Cessation Of Work Permit

[Chris78]

I am a 31 year old Australian teacher. I have recently finished working at a school down South and I'm about to start working at an international school in BKK. The advice I was given when leaving my old school was to cancel and surrender my work permit to the work permit office and that this would give me a chance to transfer the visa and perhaps avoid a visa run.

A week after I cancelled the work permit, a friend in BKK told me that, after the WP is cancelled, I have 7 days (or possibly less) to leave the country. I then talked to someone at my new school who claimed that I don't have to leave the country as the visa itself is still intact, and that's all the authorities would check. However, she conceded that she had no experience dealing with this particular case so I am not all that reassured by what she said.

I have also been told that, if I don't leave the country within 7 days, I might be paying a fine per day for the overstay. It is mainly for this reason that I need some clear, authoritative advice on the matter. If anyone can tell me the reality of the situation I'm in and what the next step should be I would really appreciate it.

Chris

[lopburi3]

The key is your permitted to stay. Was it 90 days from a visa entry or longer from an extension of stay? If from extension of stay (as it sounds) you must leave the day your work ended and any time since has been overstay and you will be charged 500 baht per day. You are not allowed 7 days without requesting it and paying 1,900 baht for extension of stay on day work ends.

[Chris78]

The key is your permitted to stay. Was it 90 days from a visa entry or longer from an extension of stay? If from extension of stay (as it sounds) you must leave the day your work ended and any time since has been overstay and you will be charged 500 baht per day. You are not allowed 7 days without requesting it and paying 1,900 baht for extension of stay on day work ends.

So, the visa (and the date of its expiry) is invalid after the Work Permit is cancelled? I have a year non immigrant B visa which expires in March but I guess this becomes irrelevant after the WP is cancelled.

I'm guessing my next step should be to leave the country and get a tourist visa or have the school prepare the papers for a non-immigrant B visa.

[aitch52]

G'day Chris

I have recently finished working for a language school and started work at a Government School. I surrendered my work permit but as was on a marriage extension so there was none of the 7 days grace nonsense. The new school however had all the paperwork raised for the WP and said I would have to go on a visa run as you cannot work at a government school on what I thought was a type 'O' visa with marriage extension. Before I dragged my weary behind up to Vientiane I decided to check with the immigration office here in Phitsanulok. The charming lady in command checked over my passport and as I entered the country on a type B some years back on a WP type deal, renewed as retirement and then the following year as marriage, and have never left the country I am still on a type B.

Not the same circumstances as you but the moral of the story is check it out with your local immigration office before you start jumping through hoops to see exactly where you stand.

Best of luck

Chris Aitch

[lopburi3]

That is not what I tried to say. And if you are on a 90 day visa entry it does not end. Nor would a multi entry visa. Only if you extended your stay, as most teachers do, would the current extension of stay end and you be on overstay.

Confirm it is a 90 day entry from a border crossing/airport entry that permits your stay here now and you be free to obtain new employment and not be overstay.

[gregb]

You have to understand what is happening here, and that may help you understand what everyone is saying.

Assuming your current extension of stay is based on your work permit, then when you cancel your work permit, your permission for extension of stay is cancelled also, but no mention of this is made in your passport. Instead, you have to go to immigration and get your passport updated, and pay 1900 baht to get a 7 day extension. This is approved automatically. Then you have to leave the country in 7 days. Alternatively, you can apply for a new extension of stay under another category, such as your marriage, or even a new work permit if you have all the paperwork from the new job ready to go on that day. But do not be deceived that you can legally stay if you do not qualify under another category.

Now, if you do NOT go to immigration and get your passport stamp updated (as you apparently did not), the stamp in your passport still looks like everything is valid, but it isn't backed by anything. It's just a meaningless stamp. The fact is though, apparently it does not automatically raise a red flag on the computer when you leave the country. Unless the immigration official manually checks, you will still likely be able to leave without an overstay fine up until the day your stamp expires. It is a gamble though, and one I would not recommend. You are still guilty of overstay, you just might not get caught for it because of inefficiencies in the system. If the official stamping you out does check the computer though, you are caught.

I know one person who has done this and they got away with it. In his case his employer cancelled his work permit without telling him. Don't listen to anyone who says they can't do this. The employer can cancel your work permit without your signature on anything. Always demand to keep your work permit in your physical possession.

Be advised immigration absolutely *WILL* catch this problem if you try and apply for a new work permit, and you will have to pay the overstay fine. At 7 days post cancellation your current overstay fine is 3500 baht and going up by 500 baht per day. It tops out at 20,000 baht after 40 days of overstay. Beyond this overstay is simply dangerous, no longer expensive.

[Lite Beer]

If you have a Visa obtained from a Thai Consulate you will be OK.

If you have an extension obtained from Immigration it ended on the day you finished your job. You have to leave the country on that day or apply for a 7 day extension.

The important question you are being asked is.

Thai Consulate outside Thailand or Immigration in Thailand?

[on-on]

The original poster already said this:

"I have a year non immigrant B visa which expires in March"

Doesn't that pretty much end the discussion? He can stay until the next time he needs to leave based on his entry under the 1 Year Non-Imm B, not based on an extension of stay or a work permit or what the school says or does.

[TerryLH]

""I have a year non immigrant B visa which expires in March""

"Doesn't that pretty much end the discussion?"

Not really. That reads more like an extension than an original visa.

Many of us are often confused by the vocabulary. For immigration purposes, extensions and visas are referring to different things, even though in most routine situations they act very much alike.

In a case like this one, a misunderstanding could cost the OP some money.

[Lite Beer]

The original poster already said this:

"I have a year non immigrant B visa which expires in March"

Doesn't that pretty much end the discussion?

No.

Many people come on here insisting that they have a Non Imm Visa when in fact they have an Extension of Stay.