I am 30-year old Finn and I just got my passport back from Royal Thai Embassy in Finland with void stamp on my non-immigrant B visa. I had all the necessary paperwork when submitting my visa application but the visa got voided at the final stage due to the misspelling of my name in WP3 letter. I will have to go Thailand before I am able to get new (and corrected) WP3 form for new visa application in my home country. Thus, I will have to enter the country with 30-day Visa exemption. I will get new WP3 form after 3 days in Thailand and thus have all my paperwork duly completed. My goal is to obtain work permit as soon as possible.

I have few questions for forum experts related to my situation:

1) Would it be easier to do a visa run as soon as I have new WP3 or try to change 30-day visa exempt to Non-B inside the country. I have heard that changing the visa might cause some delays and problems for work permit.

2) If I should do Visa run, what is the Thai embassy of your recommendation in the neighbor countries?

3) Could that "void" stamp in my previous Non-B attempt cause any harm?

4) Anything else I should consider

Many thanks in advance!

First try to get a tourist visa, with a visa exempt entry as is your plan the airline might not let you board the flight unless you have a ticket out of Thailand within 30 days of arrival. When you have a visa, no ticket out of Thailand is required.

1. Visa run is often easier, but no problem in trying your luck at immigration.

2. Any will do, only Cambodia takes 4 days while other countries only 2 days to issue. Laos is a good place to go.

3. Normally not. if asked, just explain.

4. See above. try to have the company get a corrected WP3 form and e-mail a scan to you. Maybe the embassy will accept it if the company directly emails to them with a nice short accompanying note?

why would they put the visa in the passport and then void it??

Anyway, Penang is very easy for a single ( with ur wps3 form) or 1 year multiple ( if u have ur wp)

takes 1 day ( put in the morning, pick up next day)

Not so sure about Phnom Penh, but tourist visa is 4 days, when i asked agents if they could do a non B they said they would not guarntee they could get it

do as Mario suggested an calll the embassy an ask them if ur employeer fax's /emails the corrected WP3, if that will be ok.

Thanks for your advice.

I do not have time to apply for Tourist Visa as it takes 4 days here in Finland. Next week there is one thai holiday and my flight leaves before I would get the tourist visa. That's why I will be entering the Kingdom with 30-day exemption.

Getting the void stamp to my Non-B is a long story..Got the void stamp at the very last stage just before receiving the authorizing stamp and signature from counsellor. The officer at desk checked that all the paperwork was correct and took the application (and probably prepared the visa). In the same day I received the phone call form embassy that my Visa could not be stamped due to the misspelling in my name. They left my application open in order to give me the possibility to bring new WP3 form. My company asked new WP3 from Ministry of Labour but they could not issue new one until the original was still valid from their point of view.. So I would either have to wait until the original expires (what is the case now) or collect the old one from embassy and send it back to Thailand for re-issuing (was impossible as embassy do not return any application attachments even after several phone calls). The original WP3 expires at the date when I am flying so can not get the new one to Embassy.

I think I will do a visa run to Laos, Vientiane. Any suggestions whether to use some travel agent (from Pattaya) or just do it individually? Or maybe try my luck at immigration first even though that I have heard some issues related to extension of stay and work permit at this phase.

My suggestion would be that after your visa-exempt arrival in Thailand you get a new WP3 and before the expiration of your 30-day permission to stay go with the WP3 and other required documentation from your employer to a Thai consulate in Laos or Malaysia to apply for a single-entry non-B visa. This will then give you a new permission to stay for 90 days, during which period your work permit will hopefully be issued.

For reference a WP3 is the form filled out at Labour for an Employee who is not in Thailand at the time of application for a Work Permit.

Normally what is supplied to Consular facilities is the WP3 Receipt (used as a substitute for the Letter of Acceptance from Labour) which is an A5 sized slip of paper issued by Labour when a Work Permit Application is successfully filed.

See the link here for the MFA full list of paperwork.http://www.mfa.go.th/main/en/services/123/15388-Non-Immigrant-Visa-%22B%22-(for-Business-and.html

The WP3 receipt is also used to collect the completed Blue WP Book from Labour once a 90 day Non Immigrant Category 'B' Visa Entry Stamp to Thailand has been obtained.

Without the original WP3 Receipt plus tthe Non 'B' Entry Stamp in the subject's passport, the WP cannot be collected; so if the Finnish Consulate have the original WP3, the OP has a further problem.

It also may mean that a WP with the applicant's name spelt incorrectly is waiting at the local labour dept in Thailand for the applicant's Non 'B' Passport Stamp.

With the correct paperwork the OP should be able to obatin a 90 Single Entry Non Immigrant Category from a Thai Consulate in a neighbouring SE Asia Country closeby, no need to return to Finland.

Normally what is supplied to Consular facilities is the WP3 Receipt (used as a substitute for the Letter of Acceptance from Labour) which is an A5 sized slip of paper issued by Labour when a Work Permit Application is successfully filed.

Thank for correcting. "WP3" in my previous posts = Letter of Acceptance from Labour.