I have a small company in Pattaya and have had a work permit through it for about 4 years now. The work permit gets me my 1 year non immigrant B visa. The lady that does my paper work has me renew every year at the same time. My work permit still has another 4 months left on it. So... My buddy and some others are telling me that with a 1 year visa if I check in before the visa expires I can get another 90 days “for free”. He says that this visa can actually be a 15 month visa if I do this every year. My lady says that this will just make my next 1 year visa 90 days shorter. On my last check in I asked the officer and he said “shuwa! Come see me I take care for you”. I think he might be trying to work a side deal. I don’t know. Does anybody know the truth?

If you are referring to extension of stay from immigrations in Thailand and only do 90 day reporting at immigrations then NO.

If you have a multiple entry non-B visa obtained at a consulate outside Thailand and do visa runs to the border every 90 days you can exit Thailand and re enter last day of visa validity and get the extra 90 days you friend is talking about.

You do not appear to have a multi entry visa (only obtained from a Consulate outside Thailand) but a one year extension of stay from Immigration inside Thailand.

It is the multi entry visa valid for one year of up to 90 day stay that can be used for 15 months by making last arrival just before the one year expiration of the visa (to get a final 90 day stay).

If you had a true multi entry visa for one year it could allow you to stay for 15 months in Thailand.

BUT there is a catch.

Your VISA is what you got from a Thai consulate, and is stamped into your passport.

It has an entry date and an expiration date on it.

If it is a true multi entry visa good for one year you get 90 days permission to stay for each entry. Therefore, one day before that expiration date stamped in your visa, you exit Thailand and then immeadiately return. That return gives you another 90 days "permitted to stay" entry. Even though the expiration date on your visa is the next day...you can legally stay in Thailand on that "permitted to stay" stamp.

Now when you recieved your Work Permit, the immigration extended your visa for one year based on that work permit. That is not a visa, it's an extension of stay.

The actual visa may have expired already, check the expiration date in your passport. However, because of that one year extension from getting that work permit, your visa has been extended one year.

Each year, on the date of the expiration of that original visa, you extend it again at immigration because of your still valid work permit. You can keep doing that as long as your work permit is valid.

That extension to your original visa is what you are doing 90 day reporting for...and is made possible by your work permit.

The original visa, and your 90 day reporting, are different things.

Both of them have dates involved with them, and you need to watch those dates carefully.

As an example...my original visa was issued in October 2010...it therefore expired in October 2011.

However I recieved a one year extension in of that original visa in October 2011, just before it expired.

In my particular case that extension was for retirement...but your extension was for employment/work permit.

My next extension of that visa is due in October 2012.

However, I am also doing 90 day reporting now, and I have a 90 day reporting due date next week.

But the actual original visa...and the extension with the 90 day reporting requirement...are two different things.

Edited March 24, 201214 yr by IMA_FARANG

His/your permitted to stay is being extended - not the visa.

Now when you recieved your Work Permit, the immigration extended your visa for one year based on that work permit. That is not a visa, it's an extension of stay.

Not necessary, I did two years with multiple entry visas with work permit, I never extended at immigrations.

Work permit are issued at labor office and some offices have not so strict rules as immigrations have.