so i had a position with company "A" with non imm b and work permit and am now changing jobs to company "B". company "B" is ready willing and able to facilitate obtaining new work permit and visa but my question is this, since my original work permit was attached to company "A" am i going to have to leave the country for new visa or can accountants here just shuffle the papers and arrange for a new work permit based on my still valid non imm b?

The question is if you have a valid non-B from a consulate or are you on an extension of stay from immigration in Thailand?

If you are on an extension of stay from immigration, you need to leave the country the same day your employment ends, or have your permission to stay canceled and get a 7 day permission to stay. If you get a new WP within those 7 days you go back to immigration and ask for a 1 year extension of stay with all necessary company papers. If not, you have to go abroad and apply for a new visa. For that you need the WP3 form from labour, showing you have applied for the work permit, and some company papers.

If you are still on your original 90 day entry or have a valid multiple non-B visa, that remains valid if you lose your job.

thanks for the response. i received what i assume to be the standard 3 month Single Entry Non-Imm B from Penang back in October. in January I went to BKK and got a 1yr multiple entry Extension which i 90 day'd locally and am now coming up to my second 90 day reporting date.

are you supposed to wait to file for wp until after you have canceled your permission to stay?

i'm still a week out from d day and know i can score a new wp in that week, can i just go ahead and apply and obtain the new work permit and then hit my 90 day report as scheduled?

You seem to have a 1 year extension of stay and a multiple re-entry permit.

The day your job ends is the day you have to elave the country or apply for a 7 day extension. If you still have your job, you can prepare all the papers for the new job. But you can probably not apply for the WP till you resign your old job.

Unless you leave the country before your 90 day report is due, just submit it as usual.

sat down with the head of the local immigration office today and he was quite clear on the matter, stating that i must apply for the new WP, return old one to previous co. for canceling then proceed directly to a Thai Consulate and apply for a brand new visa. he either had a recent similar request or was a psychic as he had a stack of papers in his hand when i walked in without an appointment and asked my question and he immediately turned the stack of papers over to me and asked me to read.

basically it said that if there is any change to my employment status, i must leave the country and obtain a new visa, whether it is a non imm or tourist doesn't matter. just go get a new one was his response.

I believe the way it can work is if both employers are willing to help and in same area and in that case second job is added to current work permit and later first employment is removed. But it did depend on all stars being in perfect alignment so most just got a new visa entry and started over.