non o visa and work

[nongsangcity]

been offered a teaching job..i have a non o visa from the UK , married to a Thai citizen...went to immigration at sakhon nakhon and was told I couldn't work or get work permit with a non o I must go and get a B visa from Loas......can you or not work on a non o even when married to a Thai citizen..

[PoorSucker]

Immigrations do not deal with work permits, you must go to the labour office.

[Mario2008]

Per above, visit labour not immigration for a WP.

Labour does issue WP's on a non-O based on marriage.

[MeowBundit]

Even more, you better to keep your marriage extension for years, because of independency from any job. In case of problems or changing to better job, you just close your current permit/open new and visa not affected at all.

[jim hayes]

Yes you can get a work permit with a non o visa based on marriage ( i have one) it's just a case of getting the correct paperwork from the school together with your own.Hopefully the school that has offered you a job will have a staff member who knows what to do but don't count on it!

Good luck

[nongsangcity]

Yes you can get a work permit with a non o visa based on marriage ( i have one) it's just a case of getting the correct paperwork from the school together with your own.Hopefully the school that has offered you a job will have a staff member who knows what to do but don't count on it!

Good luck

jim....thanks for your reply....I went back to my local immigration today, spoke to another officer and I told him it is possible to get a work permit etc and keep my non o visa....he said no you cannot you must change to a B visa. jim if I had any hair left I would of pulled out by now......when you applied for your permit did anybody suggest you needed a B visa or was it never mentioned....

Edited May 13, 2014 by ubonjoe
moved reply from quoted text

[ubonjoe]

You get a work permit from the work permit office immigration has nothing to do with it. Just be sure a copy of your marriage certificate is submitted with the application for the work work permit.

You then can do your extension of stay based upon marriage and immigration does not even need to know you have a work permit unless you use your income from working to meet the 40k baht income requirement.

[jim hayes]

Yes you can get a work permit with a non o visa based on marriage ( i have one) it's just a case of getting the correct paperwork from the school together with your own.Hopefully the school that has offered you a job will have a staff member who knows what to do but don't count on it!

Good luck

jim....thanks for your reply....I went back to my local immigration today, spoke to another officer and I told him it is possible to get a work permit etc and keep my non o visa....he said no you cannot you must change to a B visa. jim if I had any hair left I would of pulled out by now......when you applied for your permit did anybody suggest you needed a B visa or was it never mentioned....

Hi Nongsangcity, don't worry about immigration as they do not issue work permits.When i started work last year the school insisted that i must get a non b visa which i resisted. When i applied for the work permit at the labour office the clerk seemed unsure about my non o visa but she made a quick phone call and all was well,i paid the fee and returned the next day to collect my permit. I have recently obtained a renewal of my work permit for this school year.

This is all my own experience which is no guarantee that you will have the same, unfortunately you wont know for sure until you apply yourself at your local labour office.

Some documents that you need to apply are double sided so make sure you photocopy both sides on a single sheet of paper.

Hope this helps and if you need any more info. please ask

Cheers

[nongsangcity]

Yes you can get a work permit with a non o visa based on marriage ( i have one) it's just a case of getting the correct paperwork from the school together with your own.Hopefully the school that has offered you a job will have a staff member who knows what to do but don't count on it!

Good luck

jim....thanks for your reply....I went back to my local immigration today, spoke to another officer and I told him it is possible to get a work permit etc and keep my non o visa....he said no you cannot you must change to a B visa. jim if I had any hair left I would of pulled out by now......when you applied for your permit did anybody suggest you needed a B visa or was it never mentioned....

Hi Nongsangcity, don't worry about immigration as they do not issue work permits.When i started work last year the school insisted that i must get a non b visa which i resisted. When i applied for the work permit at the labour office the clerk seemed unsure about my non o visa but she made a quick phone call and all was well,i paid the fee and returned the next day to collect my permit. I have recently obtained a renewal of my work permit for this school year.

This is all my own experience which is no guarantee that you will have the same, unfortunately you wont know for sure until you apply yourself at your local labour office.

Some documents that you need to apply are double sided so make sure you photocopy both sides on a single sheet of paper.

Hope this helps and if you need any more info. please ask

Cheers

thanks jim for your information....I will see what happens soon,,,,,thanks again. Edited May 14, 2014 by PoorSucker
Fixed quote

[padeakin]

If you got your non O based on marriage from the UK recently they will have stamped it 'No Employment' then you won't be able to get a work permit. I contacted them and asked if I could get a non O based on marriage, without the stamp as I plan on looking for a teaching job later, but they (that is the Thai embassy in UK) said no work is allowed on an O visa. So now I have to plan to go to Laos to get my O visa, in the hope that they don't stamp it 'No Employment'

[bifftastic]

If you got your non O based on marriage from the UK recently they will have stamped it 'No Employment' then you won't be able to get a work permit. I contacted them and asked if I could get a non O based on marriage, without the stamp as I plan on looking for a teaching job later, but they (that is the Thai embassy in UK) said no work is allowed on an O visa. So now I have to plan to go to Laos to get my O visa, in the hope that they don't stamp it 'No Employment'

Please come back and report what happens in Laos, I'm in a similar situation

[nongsangcity]

If you got your non O based on marriage from the UK recently they will have stamped it 'No Employment' then you won't be able to get a work permit. I contacted them and asked if I could get a non O based on marriage, without the stamp as I plan on looking for a teaching job later, but they (that is the Thai embassy in UK) said no work is allowed on an O visa. So now I have to plan to go to Laos to get my O visa, in the hope that they don't stamp it 'No Employment'

Padeakin....thanks for your information......I am just looking at my non o visa issued from Hull via London...there is nothing on the visa regarding no employment stamped on it........it just states non imm category o......muli entry......125 pounds.....enter before date....passport number........number of accomp kids.............and remarks which has been left blank............nothing stamped over the visa stating anything..so in my case no remarks regarding employment......

[nongsangcity]

If you got your non O based on marriage from the UK recently they will have stamped it 'No Employment' then you won't be able to get a work permit. I contacted them and asked if I could get a non O based on marriage, without the stamp as I plan on looking for a teaching job later, but they (that is the Thai embassy in UK) said no work is allowed on an O visa. So now I have to plan to go to Laos to get my O visa, in the hope that they don't stamp it 'No Employment'

Padeakin....thanks for your information......I am just looking at my non o visa issued from Hull via London...there is nothing on the visa regarding no employment stamped on it........it just states non imm category o......muli entry......125 pounds.....enter before date....passport number........number of accomp kids.............and remarks which has been left blank............nothing stamped over the visa stating anything..so in my case no remarks regarding employment......

p.s......I have spoken to 3 law firms in Bangkok by phone and they all told me you can work on a non o visa if you are legally married to a thai citizen.........now if you hoping to teach in the future to obtain a work permit to teach you must have a B A degree you wont get a work permit without one......TEFL.and their likes are not good enough to get a work permit..............good luck in the future...and thanks for your in put

[IMA_FARANG]

In fact you can work on a Non O visa.

First you need a job offer.

Now immigration may want to convert/change your non O to a non B visa.

But as was said in another post, immigration does not handle Work permits the Labor office does.

Once you have a valid job offer, often you will be asked to leave the country for a neighboring country where you will be issued a 90 day Nonimmigrant B visa.

That will allow you back into country and the Thai immigration here in country will often change your visa to be a non B extension based on employment.

But really that's just a name change, the visas are really the same thing, with slightly different names.

A Non immigrant O visa is one for Other purposes.

A Non immigrant B visa is one for engaging in Business (or employment) in Thailand.

Basically they are the same with just a slightly different name and reason.

[Soutpeel]

If you got your non O based on marriage from the UK recently they will have stamped it 'No Employment' then you won't be able to get a work permit. I contacted them and asked if I could get a non O based on marriage, without the stamp as I plan on looking for a teaching job later, but they (that is the Thai embassy in UK) said no work is allowed on an O visa. So now I have to plan to go to Laos to get my O visa, in the hope that they don't stamp it 'No Employment'

Padeakin....thanks for your information......I am just looking at my non o visa issued from Hull via London...there is nothing on the visa regarding no employment stamped on it........it just states non imm category o......muli entry......125 pounds.....enter before date....passport number........number of accomp kids.............and remarks which has been left blank............nothing stamped over the visa stating anything..so in my case no remarks regarding employment......

p.s......I have spoken to 3 law firms in Bangkok by phone and they all told me you can work on a non o visa if you are legally married to a thai citizen.........now if you hoping to teach in the future to obtain a work permit to teach you must have a B A degree you wont get a work permit without one......TEFL.and their likes are not good enough to get a work permit..............good luck in the future...and thanks for your in put

Semantics maybe but you cant work on a Non imm "O" or "B" for that matter, only document you can work on is the WP.

Per the rules a WP can issued on certain classes of Non-imm "O" in addition to the "B"

the DOL issues the WP not immigration, and certain DOL's do not want people on "O's" and want them on "B's" even though the rules say you can be issued one, so its down to the individual DOL your dealing with..

[nongsangcity]

In fact you can work on a Non O visa.

First you need a job offer.

Now immigration may want to convert/change your non O to a non B visa.

But as was said in another post, immigration does not handle Work permits the Labor office does.

Once you have a valid job offer, often you will be asked to leave the country for a neighboring country where you will be issued a 90 day Nonimmigrant B visa.

That will allow you back into country and the Thai immigration here in country will often change your visa to be a non B extension based on employment.

But really that's just a name change, the visas are really the same thing, with slightly different names.

A Non immigrant O visa is one for Other purposes.

A Non immigrant B visa is one for engaging in Business (or employment) in Thailand.

Basically they are the same with just a slightly different name and reason.

thank you for the information

[ubonjoe]

In fact you can work on a Non O visa.

First you need a job offer.

Now immigration may want to convert/change your non O to a non B visa.

But as was said in another post, immigration does not handle Work permits the Labor office does.

Once you have a valid job offer, often you will be asked to leave the country for a neighboring country where you will be issued a 90 day Nonimmigrant B visa.

That will allow you back into country and the Thai immigration here in country will often change your visa to be a non B extension based on employment.

But really that's just a name change, the visas are really the same thing, with slightly different names.

A Non immigrant O visa is one for Other purposes.

A Non immigrant B visa is one for engaging in Business (or employment) in Thailand.

Basically they are the same with just a slightly different name and reason.

You again are posting false and misleading information.

It is not possible to change/convert from a non-o to a non-b visa or vice verse. You would have to leave the country to do that by getting a new visa.

You can get a work permit and work on a non-o visa based upon marriage or having a Thai child. You do not have to go out for a new visa.

You can get an extension of stay with any class of non immigrant visa. The police order only says you need a non immigrant visa.

[padeakin]

If you got your non O based on marriage from the UK recently they will have stamped it 'No Employment' then you won't be able to get a work permit. I contacted them and asked if I could get a non O based on marriage, without the stamp as I plan on looking for a teaching job later, but they (that is the Thai embassy in UK) said no work is allowed on an O visa. So now I have to plan to go to Laos to get my O visa, in the hope that they don't stamp it 'No Employment'

Padeakin....thanks for your information......I am just looking at my non o visa issued from Hull via London...there is nothing on the visa regarding no employment stamped on it........it just states non imm category o......muli entry......125 pounds.....enter before date....passport number........number of accomp kids.............and remarks which has been left blank............nothing stamped over the visa stating anything..so in my case no remarks regarding employment......

p.s......I have spoken to 3 law firms in Bangkok by phone and they all told me you can work on a non o visa if you are legally married to a thai citizen.........now if you hoping to teach in the future to obtain a work permit to teach you must have a B A degree you wont get a work permit without one......TEFL.and their likes are not good enough to get a work permit..............good luck in the future...and thanks for your in put

I accept what you are saying that it is legally possible to work on a non O if legally married but if the visa is stamped with 'No Employment' as the embassy in the UK are doing now, then I expect a work permit will be refused as soon as they see the stamp. I believe hull are not issuing Non O for marriage any longer, it has to come from the Embassy in London.

PS,: I have a BSC degree, does it have to be a B A Degree, to get a WP for teaching English?

[ubonjoe]

If you submit a copy of your marriage certificate with your work permit application they should accept your non-o. That is a grievous error the embassy staff made when they put that stamp on it.

The consulates still accept application for multiple entry non-o visas but they have to have them approved by the embassy. After approval they issue the visa.

[padeakin]

If you got your non O based on marriage from the UK recently they will have stamped it 'No Employment' then you won't be able to get a work permit. I contacted them and asked if I could get a non O based on marriage, without the stamp as I plan on looking for a teaching job later, but they (that is the Thai embassy in UK) said no work is allowed on an O visa. So now I have to plan to go to Laos to get my O visa, in the hope that they don't stamp it 'No Employment'

Please come back and report what happens in Laos, I'm in a similar situation

I will report when I work out the best plan.

I am currently in the UK, planning on going to Thailand in August, I would like to get the non O visa (based on marriage) before I leave the UK but do not want the 'No Employment' stamp, so am thinking I could get a tourist visa (I need a visa because I will have a one way ticket), then after arriving in Thailand, do a trip to Vientiane and get a non O based on marriage without the 'No Employment' stamp. Seems like a lot of trouble just because the people at the embassy do not know there own rule, about employment with a non O based on marriage. Can anyone suggest an easier way?

[padeakin]

If you submit a copy of your marriage certificate with your work permit application they should accept your non-o. That is a grievous error the embassy staff made when they put that stamp on it.

The consulates still accept application for multiple entry non-o visas but they have to have them approved by the embassy. After approval they issue the visa.

Thanks for that, seems like the best plan is to apply via the consulate in Hull, even though on their website it states "Visa applications by post should be sent to the Royal Thai Embassy in London." and hope it does not get stamped. If it does then apply for the WP anyway and see if they accept it.

By the way: I want single entry, then get an extension rather than do visa runs.

[ubonjoe]

If you submit a copy of your marriage certificate with your work permit application they should accept your non-o. That is a grievous error the embassy staff made when they put that stamp on it.

The consulates still accept application for multiple entry non-o visas but they have to have them approved by the embassy. After approval they issue the visa.

Thanks for that, seems like the best plan is to apply via the consulate in Hull, even though on their website it states "Visa applications by post should be sent to the Royal Thai Embassy in London." and hope it does not get stamped. If it does then apply for the WP anyway and see if they accept it.

By the way: I want single entry, then get an extension rather than do visa runs.

The consulates can only accept applications in person.

For a single entry visa the consulates do not need embassy approval. Many do them while you wait.

Unless you live near Bangkok I don't suggest doing the conversion because it will mean two trips to get the non immigrant visa entry done. They are doing a 15 day under consideration stamp before doing the visa/entry stamps.

[nongsangcity]

can I just say again.....the non o I received late last year has nothing stamped on it regarding work prohibited ......plus I think any degree will be accepted for a work permit....but the enquires I have made in Thailand state it must be a BA...in English if not a BA in English a TELF or similar is also needed..this is my own personal experience from the past 2 weeks of trying to sort myself out......thanks again to all the replies.....

[padeakin]

Just got my non O visa from London, it has ' Employment Prohibited' stamped on it.

Next I will apply for a work permit (and include a copy of my marriage certificate) I don't know if the stamp on my visa will prevent me from getting a work permit, if it does I will wait another 3 months then get an ext of stay based on marriage, after which I hope I will be able to get a work permit.