Change Multientry Non "o" To "b" Visa

[bagan68]

¡Hi everyone!

I am Swiss & Spanish , 40 years old and enter Thailand with a Multientry Non Inmigrant "O"Visa from Hull on my Swiss passport the 1st of February.My Non "O" is valid till 31 st December and says "Employment prohibited"

I am now in Chiang Mai on the way to set up a business.I visited different lawyers and get different opinions about how to do things about work permit and Visa. So If anyone can help me I will appreciate a lot

I am planning to open the business around October this year, So I have the following questions about how to do my work permit and my visa.I will be employed by my own company with the minimum salary required of 50.000 Bahts a month.

Do I have to apply first for my work permit even if I have a Non "O" that says "Employment prohibited"?.Some lawyers told me that it is possible to get the work permit on my actual visa as it very extrange that they stamped "Employment Prohibited in a Non"O".And probably here in Thailand they wil not consider so much this stamp.

If yes, when my Visa expires I have to apply to a "B" Visa Isn´t it ?. Which papers I need and where do I have to go KL or Ventiane for example.

If the answer is that I cannot apply to a work permit with my actual visa. Can I apply to a "B" Visa outside the country eventhough my Non "O" is still valid?What papers do I need to show and where is the best place to go?. Is this change of Visa always a first step before applying to my work permit?Which kind of "B" VIsa do I have to apply to?. A "Single entry 3 months "B" Visa ,a Multientry Non "B" Visa or any other option?

I am going back to Europe in November so Would it be agood moment to apply to my "B" VIsa? Can I get a multientry Non "B" VIsa from Hull, for example? Or can I get a longer "B" Visa One entry and then apply for extensions here in Chiang Mai?

About the work permit Would I be granted normally with a Work permit valid for 6 months or one year?

Sorry If my questions are not clear enough. But I am confused about: What to do first if applying to work permit or visa, about changing my visa or not and if I change what do I need , where to do it and wich "B" Visa do I have to apply to.

If it helps I have the option of applying also with my spanish passport wich has no Visa to Thailand . I think it is useless but I just want to give all the possible options.

Thank you very much for your kind help,

Cheers,

[Lite Beer]

You can work with a Non Imm O Visa providing you have a Work Permit. Ignore the stamp.

[Maestro]

The Labour Department will allow you to apply for and give you a work permit even though your multiple-entry non-O visa has the annotation “Employment prohibited”. What this annotation really means is that the visa itself does not allow you to work; you need a work permit to work legally in Thailand.

Once you have the work permit, you are allowed to work in Thailand despite the annotation “Employment prohibited” on you visa.

You do not need to change to a non-B visa. The entry stamp you get when you arrive in Thailand with the non-O visa is your permission to stay, the work permit is your permission to stay. Thus, you are in Thailand legally and you are working legally.

If and when you want to apply for an annual extension of stay you can do so on the basis of having entered Thailand on you non-O visa. If you have no other basis for applying for the extension, eg married to a Thai national, you apply for the reason of being employed in Thailand. You do not need to get a non-B visa first to apply for this extension.

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Maestro

[bagan68]

¡Thank you very much for your answers! I have though a couple of extra questions on the matter

If I live the country just before the 31 st of December when my "O" Visa expires I get the last 90 days. ¿When do I have to apply for the extension? Just before this 90 days expired? What do I need? If I only get 6 months work permit in October for example Am I able to apply for this year extension knowing that my first work permit will be over before this full year ends? Or I apply as shareholder and the work permit doesn´t have anything to do on the matter?

¡Thanks again for your help!

Cheers,

[Maestro]

You apply as an employee of the company, not as a shareholder.

The validity of the visa is immaterial for the timing of the application for extension. You should apply for the extension within the last 30 days of your 90-day permission to stay.

You will need a heap of documents from your compnay to apply for the extension. Your lawyer should know the details or another member will post it here. One document probably will be the balance sheet for the last two years of operation of the company, which means that you cannot apply before two years have passed.

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Maestro

[InterestedObserver]

Shareholders in a company do not need a work permit as they are passive participants in the company. If they should also become actively engaged in the daily operations of the company, then a work permit may be required.

[Maestro]

...then a work permit may be required.

...and for this work permit you apply as an employee of the company, not a as a shareholder. You cannot get a work permit for being a shareholder, only for being an employee.

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Maestro

[TerryLH]

"...then a work permit may be required."

That's misleading.

A work permit will be required.

[bagan68]

¡Thank you very much for you answers!¡So if I understood what you all said, once I have my work permit and my "O " VIsa is over I can not apply for an extension beacuse my company is new but I can go out of the country to apply for a "B" VIsa ¿Is that right?

¿Do you know what papers I have to take with me to apply for a "B" VIsa?. Around Thailand which is the easiest Consulate or embassy to apply for it?

Thanks again,

Cheers,