Time required for work permit / business Visa?

[Juliandu]

Hi all,

I have until 13th of May on my current visa (ED), I am working at a Thai company currently who are willing to get me a work permit and business visa. Is 2 weeks enough for this? ( I live in Bangkok)

If not am I forced to leave the country to have some more time to complete this procedure?

Thanks

[ubonjoe]

Most work permit offices will not accept a work permit application if you are on a ED visa or an extension of stay for attending school.

You will need the work permit application done and a application approval letter to get a non-b visa.

You will more than likely have to go out of the country to get a tourist visa or visa exempt entry to apply for the work permit.

[Juliandu]

Most work permit offices will not accept a work permit application if you are on a ED visa or an extension of stay for attending school.

You will need the work permit application done and a application approval letter to get a non-b visa.

You will more than likely have to go out of the country to get a tourist visa or visa exempt entry to apply for the work permit.

Damn looks like the ED internship visa is terrible.. I should have applied for non-b visa in the first place.

Is it true that a non-b visa can only be acquired from your home country (Netherlands in my case), or is it possible doing it with from a tourist visa while present in Thailand?

P.S sorry for all the questions but I can't seem to get this information anywhere else on the internet.

[digitalchromakey]

Most work permit offices will not accept a work permit application if you are on a ED visa or an extension of stay for attending school.

You will need the work permit application done and a application approval letter to get a non-b visa.

You will more than likely have to go out of the country to get a tourist visa or visa exempt entry to apply for the work permit.

Damn looks like the ED internship visa is terrible.. I should have applied for non-b visa in the first place.

Is it true that a non-b visa can only be acquired from your home country (Netherlands in my case), or is it possible doing it with from a tourist visa while present in Thailand?

P.S sorry for all the questions but I can't seem to get this information anywhere else on the internet.

As a Dutch National you should normally have no problem obtaining a Single Entry 90 day non immigrant category 'B" visa in SE Asia with the correct paperwork - see link below:

http://www.mfa.go.th/main/en/services/4908/15388-Non-Immigrant-Visa-%22B%22-(for-Business-and.html

Your potential problem is that most Thai Consulates in the SE Asia area expect your employer to have pre-filed a WP application and obtained a Letter of Approval from Labour - without this you may have problems and most Thai local labour departments will not accept WP application filings if you are on an ED visa entry.

Suggest your employer contacts Labour to try and blag the WP filing despite your ED Visa (maybe not showing the passport at a WP3 filing)..

Failing this you may need to leave, make a Tourist Visa application, re-enter Thailand, get your employer to file the WP application, then leave Thailand again to get the Non 'B".

Yes, the ED Internship route seems to have been an unfortunate choice.

[Juliandu]

Most work permit offices will not accept a work permit application if you are on a ED visa or an extension of stay for attending school.

You will need the work permit application done and a application approval letter to get a non-b visa.

You will more than likely have to go out of the country to get a tourist visa or visa exempt entry to apply for the work permit.

Damn looks like the ED internship visa is terrible.. I should have applied for non-b visa in the first place.

Is it true that a non-b visa can only be acquired from your home country (Netherlands in my case), or is it possible doing it with from a tourist visa while present in Thailand?

P.S sorry for all the questions but I can't seem to get this information anywhere else on the internet.

As a Dutch National you should normally have no problem obtaining a Single Entry 90 day non immigrant category 'B" visa in SE Asia with the correct paperwork - see link below:

http://www.mfa.go.th/main/en/services/4908/15388-Non-Immigrant-Visa-%22B%22-(for-Business-and.html

Your potential problem is that most Thai Consulates in the SE Asia area expect your employer to have pre-filed a WP application and obtained a Letter of Approval from Labour - without this you may have problems and most Thai local labour departments will not accept WP application filings if you are on an ED visa entry.

Suggest your employer contacts Labour to try and blag the WP filing despite your ED Visa (maybe not showing the passport at a WP3 filing)..

Failing this you may need to leave, make a Tourist Visa application, re-enter Thailand, get your employer to file the WP application, then leave Thailand again to get the Non 'B".

Yes, the ED Internship route seems to have been an unfortunate choice.

Great reply thank you!

I left to Thailand at the end of January, asked many questions to the Thai consulate in Amsterdam but they were very uncooperative. Looking back at it now they probably just didn't have any idea at all about the new laws..

Ironic that the people in this forum like you and ubonjoe are way better informed and helpful than my official thai contact point.

The consulate in Amsterdam repeatedly told me I could figure out visa extension / obtaining new visa at the Bangkok immigration, now it seems this actually the place where I can do nothing.

I am contacting them now, hopefully to force them to contact Thai immigration and extend my ED or allow for WP application. Otherwise what I am thinking of this:

- Go to Vientane / Singapore to apply for tourist visa

- Work here 'illegally' until the end of my internship

- Fly back to Amsterdam in the Summer (with 90 day tourist visa I guess in August)

- Apply for a WP and Non-b visa there and come back to work here

If only I got a non-b from the start though..

[blackcab]

You don't need the WP acceptance letter if you apply in Hong Kong.

That being said, it would be cheaper to get the application approved and then apply for your single entry Non Imm B visa somewhere closer.

If the documents supplied by yourself and your company are in order it takes about 1 week to issue a WP in Bangkok.

[Juliandu]

You don't need the WP acceptance letter if you apply in Hong Kong.

That being said, it would be cheaper to get the application approved and then apply for your single entry Non Imm B visa somewhere closer.

If the documents supplied by yourself and your company are in order it takes about 1 week to issue a WP in Bangkok.

Thanks!

I did not know you can obtain a non imm b at Hong Kong without a WP. My company is willing to obtain me the WP but apparently this is very hard while being in Thailand with an ED visa, I have asked them to try and find a contact or loophole somewhere to get this done.

Let's say I do manage to get a WP, I can go to the nearest country and obtain a visa for single entry 90 days right? Which can be converted to a proper business visa later if I understand correctly (Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia)

[blackcab]

My apologies. I didn't realise that immigration won't accept your application because you are on an ED visa.

It's either do as Ubonjoe said or go to Hong Kong as you don't need an acceptance letter to apply there.

The other alternative is to apply somewhere not in this region.

[blackcab]

I did not know you can obtain a non imm b at Hong Kong without a WP.

Just to clarify, if you leave the country, get a tourist visa, then return and reapply you won't get a WP. You will get a letter from the Labour Department accepting your application (which in reality means you will be granted a WP when you gain the correct visa).

You can definatly (as of about a week ago, anyway), get a single Non Imm B visa from Hong Kong without an acceptance letter.

[Juliandu]

My apologies. I didn't realise that immigration won't accept your application because you are on an ED visa.

It's either do as Ubonjoe said or go to Hong Kong as you don't need an acceptance letter to apply there.

The other alternative is to apply somewhere not in this region.

No problem of course.

I can't believe they will allow 'foreign language students' from Pattaya and what not to extend their ED visa but not when doing a proper internship (5/6 months is standard all over the world) and actually working at a Thai company.

My initial plan was to stay 6 months (extend once), visit my family in the summer and apply for WP / Non- B, seemed like a great plan.

Damn Thai immigration is kicking my ass.. lol

[blackcab]

The plus side is HK is a nice place. I'm there right now.

[Juliandu]

The plus side is HK is a nice place. I'm there right now.

I see a ticket fBKK-HKK is only around 220$ with Emirates, that is pretty cheap actually. Tickets from BKK to Vientiane I found were similarly priced (if anyone has cheaper tickets please let me know)

I have never been there, always wanted to visit though.

[Juliandu]

Most work permit offices will not accept a work permit application if you are on a ED visa or an extension of stay for attending school.

You will need the work permit application done and a application approval letter to get a non-b visa.

You will more than likely have to go out of the country to get a tourist visa or visa exempt entry to apply for the work permit.

Ubonjoe,

Do you think it has any use for me to go to Immigration anyway and try to get an extension with for my ED visa? Or does it have no chance of succeeding at all?

[ubonjoe]

There is no clause in Police Order 327/2557 for internships.

You will not be able to apply for a work permit in the Netherlands as you wrote earlier. Work permits can only be applied for at the Labor Ministry here..

I suggest you check with the consulate in Hong Kong to confirm you don't need the work permit approval letter before going there. I see no info on website for getting a non-b for working here other than teaching. http://www.thai-consulate.org.hk/web/3015.php?s=4262