Conversion Of Tourist Visa To Non Immigrant 'b' Visa

[krk]

G'day mates. I have a question. pls help me with it as i do not have much knowledge on thai non-immi B visa.

an IT company from bkk offered me a job and has asked me to come over to bkk on a tourist visa. they say they will take me to the border to convert it to non-immi b visa and then apply for the work permit whcih they say could take 4-6 weeks. in the meanwhile i will be signing the contract.

now i cant make out whether this way of conversion of tourist visa to non-immi b is legal or is the company playing up for not sending its papers to the country i'm in so that i can get the visa from here. they are reluctant to do the same.

pls leave me with ur opinions and suggestions on this issue. i appreciate it very much.

thanks once again.

[lopburi3]

You can not obtain any kind of visa at a border point, so suspect they are saying they want to meet you first and then if they still want you they will give you the paperwork to obtain a visa at a nearby Consulate. Or they have no intent to ever provide legal work.

You are also not allowed to work without a work permit and you can not obtain a work permit on a tourist visa. I would be asking further questions unless you have plans to vacation here anyhow.

[raybkk]

G'day mates. I have a question. pls help me with it as i do not have much knowledge on thai non-immi B visa.

an IT company from bkk offered me a job and has asked me to come over to bkk on a tourist visa. they say they will take me to the border to convert it to non-immi b visa and then apply for the work permit whcih they say could take 4-6 weeks. in the meanwhile i will be signing the contract.

now i cant make out whether this way of conversion of tourist visa to non-immi b is legal or is the company playing up for not sending its papers to the country i'm in so that i can get the visa from here. they are reluctant to do the same.

pls leave me with ur opinions and suggestions on this issue. i appreciate it very much.

thanks once again.

You can convert your Tourist visa into a Non-B in Bangkok. But the company you are going to work for needs to prepare lots of documents. Plus you must show the real proof of education.... No copies allowed. It is possible! But not easy.

[krk]

Thanks for the replies mates. I wish to proivide you with more info to know the ground realities.

The IT company i'm talking about is in silom road. they mailed me a confidential contract and said they cannot send any doc out of country for tax purposes. that bit was dodgy to the say the least for me. is this the way IT cos usually rope in foreign people?

then they advised me that once i sign the contract they will take the entire responsibility for visa conversions and work permit and that i need not worry about it at all. they also say that the non immi b visa takes one day to process at the border and then they will apply for work permit which will be another 4-6 weeks as i mentioned. they say i can work legally in the meanwhile till i get the WP. i understand that by the word of the law one cannot work till one gets WP but that this is being ignored in practice. is that true? the hr says its legal.

the business visa will be valid for 3 months and then they say it can be renewed and that i dont have to go for visa runs. is it possible to renew the business visa once issued without going out of thailand?

finally is this the way companies bring in foreign talent into thailand or as i feel do they send out proper docs to get a business visa before entering thailand?

thx guys. appreciate ur help.

[krk]

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Edited March 29, 2006 by krk

[krk]

I also wanted to add that they have sent me a scanned original appointment letter so there is no question of them having a look at me before they decide they want me as an employee or not. That part is very clear. They are taking that entire responsibility and even providing me with accomodation and food once i reach bkk. well thats what they say...

[ajarnmark]

Well fella, I dont know your nationality so its difficult to comment on the situation. However, you can see the following as a general guideline, though, there may be some deviations.

1. If you are from Pakistan, Bangladesh or India etc. then you have to go back to your country of origin. There is NO WAY (i mean NO WAY) that your tourist visa can be changed to Non-Immigration "B" class visa. I know few Indians who claim they came here on some other visa and converted it into B visa, but I know they are lying.

2. If you are from Europe, UK etc. (which I think you are) then you can go out of country and change the visa to B in any of the neighbouring country.

3. Most of the Visas including B, are issued originally for 3 months and can be renewed without leaving the country. However, B visa can be renewed for as long as the validity of work permit. For example you got the B visa on June 1, 2006 and the company made a contract with you for 9 months then you will get B visa for 3 months first and then it can be renewed for another 6 months max.

4. Make sure that once you arrive Thailand, always report to immigration department after every 90 days.

Wish you goodluck

[krk]

hey ajarnmark..thanks for the reply dude. the hr mgr says that the conversion is a simple procedure and that can be done within one day from the border.

by the way i forgot to mention my country of origin. i'm sorry your guess was off the mark but i'm from india mate.

i have to sign a one yr contract and the co says it takes care of all the legalities with regards to visas. the hr says i can work legally till they obtain my work permit.

does the tax issue ring a bell to anyone? i mean the co does not want to send the original offer letter out of country for tax reasons. if they do that i can easily get a business visa from here and fly into bkk. coulf there be a shady reason to it as well? anybody with exp with such situations?

[rishi]

No question about these ones: You cannot legally do any kind of work in Thailand without having a workpermit. You don't have a workpermit until you personally have been down at the employment office and put your signature in a blue book of passport size. You cannot possible legally work even one minute before this has been done.

The only reason I can see for that company not sending you an proper invitation, so you can get a non-imm "B" right from the offset, is that they don't want anything official on your relationship to them.

You wouldn't be the first one, who've have been fooled in a similiar way.

[krk]

thanks mates for all the replies. rishi, ajarnmark and the rest. i've bothered you already with quite a bit of info. i honestly think this will be my last q.

i wrote to the hr and said due to visa reasons i am unable to take the offer. the hr wrote back to me asking me to revise my decision. he says he can send me some letter of guarantee with regards to my visa processing and other legalities. but again i am uncertain about the conversion of tourist visa to non immi 'b' at border. even though the co says they takes care of all the legalities.

is there a way i can determine the genuineness of this? is it worth the risk?

[appleman_thai]

ABout 4 and half years ago I came here to work in IT and went thru what you are going thru now.

I didnt have a work permit for first month although i was working. THey took care of eerything and the amount of papers that I signed was unreal.

I really believe that it is easier to get into Thailand on normal tourist visa and then arrange all the documentation for work permit and visa. My company took care of everything for me.

Remember, this is THailand so you just have to go with the flow sometimes....

Go with your gut feeling........ and hey, if it doesnt work out what have you lost? But if you dont go how will you ever know???

NIKE!

[percy2]

No question about these ones: You cannot legally do any kind of work in Thailand without having a workpermit. You don't have a workpermit until you personally have been down at the employment office and put your signature in a blue book of passport size. You cannot possible legally work even one minute before this has been done.

The only reason I can see for that company not sending you an proper invitation, so you can get a non-imm "B" right from the offset, is that they don't want anything official on your relationship to them.

You wouldn't be the first one, who've have been fooled in a similiar way.

I could be wrong but from memory you can actually start work after you have made your application for work permit.

Cheers

[Sunbelt Asia]

thanks mates for all the replies. rishi, ajarnmark and the rest. i've bothered you already with quite a bit of info. i honestly think this will be my last q.

i wrote to the hr and said due to visa reasons i am unable to take the offer. the hr wrote back to me asking me to revise my decision. he says he can send me some letter of guarantee with regards to my visa processing and other legalities. but again i am uncertain about the conversion of tourist visa to non immi 'b' at border. even though the co says they takes care of all the legalities.

is there a way i can determine the genuineness of this? is it worth the risk?

This is easy. Just tell this firm to apply for a WP3. Once you have that, you take that along with the company paperwork to the Embassy in India and get the non immigrant visa. Once you arrive, you take the medical cert from a Clinic in Bangkok with your pictures and you get the work permit the same day you arrive.

You are not allowed to get another visa outside Thailand except India as you are an Indian national.

It is possible to change a Tourist visa to a Business Visa but as you are an Indian national, many hoops have to be gone thru. You must have your original Diploma (notorized by the Embassy here and certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and as you are an Indian national in your case, letters of references from employers for the past 5 years ( must be in the IT field )

Easier just to have them apply for the WP3 which most Embassies require in India. You then work legally the same day you arrive! Better for them as well, cheaper and shorter time required.

They don't know what a WP3 is, have them call us. Our professional fee is 3,900 Baht to process the paperwork.

I could be wrong but from memory you can actually start work after you have made your application for work permit.

Sorry, but this is not the case.

www.lawyer.th.com