non-O visa extension

[bonnie80]

Hi,

I am currently on a non-O visa which expires Jul 23, however the volunteer organisation that I work with have been able to get me a work permit, and so have begun applying for a 1 year visa. My Thai colleague went to immigration today, and all the paperwork was approved and we were told that a letter would be sent "in the next few weeks". If the letter comes before Jul 23, then I think everything will be OK, but if it doesn't come in time, then is it possible to extend my current 90-day visa for a few days before I fly to the UK on July 30?

I have noticed that in some previous posts there seems to be disagreement in whether a non-O visa can be extended. I understand that it is not the same as a tourist visa, and so can't be extended for 30 days, but I only need a 7-day extension, and there seems that this might be a possibility. If anyone could clarify whether or not it is possible to extend this visa for 7 days, then that would be very helpful! I know that there is a form that can be downloaded and completed about a 7-day extension, but it wasn't clear if this could be used with the visa that I currently have.

Thanks

[lopburi3]

It can not be extended without official reason, for your NGO believe that will be a 90 day extension rather than one year from other reports here. The seven days is not actually an extension but a period to leave after extension application is rejected so do not believe a re-entry permit would be issued for that period of time (but do not recall any actual report).

[ubonjoe]

It probably would be better to get a new single entry non-o visa. That way you would have 90 days when your return.

The honorary consulates (IE:Hull) in the UK accept mail in applications and normally do it quickly.

[diggledunc]

It probably would be better to get a new single entry non-o visa. That way you would have 90 days when your return.

The honorary consulates (IE:Hull) in the UK accept mail in applications and normally do it quickly.

Yes that's quite right but only if you have a UK address. On the Hull website it says that if you aren't resident in the UK you can't apply for a visa there. If I remember rightly I had to take a couple of utility bills with my last non-O application for one year which I did in person. Even if you use a friends address how do you get the bills in your name.

Maybe the embassy in London is different but they won't take postal applications, you have to go in person and your passport is returned on the third day.

Maybe depends on the situation of the poster. Now I have no UK address as I have sold my house there, that's why I know about Hull's rule re residence. Interestingly having found this out I looked at consulates in Hong Kong, Sydney and Dubai, all have the same residence requirement.

[scrabbleking]

The Non Immigrant O expires 1 year from date of issue, 90 days per entry, if you arrive in the country/go to the boarder on the 364th day after issue you get 90 more days, which gives you a total of nearly 15 months. So in your case I am not certain what expires on July 23rd, if it is the visa, just go to the boarder and get 90 more days OR if you are already past the one year from issue and your last 90 days is running out on July 23rd, you can go to the border and get 15 day tourist visa at land border or 30 day tourist visa at airport.

Does this help you????

[Sophon]

The Non Immigrant O expires 1 year from date of issue, 90 days per entry, if you arrive in the country/go to the boarder on the 364th day after issue you get 90 more days, which gives you a total of nearly 15 months. So in your case I am not certain what expires on July 23rd, if it is the visa, just go to the boarder and get 90 more days OR if you are already past the one year from issue and your last 90 days is running out on July 23rd, you can go to the border and get 15 day tourist visa at land border or 30 day tourist visa at airport.

Does this help you????

I see nothing in the OP indicating that the poster has a multi entry visa.

Sophon

[scrabbleking]

The Non Immigrant O expires 1 year from date of issue, 90 days per entry, if you arrive in the country/go to the boarder on the 364th day after issue you get 90 more days, which gives you a total of nearly 15 months. So in your case I am not certain what expires on July 23rd, if it is the visa, just go to the boarder and get 90 more days OR if you are already past the one year from issue and your last 90 days is running out on July 23rd, you can go to the border and get 15 day tourist visa at land border or 30 day tourist visa at airport.

Does this help you????

I see nothing in the OP indicating that the poster has a multi entry visa.

Sophon

It doesn't matter whether they have a single or multiple entry Non Imm O. If they have a single entry which expires on Jul. 23rd, they can go to a land border and get 15 day tourist visa. Just means they "shouldn't" volunteer between entering on the tourist visa and Jul. 30th. One of the points I was trying to make is that not everybody is clear on the fact that if you do have a mulitple entry Non Imm O you can get 90 MORE days on the last day of validity. In other words your ability to stay in the country doesn't expire with the visa itself but expires 90 days AFTER your last valid ENTRY. I enter on the 364th day and stretch mine to 15 months.

[Sophon]

The Non Immigrant O expires 1 year from date of issue, 90 days per entry, if you arrive in the country/go to the boarder on the 364th day after issue you get 90 more days, which gives you a total of nearly 15 months. So in your case I am not certain what expires on July 23rd, if it is the visa, just go to the boarder and get 90 more days OR if you are already past the one year from issue and your last 90 days is running out on July 23rd, you can go to the border and get 15 day tourist visa at land border or 30 day tourist visa at airport.

Does this help you????

I see nothing in the OP indicating that the poster has a multi entry visa.

Sophon

It doesn't matter whether they have a single or multiple entry Non Imm O. If they have a single entry which expires on Jul. 23rd, they can go to a land border and get 15 day tourist visa. Just means they "shouldn't" volunteer between entering on the tourist visa and Jul. 30th. One of the points I was trying to make is that not everybody is clear on the fact that if you do have a multiple entry Non Imm O you can get 90 MORE days on the last day of validity. In other words your ability to stay in the country doesn't expire with the visa itself but expires 90 days AFTER your last valid ENTRY. I enter on the 364th day and stretch mine to 15 months.

It does matter whether the OP has a single or multiple entry visa. You didn't distinguish between single/multiple entry visas in your advice and just stated that his visa expired one year from date of issue, which is probably not true in this case. If someone with little knowledge of visas read your post they could very easily be lead to believe that they would get 90 days on even on a single entry Non Immigrant visa by leaving any time within the first year, which could lead them to make the wrong decision.

If you had prefaced your post with "If you have a multiple entry Non Immigrant visa..." it would have been more helpful. Without that it could very well be more confusing to the OP than helpful as the conditions you mention as if they were general only apply to multi entry visas (which it does not sound like the OP has).

I am not trying to nit-pick here, but when trying to advice about visas and extensions it's very important to be clear and precise. We may feel that something is implied, but people with little prior knowledge about the subject will seldom see it that way.

Sophon

[scrabbleking]

The Non Immigrant O expires 1 year from date of issue, 90 days per entry, if you arrive in the country/go to the boarder on the 364th day after issue you get 90 more days, which gives you a total of nearly 15 months. So in your case I am not certain what expires on July 23rd, if it is the visa, just go to the boarder and get 90 more days OR if you are already past the one year from issue and your last 90 days is running out on July 23rd, you can go to the border and get 15 day tourist visa at land border or 30 day tourist visa at airport.

Does this help you????

I see nothing in the OP indicating that the poster has a multi entry visa.

Sophon

It doesn't matter whether they have a single or multiple entry Non Imm O. If they have a single entry which expires on Jul. 23rd, they can go to a land border and get 15 day tourist visa. Just means they "shouldn't" volunteer between entering on the tourist visa and Jul. 30th. One of the points I was trying to make is that not everybody is clear on the fact that if you do have a multiple entry Non Imm O you can get 90 MORE days on the last day of validity. In other words your ability to stay in the country doesn't expire with the visa itself but expires 90 days AFTER your last valid ENTRY. I enter on the 364th day and stretch mine to 15 months.

It does matter whether the OP has a single or multiple entry visa. You didn't distinguish between single/multiple entry visas in your advice and just stated that his visa expired one year from date of issue, which is probably not true in this case. If someone with little knowledge of visas read your post they could very easily be lead to believe that they would get 90 days on even on a single entry Non Immigrant visa by leaving any time within the first year, which could lead them to make the wrong decision.

If you had prefaced your post with "If you have a multiple entry Non Immigrant visa..." it would have been more helpful. Without that it could very well be more confusing to the OP than helpful as the conditions you mention as if they were general only apply to multi entry visas (which it does not sound like the OP has).

I am not trying to nit-pick here, but when trying to advice about visas and extensions it's very important to be clear and precise. We may feel that something is implied, but people with little prior knowledge about the subject will seldom see it that way.

Sophon

Yes I could have been more clear, but I could written a book as well. He could have been more clear as well, could have said single or multuiple entry and what exactally was expiring on the 23rd, either the visa or his 90 days from entry/last entry. He stated "I am currently on a non-O visa which expires Jul 23" kinda sounds like to me it is the visa itself, it which case he doesn't need an extention but a border run.... Also in my original reply I said "if your last 90 days is running out on July 23rd, you can go to the border and get 15 day tourist visa". I was working with limited info and can't read minds. I gave valid options for whether the 90 day entry was expiring OR the visa was expiring on the 23rd.

How about this?

He needs 7 days and can get that at the border.

[ubonjoe]

It probably would be better to get a new single entry non-o visa. That way you would have 90 days when your return.

The honorary consulates (IE:Hull) in the UK accept mail in applications and normally do it quickly.

Yes that's quite right but only if you have a UK address. On the Hull website it says that if you aren't resident in the UK you can't apply for a visa there. If I remember rightly I had to take a couple of utility bills with my last non-O application for one year which I did in person. Even if you use a friends address how do you get the bills in your name.

Maybe the embassy in London is different but they won't take postal applications, you have to go in person and your passport is returned on the third day.

Maybe depends on the situation of the poster. Now I have no UK address as I have sold my house there, that's why I know about Hull's rule re residence. Interestingly having found this out I looked at consulates in Hong Kong, Sydney and Dubai, all have the same residence requirement.

If you have a UK passport that is enough to prove you are a resident. If not there have been many reports of Hull issuing visas to those with other passports. There main concern is that you are not mailing the application in from here for instance. They just want to know that you physically present in the UK when you apply.

London non-o visas based upon being over 50 for retirement they only do OA visas.

I just tried to find anything on Hull website that say you must be resident in the UK to get the visa. It only mentions that those from certain countries need to do it in London. Aa GENERAL VISA RULES & REGULATIONS

Edited July 14, 2013 by ubonjoe

[bonnie80]

Hi All,

Thanks for all your comments and advice.

I also just found out that there are special exceptions for working with NGO's, so my plan now is to go to immigration sometime next week to see if they will extend my visa for the 7-days so I can stay in BKK until I fly back to the UK. If this doesn't work, then it will probably be a border run to get a tourist visa for the remainder of the time before I get home.

I have applied for a visa from Hull in the past, and didn't have any problems, as I was able to present all the necessary paper-work from the organization to authorise the visa. So the plan is to apply for a non-O visa from there, and then extend it to a 1 year visa when I get back to BKK.

I'll let you know how things turn out!

Thanks again

[Mario2008]

Working as a volunteer gives you extensions of stay for 90 days at a time, unless there is a Thai government agency supporting the application. With a supporting letter of a high ranking official, like the governor of the province it is possible to get a 1 year extension of stay.

Not sure what special exceptions for NGO's you are talking about.

[jrtmedic]

+1

Seems it could prove to be an expensive visa ! ------BKK -----UK --------BKK by air !

Will the "NGO" reimburse the cost ?

Hope it all works out well !

Edited July 14, 2013 by jrtmedic

[ubonjoe]

Hi All,

Thanks for all your comments and advice.

I also just found out that there are special exceptions for working with NGO's, so my plan now is to go to immigration sometime next week to see if they will extend my visa for the 7-days so I can stay in BKK until I fly back to the UK. If this doesn't work, then it will probably be a border run to get a tourist visa for the remainder of the time before I get home.

I have applied for a visa from Hull in the past, and didn't have any problems, as I was able to present all the necessary paper-work from the organization to authorise the visa. So the plan is to apply for a non-O visa from there, and then extend it to a 1 year visa when I get back to BKK.

I'll let you know how things turn out!

Thanks again

You don't need to get a tourist visa when you do the border run. You will get a 15 day visa exempt entry.

If you have a ticket out of the country within the 7 days you should not have a problem getting the 7 days at immigration. What you would do is apply for the extension pay 1900 baht and they will deny the extension and give you 7 days to leave the country.

[diggledunc]

It probably would be better to get a new single entry non-o visa. That way you would have 90 days when your return.

The honorary consulates (IE:Hull) in the UK accept mail in applications and normally do it quickly.

Yes that's quite right but only if you have a UK address. On the Hull website it says that if you aren't resident in the UK you can't apply for a visa there. If I remember rightly I had to take a couple of utility bills with my last non-O application for one year which I did in person. Even if you use a friends address how do you get the bills in your name.

Maybe the embassy in London is different but they won't take postal applications, you have to go in person and your passport is returned on the third day.

Maybe depends on the situation of the poster. Now I have no UK address as I have sold my house there, that's why I know about Hull's rule re residence. Interestingly having found this out I looked at consulates in Hong Kong, Sydney and Dubai, all have the same residence requirement.

If you have a UK passport that is enough to prove you are a resident. If not there have been many reports of Hull issuing visas to those with other passports. There main concern is that you are not mailing the application in from here for instance. They just want to know that you physically present in the UK when you apply.

London non-o visas based upon being over 50 for retirement they only do OA visas.

I just tried to find anything on Hull website that say you must be resident in the UK to get the visa. It only mentions that those from certain countries need to do it in London. Aa GENERAL VISA RULES & REGULATIONS

Sorry Ubonjoe don't know how to upload on to Thaivisa. The part I looked at was Aba amended 3.9.12 at the top of page four. I suppose it all depends on what they mean by resident in the country at time of application. This could be interpreted as living there or as you say just being there. I really don't know how they look at it but when something like that appears I think it raises issues. As I said I was asked for utility bills or similar. Now I couldn't produce them. I know others have as well.

I hope you are right because if you are I will use Hull for this.

I may try and clarify with them nearer the time of my next trip to UK.

Edited July 15, 2013 by lopburi3
correct quote

[diggledunc]

It probably would be better to get a new single entry non-o visa. That way you would have 90 days when your return.

The honorary consulates (IE:Hull) in the UK accept mail in applications and normally do it quickly.

Yes that's quite right but only if you have a UK address. On the Hull website it says that if you aren't resident in the UK you can't apply for a visa there. If I remember rightly I had to take a couple of utility bills with my last non-O application for one year which I did in person. Even if you use a friends address how do you get the bills in your name.

Maybe the embassy in London is different but they won't take postal applications, you have to go in person and your passport is returned on the third day.

Maybe depends on the situation of the poster. Now I have no UK address as I have sold my house there, that's why I know about Hull's rule re residence. Interestingly having found this out I looked at consulates in Hong Kong, Sydney and Dubai, all have the same residence requirement.

If you have a UK passport that is enough to prove you are a resident. If not there have been many reports of Hull issuing visas to those with other passports. There main concern is that you are not mailing the application in from here for instance. They just want to know that you physically present in the UK when you apply.

London non-o visas based upon being over 50 for retirement they only do OA visas.

I just tried to find anything on Hull website that say you must be resident in the UK to get the visa. It only mentions that those from certain countries need to do it in London. Aa GENERAL VISA RULES & REGULATIONS

Ubonjoe just had a further thought. Yes if you had a US passport but were living in UK you are resident there so presumably you could apply as you could show you are resident in the UK. This would fit in with what I said in an earlier post about researching Hong Kong, Sydney and Dubai. In each of those you could apply if you were resident in those countries even if you held a UK passport.

On the application form for Non-O it asks for your permanent address. I don't know what checks they would do on this - maybe electoral register? If like me having sold my house and now not having a UK address what would I put down for my permanent address on the application form. My permanent address now is in Isan for everything.

I know you do many posts and am interested to know your point of view. Without actually contacting Hull I would be a little nervous making an appointment going and putting an address down in UK I couldn't prove. I couldn't do a postal application as my abode would be a hotel when I go back.