Hi,

I am on a non-b single entry which is about to expire, I have not received my work permit yet but should do within one month, either way i need to renew my non-b in vientiane.

My question is whether or not i need to have a non-b in conjunction with a work permit (or does the work permit alone authorise a years stay)?? if the non-b is just a visa used until a work permit is granted then i will just buy the single entry non-b again, if they are required together i will purchase the multiple entry visa.

Thanks for your advice, my employer is not particularly proficient at offering advise and guidance on these issues.

Work permit does not come with an extension of stay.

You need a work permit plus supporting documents from the company you are working for to get an extension at immigration.

A visa only allows you to enter the country after that you have a permit to stay and that s what must be extended.

Without a work permit and supporting documents you will not get a multiple entry visa at any nearby consulate.

I assume that you have already applied for work permit and are just waiting...ok

You can either apply for a extension of stay based on work that will give you 12 months you really neeed the employer top do that with you and you can apply for that at your local immigration... or you go to Laos and get a 3month Non-B, it is very unlikely you will get a 12 month NOn B without showing you have a 12 month work permit but you will get a 3 mnoth just by showing the relevant company details etc..

You must have either a valid NON-B, NON-o (if you are married or a extension of stay and the work permit to work you cannot just have just the visa or just the permit you must have both.

hope this helps

Thanks. I will be applying for the multiple non-B.

When I applied for my single non-b last time with all the employer documents my employer failed to inform me i should get a multiple entry non-B. I was under the impression the work permit I expected to have by now would overide the many beaurocratic visa rules. That was a wasted 3 days running to Laos and back . Think i need to have a few words with my employer regarding the lack communication and the inconvenience this has cause me....

As has been said already you will not get a multiple entry visa until you get a work permit and unless the company has more tha 8 millions baht in registered capital KL is the only place nearby to get it. It they do then Penang is the other choice,

There is no reason for a work permit to take more than 2 or 3 weeks unless somebody is not doing the paper work correctly or the company cannot meet the requirements to get it.

A single-entry Non-Immigrant "B" will do since you are getting your work permit within one month. You can get a multiple reentry permit along with your 1 year extension of stay from immigration. But do you really need to make multiple trips outside Thailand once you are working?