Hi,

I'm 20 years old and in the end of next month I will be leaving to Thailand for 1 year to work as a volunteer.

I was going to apply for a non immigrant o multiple entry visa, but then the consulate told me they needed a certificate of registration, signed and stamped for not more than 6 months by the ministry of commerce.

The organization (or whatever you call it) the volunteer project is registered at says they can't give out a new registration certificate, they can only give a copy of the old origninal one. The consulate says they won't accept this.

I'm now running out of time and don't know what I should do.

I've heard I can just get a regular tourist visa and apply for a non immigrant o visa at a local immigration office in Thailand, where the requirements might not be as strict or as hard to meet.

Does anyone know wether this is actually possible or not.

And if not, could I get a 3 entry tourist visa (it is possible to get one in my country) and when it's expired go to the border to get another tourist visa?

Oh also I already have a return ticket and the return date is in may (changeable date). Can I just buy a cheap ticket to Cambodia to show that I will leave the country? Would I have to buy 3 tickets for the triple entry tourist visa?

I don't want to do anything illegally because I don't want to ruin my chances of staying in Thailand in the future.

Thank you so much!

Which country are you from? Different consulates have different requirements of documents.

I hope you havnt paid for the privelage of volunteering and you are at least going to receive free food and lodgings?

You need a Non imm O visa and a Work Permit to work as a volunteer.

You can not work on a tourist visa - so forget them if you want to be legal. Yes you may be able to obtain a non immigrant O visa from a Consulate in the area of Thailand but it will require proper paperwork from the NGO. Be aware from reports there is a real issue with some such organizations actually providing legal path.

I'm from the Netherlands.

Yeah I will receive free food & lodgings.

I've asked someone from the organization to check the requirements for the non immigrant o visa in Kanchanaburi but sadly communication is a bit slow.

Find a better organization which will provide you with the required visa support documents; every proper volunteer organization does this...

Thanks for the advice but I'm volunteering here because my bf lives here.

Many advertised "volunteer" programs are in fact scams designed to extract cash from well meaning individuals.

Any genuine organisation will provide all the assistance needed to secure legal status in Thailand.

Walk away from anyone who offers less or fails to communicate.

Do not volunteer for any group unless they are willing to assist or get you the correct visa

You can enter on a tourist visa and visit the organization if you want to, however, would advise to NOT do any work whether volunteer or not does not matter in Thailand before you get the proper paperwork in place. Usually in order to get the proper paperwork you will need documents from the organization and will need to go out of the country and back in to execute the new visa (can go to Laos, Cambodia, etc...). Again, do NOT do any work in Thailand unless you have the proper docs in place, too much trouble not worth it.

You can convert to a non-O based on volunteering, but will probably have to do that in Bangkok.

You talk about the consulate, have you tried the embassy? Try it with a supporting letter from the organisation, or even better have the organisation send an email to the embassy and explain the situation and see if they can help you.

You can convert to a non-O based on volunteering, but will probably have to do that in Bangkok.

You talk about the consulate, have you tried the embassy? Try it with a supporting letter from the organisation, or even better have the organisation send an email to the embassy and explain the situation and see if they can help you.

Ask for all of the above and see if they follow thru if they do not then you know they are a scam. Many NGOs depend on volunteers to do the daily work because they are to cheap to hire full staff. There are a few NGOs on the up and up but many are just a money making scam for the people who set them up. Good luck and come on a tourist visa and look around before making a committement

The Thai Consulate in Amsterdam is getting more and more strict.

The best option is (IMHO) to get to Thailand and get 30 days on arrival (visa-exempt).

Take care of the proper paperwork from the NGO and apply for the correct visa in Laos or Cambodia.

Depending on the NGO's connections with Immigration it may be possible to convert your permission of stay into a permission of stay based on a voluntary job.

Edited July 3, 201313 yr by Mario2008
dutch removed per forum rules

The project is definitely not a scam. I've visited the project 2,5 of months ago as well as in 2012 and it is run by genuine kindhearted people who care immensly about the project.

They do tell me they want to do whatever it takes to get me this visa, I think the problem is just that I'm talking to a person who isn't actually going out to get the documents.

A Thai person does this and therefore I think it's mainly just communication problems and the fact that they've never had a foreign volunteer over for a year.

I think this might be easier to arrange if I just visit the project on a day that the owner is there and tell him directly what I need.

I have contacted the embassy as well. I've told both the embassy and the consulate about my problem and asked them what I should do. They don't answer my question they just tell me that without a new certificate and a signature from the ministry I won't get my visa. I have every other required document including a letter of invitation and a copy of ID of the owner of the project etc.

Edited July 3, 201313 yr by M93

May I ask what this "project" involves and what charges people have to pay in order to volunteer?

Edited July 3, 201313 yr by jrtmedic

The project is definitely not a scam. I've visited the project 2,5 of months ago as well as in 2012 and it is run by genuine kindhearted people who care immensly about the project.

They do tell me they want to do whatever it takes to get me this visa, I think the problem is just that I'm talking to a person who isn't actually going out to get the documents.

A Thai person does this and therefore I think it's mainly just communication problems and the fact that they've never had a foreign volunteer over for a year.

I think this might be easier to arrange if I just visit the project on a day that the owner is there and tell him directly what I need.

I have contacted the embassy as well. I've told both the embassy and the consulate about my problem and asked them what I should do. They don't answer my question they just tell me that without a new certificate and a signature from the ministry I won't get my visa. I have every other required document including a letter of invitation and a copy of ID of the owner of the project etc.

You only talk about the visa, have you asked the organisation if they are going to supply you with a work permit?

Sophon

It is an elephant sanctuary. I don't know what the rates are for volunteers who visit the project for a short period but as I sad I get free lodgings & food.

Yes the organization has all the required documents I need for a working permit.