Can I Get A Work Permit With A Non O Visa

[aussieandy2034]

Can i get a work permit with a non o ?

is there any advantage to getting a non b if this is the case.

which is the better visa to get if i am planning to stay a year in thailand, the o is easy for me to get.

AnDy--

the paperwork i have for the b is not that great

[monty]

Yes, you can apply for and receive a work permit while in Thailand on a non immigrant O visa.

Only when you would have extended this visa based on retirement this would not be possible.

If both you (enough salary) and your employer (enough Thai staff, capitalisation and 2 years audited book keeping) qualify for a 1 year extension, then you will have to pay an extra 2,000 Baht to convert to a B visa after which they can proceed with said extension. This conversion would have to be done with at least 21 days of allowed stay remaining.

If you do not qualify for the 1 year extension (or are to late to do the conversion to you can travel to a neighboring country where you will be issued a new non immigrant B visa based on you holding a valid work permit.

[earlofwindermere]

I have a Non-O visa and a work permit. Mine is not based on retirement. I've also been able to extend it for the past 5 years without much difficulty.

Edited March 21, 2010 by earlofwindermere

[BWPattaya]

I have a Non - O. One year I was offered a job, had a work permit, and told to keep my Non - O, don't change to a Non - B. Aster three months I stopped work, cancelled my work permit and continued on my Non - O.

If I had had a Non - B then I would have lost the visa when I finished work and cancelled the work permit and would have been given seven days to leave the country. (By coincidence a friend of min is leaving tomorrow as he has just stopped working. Back to UK to get a retriement visa.)

[monty]

I have a Non-O visa and a work permit. Mine is not based on retirement. I've also been able to extend it for the past 5 years without much difficulty.

I assume you have it extended to a year based on marriage.

If you have a non O visa, and have it extended based on marriage, then you do not need to change to a B visa, and indeed loosing your job will have no effect on your visa status.

As the OP did not mention him being married to a Thai national, he will not have this extension and will e on the 90 days given on arrival in Thailand based on the non-O visa he was given at the embassy/consulate.

If he wishes to extend those 90 days to a full year based on his working (and NOt married to a Thai national) then he will have to concert to a B visa. And this extension he will lose on the day his employment ends.

[monty]

(By coincidence a friend of min is leaving tomorrow as he has just stopped working. Back to UK to get a retriement visa.)

Your friend could have extended his stay based on retirement without leaving Thailand if he fulfilled the requirements, i.e. 800,000 Baht in a Thai bank for at least 2 months on the day of your application, or the embassy letter confirming a pension of at least 65,000 Baht/month...

[earlofwindermere]

I have a Non-O visa and a work permit. Mine is not based on retirement. I've also been able to extend it for the past 5 years without much difficulty.

I assume you have it extended to a year based on marriage.

If you have a non O visa, and have it extended based on marriage, then you do not need to change to a B visa, and indeed loosing your job will have no effect on your visa status.

As the OP did not mention him being married to a Thai national, he will not have this extension and will e on the 90 days given on arrival in Thailand based on the non-O visa he was given at the embassy/consulate.

If he wishes to extend those 90 days to a full year based on his working (and NOt married to a Thai national) then he will have to concert to a B visa. And this extension he will lose on the day his employment ends.

I am not married to a Thai. I am a 33 year old Canadian married to a Canadian. I have been in Thailand for 6 years on a Non-O visa and have had a Work Permit the entire time as well. I have extended my visa every year without much difficulty. I know many people in Chiang Mai who do the same.

[monty]

I am not married to a Thai. I am a 33 year old Canadian married to a Canadian. I have been in Thailand for 6 years on a Non-O visa and have had a Work Permit the entire time as well. I have extended my visa every year without much difficulty. I know many people in Chiang Mai who do the same.

I was of the impression that most immigration offices insisted on changing to non B. Not that it makes much difference apart from generating 2000 Baht revenue

It would however mean that your extension is tied to your work permit!

[thaiphoon]

If I had had a Non - B then I would have lost the visa when I finished work and cancelled the work permit and would have been given seven days to leave the country. (By coincidence a friend of min is leaving tomorrow as he has just stopped working. Back to UK to get a retriement visa.)

Only if you were on extension of stay based on employment would your permission to stay end on the last day of working. You would have to leave the country the same day or obtain 7 day extension from immigration (there is no longer a 7 day grace period). If permission to stay was based on Non-B visa entry, you could continue to stay in the country until permission to stay expires and, if holding multiple entry Non-B visa, could continue to do border runs for new 90 day entries whilst visa remains valid.

[Somrak]

Monty:

Only when you would have extended this visa based on retirement this would not be possible. **

I did think the same.

But now a saw, that a fried, he stays here on a retirement extension, became a WP for helping his Gf in a restaurant.

But he told me, that they like he changes his Visa to a "suport children visa", if he extend the next time.

.... i think to understand now why. It looks like he get his WP with help from friends at the amphoer (TIT), and the above ** is right!?

[monty]

Monty:

Only when you would have extended this visa based on retirement this would not be possible. **

I did think the same.

But now a saw, that a fried, he stays here on a retirement extension, became a WP for helping his Gf in a restaurant.

But he told me, that they like he changes his Visa to a "suport children visa", if he extend the next time.

.... i think to understand now why. It looks like he get his WP with help from friends at the amphoer (TIT), and the above ** is right!?

The Amphoer has nothing to do with work permits, it's only the labor department involved.

I guess the labor department does have some leeway and can issue the WP on condition that you change your next extension to a different one. But this probably will be the exemption and cannot be used as a general guideline!

Much the same that the labor department can partly waive the requirement for 4 employees when working for a newly established company, which also comes with the condition that on WP renewal, the 4 employees have to be there!