am married to a Thai, and I originally got a Class O visa.  I had intended to "do the right thing" and pay taxes here - even though I got paid to a US bank.  No way.  The system here cannot process a foreigner who is simply operating here for an overseas firm.  As long as your job requires travel in and out of Thailand anyway, just forget about trying to fit into the system.

For someone in your situation who needed to stay put in Thailand without doing visa runs, the only option would be to open a Representative Office here for your overseas company.  You would then be paid by that office -  and that office would have to run off funds remitted from head office overseas.  That would entitle you to a work permit, and a long-term entry permit extension.

Good luck!

Steve Sykes

Managing Director

Indo-Siam Group

www.indo-siam.com