Which Visa Do I Need?

[alyssa9933]

I am moving to Thailand with my husband who will be employed there. He is getting a Business Visa. I was originally going to get the type "O" Visa to come into the country as his wife. His employer has now also offered me an office position because with the addition of my husband, the company will have alot more contact with American companies and since I have alot of office experience it was a good fit for me to be the contact person in the office plus they thought I could help teach some of the office staff English. We assume that this means I will also need a Business Visa. The worry I have is this. I always thought that a work visa was issued when someone from another country had a skill that only they and not a Thai could do (which is the case with my husband - he has a certain expertise in his field). I on the other hand would be simply an office worker and am worried that if I come on a work Visa, I may be turned away or asked to leave when my husband is not. Is there a Visa that does a double purpose or is it easy enought to change from an "O" to a "B" or vice versa as or if necessary?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[lopburi3]

To work you would have to have a work permit and if company is large they may be able to support two such permits. Am sure they could write your duties up to be something the local staff was not able to do if they so felt. But both a non immigrant O and B would support a work permit or extension of stay as a dependent it does not make much difference which you have.

You will not be turned away regardless of what visa you have to if they have issued a letter that allows the B visa issue I would take it. You can always extend your stay to match husbands at a later point if required.

[PoorSucker]

You can apply for a work permit and the work on a non immigrant O visa.

[Toffeeman]

The comment about ' you could teach the staff some English' seems they have already thought how they will describe your duties when applying for a work permit.

[svt]

The comment about ' you could teach the staff some English' seems they have already thought how they will describe your duties when applying for a work permit.

Yes, I agree with Toffeeman and as you said "the company will have alot more contact with American companies and since I have alot of office experience it was a good fit for me to be the contact person in the office plus they thought I could help teach some of the office staff English"

If you get NON-O, then you can accompany your husband visa and with this NON-O, you can't work (coz your spouse is not Thai). So I think best you get NON-B coz I think you will get your Work Permit ok and it's not hard to change here from NON-B to NON-O so if you don't get a work permit, then just accompany your husband visa.

[thaiphoon]

If you get NON-O, then you can accompany your husband visa and with this NON-O, you can't work (coz your spouse is not Thai). So I think best you get NON-B coz I think you will get your Work Permit ok and it's not hard to change here from NON-B to NON-O so if you don't get a work permit, then just accompany your husband visa.

Not so. Either Non-O or Non-B visa can be used to support work permit application. It has nothing to do with the spouse not being Thai. In the Op's case I would go the Non-B route if the employer can provide letter etc to support visa application outside the region. It is only possible for a dependent to obtain extension of stay piggy backing the main applicant if the main applicant is already on extension of stay. It cannot be done if the main applicant's permission to stay is based on non-immigrant visa entry.

[2008bangkok]

This is not so either, you can only apply for a work permit with a NON-O visa if you are married to a Thai national otherwise you will need to have a NON-B visa if you would like a work permit.

The best thing to do is ti get a letter of employment sent to you from the employer and get the NOn-B visa from your home country if possible they are alot more leniant and will likely give you a 1 year otherwise if you come to Thailand to do it then you will only get 3 months from a local out of country embass

If you get NON-O, then you can accompany your husband visa and with this NON-O, you can't work (coz your spouse is not Thai). So I think best you get NON-B coz I think you will get your Work Permit ok and it's not hard to change here from NON-B to NON-O so if you don't get a work permit, then just accompany your husband visa.

Not so. Either Non-O or Non-B visa can be used to support work permit application. It has nothing to do with the spouse not being Thai. In the Op's case I would go the Non-B route if the employer can provide letter etc to support visa application outside the region. It is only possible for a dependent to obtain extension of stay piggy backing the main applicant if the main applicant is already on extension of stay. It cannot be done if the main applicant's permission to stay is based on non-immigrant visa entry.

[Mario2008]

This is not so either, you can only apply for a work permit with a NON-O visa if you are married to a Thai national otherwise you will need to have a NON-B visa if you would like a work permit.

The best thing to do is ti get a letter of employment sent to you from the employer and get the NOn-B visa from your home country if possible they are alot more leniant and will likely give you a 1 year otherwise if you come to Thailand to do it then you will only get 3 months from a local out of country embassy

That is incorrect. When on your original 90 day stay based on a Non-O visa you can get a WP, as the visa doesn't state a reason of issue, like retirement. It is only once you are on an extension of stay based on retirement you will not get a work permit.

A non-O can be given for many reasons, not just for retirement or marriage. A WP can be applied for on any visa, even if you don't have a visa. But won't be issued till you have the proper visa. If you don't have the proper visa, labour will give you a WP3 form, which you need to get the visa in neighbouring countries.