Work Permit Expiry

[sunluvr]

Last week I was issued a work permit for my guesthouse business here in Phuket, and I am curently in Thailand on a 3 month non-immigrant B visa which expires April 21, 2011. I assumed the work permit would be issued with the same expiry date as the visa, however when I opened it up and saw an expiry date of March 14 and asked about it, I was told that my hotel license was about to expire on that date and until it is renewed, I can not renew the expiry date of the work permit. The paperwork to renew the hotel license has been initiated but I'm now waiting for the tessabahn to come and do the inspection required before they will issue the new license but they sometimes take weeks to getting around to do their inspection.

Can someone please enlighten me on my status here, should I not get my work permit renewed before March 14?

[lopburi3]

You can not work after that date without doing so. The visa means nothing in that regard.

[sunluvr]

Is the visa no longer valid if the work permit is expired?

You can not work after that date without doing so. The visa means nothing in that regard.

[lopburi3]

The 90 day entry should still be valid.

[Colabamumbai]

Talk to the Tessa Baan and tell them the situation and see if they can get in early and talk to the Labor Office and see what they might do for you, maybe they would give the Tessa Baan a call for you. I found the labor people not wanting to cancel my work permit, they were very helpful, they were hoping that I was just changing jobs.

[merijn]

When you’re WP is expired you are not allowed to work any more and your NON-O Business visa is also not valid any more and has to be cancelled.

Officially you have to go to the labor department in Phuket Town to hand over your WP after which you get a paper which mentions this, then you go to the immigration office to cancel your NON-O business visa and you can apply for a 7 days extension so you are able to get everything organized to leave the country.

This procedure is applicable for people who are on 1 year Business visa extension.

As you are on a 3 months B visa ( issued outside the country ) you can skip the immigration part and leave the country after your 3 months without problem, and get another visa which suits you.

Or you get the hotel license organized on time so don’t have to do this exercise.

On a side note,

It is only a little strange for me to hear that you are waiting for a inspection for your guesthouse!

I have two hotels in Patong with all the licenses and we had never an inspection for the hotel license.

But my licenses are done via my accountant and maybe this helps for me.

[sunluvr]

OK, I (my Business Consultant - BC) was able to get a 14 day extension to my WP expiry date in order to get the hotel license but that runs out on Monday and the tessabaan has just informed me they won't do the inspection until next week sometime then it can take another week or 2 to get the actual document so my WP will expire on Monday. My visa expires on April 21, when I am leaving the country anyways to go back to Canada for 6 months, so if I understand you correctly, my visa is still good until that time? I will then have to start the whole WP process over again when I come back later this year.. all due to ths very shoddy work my BC did (or dodn't do) in getting things in place for my WP application. I will have to come here again on a tourist visa, take a run to KL to get the non-imm B visa and do the WP application all over again... I'm not pleased at all, to put it mildly.. (Khun Joy, are you listening????)

Interesting about your side note.. this was a new building 1 year ago, we were delayed in opening at that time due to waiting for the same license.. Come to think about it, I think we had to cough up 1-2,000 baht incentive to encourage the tessabaan (through our BC) to move along the inspection/approval process a little faster than normal.. Obviously your accountant is much more capable of doing the necessary things in regard to your licenses than my BC.. I would be happy to know who your accountant is, if you wouldn't mind sending me in a private message.

When you’re WP is expired you are not allowed to work any more and your NON-O Business visa is also not valid any more and has to be cancelled.

Officially you have to go to the labor department in Phuket Town to hand over your WP after which you get a paper which mentions this, then you go to the immigration office to cancel your NON-O business visa and you can apply for a 7 days extension so you are able to get everything organized to leave the country.

This procedure is applicable for people who are on 1 year Business visa extension.

As you are on a 3 months B visa ( issued outside the country ) you can skip the immigration part and leave the country after your 3 months without problem, and get another visa which suits you.

Or you get the hotel license organized on time so don’t have to do this exercise.

On a side note,

It is only a little strange for me to hear that you are waiting for a inspection for your guesthouse!

I have two hotels in Patong with all the licenses and we had never an inspection for the hotel license.

But my licenses are done via my accountant and maybe this helps for me.

[beechguy]

OK, I (my Business Consultant - BC) was able to get a 14 day extension to my WP expiry date in order to get the hotel license but that runs out on Monday and the tessabaan has just informed me they won't do the inspection until next week sometime then it can take another week or 2 to get the actual document so my WP will expire on Monday. My visa expires on April 21, when I am leaving the country anyways to go back to Canada for 6 months, so if I understand you correctly, my visa is still good until that time? I will then have to start the whole WP process over again when I come back later this year.. all due to ths very shoddy work my BC did (or dodn't do) in getting things in place for my WP application. I will have to come here again on a tourist visa, take a run to KL to get the non-imm B visa and do the WP application all over again... I'm not pleased at all, to put it mildly.. (Khun Joy, are you listening????)

Interesting about your side note.. this was a new building 1 year ago, we were delayed in opening at that time due to waiting for the same license.. Come to think about it, I think we had to cough up 1-2,000 baht incentive to encourage the tessabaan (through our BC) to move along the inspection/approval process a little faster than normal.. Obviously your accountant is much more capable of doing the necessary things in regard to your licenses than my BC.. I would be happy to know who your accountant is, if you wouldn't mind sending me in a private message.

When you're WP is expired you are not allowed to work any more and your NON-O Business visa is also not valid any more and has to be cancelled.

Officially you have to go to the labor department in Phuket Town to hand over your WP after which you get a paper which mentions this, then you go to the immigration office to cancel your NON-O business visa and you can apply for a 7 days extension so you are able to get everything organized to leave the country.

This procedure is applicable for people who are on 1 year Business visa extension.

As you are on a 3 months B visa ( issued outside the country ) you can skip the immigration part and leave the country after your 3 months without problem, and get another visa which suits you.

Or you get the hotel license organized on time so don't have to do this exercise.

On a side note,

It is only a little strange for me to hear that you are waiting for a inspection for your guesthouse!

I have two hotels in Patong with all the licenses and we had never an inspection for the hotel license.

But my licenses are done via my accountant and maybe this helps for me.

The other poster is technically incorrect, there is no "NON-O Business visa" and the first 4 sentences has nothing to do with your situation, as your are not on a one year "Extension of Stay".

The entry you made on your single entry Non-immigrant "B" Visa is valid until the "Permitted to Stay Until" date stamped in your passport, not the visa expiration date. Your stay here is legal, working without the work permit is not. If you have the documents, I don't see any reason not to apply for another Non-mmigrant "B" Visa in Canada prior to your return.

Edited March 22, 2011 by beechguy

[Mario2008]

Correct, ignore the post of merijn. Your 90 day entry remains valid, you are just not allowed to work any more after the WP expires. (That inlcudes signing contracts etc.)

If you can arrange the work permit before your permission to stay ends, you can simply apply for an extension of stay at immigration with the right papers. Which will include tax-papers over the last 2 years! If you cannot show that you will not get an extension of stay.

Better get a new (multiple entry) non-B in Canada from a honorary consulate. Normally outside the region a simple letter from the company is enough and a work permit not required to show. Contact one of the consulates in canada to see what they exactly will require.