Visa and WP as journalist?

[elsewheresoon]

Does anyone have any experience applying for media visa and work permit for your own agency/organisation based overseas?

I have viewed the mfa website and looked at the new user registration page and you can indeed list 'other' as the name of your agency and type it in.

My question is - can I create an agency say UK based, and become a reporter for said company in Thailand. What does the ministry of foreign affairs class as being an agency that you could do this through? Of course you then don't need Thai employees.

Anyone have experience of this?

[simon43]

I understand that you must be an 'accredited' journalist, employed by a recognized media company, with a portfolio of previous publications.

[elsewheresoon]

I understand that you must be an 'accredited' journalist, employed by a recognized media company, with a portfolio of previous publications.

Ive read the following:

A member of the media who wishes to receive permission to work in Thailand as

a correspondent in a representative office of a foreign news, newspaper, television,

radio or magazine agency or as a representative of such agency in Thailand, and who

wishes to live in Thailand for up to one year or over without having to extend his/her visa

every three (3) months, can file a request (together with the required documents listed

under section 2) to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for approval through the MMOS (MFA

Media Online Service) website at http://mmos.mfa.go.th

and

2.2 Detailed profile of the agency including but not limited to its background,

scope of work, circulation, list of owners and editors, and names of related publications

(if available).

It doesn't mentioned anything of the agency being accredited?

and also

A member of the media wishing to be accredited can sign-up at the MMOS

website (http://mmos.mfa.go.th) and follow the website’s instructions in applying for the

accreditation. The following required document can be prepared in advance for

submission (i.e. uploaded) through the online process:

That would imply becoming accredited not the agency being accredited?

[Maestro]

...

2.2 Detailed profile of the agency including but not limited to its background,

scope of work, circulation, list of owners and editors, and names of related publications

(if available).

It doesn't mentioned anything of the agency being accredited?

...

The above seems to indicate that the detailed profile of the agency will be part of the evaluation as to whether or not the visa should be granted.

When I think of "agency" in the context of journalism, names like Reuters, AP, AFP, or any other news agency come to my mind. Incorporating a new agency now, you will not have any activity to show for it yet, but it could be worth a try.

[ubonjoe]

The info you posted from this PDF http://www.mfa.go.th/main/contents/images/text_editor/files/Guidanceforforeignpress.pdf appears to set a pretty high bar for the agency with circulation numbers and etc being needed.

I am not sure you will be able to do it by setting your up your own agency just to get a visa. work permit and extension.

[does]

A letter of accreditation is key. And recent work samples. If you have any contact with foreign media, ask them to write a letter of appointment. It's not more than than (it's not a letter of employment).

[Charlie1]

You'll have to show proof of recent work as well, so as to prove you're a genuine journalist and not just a beginnner.

After submitting the confirmation letter of (your own) agency, the embassy in the country where the agency is located, will contact the agency by phone, to check if all that is true. If they (already on the letter itself, but also through the phone call) find out it's just one and the same person, you'll have no chance to get that visa.

Their system is quite watertight and I don't think you should try it by setting up you own agency.

On the long term, this might make the rules for genuine journalists more tight as well (ref. to ED-visa)

Not a good idea in my opinion, to try to get through an imaginary loophole there.

Edited August 19, 2014 by Charlie1

[Tzr2503ma]

They look very deeply into the agencies finances circulation and history..Must be legitimate..

[dluek]

I successfully received a Non-Imm M visa late last year (I work for a well-established independent travel website that covers Southeast Asia). The publication that sponsors you must have a corporate address somewhere... The nearest Thai embassy will contact it directly and check that it's listed as paying taxes in that country. There will need to be someone there to answer the phone, but the company I work for is based out of a house and that didn't seem to be a problem. You'll need 2 letters from that publication, one highlighting exactly what the publication does, where it's based, its circulation and things like that, and the other officially inviting / appointing you as their correspondent to be based in Thailand. They need to be signed by the company's director or managing editor -- it wouldn't be a good idea for that person to be you. You'll also need samples of your work over the past year working for that publication. I had previously freelanced for the publication while on tourist visas and was able to use some of those samples; initially I was worried that the MFA would turn around and say those samples were proof that I worked illegally in Thailand, but they didn't -- they seem to have a pretty good handle on how foreign journalists do things. Once they receive your request and check that the publication is legit, they'll call you in for an interview in Bangkok. The two women I met with were very nice; they mainly wanted to know if I'd be writing anything sensitive (i.e. about the monarchy). One of them had lived in the US for a long time and seemed very intelligent / able to tell the real journalists / travel writers from those who are just trying to make a blog to get a visa. I was told that freelancers can get the M visa, but only if a publication they write for agrees to sponsor them -- not sure on the logistics beyond that. I'd be curious to know if / how prominent indendent bloggers, like Richard Barrow, are able to get an M visa based solely on their blog.

In short, if you're legit then you probably won't have a problem (at least if things haven't changed since last December). If not, good luck. Once you get the visa you're automatically eligible for a work permit, and media personnel are a special case if they work for foreign-based companies -- you're able to leave large sections of the work permit application blank, such as tax ID #, proof of company's revenue and proof of Thai employees. If the company is based in Thailand then it's basically the same as being sponsored by any company with office in Thailand, except that you get the M rather than B visa.

[sprq]

You'll have to show proof of recent work as well, so as to prove you're a genuine journalist and not just a beginnner.

After submitting the confirmation letter of (your own) agency, the embassy in the country where the agency is located, will contact the agency by phone, to check if all that is true. If they (already on the letter itself, but also through the phone call) find out it's just one and the same person, you'll have no chance to get that visa.

Their system is quite watertight and I don't think you should try it by setting up you own agency.

On the long term, this might make the rules for genuine journalists more tight as well (ref. to ED-visa)

Not a good idea in my opinion, to try to get through an imaginary loophole there.

Endorsed.

[sprq]

I understand that you must be an 'accredited' journalist, employed by a recognized media company, with a portfolio of previous publications.

Ive read the following:

A member of the media who wishes to receive permission to work in Thailand as

a correspondent in a representative office of a foreign news, newspaper, television,

radio or magazine agency or as a representative of such agency in Thailand, and who

wishes to live in Thailand for up to one year or over without having to extend his/her visa

every three (3) months, can file a request (together with the required documents listed

under section 2) to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for approval through the MMOS (MFA

Media Online Service) website at http://mmos.mfa.go.th

and

2.2 Detailed profile of the agency including but not limited to its background,

scope of work, circulation, list of owners and editors, and names of related publications

(if available).

It doesn't mentioned anything of the agency being accredited?

and also

A member of the media wishing to be accredited can sign-up at the MMOS

website (http://mmos.mfa.go.th) and follow the website’s instructions in applying for the

accreditation. The following required document can be prepared in advance for

submission (i.e. uploaded) through the online process:

That would imply becoming accredited not the agency being accredited?

It's you, the journalist, that gets accredited, not the agency. The agency supplies you with a letter which allows you to begin the process of getting accredited with the Thai authorities.

[Suradit69]

I understand that you must be an 'accredited' journalist, employed by a recognized media company, with a portfolio of previous publications.

Ive read the following:

A member of the media who wishes to receive permission to work in Thailand as

a correspondent in a representative office of a foreign news, newspaper, television,

radio or magazine agency or as a representative of such agency in Thailand, and who

wishes to live in Thailand for up to one year or over without having to extend his/her visa

every three (3) months, can file a request (together with the required documents listed

under section 2) to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for approval through the MMOS (MFA

Media Online Service) website at http://mmos.mfa.go.th

and

2.2 Detailed profile of the agency including but not limited to its background,

scope of work, circulation, list of owners and editors, and names of related publications

(if available).

It doesn't mentioned anything of the agency being accredited?

and also

A member of the media wishing to be accredited can sign-up at the MMOS

website (http://mmos.mfa.go.th) and follow the website’s instructions in applying for the

accreditation. The following required document can be prepared in advance for

submission (i.e. uploaded) through the online process:

That would imply becoming accredited not the agency being accredited?

There are 7 registration forms you have to complete: 1.personal

particulars, 2.contact information, 3.academic information, 4.my

organization, 5.my portfolio, 6.visa(s) for accompanying

dependents (optional), 7.making an appointment for interview.

While the process appears to be aimed at individual accreditation, step 4 suggests that your organization will need to be deemed an accredited organization at least in the subjective view of whoever vets your application. Obviously they won't be eager to open another immigration loophole where everyone starts claiming to be a journalist.

7.2 Please note that for the assignment letter from your

organization, after you uploaded, you also have to send the

original letter to Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

[WitawatWatawit]

All of the above information is pretty much spot on. I might add that if you are a member of a journalist association, a letter from them seeking accreditation and assistance can also have some value. If you feel you have it all sorted out and are ready to proceed, I would recommend the Singapore Thai embassy for your visa. They are familiar with this line of work, correspondents visas, and are very helpful people.

[dluek]

It's you, the journalist, that gets accredited, not the agency. The agency supplies you with a letter which allows you to begin the process of getting accredited with the Thai authorities.

Nothing or no one mentioned anything about "accreditation" during the entire time I was applying for the visa, except in the MFA's website where I believe it says something like "You must be invited to work for an accredited publication." Perhaps I'm now "accredited" in the Thai authorities' eyes, but no one ever told me that. In the case of either an individual journalist or publication, I have no idea what "accredited" means to the Thai authorities, if anything. In other words, it's not something that even needs to be thought about.