Non imm and work permit

[Eastender]

A small language school has offered to set me up with a work permit, but they speak very little English and they have only done this once before.  Hence I want to know what I'm doing.

1) Am I correct in thinking there is no such thing as a work visa, I need a non-immigrant B visa and then a work permit?

2) So the first step for a non Imm visa is to do a visa run.  The links on this site say I need a letter of recommendation from the employer, but in what language?  The sample letter shown is in English, is this O.K.?

3) The links also say when applying for the non Imm visa I need to take relevant company documentation.  This is a little vague, what do I need?

4) I will do the visa application at either Penang or Vientianne.  Is either one of these a better choice for being more likely to issue the visa?

Thanks for any help, and appologies if this has been asked before.

[george]

1. Yes, Non-B.

2. Thai or English language, doesn't matter.

3. Company registration, list of shareholders, VAT certificate (if any)

4. Penang is friendlier and easier.

[Indo-Siam]

Eastender -

My company handles the process you are getting ready to pursue.

Here is what you need to understand - it is a convoluted process, and not simply a matter of submitting some forms.

When you do get your work permit, it will be good only until the expiration of the non-immigrant ENTRY PERMIT you used to pick it up. So - your work permit will expire within 10 weeks of issuance.  What you need to do is obtain a work permit, and then immediately appoly for a long-term entry permit extension.  In the couse of that application being processed, you will probably need to obatin at least one interim work permit renewal, and then - once your long-term entry permit extension is approved, a final work permit renewal to match the long-term extension.  So - typically you are talking about three work permit cycles.

My firm charges 21,000 baht plus third-party fees to run this whole process - work permit(s) plus entry permit extensions.

On a scale of 1-100 (with 100 being tough), the complexity of putting together and processing documentation for a non-immigrant visa is a 3, for a work permit (two week turnaround) is a 43, and for an entry permit extension (ten week turnaround) is about a 58.

Good luck!

Steve Sykes

Managing Director

Indo-Siam Group

[email protected]