Hello,

I'm a 31-year-old UK resident arriving in Thailand from Australia next week on a tourist visa. I've had to leave Australia suddenly (confusion about my visa end date) and haven't had time to sort out work and a non-imm B visa so I can get work teaching English when I arrive. What's the best thing to do once I get to Thailand to sort this out? Will I have to go to Malaysia and apply from there? How will it all fit in with getting a work permit?

Thanks in advance for your help.

No, you cannot get a Non-Immigrant visa type B in Thailand, but you can apply for an extension of stay here based on the conditions for Non-Immigrant B. If you have a single entry tourist visa you will be granted 60 days stay upon arrival, which can be extended by another 30 at at any immigration office by paying a fee of 1,900 baht.

All visas, with the exception for "Visa on Arrival" for certain nationalities, must be obtained from a Thai consulate or an embassy's consular department outside of Thailand.

Hello,

I'm a 31-year-old UK resident arriving in Thailand from Australia next week on a tourist visa. I've had to leave Australia suddenly (confusion about my visa end date) and haven't had time to sort out work and a non-imm B visa so I can get work teaching English when I arrive. What's the best thing to do once I get to Thailand to sort this out? Will I have to go to Malaysia and apply from there? How will it all fit in with getting a work permit?

Thanks in advance for your help.

When you arrive in Thailand you have to start looking for work. When you have found an employer you will have to apply for a work permit, make sure the employer wil apply for one. Only with a WP are you allowed to work.

Once you have filed the application for a WP you will get a receipe of that, the WP3 form. With that form you can go to immigration and apply for a conversion to a non-B visa. For that you will need to have at least 21 days left on your permission to stay in Thailand. With a tourist visa of 60 days, which can be extended by another 30 days, that should be enough. Otherwiswe you will need to go to a neighbouring country with the WP3 receipt and a letter from your employer.

Thanks for your advice. Most helpful and extremely reassuring.

Have a look around in our teaching section: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Teaching-Tha...-Forum-f46.html

you might find useful information there.