How Do You Know If Your Work Permit Is Cancelled?

[Wingman1]

A friend just asked a question I cant answer. She had a falling out with the company(individual) that hired her a few weeks back and are no longer working for that person. A few questions related to this:

1. How do you know if your work permit is canceled if you and the former employer aren't on speaking terms?

2. She has a Non Immigrant B visa. The last stamp in her passport says Extension of stay permitted up to June 23, 2010. Then she has an extension of stay paper in her book that says she has to notify her address again on June 14.

Write, wrong or indifferent if her work permit has not been cancelled(she still has the actual permit) can she continue to stay in the country and just check in every 90 days? Or does she need to start the visa run stuff? She has a life here in Thailand now and cannot just pick up and leave.

I dont know much about this and it seems confusing to me. Advice is appreciated.

[Mario2008]

She appears to be on an extension of stay and in that case has to leave the country the same day she loses her job, but can get a 7 day permission to stay at immigration. If she doesn't know if labour has been notified, that might be the wise thing the do. This will prevent future problems. She can get a double entry tourist visa in Vientianne, Laos for free.

The normal cancellation of a WP is visiting labour with a letter from the company stating the day the contract was terminated.

[monty]

Normal procedure:

The employer needs to make a document stating that employment has ended, in duplicate.

One has to go to the Labor department (can be done by the employer), and the other has to be presented at immigration, in person by the employee.

Immigration will then cancel the extension of stay, and the employee has the option to get a 7 day extension at a cost of 1,900 Baht.

The work permit itself doesn't need to go to labor department.

Both should be done on the date the document states the employment ends.

[roiethome]

Do the Labour department and Immigration dept really speak to each other ?

A couple of years ago I finished work for my Thailand employer in May and changed to being employed in Singapore.

It never occurred to me that the work permit being canceled would effect the Visa. I just handed the WP back to my employer on my last day and that was it. For the next six months I still came in and out of Thailand every couple of weeks still quoting the same visa number and never had a question on arrival. Maybe I was just lucky.

[monty]

Do the Labour department and Immigration dept really speak to each other ?

A couple of years ago I finished work for my Thailand employer in May and changed to being employed in Singapore.

It never occurred to me that the work permit being canceled would effect the Visa. I just handed the WP back to my employer on my last day and that was it. For the next six months I still came in and out of Thailand every couple of weeks still quoting the same visa number and never had a question on arrival. Maybe I was just lucky.

Canceling the work permit has no effect on a visa.

For example if you hold a multiple entry non immigrant B visa, if you stop working, you can still leave and enter as you wish, as long as the validity of the actual visa is not expired (you find this on the visa stamp/sticker itself).

Only an extension of stay based on employment, issued by immigration within Thailand, will be canceled when stopping work.

Indeed immigration and labor do not communicate (yet), but technically you'd be illegal in the country if you would keep using the extension and re-entry permit attached to it.

Additionally, if you ever get employed again in Thailand, both labor and immigration will likely find out what you did before when processing the new work permit/extension, which could seriously complicate matters.

[Sunbelt Asia]

As your friend is on an extension of stay, she will have to leave the country ASAP as her employer may have already notified the Labor and Immigration departments that her employment has been terminated and that she has no legal basis to stay in the country. If she cannot exit the country quickly then she can cover herself by going to Immigration herself, state that her employment has ended and apply for a seven-day extension to get her affairs in order.

The extension will cost 1,900 baht and give her 7 days. Making a quick border run costs about the same or slightly more and will get her 14 days to plan a longer trip.

As you noted she "has a life" in Thailand, I'm assuming her desire is to remain here long term? Does she plan on finding new employment?

If not, then her options are more limited, particularly if she is not married to a Thai national or over 50 years old. She can obtain long-stay visas for educational or investment/business purposes. Or with a trip to the Hull consulate in the United Kingdom, she could "self certify" her financial situation to obtain a 1-year non-immigrant O visa.

Our expert Legal Advisors can provide you a more detailed information about visa requirements, work permit and company legal issues.

www.sunbeltasia.com

26th Floor Fortune Town BR, 1 Ratchadapisek Rd, 10400 Bangkok

Tel: 02-642-0213 Fax: 02-641-1995

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[TerryLH]

"The work permit itself doesn't need to go to labor department."

Some offices still want them back.

[Wingman1]

"The work permit itself doesn't need to go to labor department."

Some offices still want them back.

Ok so I have advised her to get on the right track and get the proper paper work to stay in the Kingdom. However we have learned that the work permit was not canceled. But now we are a bit confused. The last stamp in her passport says extension of stay permitted until Jun 22, 2010. There is also a paper inside of her passport that is for the every 90 day check in and it is stamped June 14th.

So I believe what she has to do now is to go to Laos, get a Double Entry Visa (each one is good for 90 days). So what she has to do is every 90 days she has to make a border run again? Gosh this is so confusing. As far as work yes she is looking for work. But she has the money to stay in the country for up to a year and not have to work. Perhaps she should get an education viisa?

Guidance is appreciated.

[lopburi3]

She has no basis to stay longer than her employment if the extension of stay was issued for that. So those dates in her passport not important - she is on overstay now if her employment has ended and needs to leave. Her status, even if no communication, could become a subject of questions when trying to exit. We have report of person being turned around to get his invalid extension of stay canceled by his immigration office prior to be allowed to exit Thailand. It may not happen but it could. There would also be overstay fine of 500 baht per day.

If she wants to study that would be an option. She has no real multi 90 day options as such - the best would be two entry tourist visa which provides 60 days which can be extended 30 more on payment (suspect that is what you are calling 90 day).

[tb86]

if your no longer working for the company holding your work permit.... you no longer have a work permit, wether they have canceled it or havent bothered, really dosent matter as theyre not going to allow you to re new it when it expires..., get a ed visa untill they find a new job

Edited May 27, 2010 by tb86

[Sunbelt Asia]

So I believe what she has to do now is to go to Laos, get a Double Entry Visa (each one is good for 90 days). So what she has to do is every 90 days she has to make a border run again? Gosh this is so confusing. As far as work yes she is looking for work. But she has the money to stay in the country for up to a year and not have to work. Perhaps she should get an education viisa?

The double-entry Tourist Visa allows her to stay in the country for 60, not 90 days, at one stretch. After the first 60-days she can pay 1,900 baht and obtain a 30-day extension. At the end of that, she does a visa run, gets 60 more days and get another 30-day extension. So it's 2 extensions and 1 visa run.

If she has no money to stay in the Kingdom, then I'm not sure how an education visa will help. She would have to enroll and attend school for this to be valid. Language schools charge in excess of 25,000 baht for visa and 100-200 hours of language lessons.

Our expert Legal Advisors can provide you a more detailed information about visa requirements, work permit and company legal issues.

www.sunbeltasia.com

26th Floor Fortune Town BR, 1 Ratchadapisek Rd, 10400 Bangkok

Tel: 02-642-0213 Fax: 02-641-1995

Follow us on:

[Wingman1]

if your no longer working for the company holding your work permit.... you no longer have a work permit, wether they have canceled it or havent bothered, really dosent matter as theyre not going to allow you to re new it when it expires..., get a ed visa untill they find a new job

Ok so before she leaves for Laos to get the double entry(does that mean she still has to make the border run every 30 days?) she needs to go to immigration and do what? I dont want her to get stopped at the border or something.