Can I Stay On My Existing Non-Imm B After I Resigned?

[Davie dave]

Hi

I worked for 18 months in Bangkok with a non-imm B and work permit. I resigned on the 1st of November with the intention to travel around Thailand for 6 months. Several Thai and foreign employees told me that staying on with my existing non-imm B would be fine, and I could leave or change visas as and when necessary.

My visa and work permit are valid until May next year. I was being the good little farang by following the rules and decided to return my work permit at the Labour Department near Victory Monument today, but there I was met with a strange situation.

I can speak a little Thai, and was chatting to the work permit cancellation lady about my plans, when she told me that I should not cancel my work permit, because that would cancel my non-imm B as well. She called over a visa run mate who told me that I need to cancel my current visa at immigration, pay overstay, get an extention of stay on something or other and get another visa ASAP.

Of course this would cost me a fair amount, and she would make a bundle if I did the run with her.

I didn't cancel my WP, and chatted to a few other visa run services who gave me a similar story, but their advice should be biased. The only difference in some recommendations is that some say that I can switch to a ED visa in Bangkok without paying overstay, while some say I still need to cancel and pay overstay.

Could you please give me your recommendations. If I just leave now on this visa will I need to cancel and pay because they will check up on some employers database or something? or could I just leave and return on a tourist visa and not have any problems?

Thanks,

Dave

[naboo]

Your extension of stay based on work (assuming you extended based on your job and aren't on a multiple entry) will have expired with your job. If you are no longer working, you no longer have permission to stay in the country and are now on an overstay of over a week, 4000B fine minimum.

Officially, you need to cancel your work permit and extension of stay. I think if you leave the country and come back in on a tourist visa you'll get away with it. However, its not the way you're supposed to do it and exiting in your current situation without a re-entry permit and no cancelled visa will alert the immigration officer on your exit.

If I were you, I'd get your former employer to cancel your work permit on an agreed date, assuming you're on good terms. In my experience, employers have not cancelled work permits or visas when asked not to until other arrangements are in place. If you left on bad terms, they probably informed Labour office and Immigration already.

[Davie dave]

Thanks,

I left on very good terms with them, but it's a large and beaurocratic University, so doubt I will be able to get a letter that tells them I left at any other date.

If they hadn't informed the labour office, then would I cancel my non-imm B, get the extension then figure things out?

[tombkk]

The day your employment ended, your permission to stay ended. You have 24 hours to leave the country but can apply for an extension of 7 days to pack your bags.

Staying on the Work Permit and staying extension when you are not working there any more is fraudulent.

Sent from my LG-P698f using Thaivisa Connect App

[koolbreez]

Leave the country immediately without a reentry permit. That will cancel your visa, and if the University informed immigration of your resignation then they will charge you overstay if it is on their computor. If they haven't yet then no fine. Come back in on a tourist visa you picked up at a Thai embassy/consulate, and all is done. You can get 2 tourist visas at the embassy in Vientaine in Laos.

Going to a language school and getting an ED visa will cost you around bt24500-bt30000 for the acredited/registered school to get the paperwork you need to get the visa, and you have to go to school for them to give you the paperwork you need to extend the visa every 90 days. It is a one year visa, and you'll have to leave the country to get it originally, but it has to be extended every 90 days, not just reporting address every 90 days. Because of so much exploitation, and abuse of the ED visa you now HAVE to go to school to get your extension paperwork every 90 days, and if you don't the visa extension expires at the end of 90 days because you will not have the paperwork from the school to extend it.

It is cheaper to just do visa runs for tourist visas for the time you want to travel around.

Edited November 9, 2012 by koolbreez

[Tomtomtom69]

A bit strange this whole thing. When I worked on my first non-B 1 year multiple entry a few years back nobody cared to ask me for my work permit or anything like that at immigration. As long as the visa was valid and I didn't overstay it (I got 90 day stays and had to re-enter every 90 days after a quick trip abroad) I was fine. I even came back on that visa towards the end of its validity and by then I wasn't working anymore as I had to go back to study at my university for 4 months and I got another 90 day stay no questions asked and perfectly legal. I have never overstayed and don't see how the work permit and visa are linked.

Also, to only have 24 hours to leave after the country after you resign or get sacked is insane. What kind of stupid rule is that? Who would have time to pack their bags so quickly? WHatever happened to I want to resign so I can find a better job? All of that takes time and yes, it's better to apply before resigning from your current job but sometimes it's not that easy to immediately find a new job in the meantime.

[ubonjoe]

A visa is not linked to working or the work permit.

Th OP has an extension of stay not a visa. An extension of stay based upon working the extension ends on the date the job ends.

[SamMunich]

There are two kind of Non-Immigrant -B- visas and it depends on which one you have.

Number 1: You get the Non-Im extended to a year with the papers from your employer. You go to Immigration every 90 days and show your passport.

Number 2: You get your Non-Im abroad with multiple re-entries. You don't get the visa extended at Immigration in Thailand, but you leave the country every 90 days (= visa run). After a year, you try to get another Non-Im -B- at your home country. That is, if you're lucky and (!) can show a valid work permit.

In case number 1, your visa is invalidated within 1 week after you return the work-permit, _because_ the visa is attached to you working for that specific company/institution. No more work, no more "need" for the visa.

In case number 2 your visa is NOT connected to a specific company/institution employing you. So you leave the company and return the WP, but the visa is still valid until the end of it's term, which might be after another 1 or 2 visa runs.

That is no BS or nonsense, I had exactly this situation not long ago.

Teh only thing that might have changed is the restrictions on issuing a Non-Im -B- abroad...

Sam M.

[lopburi3]

This is not a visa - it is an extension of stay from immigration and is invalid immediately upon end of employment (unless BOI one stop customer where you have 7 days) and requires employee present letter to immigration to cancel extension and exit immediately (or pay for 7 days to leave period).