I'm currently on holiday in Phuket on a Tourist Visa. I've been offered a 6 month contract including a work permit by a large Thai business - they will provide me with the paperwork I need to get a Non Immigrant B Visa.

However, they want me to foot the bill for actually going to get the visa. My understanding is that I will have to leave Thailand in order to get this visa - Malaysia seems like an obvious choice, but I'm open to suggestions.

What do you think would be the cheapest way to get a Non Immigrant B? Also, with a 6 month contract, will I need to get two 3 month B's, or would I be eligible for a Multiple Entry visa?

Without a work permit valid for more than six months (you will not even have the work permit) it is very unlikely you will be able to obtain more than a single entry visa for a 90 day stay and then you will have to exit and get another for the next 90 unless your contract is longer and you qualify for extension of stay.

That was what I feared - looks like I'm stuck with getting 2 3-month Non-Immigrant B visas.

Any ideas on the cheapest way to get a Non-Immigrant B (travelling from Phuket)?

Land travel to Penang or KB would likely be the cheapest - but there might be good fares on discount flights if you can book ahead.

No sensible option but to leave Thailand go to Malaysia and get 2x 90 day Single Entry Non immigrant B Visas - Agree with Lopburi that Penang by land minibus is the cheapest, but this option is really frightening at best.

Qatar have some cheap return flights from Phuket to KL at around 5,500 THB; have found them very comfortable, plus you land at the real international airport, not the KLCC - the flight is the first/last leg to/from Dubai and it's normally an A330.

No sensible option but to leave Thailand go to Malaysia and get 2x 90 day Single Entry Non immigrant B Visas - Agree with Lopburi that Penang by land minibus is the cheapest, but this option is really frightening at best.

Qatar have some cheap return flights from Phuket to KL at around 5,500 THB; have found them very comfortable, plus you land at the real international airport, not the KLCC - the flight is the first/last leg to/from Dubai and it's normally an A330.

The driving gets more sensible once you cross into malaysia I've never done penang from phuket...only to hat yai. But it should be 700-800 baht from phuket to penang one way..

is it possible to get a contract that says 12 months for the purposes of getting a multiple entry and/or 1 year extension? If you can get the correct paperwork (showing a longer work period), this can save you more hassle down the road? Especially once you leave your current employer for whatever reasons, you can still enjoy thailand for the remaining time?

is it possible to get a contract that says 12 months for the purposes of getting a multiple entry and/or 1 year extension? If you can get the correct paperwork (showing a longer work period), this can save you more hassle down the road? Especially once you leave your current employer for whatever reasons, you can still enjoy thailand for the remaining time?

With extension of stay your extension ends the same day as you leave your employer.