Hey guys & gals, so I've been searching and reading this forum and msfa.go.th for a definitive answer but everyones cases are a little different from each other as well as different from my situation.

From what I've read it seems there a couple options I have. So here it goes... *deep breath*

I am currently on a Non-Imm B visa Single Entry for 90 days. The company I work for in the States gathered all the appropriate paper work (as did I) to apply and get accepted for the Business Visa at the Thai consulate in the States. Now I am currently in Thailand and looking to a extend the visa up to a year. Now, the company I work for has offices in Thailand and in the States but they are seperate companies and the one in Thailand is fairly new (Around 2 years old) and when I arrived I was told by the head hancho here (Thai native) that it doesn't look like they'll be able to supply me with a work permit due to all these stipulations required by the governments. So I took it upon myself to go through all these requirements and sent them to the CEO (Who approved me coming here in the first place and was under the impression I could get a business visa for a year) which they are currently reviewing and still waiting on a reply from them to confirm that I can or cannot get a work permit from them.

Still with me? Haha.

So in the mean time I'm trying to gather all the information I can on the Non-Imm B visa and work permit to see if there is way to apply for the extended stay on Non-Imm B visa without having a work permit. Now what I've read there is a difference between working and doing business in Thailand. As it were, if I want to work in Thailand and get paid in Thailand I would need a work permit and pay taxes and such. This is not my case though, as I will not be being paid from the Thai company but am still being paid by the US company. Is there someway I can still apply for the extended stay (1 year) for my case?

One thing I did notice when reading from http://http://www.thaivisa.com/how-to-get-thai-workpermit.html is the following:

The Labor Department may also issue or renew work permits regardless of the above criteria (the requirements for a work permit?) when the foreign individual falls into one of the following categories:

-employed as an international trade representative inspecting product quality, purchases or conducting market surveys
-employed as an investment or management technology adviser or internal auditor
-a tour representative bringing foreign tourists into Thailand
-employed in an international financial institute endorsed by the Bank of Thailand
-employed a non-profit organization on a temporary basis
-employed as a contractor on projects for state agencies or public enterprises
-employed in a business that mainly required the use of local raw materials
-employed in the Thai export sector
-employed in a business introducing and transferring technologies to Thailand
-employed in a sector where qualified Thai employees cannot be found
-married the cohabiting with a Thai national and has an honest employment.

The company I work for is a Internet Hosting company that provides internet and servers that are located in Bangkok and in the States.

So upon futher investigation on http://www.mfa.go.th/main/en/services/123/15388 in Section 4 would I be eligable for one stop service and what would this mean to me in terms of needing a work permit?

4. One Stop Service Centre for Visas and Work Permits
4.1 The One Stop Service Centre for Visas and Work Permits was established on 1 July 1997 by authority of the Regulations of the Office of Prime Minister promulgated on 30 June 1997. The objective of this centre is to simplify visa extension and permit issuance procedures to create a good investment environment. It aims to facilitate applications of visa extension and work permits (e.g., stay permission, re-entry permit, work permit). The Centre is located on Chamchuree Square Building, Floor 18, Phatumwan, Bangkok.

4.2 Foreigners who are eligible to apply for visa extension and work permits at the One Stop Service Centre are:
(1) Foreigner who is an executive or expert with privileges accorded to them by the following laws:
- Investment Promotion Act B.E. 2520 (1977)
- Petroleum Act B.E. 2514 (1971)
- Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand Act B.E. 2522 (1979)
(2) Foreigner who is an investor.
- If investing not less than 2 million Baht, he or she will be granted a 1 year permit.
- If investing not less than 10 million Baht, he or she will be granted a 2 year permit.
(3) Foreigner who is an executive or expert.
- Foreigner’s associated company should be registered with
capital or possess asset of not less than 30 million Baht.
(4) Foreigner who is member of the foreign press must present a letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a copy of an ID Press Card issued by the Department of Public Relations.
(5) Foreigner who is a researcher or developer on science and technology.
(6) Foreigner who is employed in a branch office of an overseas bank, foreign banking office of an overseas bank, provincial foreign banking office of an overseas bank or a representative office of foreign bank in which all offices are certified by the Bank of Thailand.
(7) Foreigner who works on the necessary and urgent basis for a period of no longer than 15 days.
(8) Foreigner who is an official of the representative office for foreign juristic persons concerning the International Trading Business and Regional Office of Transnational Corporation in accordance to the Foreign Business Act B.E. 2542 (1999).
(9) Foreigner who is an expert on information technology.
(10) Foreigner who works at regional operating headquarters.

Not to toot my own horn but I'd say I'm pretty advanced in my work field (UX/UI designer and Web Developer).

Sooooo... if anyone was nice enough to stick around and read through this ungoldy long post that might have some helpful information I would greatly appriciate it. I know I could switch to a tourist visa and do visa runs but I feel getting all this stuff done will be worth while in the long run and not having to do a run every 90 days.

Here is a list with the typical criteriae for an Extension of Permission to Stay based on working in the Kingdom of Thailand:

Visa extension on the basis of employment 777 2551 Case 2.1t.pdf

You will not get a 2.1 Extension without a WP and meeting the above criteriae.

The Thai branch of your company must be BOI registered to use the One Stop Centre.

You may be able to get a case 2.15 extension but note that this is onlly granted for 90 days at a time.

Rules in the Consideration of Alien Applications for Temporary Stay in the Kingdom of Thailand according to clause 2 of the order of the Royal Thai Police Headquarters no. 777/2551 dated on 25 November B.E.2551

Case

2.15 In the case of a skilled worker or expert in medicine, nursing or other professional for transfer of technology and knowledge to Thais:

Permission will be granted for a period of not more than 90 days at a time.

Basis for Consideration

(1) The alien has obtained a temporary visa (NON-IM).

(2) Confirmation and request has been made by the organization or agency concerned.

Another route is for the Thai Btranch of your Company to apply for a Work Permit for you, then to apply for a One Year Multiple Entry Non Immigrant Category 'B' Visa in Penang.

Note that in Thai Labour Law the definition of work does not include remuneration, so the fact you are being paid overseas does not allow you to work in Thailand per se.

The Single Entry 90 Day Business Non 'B' you have broadly allows you to attend meetings with clients, deal with your company over seas, etc it does not allow you to work here.

Edited August 11, 201312 yr by digitalchromakey

Thank you digitalchromakey for such an informative reply.

After reading the PDF you supplied would the company I work for be considered multinational company?

(7) The following businesses are exempted from the requirements of clauses (3), (4) and (5), and the ratio of aliens to Thai employees under clause (6) shall be reduced to 1:1.
(a) International trade enterprise (Representative Office)
( Regional Office
© Multinational company (Branch Office)

Would you also mind expanding on what you mean when you said:

Another route is for the Thai Btranch of your Company to apply for a Work Permit for you, then to apply for a One Year Multiple Entry Non Immigrant Category 'B' Visa in Penang.

If the Thai company I am working at cannot meet the requirments to apply for a work permit for me this would not work then? (Wouldn't I just apply for the extension of stay if they could obtain a work permit for me?) When I applied for my Non-Imm B visa in the States the requirments were different and no work permit was needed but some TAX/VAT and company information was required.

Would you also mind explaning the difference between if I were to get a multi-entry Non-Imm B visa versus getting the 2.15 extension? For both, I would still have to do a visa run every 90 days? Which, in this case, it almost seem like I should just switch to a tourist visa? Though for 90 days non-imm I actually can apply for an extrea 30 days which gives me a total of 120 days instead of tourist visa where you get 60 days and can extend another 30?

Thanks again for all the information, it's greatly appriciated. All these different stipulations make it very confusing.

In order to qualify for info you posted it would require company to be registered as a branch office, representative office and etc to qualify.

If company can get the work permit but cannot qualify for the extension of stay then you could get the multiple entry visa in Penang.

You would not have to leave the country every 90 days if you get the extension of stay which is valid for one year. Just make 90 day reports at immigration. If you need to leave the country you would need to get a re-entry permit to keep your extension valid.

You cannot get a 30 day extension of a non immigrant visa entry that is only for tourist visas.

Thank you digitalchromakey for such an informative reply.

After reading the PDF you supplied would the company I work for be considered multinational company?

(7) The following businesses are exempted from the requirements of clauses (3), (4) and (5), and the ratio of aliens to Thai employees under clause (6) shall be reduced to 1:1.

(a) International trade enterprise (Representative Office)

( Regional Office

© Multinational company (Branch Office)

Would you also mind expanding on what you mean when you said:

Another route is for the Thai Btranch of your Company to apply for a Work Permit for you, then to apply for a One Year Multiple Entry Non Immigrant Category 'B' Visa in Penang.

If the Thai company I am working at cannot meet the requirments to apply for a work permit for me this would not work then? (Wouldn't I just apply for the extension of stay if they could obtain a work permit for me?) When I applied for my Non-Imm B visa in the States the requirments were different and no work permit was needed but some TAX/VAT and company information was required.

Would you also mind explaning the difference between if I were to get a multi-entry Non-Imm B visa versus getting the 2.15 extension? For both, I would still have to do a visa run every 90 days? Which, in this case, it almost seem like I should just switch to a tourist visa? Though for 90 days non-imm I actually can apply for an extrea 30 days which gives me a total of 120 days instead of tourist visa where you get 60 days and can extend another 30?

Thanks again for all the information, it's greatly appriciated. All these different stipulations make it very confusing.

As Ubonjoe posted, the Thai Company would have to be registed as a branch office of your US Employer to meet criteria 7 ©.

If the Thai Company is a bona fide orgaonisation then why can a WP not be obtained, insufficient capitalisation, number of Thai employees?

A WP should be possible, but perhaps a 777/2551 Case 2.1 Extension maybe not due to the company being less than two years old.

Sometimes you will find companies just cannot be bother to help short term foreign employees to get WPs, because they don't want the extra work/cost.

I suggest you ask the company specifically why it is that they cannot get you a WP.

If you have the WP then you may be able to get a One Year Multiple Entry Non 'B' in Penang which would require you to visit the Thai Border at least every 90 days as an alternative to a One year 2.1 Extension where you would report to Local Immigration every 90 days.

If you can get a Case 2.15 Extension then you go to the Local Thai Immigation Dept every 90 days to re-apply, not the border (if you want to leave Thailand for a while, you require a Rentry Permit to preserve the extension).

As already stated there is no 30 day extension for Non 'B' Entries.

They haven't told me specifically why they can't get a WP for me but they are currently reviewing the requirements and making sure they can't so I will know why soon. My guess is not enough capital.

If I can't get one and my Non-Imm B visa runs out would it be a problem to switch to a Tourist Visa? Are Visa runs to the border still available or would I need to fly to a country that does not border Thailand for them to renew a whole new Tourist Visa?

Thanks again for all the help and information!

You can obtain a tourist visa easily.

Be aware that tourist visas are issued for the purpose of tourism only !

You mention in the OP "the Thai company I am working at" -- doing what? sales, operations, new customer support, systems/billing development, going out for tea and somtam? There's a lot of IT expertise here and maybe if you were a little more specific, somebody might come up with a better suggestion.

-- I know you said you are a UX/UI / web developer guy but that doesn't necessarily imply what you will be doing here in LOS

Edited August 11, 201312 yr by JLCrab

You mention in the OP "the Thai company I am working at" -- doing what? sales, operations, new customer support, systems/billing development, going out for tea and somtam? There's a lot of IT expertise here and maybe if you were a little more specific, somebody might come up with a better suggestion.

-- I know you said you are a UX/UI / web developer guy but that doesn't necessarily imply what you will be doing here in LOS

Hey JLCrab, yes the position has not changed since coming here. The company has a few websites that are subsidiaries that sell to people all over the world, I work on these web sites as their UX/UI designer and web developer. So where ever I am in the world I can work remotely on these websites since they're online.

You can obtain a tourist visa easily.

Be aware that tourist visas are issued for the purpose of tourism only !

Yes this is what seems a little confusing for me as I am not getting paid in Thailand so this would not be considered working? It's would almost be as if I am taking vacation to Thailand but still able to work remotely as the internet is not a physical place, heh.

They haven't told me specifically why they can't get a WP for me but they are currently reviewing the requirements and making sure they can't so I will know why soon. My guess is not enough capital.

If I can't get one and my Non-Imm B visa runs out would it be a problem to switch to a Tourist Visa? Are Visa runs to the border still available or would I need to fly to a country that does not border Thailand for them to renew a whole new Tourist Visa?

Thanks again for all the help and information!

Not wanting to harp on about this, but you are currently almost certainly working here illegally and going onto a tourist visa is not exactly going to help you.

If you get caught working without a WP you would be automatically subject to imprisonment, fine and deportation........

Here is the application form you would require to apply for a WP now you are in Thailand; you can see that the requirements are not that severe.

The company requires 2 million THB of Registered Capitalisation (notional, not actual cash in the bank) plus Social Insurance payment records and tax returns for 4x Thai staff per foreign WP.

Surely this is not an issue if the Thai Company where you work is a bona fide internet hosting company based in BKK.

You can obtain a tourist visa easily.

Be aware that tourist visas are issued for the purpose of tourism only !

Yes this is what seems a little confusing for me as I am not getting paid in Thailand so this would not be considered working? It's would almost be as if I am taking vacation to Thailand but still able to work remotely as the internet is not a physical place, heh.

Under Thai Law you can be considered to be working, even if you are not paid anywhere; i.e normally even voluntary work here requires a WP.

Please see a million and one lthreads on this site for the debate about WPs and home on-line working; but you are working at Thai IP Hosting Company's offices here right, with your US Employer paying your salary?

Not wanting to harp on about this, but you are currently almost certainly working here illegally and going onto a tourist visa is not exactly going to help you.

If you get caught working without a WP you would be automatically subject to imprisonment, fine and deportation........

Here is the application form you would require to apply for a WP now you are in Thailand; you can see that the requirements are not that severe.

The company requires 2 million THB of Registered Capitalisation (notional, not actual cash in the bank) plus Social Insurance payment records and tax returns for 4x Thai staff per foreign WP.

Surely this is not an issue if the Thai Company where you work is a bona fide internet hosting company based in BKK.

Thank you again digitalchromakey, I most certainly don't want to be doing anything against the law. The whole situation seems weird because it's an online business. I guess any and all work would be considered work in the eyes of Thai government even if it's not pertaining to anything in Thailand.

I'll try and follow up in a few weeks to let everyone know how it goes.

After reading all this again this would be my opinion; If the Thai-citizen 'head honcho' in Bangkok really wanted you to work long-term out of his facility, he would be able to secure a work permit and extension of visa; if he is hemming & hawing and giving you all sorts of tales of woe as to how hard this all would be, it may be because he plain doesn't want you there long term at his facility or in Bangkok at all.

I hate to say it, but you should have got a one year multiple entry Non Immigrant B Visa in the States. Usually they are granted in your home country. I got onr in Toronto a few years ago.

Sent from my i-mobile IQ 6 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app