Moving To Thailand With My Filipino Wife And Baby

[thanchart]

Have been away from this forum for almost 6 years but now I'm back !

I just accepted a job offer from a Thai company based in Pathaumnthani and will be moving to BKK next month with my Filipino wife, 19-month old baby and my mother-in-law.

I am looking for accommodation to rent on a long term lease and it should preferably be near to the office (located in Tivanon Road, Bangkadi, Pathumthani 12000, Thailand). I recently saw a nice townhouse for rent in Thanarin Village, Saimai-Hathairat Road, Pathumthani. Would anyone know how far away from the office is this Thanarin Village?

My new employer should be arranging for my work visa, but what type of visas should my family get? I planned to enroll my wife in a culinary course some time later, as she has interest in restaurant business and is a great cook (Filipino food). My mum-in-klaw will help to take re of the baby (very active and is bigger-sized than most 2 year old babies)

I am from Singapore but I speak Thai well and used to be able to read and type in Thai but have been out of practice since I had lived in Philippines for several years. Should be able to pick up again in a few months. So I really don;t need to live in an English speaking area. as I will be teaching Thai to my family as well.

Regards,

Thanchart

Edited September 16, 2011 by thanchart

[Mario2008]

Your wife and child can follow you as dependents and might be able to get a non-O for themselves, when you recieve a non-B visa. They will get extensions of stay once you have an extension of stay based on your work. The mother in law is a bigger problem.

The country where you will be applying for a visa will be a factor too. The embassy in Manilla isn't very user friendly.

[thanchart]

Your wife and child can follow you as dependents and might be able to get a non-O for themselves, when you recieve a non-B visa. They will get extensions of stay once you have an extension of stay based on your work. The mother in law is a bigger problem.

The country where you will be applying for a visa will be a factor too. The embassy in Manilla isn't very user friendly.

thanks for the warning. Hope my fluent Thai will help at the embassy.

[Crossy]

No idea where Thanarin Village is, but Pathum Thani is a pretty big area with a river through the middle so you could end up being a long way from the office.

We currently live in the Villa California condo, not a new development by any means and the public areas are a bit tatty but it's right at the entrance to Bangkadi Industrial Park where I assume your office is located.

I'm not in Thailand right now, but if you're still looking at the end of the month PM me and I'll get a number / email of the office who handle rentals.

EDIT Villa California is here 13.984584,100.552648

[Mario2008]

The mother might get an extension of stay from immigration as well, provided she older than 50. Your own mother would qualify, but I'm not sure if the mother of a person who is a dependent (your wife) would qualify.

Rules are here: police order 777/2551: http://www.thaivisa....777-2551_en.pdf

under 2.20.

That is for extensions of stay from immigration, not for getting a visa itself.

[JeffreyMcCollum]

Your wife and child can follow you as dependents and might be able to get a non-O for themselves, when you recieve a non-B visa. They will get extensions of stay once you have an extension of stay based on your work. The mother in law is a bigger problem.

The country where you will be applying for a visa will be a factor too. The embassy in Manilla isn't very user friendly.

thanks for the warning. Hope my fluent Thai will help at the embassy.

Youi will br lucky if they even can speak Thai. Most Embassy's hire locals to do the paperwork as well as work the windows

[thanchart]

Your wife and child can follow you as dependents and might be able to get a non-O for themselves, when you recieve a non-B visa. They will get extensions of stay once you have an extension of stay based on your work. The mother in law is a bigger problem.

The country where you will be applying for a visa will be a factor too. The embassy in Manilla isn't very user friendly.

thanks for the warning. Hope my fluent Thai will help at the embassy.

Youi will br lucky if they even can speak Thai. Most Embassy's hire locals to do the paperwork as well as work the windows

aH then I will have to resort to Taalog - besides, my Filipina wife will be with me

[thanchart]

Would anyone know if Return Air tickets are necessary to get my family into Thailand or I can simply buy 1 way tickets for my wife, baby and myself? I was wondering if it would be wise to get there on a social visit pass and then let the company hiring me apply for the necessary visas on our behalf.

What I with me is a letter of employment signed by 3 top management personnels, including the CEO of the listed company. Would that be enough to enter thru Thai immigration w/o problems?

[lopburi3]

There is no such thing as a social visit pass for Thailand. Do you mean visa exempt entry perhaps? You will have to obtain your own visas - company can help with supporting paperwork only. Your passports from a visa exempt country are enough to enter country but to get on aircraft you will have to meet requirements for onward travel - letter is not going to change that.

[thanchart]

There is no such thing as a social visit pass for Thailand. Do you mean visa exempt entry perhaps? You will have to obtain your own visas - company can help with supporting paperwork only. Your passports from a visa exempt country are enough to enter country but to get on aircraft you will have to meet requirements for onward travel - letter is not going to change that.

Was at the Royal Thai Embassy in Manila today, The officer who attended to me is obviously a Thai, but for but some reason, he chose to stick with English. He advised that the best thing to do or me is to get a letter of Invitation/reference and other necessary papers from my new company requesting for a 90 days Non- B Visa for myself as the main applicant and corresponding Dependent's Visa for my wife and baby. That will allow me to start work legally when I arrive in Thailand. Going on a visa exempt pass will mean I cannot work legally. The company can then apply for a work permit for me and the necessary visas for my family once I get there and start work. He also advised me to get the company to include my wife and baby in the letter of invite so their dependents visas can be processed as a package with mine. I have to submit my marriage cert and baby's birth certificate in addition to the company's documents. As per the listing pasted on the counter for visa costs as pointed out to me, a Non- B Visa (90 days) is 2900 pesos. There is no price listed for the dependents Visa. Does that mean it is free since they are pegged to mine? Anyone knows?

The embassy confirmed when I asked, that with the above visas. there is no need for return/ongoing air tickets to board the plane.

Nice thing was when I got home. I got a call followed by an email from the company that they sending me documents for me to get my visas. What a nice confidence .

Also was given a copy of the invite letter for me to edit/add the request for my family's dependents visa. The invite letter also states that the Company is under BOI privilege. Does any one know what that means? I thought it has to do with some quota for foreign staff and this company is not restricted or has bit exceeded the limit. The letter also states the Company will be responsible to apply work permit for me soon after getting Non B visa.

Do all seem well from the above?

Edited October 3, 2011 by thanchart

[Maestro]

Yes, your report about your meeting with the consular official in Manila makes sense. Just a couple of clarifications, mostly about terminology, to forestall possible misunderstandings.

Your non-B visa will not allow you to work. However, it will allow you to pick up the work permit at the Department of Employment, once it is ready, and then you will be legally allowed to work.

The dependent visa for your wife the official talked about will be a non-O visa (non-immigrant visa category O), granted to your wife because she is your dependent and because you get the non-B visa with all the paperwork you have to submit for it. The fee for the non-O visa will be the same as for your non-B visa.

The next step, after your arrival in Thailand and once you get your work permit, will be for you and your wife each to apply for a one-year extension of stay with form TM.7. The form asks for the reason for the application and your reason will be "employment" as per paragraph 2.1 of Thai Police Order 777/2521, your wife's reason will be "wife of holder of an employment extension" under paragraph 2.20 of the same Police Order.

[Maestro]

...The invite letter also states that the Company is under BOI privilege. Does any one know what that means? ...

It means that because of the company's investment and/or business activity the company has some privileges (taxes, etc) granted by Thailand's Board of Investment (BOI)

[thanchart]

Yes, your report about your meeting with the consular official in Manila makes sense. Just a couple of clarifications, mostly about terminology, to forestall possible misunderstandings.

Your non-B visa will not allow you to work. However, it will allow you to pick up the work permit at the Department of Employment, once it is ready, and then you will be legally allowed to work.

The dependent visa for your wife the official talked about will be a non-O visa (non-immigrant visa category O), granted to your wife because she is your dependent and because you get the non-B visa with all the paperwork you have to submit for it. The fee for the non-O visa will be the same as for your non-B visa.

The next step, after your arrival in Thailand and once you get your work permit, will be for you and your wife each to apply for a one-year extension of stay with form TM.7. The form asks for the reason for the application and your reason will be "employment" as per paragraph 2.1 of Thai Police Order 777/2521, your wife's reason will be "wife of holder of an employment extension" under paragraph 2.20 of the same Police Order.

Those terminologies were used by that Consular Official who is obviously a Thai by his looks and esp accent. Maybe he had translated it into terms more familiar to Filipinos even though I am not one. However my new company should know the procedure as there are other foreigners in the company, including a couple of Filipino engineers. In the letter of invite, they will be stating "The Company will be responsible to apply work permit for him soon after getting Non B visa, as well as the necessary visas for his wife and son"

Yes the officual also mentioned that I will need to apply for the exension of stay but what is interesting was that he said the duration will be according to the duration of the employment contract and not yearly extension. Did he maje a mistake?.

Edited October 5, 2011 by thanchart

[thanchart]

If my wife and baby were to come back to Philippines for Christmas (say 20 Dec - 1st week Jan), does it mean they will need multiple entry Visas? as least double entry?

If the above happens. then we will try to bring her 55 yr old mum with her and will have to figure out the best way for her visa extensions The consular official had confirmed she will not be eligible for dependents Visa,

Is Christmas a public holiday in Thailand? I remember it wasn't in the past, but I may be wrong.

Edited October 5, 2011 by thanchart

[Mario2008]

Christmas is not a public holiday in Thailand, government fucntions as usual on that day.What is best for you depends on when you start working. It is possible to get a re-entry permit that would keep your permission to stay in Thailand alive, but only till the date you are allowed to stay in Thailand. It doesn't add any days. Than you don't need a multiple entry visa. But you should have enough time left when you come back to apply for the extension of stay. A re-entry permit costs 1,000 baht (single) or 3,800 (multiple). It allows you to leave and re-enter Thailand without the need of getting a new visa.

[lopburi3]

You can not obtain anything but a single entry visa for wife and child (they do not offer two entry) and multi entry would not be issued I suspect. But they can obtain re-entry permits from immigration inside Thailand after arrival to allow travel and return for current permitted to stay time.

As for length of extension it can not be more than one year by law but can be less. If BOI (I believe you said that) there is a joint office that takes care of extensions and they do not strictly follow normal office procedures it seems.

[Mario2008]

I believe BOI can issue two years permisison to stay, but not sure if that would also be for a dependent.

[thanchart]

Passports done, Visas obtained (so don't need return tickets) and we are ready to fly off to BKK tomorrow. Hope it won't be pouring and Bangkapi area fo where I am going is not flooded

[lopburi3]

I can assure you as of this moment it is very flooded everywhere as we just had very heavy rain this evening - but nothing like upcountry levels - the good is that the water is slowly going down as inner Bangkok is still being pumped out.

[thanchart]

My little famiily is settling down even as our 1 year Non B Visa is being process. The prcess seems different from what I have been reading about.

As our 90-day Non-B visa approaches the Expiry date. we went with the HP personnel to the Pathum Thai Immigration branvj to get the 1-year extension. Seems what the Immigration Dept did was to give a temporary 1=month extension as it completes the necessary procesiing and then will give a 1 -year extension (for my Non-O & wife/baby's Dependents Visa).

Is this how it nomally goes?

Edited January 29, 2012 by thanchart

[digitalchromakey]

My little famiily is settling down even as our 1 year Non B Visa is being process. The prcess seems different from what I have been reading about.

As our 90-day Non-B visa approaches the Expiry date. we went with the HP personnel to the Pathum Thai Immigration branvj to get the 1-year extension. Seems what the Immigration Dept did was to give a temporary 1=month extension as it completes the necessary procesiing and then will give a 1 -year extension (for my Non-O & wife/baby's Dependents Visa).

Is this how it nomally goes?

Yes the 30 day 'under consideration' stamp is normal for your class of extension.

A lot of Immigration Departments do not have the final say on the extension, so you have to submit two sets of paperwork which they check are correct then forward to the Area Immigration Head Office for final approval - go back a little before the one month is up then you will then all hopefully get the remaining 11 months of your one year extension.

The dependant's extension (777/2551 Clause 2.20) is contingent on your having a one year extension - however I presume that they also gave your wife and child a 30 day 'under consideration' extension at the same time as yours?

[thanchart]

Yes the 30 day 'under consideration' stamp is normal for your class of extension.

A lot of Immigration Departments do not have the final say on the extension, so you have to submit two sets of paperwork which they check are correct then forward to the Area Immigration Head Office for final approval - go back a little before the one month is up then you will then all hopefully get the remaining 11 months of your one year extension.

The dependant's extension (777/2551 Clause 2.20) is contingent on your having a one year extension - however I presume that they also gave your wife and child a 30 day 'under consideration' extension at the same time as yours?

Yes I got the full extension together with my family. Actuallly the Imirration took a few days lobnger to complete the processing and it was fortunate HR called them ti check They promised to call us when it i ready and they did.

Now my next step is to bring my 2 step-kids here on Dependents Visa also to join their little brither as they missed each other so,much (and my wife and I too). I;ve managed to locate a reasonably priced school for the 2 kids (100% English language instruction and many of the teachers are filipinos) and usimg recognized curriculum from UK and also US, plus many of subject books are actually from Singapre (very high quality stuff - I know as I grew up there). The school has basic facitlities (unklike a full fledge schoiol abnd would not be able to proved much ECA activities but that is something we can supplement as parents.

I will have to move nearer to the school in Lad Prao area. Would miss my Condo (which I really like in Pathum Thani which unfortunately is still not livable as water and electricity to the condo itself has not been restored. That is the excuse I have now to not move back, as my kids are coming and they cannot live without elect/water.

[Crossy]

Would miss my Condo (which I really like in Pathum Thani which unfortunately is still not livable as water and electricity to the condo itself has not been restored. That is the excuse I have now to not move back, as my kids are coming and they cannot live without elect/water.

Don't blame you mate, the management are still pontificating about exactly how they are going to restore power and water having previously promised that it would all be sorted by mid-April (after mid-January and mid-February).

My two grand-daughters are over for a couple of weeks, the amount of water we use keeping them reasonably clean is amazing, we're re-filling our 5000 litre tanks every 3 days.

The industrial park have also build the workers accommodation and are constructing the concrete batching plant for the new flood wall right outside your window

[thanchart]

Would miss my Condo (which I really like in Pathum Thani which unfortunately is still not livable as water and electricity to the condo itself has not been restored. That is the excuse I have now to not move back, as my kids are coming and they cannot live without elect/water.

Don't blame you mate, the management are still pontificating about exactly how they are going to restore power and water having previously promised that it would all be sorted by mid-April (after mid-January and mid-February).

My two grand-daughters are over for a couple of weeks, the amount of water we use keeping them reasonably clean is amazing, we're re-filling our 5000 litre tanks every 3 days.

The industrial park have also build the workers accommodation and are constructing the concrete batching plant for the new flood wall right outside your window

Looks like I have to move out from there; my 2 older kids will be here next week and our intention is to find them an English-based school but the typical international schools are way too costly for us at this point. Fortunately I found what seems to be good school in Lad Prao , run by a PhD from Malaysia and he has a Filipina wife, and many of the teachers are Filipinos. The school offers s special price for Filipino kids (Pinay wife being the reason), wihich made it affordable. Lessons are 100% in English (Thai is not taught) and they use a lot of textbooks from Singapoire. More imporatntly I like the Headmaster's attitude to educating kids (my style). Seems good to me. Only problem is the school hardly has facilities for ECA so that has to be supplemented by us parents - fine by me as I soend a lot of time having fun with the kids. Guess Daddy has to be the one to ravel further to work but its a worthwhile sacrifice. We intend to move to that area.

The little 2 year old is so excitied,. asking to Sjype video with his 2 elder siblings everyday. Hehe my family will be complete once more....

Stil owe u one mate, and will do the necesary very soon, Working hard on that