I am on a 90 B visa at the moment. I do not have a work permit yet. My landlord is starting a school which is to employ me as a consultant. The only reason for this is to get a visa for me. I do not actually need to work in Thailand as I have an income from abroad. I just need a visa. He is now dragging his feet with the start up of the school, therefore, I may not get my WP before my current visa expires. I have 2 questions.

1. If my landlord doesn't come through and I am unable to get the work permit, can I switch from a B visa to an Ed visa? If so, can this be done in Thailand or must it be done abroad?

2 If I have applied for but not yet received the work permit, can I do a visa run to Malaysia or Sing. and get another 90 day B visa in order to complete my WP application?

Any other relevant info would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Apologies if this topic has already been covered, but I didn't see it in other threads.

Not sure about 1. probably not and you might have to take a trip abroad.

Regarding question 2 you might want to go to the labour office and ask for a WP3 receipt. It states that you will get your WP and you will need either the WP or the WP3 receipt to get a new non-B visa in Asia.

Not sure about 1. probably not and you might have to take a trip abroad.

Regarding question 2 you might want to go to the labour office and ask for a WP3 receipt. It states that you will get your WP and you will need either the WP or the WP3 receipt to get a new non-B visa in Asia.

Sorry, just to be clear. Do you mean I probably cannot switch from a non B to an Ed visa or cannot do it in Thailand? Thanks.

You will probably have to go abroad to get a ED-visa. Immigration will most likely not change your reason for staying from work to study.

Concur with Mario. Most likely you will need to obtain single entry Non-ED visa from consulate abroad, and then extend your stay at Thai immigration with papers from the school.

Thanks very much for the help. I don't mind the trip out at all. My main concern was whether it was possible to switch or not. Cheers.