Retirement and work permit ?

[bigt116]

Sorry for the long quote, but this was posted on another site, I thought retirement meant no WP ? Comments :-)

"petch01;

People get yearly extensions of stay to their original Non-Immigrant Type-O visa for a variety of things; being married to a thai national, supporting half breed thai kids and being over 50 being the top three..

Now, just because Immigrations stamps the engrish word into your passport saying "retirement" when you get a new yearly extension of stay doesn't mean that's the classification of that type of extension in the eyez of the thaiz. Also just because Immigrations refers to it as "retirement" doesn't mean that's what it is. That's just what they call it so clueless foreigners understand easier...

The actual thai wording of Police Order 327/2557 (the one in effect as of last August) for that type of extension of stay does NOT use the thai word for "retire" เกษียณ AT ALL.

The real wording in thai for section 2.22 (๒.๒๒) of the current Police Order says กรณีใช้ชีวิตในบั้นปลาย. That roughly translates as "in the instance of living out the end of your life". There is NO mention about being retired; ONLY about being over the threshold age of 50 and meeting the financial requirements.

Just so you know; the Department of Immigrations has NOTHING to do with work permits and the Department of Labor has NOTHING to do with visa extensions..

I know a TON of foreigners on yearly extensions of stay based on being over 50 (which as I said, we white people and Immigrations commonly calls "retirement") yet who hold valid work permits. They work for international companies thai businesses and more colleges than I can shake a stick at all over the country!

Immigrations doesn't care a bit nor do they have a dog in the fight on whether you hold a work permit or not..

With that being said, the Department of Labor (the governmental agency which issues work permits) here in Bangkok does seem to have a bug up their ass about issuing them to foreigners holding yearly extensions of stay based on being over 50 and I only know a few who have them here.. However, the same agency, DOL in Chiang Mai, Hua Hin, Udon, etc have NO problem issuing a work permit with people on extensions of stay because they're over 50..

I perused the thai version of the labor laws regarding the issuing of work permits to foreigners, I found there is NOTHING as in not a single word which says, foreigners on extensions of stay based on being over 50 are prohibited from holding a work permit.. The ONLY place you read about this is in english which was allegedly translated from thai... However, as I said, there is NOTHING in the thai version of the guidelines put out by the DOL that says you can't do it.

If the company you're working for says it can't be done; there's far more chance that they don't know how to go about getting it done.

Face it, given these people's (that would be the thaiz) reticence to ask someone else the answer to a question they don't know, they will immediately bust out with the old fall back answer "CANNOT!".. That just means they personally don't know how to do it, NOT that it can't be done IF you get to the person that actually knows how to do it.

Also just because they stamp "employment prohibited" under your extension of stay that DOESN'T mean you can't work, it means that extension of stay alone doesn't give you permission to work, you still need a work permit..

You can indeed "work" on an ED visa and I know more than a few foreigners studying for their degrees at universities here who hold a work permit. They are doing a paid internship in their field of study.

But as a rule other posters are correct; foreigners enrolled in a b/s private school to study thai, or some other Ministry of Education approved subject here can't get a work permit..

Contrary to other assertions, there is NO retirement visa! Period end of story. The terminology has gotten so blurred by foreigners and thaiz alike that it just erroneously referred to as that..

There are two types of Non-Immigrant visas you can get based on being over 50. That would be a Non-Immigrant Type-O (which can be gotten at Bangkok Immigrations for 2000 baht and is a single entry 90 day visa). After that you apply for a yearly extension of stay. Also you NEVER renew or extend that original visa. You extend your permission to stay.. It's NOT a visa it is a permission to stay (based on you previously holding a Non-O visa). That Non-O expired when ever it expired..

The other one called a Non-Immigrant Type OA (with the 'A' meaning annual) is gotten at a Thai Embassy usually in your home country BEFORE you wing you way here. It's commonly called a Long Stay by various Thai embassies. It's the one which requires the health check, police background check etc. That visa itself is good for a calendar year from the date it's issued AND every time you enter Thailand you get a permission to stay stamp for a full year.. IF you play the dates right, and exit/re-enter the country just before the visa itself expires you can almost get 2 full years of stay inside thailand.

Sorry this was long, I read this same b/s on every thai related forum on the inter-web.. To sum it up, yes, you can get a work permit while on a yearly extension of stay based on being over 50, IF you know how to.."

[steven100]

If you are on a Non-O visa based on retirement you cannot hold a WP.

[steve187]

If you are on a Non-O visa based on retirement you cannot hold a WP.

correct, there was a thread running recently on this subject -

edit link added - http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/808503-wp-possible-with-retirement-visa/

Edited March 21, 2015 by steve187

[allane]

You can LOOK for a job while on a Non-immigrant "B" Retirement visa. If you find one, you can switch to a Non-immigrant Employment visa, just like any other foreigner who finds a job in Thailand.

[nzexpat]

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You can LOOK for a job while on a Non-immigrant "B" Retirement visa. If you find one, you can switch to a Non-immigrant Employment visa, just like any other foreigner who finds a job in Thailand.

There is no such thing as a " Non-immigrant "B" Retirement visa" OR a "Non-immigrant Employment visa"

Available visa categories can be found here

http://www.mfa.go.th/main/en/services/4908

[Soutpeel]

You can LOOK for a job while on a Non-immigrant "B" Retirement visa. If you find one, you can switch to a Non-immigrant Employment visa, just like any other foreigner who finds a job in Thailand.

Er you can look for job on any visa you like, The "Retirement visa" is not a "B" visa, that's a business visa, that's what the "B" means and finally there is no such thing as an employment visa in Thailand, although a "non-immigrant B" is sometimes referred to incorrectly as a work visa, the only thing which allows a person to work in Thailand is a work permit

Therefore your score in this round of know your Thai visa's and Work permits... is zero..

[Suradit69]

You can LOOK for a job while on a Non-immigrant "B" Retirement visa. If you find one, you can switch to a Non-immigrant Employment visa, just like any other foreigner who finds a job in Thailand.

Er you can look for job on any visa you like, The "Retirement visa" is not a "B" visa, that's a business visa, that's what the "B" means and finally there is no such thing as an employment visa in Thailand, although a "non-immigrant B" is sometimes referred to incorrectly as a work visa, the only thing which allows a person to work in Thailand is a work permit

Therefore your score in this round of know your Thai visa's and Work permits... is zero..

"Er you can look for job on any visa you like, The "Retirement visa" is not a "B" visa ..."

And very few people are here in retirement "on" any visa, but rather an extension of stay. The only thing often dubbed a retirement visa is the Non-Imm O-A, but most people don't bother going that route and it expires after one year from issue leaving the holder either here on the balance of his permission to stay or, eventually, on an extension of stay, neither of which is a visa.