Urgent: Visa Advise Needed

[webfact]

I am currently on a 1y visa which will expire in June.

My employer applied for the 1y visa which was granted.

I will leave the company beginning of next year, in January.

What will happen to my Visa after I have returned the WP?

Will immigration cancel it?

Are there any deadlines a WP has to be returned?

Thanks in advance

[Indo-Siam]

Section 23 of the "Working of Aliens Act (1978)" reads:

Any person who employs an alien or transfers an alien to work in a locality other than that which is specified in the work permit, or allows an alien to resign from his work, shall notify the Registrar within fifteen days from the date of employment, transfer, or resignation.

Section 20 of that same Act reads:

In the case where an alien resigns from the work which is specified in the permit, he shall return the permit to the Registrar of Changwat where the place of work is situated within seven days from the date of his resignation.

So - the regualtion dose not actually address the issue of what happens if employer terminates your employment at employers discretion - but the above rules seem to be what they apply to such a situation.

Section 35 of that Act reads:

Any alien who si working in violation of section 10 or section 18 or section 20 shall be liable to a fine not exceeding one thousand baht.

Section 40 of the Act reads:

Any person who violates section 23 or section 42 shall be laibale to a fine not exceeding one thousand baht.

So - if you and your employer do not turn in the work permit booklet, both you and they are each liable for 1,000 baht fine. To clear such a violation, you need to take work permit booklet to Labor Office. They then issue you a penalty notice - which you then need to take to the local police station to pay the fine. Police Station gives you a receipt - you take that back to Work Permit office and they close out your work permit. In practice, in Bangkok, completing this sequence seems to "pay your debt to society" - we have assisted clients through this clearance process, and then submitted their new work permit application - for a new job with a new employer - during the same visit in which we cleared the delinquent work permit - and they accepted it, and later issued the new work permit.

If you have an extended entry permit, when you turn in a work permit with no new job waiting, they issue you a notice (with copy to Immigration) directing you to report to Immigration for cancellation of your entry permit. Immigration then cancels your entry permit, and issues you a deadline (typically seven days) to depart the country.

Nothing that happens inside Thailand affects your visa - if it is non-immigrant class, and still valid, you can then use it to re-enter Thailand immediately after leaving Thailand - you will receive a fresh 90 day entry permit upon doing so.

Good luck!

Steve Sykes

Managing Director

Indo-Siam Group

Bangkok

[email protected]

www.thaistartup.com

Skype: sykesbkk

[webfact]

Section 23 of the "Working of Aliens Act  (1978)" reads:

Any person who employs an alien or transfers an alien to work in a locality other than that which is specified in the work permit, or allows an alien to resign from his work, shall notify the Re....

Thanks a lot Steve,

it answers my question very much indeed but also raises concern regarding these 7 days "grace period" to leave the country.

Webfact