Extending Non-O After Employer Cancelled My Contract

[paulnewman]

I'm a teacher. Contract and visa extension on my non-O (married to Thai) through 28 February 2012 because of employment.

BUT, school notified me contract "terminated on Oct 31." I'm being fired.

So, I plan to get a 60-day extension of my non-O based on marriage.

Now, I read something here suggesting I may need to have a paper from Labour Dept. (tor tor 10?) to give to immigration in order to get the extension. Is this true?

If so, what do I need/say at Labour to do get this? Co-operation from school only remotely possible--maybe if done thru my Thai wife. They absolutely cannot be trusted to ever keep their word--I've seen repeatedly regarding other foreign teachers.

What can/might the school do that would cause my extension through February to be canceled? I have no idea what they plan to do regarding notifying government offices of this situation, nor do I know how such notifications work, ramifications, etc.

All that is here in the same town, but we are moving to another far province on the weekend. I have today, Thurs. and Friday in this town/province.

Also, I had one extension for marrage on this visa already, in early 2010, before it was again extended on basis of employment. Is that one extension a problem? (One extension limit?)

Thanks.

(American, 65 years of age, no fat bank account)

[lopburi3]

Your extension of stay ends the date your employment ends (31st) and you should have a letter from school to take to immigration to cancel your extension and then with wife/marriage extend for 60 days (without wife it would be 7 days). You should not need anything from Labor for 60 day (unless for cancel of extension) as that is to visit wife and has nothing to do with employment.

[paulnewman]

lopburi, thanks

Still...

I'm only seeing today (here at this forum) that immig must "cancel the extension" (in my case, the one thru Feb. for employment) before granting a new one.

I'm still not clear if I need something from Labour on that or not. That's one of my questions.

"You should not need anything from Labor for 60 day (unless for cancel of extension) " Huh?

[Mario2008]

If the work permit is longer valid than Oct. 31 than you need to go to the labur office and cancel the work permit, with a letter from your employer stating the last day of your employer (Oct. 31). If the contract is being ended before the official end you might be entitled to compensation. The labour office can assist you with this. I believe that the labour office will give you a letter confirming your WP has been cancelled, whcih immirgaiton might want to see.Nxt you go to immirgaiton with letter from your employer and letter from labour office to cancel your permission to stay. Go togehter wth your wife and her ID-card, household book and wedding certificate and you will get a permission to stay for 60 days. You than have 60 days to find new employement or get an extension of stay based on marriage.

[IMA_FARANG]

What can/might the school do that would cause my extension through February to be canceled?

What specifically is your extension for?

Is it based on employment or for your marriage to a Thai.

It makes a big difference.

That is a crucial question.

[lopburi3]

Believe that was answered in first post

through 28 February 2012 because of employment.

[paulnewman]

If the work permit is longer valid than Oct. 31 than you need to go to the labur office and cancel the work permit, with a letter from your employer stating the last day of your employer (Oct. 31). If the contract is being ended before the official end you might be entitled to compensation. The labour office can assist you with this. I believe that the labour office will give you a letter confirming your WP has been cancelled, whcih immirgaiton might want to see.Nxt you go to immirgaiton with letter from your employer and letter from labour office to cancel your permission to stay. Go togehter wth your wife and her ID-card, household book and wedding certificate and you will get a permission to stay for 60 days. You than have 60 days to find new employement or get an extension of stay based on marriage.

Thanks Mario, I'm trying to get that letter from employer now. (I dbl checked; the WP does indeed have exp. date same as contract and visa extension.)

I shall try to report back in this thread. But things here awfully busy. Thanks again.

[wayned]

I would get the tor tor 10 form. The first time that I changed jobs it was semester break and there was no way the paperwork for the new job could be processed in 7 days so I decided to go the same route as you, 60 day extension because of marrage. When I went to Bangkok they wouldn't process anything without the tor tor 10 form even though there was only four days valid on my work permint. I had to drive to Nakhon Sawan to get the form from labor and they gave me a form and I went back to immigration and the officer said that it was the wrongt one. She gave me an example and back I went to Nakhon Sawan. The labor guru didn't want to give me tyhe right form, tor tor 10, because I didn't have a letter from the school stating I didn't work there anymore. He tried to call the school but no one was there, semester break. After treatening to camp out in his office and some verbal abuse in Thai from my wife he gave me the form. The next time I changed jobs I processed it in Korat, I had the form and tried to give it to the officer and he gave it back to me along with other documents that he said he didn't need.

So my advise is get the form if you don't need it an extra sheet of toilet paper might come in handy some day. If I had had the form the first time it would have saved me two days and over 1000 kilometers.

[wayned]

If you are American and 65 years odl I assume that you are drawing Social Security. If you are married legally to a Thai you can extend your visa one year at a time for marriage purposes. You don't have to have a fat bank account. All that you need is and Income Affidavit from the Embassy stating your monthly income. The form is an affidavit that you fill out stating how much you make every month and they notarize it. No proof of income is required. The first time that I got it I had all of the supporting documentation but they said that it wasn't necessary if the amount on the form was incorrect I would be committing perjury. The monthly amount must be 40000 baht or more at the current exchange rate. Immigration will convert the USD on the form to baht the day that you apply.

[paulnewman]

wayned, thank you for both replies above. Now I'm even more sure it's wise to get 1) the letter from the school to take to Dept of Employment, and 2) a TorTor 10 from that office for immigration--just to be safe and not have to endure extra trips...

Also, per Mario's reply above, I'll ask if Labour Dept can help me to get a bit of severance pay since they broke the contract with no warning and I had to work all through October. It's not like I actually did anything wrong to cause getting fired.

Interestingly, at school office, worker asked me for my passport and Work Permit. When I asked why, she said she wanted to run to the WP office to cancel the WP. I declined and told her I'll get back to her on that. (I'm refraining on going into a rant here.)

So, the new hurdle is she claims all government offices throughout the land, including my targets, will be closed 'till Nov. 1 due to the floods. I've just returned home and must check on that now. Anybody know if this is true? No floods at my offices or this town. I'll post this and try to find more on that one. Since we were planning to move everything to a distant province on the weekend, not being able to finish this WP and visa extension because of closed offices threatens to be a major hassle.

Oh, as to the Income Affidavit from the Embassy thing, I recall, in passing, noticing someone say that was going to get tightened up somehow. But I don't know anything about that.

[lopburi3]

If any flood province from Tak to Bangkok there is a holiday.

[paulnewman]

In regard to the flooding, I've just found a comment in the News section of ThaiVisa:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted Yesterday, 17:28

Provinces Affected by Thai National Flood Holiday

BANGKOK (Xinhua) -- The cabinet on Tuesday decided to declare Oct. 27-28 and Oct. 31 an official holiday in 21 flood-hit provinces, including Bangkok, so that people in flood-prone areas would be able to brace for the expected deluge.

Those 21 provinces are central SukhoThai, Pichit, Pitsanulok, Nakornsawan, Uthai Thani, Chai Nat, Singburi, Angthong, Ayutthaya, Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi, Lopburi, Saraburi, Nakornnayok, Prachin Buri, Chasoengsao, Subhan Buri, ankorn Pathom, Khampaengpet, Tak and Bangkok provinces.

Seems pretty sure the offices I had planned to go to will be closed. My province is on the list.

[wayned]

I was 64 when I ran into a problem teaching. As it turned out it wasn't the children or their parents complaining, it was the teachers that had been forced to retire at 60 years. If they contiued teaching after their retirement, as many did at my school, they were forced to become a contract worker and were paid a rediculously low hourly salary and only for the class hours, no prepartion or grading time. They knew what I was making. The school tried to get me to accept the same deal but I refused and then they reduced my classes and tried to reduce my salary accordingly but I sighted the contract and they backed off. The writing was on the wall so I left when positon at another school became available but I could sense that it wasn't long term so I retired again!

Most contracts have a one month written notification clause by either party so you might have a stand for at least one months severance. Look at your contract and talk to the labor department. If you do, dig your heals in, most will pay rather than going public.

As far as the Income Affidavit from the Embassy is concerned, I swam to Bangkok last Wednesday and got a new one. To date the process has not changed, fill in the form an they notarize it. I've heard that they are going to tighten the process for issuance of the document, for a long time, but nothing's happened yet. I have all of the documentation that the Social Security Aministration and my other retirement fund provides but I'm sure that when they tighten the process they will require something that is impossible to get. Good luck!

wayned, thank you for both replies above. Now I'm even more sure it's wise to get 1) the letter from the school to take to Dept of Employment, and 2) a TorTor 10 from that office for immigration--just to be safe and not have to endure extra trips...

Also, per Mario's reply above, I'll ask if Labour Dept can help me to get a bit of severance pay since they broke the contract with no warning and I had to work all through October. It's not like I actually did anything wrong to cause getting fired.

Interestingly, at school office, worker asked me for my passport and Work Permit. When I asked why, she said she wanted to run to the WP office to cancel the WP. I declined and told her I'll get back to her on that. (I'm refraining on going into a rant here.)

So, the new hurdle is she claims all government offices throughout the land, including my targets, will be closed 'till Nov. 1 due to the floods. I've just returned home and must check on that now. Anybody know if this is true? No floods at my offices or this town. I'll post this and try to find more on that one. Since we were planning to move everything to a distant province on the weekend, not being able to finish this WP and visa extension because of closed offices threatens to be a major hassle.

Oh, as to the Income Affidavit from the Embassy thing, I recall, in passing, noticing someone say that was going to get tightened up somehow. But I don't know anything about that.

[youreavinalaff]

I once had a case where I was working for a small private school that simply closed down over night with no notice to either the teachers, students or parents. I went to the Labour Office and explained that I could not get a letter from the school.

They gave me a form to fill out. At the bottom a signature was required from a school official. They said that I could sign it myself as an employee of that school.

Go to the Labour Office and talk to them. They are usually pretty good with teachers having problems when trying to do things the correct way.

[paulnewman]

Thanks, everyone, for your thoughts and time. I've read all and appreciate your help! Mostly now I must wait for offices to reopen and deal with logistics.

[paulnewman]

Hi again...

To quote my original post at the top:

"Also, I had one extension for marrage on this visa already, in early 2010, before it was again extended on basis of employment. Is that one extension a problem? (One extension limit?)"

My wife went to immig today. Although closed for business, an officer there talked with her and looked at my passport. Officer said I cannot get another 60-day extension based on marriage, because I had one already (before the employment extensions). My wife didn't ask about that, but the officer saw it when she looked at the passport

So I must leave Thailand to get a new visa if I want to stay in Thailand.

(Sorry about the bold font. I can't get rid of it.)

[lopburi3]

Believe she is right that this extension is only available one time per entry.

[paulnewman]

Believe she is right that this extension is only available one time per entry.

I don't doubt she is right. Nice of her to take the time to speak with my better half as well.

The office workers don't make the #$**@! laws.

Thanks for fixing the font, lopburi.