Hi all,

Hope someone here can give me some advice.

Due to all the headaches of running our company here, we have decided to close down our company here in Thailand and moving its activities to a more developed country (easier administration, low corruption and easier to find english speaking qualified staff etc.).

This means that I will have to return my work-permit in about two to three months, when everything is in place and the company is properly closed here.

We still plan to keep living here and I therefore hope, someone here can help me answer the following questions:

1) When handing in my work-permit, will my current one-year visa (expiring end of 2015) be invalid at the same day?

2) How do I change the current visa to a marriage visa (I am married to a Thai) ?

3) Can the change of visas still be done, while I have my work-permit?

Hope for some "visa-experts" out there, willing to help....

Thanks for your help and advice :-)

You may want to double check with your local immigration office but a violation of the written rules that immigration may do is to not let change from extension of stay for employment to marriage, so be prepared for a trip to Vientane or Savannakhet Laos on the day that you will cancel work permit and current extension.

Please note there is no marriage "visa" and it would seem your current "visa " is , in fact an extension of stay.

As paz says be prepared for a trip to secure a "non O visa" (based on marriage) which can subsequently be used to apply for an extension of stay based on marriage.

I assume you have an extension of stay not a multiple entry non-b visa. Your extension will not automatically end on the date you cancel your work permit. You have to go to immigration to cancel it with a letter stating your are no longer working.

You should check with your local immigration office to see if they will allow you to change the reason for your extension of stay to one based upon being married to a Thai. You would need to show 400k baht in the bank for 2 months or proof of 40k baht income on the date you do the change.

Are you aware you could of already been on extension of stay based upon marriage instead of one for working. You can get a work permit and work with one.

Also , ask about letting the company just go inactive rather than closing it. I believe a lot of people do this to save money as it is costly to close one here.

you need to properly wind down your company as 1 WP has 4 Thai's attached to it

also their social and taxes and yours as well

I am seeing many companies going down the tubes in the last couple of months

good luck

Curious to ask: What line of work is your business? Other than your listed

reasons, any other reasons to close up and move? What country are you thinking is better for business,

besides "every country".

I'm not sure if this applies to The OP, however a 60 day extension of stay can be given based on marriage to a Thai national. The most recent one I got cost 1900 baht and I really was glad for those two months breathing space.

you need to properly wind down your company as 1 WP has 4 Thai's attached to it

also their social and taxes and yours as well

I am seeing many companies going down the tubes in the last couple of months

good luck

Just arrived in Sydney, ( in the center area) and see many shops closed

and not occupied since last year, is this a worldwide trend, sorry

for off topic reply, Where do you plan to re-locate, might be the

answer to the question, ''where is there a good place to live''