Can I get a work permit without changing my visa?

[Siamesepiggster]

Hi,

I am a 49 year old Brit who's been living in Thailand for over 10 years.

I have my own company registered in the UK which provides me with an income even though I live full time in Thailand.

I have a visa based on supporting my Thai daughter who is 9 years old which I renew every year.

I am not sure what type of visa it is as it does not say in my passport but it's a 1 year visa and I have to notify Immigration every 90 days. I have heard it called a Guardian Visa, Family Visa etc but not sure what the official terminology is as it isn't stated in my passport.

I have two questions as follows:

1) What is the official name for this type of visa?

2) I have been offered some work whereby the company will issue me with a work permit. I have heard from a couple of people that with my type of Visa I do not need to change it to a Non Immigrant B for a work permit. This would be my preference as I don't want any hassle changing my visa back to what I have right now if/when I stop working for this company. The HR manager appears rather clueless on this and says I need to change it to a non immigrant B for a work permit, but I am pretty sure that this is not correct.

Some additional information:

When I renew the Visa each year I supply the application form and submit all the documents at Chaeng Wattana and I am given a 30 day stamp while the application is being considered which in my passport reads as follows "Application of stay is under consideration. Applicant must contact again in person on 3 Dec 2014"

When I go back on the requested date I am then given an additional 11 months stamp and it reads as follows: "Extension of stay permitted until 7 Nov 2015. Holder must leave the kingdom within the date specified herein. Offenders will be prosecuted. To keep your stay permit re-entry permit must be made before leaving Thailand. Notification of residence must be made every 90 days."

Thanks in advance for your assistance.

PS - I am a single Dad who takes care of my daughter alone. Thai mother re-married and living abroad.

[Lite Beer]

You do not have a Visa.

You have a 12 Month Extension based on having a Thai family member.

I would of thought that you can get a Work Permit while having that extension.

You can with a Marriage Extension.

2.18 In the case of being a family member of a Thai national (applicable only to parents, spouse, children, adopted children, or spouse’s children):

Each permission shall be granted for no more than one year.

(1) The alien must have been granted a non-immigrant visa (NON-IM).
(2) The alien must have proof of relationship.

(5) In the case of parents, the father or mother must maintain an average annual income of no less than Baht 40,000 per month throughout the year or must have deposited funds of no less than Baht 400,000 to cover expenses for one year.

[bigt3116]

No need to change, you can get a WP on your current permission to stay.

[Siamesepiggster]

Lite Beer - Thanks for clarifying what I actually have. It actually makes sense to me now as in point (1) shown below it says that I must be granted an non-immigrant visa initially to get the first 12 month extension. I checked my passport and I had a non-immigrant O visa issued in 2012 and I have had 3 x 12 months extensions since then.

2.18 In the case of being a family member of a Thai national (applicable only to parents, spouse, children, adopted children, or spouse’s children):

Each permission shall be granted for no more than one year.

(1) The alien must have been granted a non-immigrant visa (NON-IM).
(2) The alien must have proof of relationship.

(5) In the case of parents, the father or mother must maintain an average annual income of no less than Baht 40,000 per month throughout the year or must have deposited funds of no less than Baht 400,000 to cover expenses for one year.

[Siamesepiggster]

big3116 - Thanks for confirming that I can get a work permit based on my permission to stay.

Do you or anyone else have and extract from Thai Immigration that you could cut and paste here so that I could print off and show to the HR Manager as just my explaining it to them probably won't be enough to convince them.

Thanks in advance.

[ubonjoe]

You can get a work permit and work with the extension of stay based upon being the parent of a Thai you have now.

Be sure a copy of you child's birth certificate is included when the work permit application is done.. It might also be good to have copies of any legitimization or custody documents you have attached also.

Edit: Immigration has nothing to do with work permits. They are done at the Labor Ministry. It is almost impossible to find any recent ministerial regulations or rules for work permits online. All that is required to get a work permit is a non-immigrant visa entry which is what you have.

[bigt3116]

Section 11

http://www.samuiforsale.com/law-texts/foreign-employment-act.html

[ubonjoe]

Section 11

http://www.samuiforsale.com/law-texts/foreign-employment-act.html

That one is the original one.

Best to look at Alien Working Act B.E. 2551 (2008)

The act does not provide the info asked for. That is all done by ministerial regulations and rules.

[bigt3116]

Section 11

http://www.samuiforsale.com/law-texts/foreign-employment-act.html

That one is the original one.

Best to look at Alien Working Act B.E. 2551 (2008)

The act does not provide the info asked for. That is all done by ministerial regulations and rules.

Section 10 seems to say the same ? That you can't be a tourist or transiting.

[Siamesepiggster]

Thanks for all your replies.

Much appreciated!

[timendres]

One last note. Your potential employer should have attorneys, or some experienced staff, who will manage the work permit process.

If they do not, I would recommend the expense of having an attorney handle the process the first time. After that, you will be able to see all of the documents involved and the process itself, and then you can decide if you want to do the renewals on your own.

[Acharn]

You do not have a Visa.

OK, this is just wrong. He has a Non-Immigrant Type "O" visa. Otherwise the extension of stay described in the cited regulation could not be issued. That's the same type of visa I've had, first as supporter of a Thai national and then, after her death, as a retired person. You can't get an extension of stay unless you have a valid visa.

2.18 In the case of being a family member of a Thai national (applicable only to parents, spouse, children, adopted children, or spouse’s children):

Each permission shall be granted for no more than one year.

(1) The alien must have been granted a non-immigrant visa (NON-IM).

[chrisinth]

You do not have a Visa.

OK, this is just wrong. He has a Non-Immigrant Type "O" visa. Otherwise the extension of stay described in the cited regulation could not be issued. That's the same type of visa I've had, first as supporter of a Thai national and then, after her death, as a retired person. You can't get an extension of stay unless you have a valid visa.

2.18 In the case of being a family member of a Thai national (applicable only to parents, spouse, children, adopted children, or spouse’s children):

Each permission shall be granted for no more than one year.

(1) The alien must have been granted a non-immigrant visa (NON-IM).

What does the use before date on your non-O visa say?

You are here on extension of stay, not on your visa..................

[Mario2008]

You enter on a visa and upon entry you get a permission to stay. it is that permission to stay you extend, not your visa.

Visas are issued by the Thai Foreign Ministry, permissions to stay and extensions by the Ministry of Interior, the department we call immigration.

[Lite Beer]

You do not have a Visa.

OK, this is just wrong. He has a Non-Immigrant Type "O" visa. Otherwise the extension of stay described in the cited regulation could not be issued. That's the same type of visa I've had, first as supporter of a Thai national and then, after her death, as a retired person. You can't get an extension of stay unless you have a valid visa.

2.18 In the case of being a family member of a Thai national (applicable only to parents, spouse, children, adopted children, or spouse’s children):

Each permission shall be granted for no more than one year.

(1) The alien must have been granted a non-immigrant visa (NON-IM).

Not wrong I am afraid. I am correct.