Have the regulations changed regarding the Thai Labour Department issuing Work Permits to single people (ie NOT married to a Thai) with Non Immigration O visas?

I am not married to a Thai. I am not married to anyone. I have just started a new job at a good Thai school. I just obtained information from two officers at Immigration in Chaeng Wattana confirming it IS legal and completely fine to work in this country with a Non Imm O visa, IF you have a Work Permit. There are some single people at my work who have been working at their jobs with Work Permits and Non Imm O visas for some years.

This week the person in charge of getting staff their Work Permits at my school reported that applications of two new staff members (including myself) have been rejected by The Labour Department because we have Non Imm O visas. He says regulations have just changed and we need to leave the country and get Non Imm B visas to keep our jobs.

Anyone heard of these regulation changes, or is it incorrect information?

The things that makes me uncertain about this information are:

1 - we have had a stream of incorrect information so far about paperwork and visas. I think the person in charge of our work permits and visas is just trying to get us on Non Imm B visas like the majority of staff here to make his life easier, and

2 - the single staff members who have been working for two years with Non Imm O visas have been told they DON'T have to change their visas because they are special case who got in before the changes.

Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

I am here on a Non Imm Type O Visa from Hull, but am NOT married to a Thai, so the reason for the visa was stated as 'visiting friends'.

As you posted above in your other thread you do not appear to have a valid reason for a non immigrant O visa entry so suspect that was taken into consideration. Non immigrant O does not mean a work permit can be issued - those on retirement have such a visa entry but can not normally obtain a work permit. Indeed policy may have recently changed at that labor office to check on these matters more closely or it could be just the worker but in any case a simple visa trip should sort it out (you do not have to return to Hull if you have valid paperwork for a B visa issue).

I just got a work permit on a non Immigrant O, and I was asked for a copy of my marriage certificate, this is the first time I have been asked for that, I have had three previous work permits and was never asked for a copy of my marriage visa. I am not on a marriage visa and do not give a copy of it to immigration when I get a visa extension.I am on a non immigrant O with a one year extension for retirement, it is clearly marked on my extension 'retirement' and I have had three previous work permits and was never asked about a marriage certificate, they didn't know if I was married or not. Why I was asked this time I don't know.

Probably because you normally can't get one on an extension based on marriage and they worked around it by you being marreid to a Thai national, so also qualifying for an extension based on marriage.

Thanks for all your replies, especially Lopburi3.

Probably because you normally can't get one on an extension based on marriage and they worked around it by you being marreid to a Thai national, so also qualifying for an extension based on marriage.

OP Do you rather mean extension based on retirement?