Non-B Visa Paperwork

[divedivedive]

Hi all, I'll try to keep this concise.

After 2 months of almost daily visits to the Phuket Labor office (come back tomorrow, you just need ooooone more thing), they've finally decided that the company paperwork is in order, and have applied to get the "white paper" (WP-3). Unfortunately, it will be finished about a week too late. I have to do a visa run before then, and was wondering if there was anywhere I could go that doesn't require the WP-3. I do have the receipt for it, just not the letter itself. I'm just after a 3 month single entry Non-B visa.

Any help would be appreciated.

*edit* additional details if needed: US citizen, currently on 30day visa on arrival; I have had work permits in the past, but not for the last year or so, and this is with a new company; pushing back visa run isn't an option as my current is about to expire, and I can't afford to miss work, which starts November 7th.

[digitalchromakey]

Receipt for a WP3 Application should be fine (a small white slip of paper) - check with a Thai person as to which box is ticked/what is written by hand, i.e. what your receipt is actually for.

I presume that as a US Citizen that you are actually on a 30 day Visa Exempt Entry, not a Visa on Arrival.

In recent times Penang have asked for 8 Million Baht Company Capitalisation to issue one year multi entry non B visas, not sure if you would have the same problem with a single entry 90 day non B there.

[divedivedive]

Thanks,

Yes, I am on a Visa exempt entry (sorry). All I care about for the time being is getting a 90 day single entry. I can sort the 1 year out in KL. My other question is about how to take care of the visa in Penang. I read some older posts about it now being difficult or impossible to go yourself to the consulate there. Is that still the case? If so, any recommendations about who to use to take care of it?

Cheers

[digitalchromakey]

Thanks,

Yes, I am on a Visa exempt entry (sorry). All I care about for the time being is getting a 90 day single entry. I can sort the 1 year out in KL. My other question is about how to take care of the visa in Penang. I read some older posts about it now being difficult or impossible to go yourself to the consulate there. Is that still the case? If so, any recommendations about who to use to take care of it?

Cheers

Why not get the Single Entry 90 Day non immigrant type B in KL as well?

If your paper work is Ok then KL will be fine.

I know that Penang has excellent Indian Food and is an interesting place too visit, but unfortunately, the current incumbents in the Consulate seem to be making things difficult for many visa applicants.

Physically the Consulate is easily reachable by taxi, but maybe you meant that they can be difficult with applicants applying in person. You could try contacting one of the agents in Chulia Street (bookshops/money changers), maybe they could let you know what the exact requirements in Penang currently are; their fees were always quite reasonable.

You will get the same visa in Penang, whether you apply in person or though an agent; it's just that the current Consul General has a much tougher interpretation of the regulations than was the case in the past.

.

[divedivedive]

Thanks all for your help, I'll let you know how it turns out.

[divedivedive]

Just did my run from Phuket to Penang with TVR / BLS. Everything went well. There was flooding just before the Thai border, so our driver refused to continue. Even though small cars and motorbikes were able to go without problem, he wouldn't do it. That was fine, though, because he was incredibly rude to begin with, and the driver they (quite quickly) found to replace him was a great guy. We made it into the consulate with 30minutes to spare, and everything went really smoothly. I got my 3 month non-B no problem. The hotel we're in is quite nice. Perhaps I got lucky, though, because some people are complaining about it. My room has newish carpet, is clean, and is quite big. The one downside to the trip is that the food has been awful. One Thai person who is on the trip said that the breakfast-break food was worse than dog-food. The only thing I could eat at the first breakfast was a fried egg and some rice, as everything else was absolutely disgusting. Lunch at the hotel was a bit better. The meat was good, and there is a large selection of gelatinous foodstuffs, if you're into that sort of thing.

**to be continued after the trip home**

[divedivedive]

**continued**

With the waist-high flooding throughout Northern Malaysia and Southern Thailand, we were quite lucky to make it back to Phuket. The Malaysian government began closing roads behind us, and one of the three buses traveling with us didn't make it through. At one point, it took us six hours to go 150km. However, our driver was incredibly dedicated and eventually got us back.

Long story short,

Get the right paperwork, go to Penang, use TVR !!