Working On A Non-'o' Or A Non-'b'

[pal78]

Hi,

I'm a little confused about the workings of the different non-immigrant visas. 2 years ago I was working in Thailand on a non-immigrant 'B' visa, and the company asked me to change to a non-immigrant 'O' as I was married to a Thai anyway and this would make things much easier. OK.

This year I arrived in Thailand on a multi-entry non-immigrant 'O' (marriage) visa expecting it to be bang-on-perfect for the purposes of finding a job and settling down. However a school I just interviewed with told me that I would need to change to a 'B' visa, because the 'O' would not be sponsored by the school and would therefore cause problems with additional paperwork etc. I can't imagine this being the case, but I assume there must be a good reason why they would expect this to be so.

I'm reluctant to change to a 'B' at this point. I know many farangs who work legally and without any problems on a 'O' visa. Are there any good reasons why I would have to change to a 'B visa, other than the school requiring me to?

Thanks in advance.

PS. to satisfy the requirements of posting here I am Irish, and 28. Thanks.

[Casanundra]

They are talking crap.

I came here on a Non immigration O visa two years ago and have been working on a full work permit and receiving visa extensions with the same non immigration O ever since.

I would suggest that this is a clear case of the school not having a clue and being too lazy to think it through and as far as I am aware the paperwork is no different for a B or an O for a WP application.

Let's make this clear, you do not need to convert to a non immigration B to get a valid work visa...and if I was in your position I would walk away from this particular school as it sounds like you may end up having other problems down the road once you are in under their control.

Edited October 19, 2006 by Casanundra

[Sunbelt Asia]

Hi,

I'm a little confused about the workings of the different non-immigrant visas. 2 years ago I was working in Thailand on a non-immigrant 'B' visa, and the company asked me to change to a non-immigrant 'O' as I was married to a Thai anyway and this would make things much easier. OK.

This year I arrived in Thailand on a multi-entry non-immigrant 'O' (marriage) visa expecting it to be bang-on-perfect for the purposes of finding a job and settling down. However a school I just interviewed with told me that I would need to change to a 'B' visa, because the 'O' would not be sponsored by the school and would therefore cause problems with additional paperwork etc. I can't imagine this being the case, but I assume there must be a good reason why they would expect this to be so.

I'm reluctant to change to a 'B' at this point. I know many farangs who work legally and without any problems on a 'O' visa. Are there any good reasons why I would have to change to a 'B visa, other than the school requiring me to?

Thanks in advance.

PS. to satisfy the requirements of posting here I am Irish, and 28. Thanks.

"B" is for Business and "O" is for other and you can get a work permit with either non immigrant visa. The extension of stay based on business can be extended from a "B" or "O" visa, the same as an extension of stay based on marriage can be done from a "B" or "O" visa.

www.sunbeltasiagroup.com

[Maizefarmer]

I cant see any issue in it either - you are going to be doing a fair bit of running around and "visa stamping" to get and maintain your WP (at least during the first 3 months or so), which ever one you start off with.

If school are saying you have to - well, unless you can talk them around that insistance you may well just have to if you're going to get the job.

Tim

[my benny rai]

1. Since it is possible to get a work permit on a Non Immigrant O, does the visa get cancelled within 7 days after quiting work? What I mean is, if one is on an O visa and quits their job, does it invalidate the O visa if the wife is still making more than 40,000 baht per month or is the visa tied to the life of the work permit like a Non Immigrant B visa is?

2. If the Non O does get cancelled when one quits, is there any way that one can "save" the visa without leaving the country again by going through the process of applying again?

Edited October 19, 2006 by my benny rai

[Sunbelt Asia]

Since it is possible to get a work permit on a Non Immigrant O, does the visa get cancelled within 7 days after quiting work? What I mean is, if one is on an O visa and quits their job, does it invalidate the O visa if the wife is still making more than 40,000 baht per month or is the visa tied to the life of the work permit like a Non Immigrant B visa is?

A extension of stay based on marriage( what you are calling "O" visa) is not tied to the work permit and you do not have to leave within 7 days.

www.sunbeltasiagroup.com

[my benny rai]

Excellent! Much appreciated, Sunbelt!

[pal78]

Thanks for the posts guys....

I would suggest that this is a clear case of the school not having a clue and being too lazy to think it through and as far as I am aware the paperwork is no different for a B or an O for a WP application.

Let's make this clear, you do not need to convert to a non immigration B to get a valid work visa...and if I was in your position I would walk away from this particular school as it sounds like you may end up having other problems down the road once you are in under their control.

This is a concern that I have, and I do have some experience with being mucked about in the past. But I do believe it might just be a case of the school believing that this is the easiest way to proceed. At least it's good to hear that I'm not in fact going mad, and that there are other people working on O visas.

Since it is possible to get a work permit on a Non Immigrant O, does the visa get cancelled within 7 days after quiting work? What I mean is, if one is on an O visa and quits their job, does it invalidate the O visa if the wife is still making more than 40,000 baht per month or is the visa tied to the life of the work permit like a Non Immigrant B visa is?

A extension of stay based on marriage( what you are calling "O" visa) is not tied to the work permit and you do not have to leave within 7 days.

www.sunbeltasiagroup.com

So.... if I have a non-o and get a work permit and then get an extension of stay of the visa, should that extension be based on work, or based on marriage? Perhaps this is the issue the school has with this?

Thanks again for all the posts, I didn't expect to get so much response so quickly! Busy site!

[Sunbelt Asia]

So.... if I have a non-o and get a work permit and then get an extension of stay of the visa, should that extension be based on work, or based on marriage? Perhaps this is the issue the school has with this?

If you get an extension of stay based on business and it is from a "O" visa. You have 7 days to leave the country if your job is terminated.

It had no bearing that the original 90 day stamp was a "B" or "O" visa.

If you had a extension of stay based on marriage and it was from an "O" or even a "B" visa. If your job is terminated, your extension of stay is still valid.

www.sunbeltasiagroup.com

[pal78]

Thanks Sunbelt Aisa, that clears up a few things. I suspect that the school is just unaware of these kinds of details. When I was trying to explain to them that it would be okay for me to work on a non-o they reacted like I didn't know what I was saying.

I can now understand how it would be more desirable for a school to have the extension of stay based on work and not on marriage in that case, because the worker would be less inclined to leave the job if it also meant losing the visa, and having to leave the country.

Thanks again, I'll have another go at explaining all this now that I'm confident that it's possible and shouldn't be a big issue for them.

[Sunbelt Asia]

can now understand how it would be more desirable for a school to have the extension of stay based on work and not on marriage in that case, because the worker would be less inclined to leave the job if it also meant losing the visa, and having to leave the country.

You mean them having the teacher by the gonads?

www.sunbeltasiagroup.com

[markg]

We tried this at Songkla immigration - (getting a WP on an O visa, Brit guy married to a Thai)

They said it cant be done. Can only be done on a B.

Unfortunately a lot of these posts are referring to what is possible in Bangkok.

Sunbelt Asia - do you do all your business for visas through BKk or do you use lots of different places through out Thailand?

If its only Bkk, it might be worthwhile making that clear. Someone working in, for example Had Yai, is a long, long way from Bangkok.

Indeed, in 3 years of living in Thailand, i have only been to Bkk twice.

Not all immigration departments work the same!

Edited October 19, 2006 by markg

[Sunbelt Asia]

We tried this at Songkla immigration - (getting a WP on an O visa, Brit guy married to a Thai)

They said it cant be done. Can only be done on a B.

Unfortunately a lot of these posts are referring to what is possible in Bangkok.

Not all immigration departments work the same!

Immigration wouldn't have a clue anyway about a work permit. Just go to the Labor dept and apply for the work permit.

The law is clear it's any non immigrant visa can be used to apply for a work permit as per Section 11 of the Alien Employment Act (Decree No. 322)

You have a problem ( but odds are very high you won't) do like one guy did at Immigration yesterday; tear the poster off the wall and demanded to see the Immigration Commissioner (After being told the letter from the Embassy was not sufficient proof of a pension)

Sunbelt Asia - do you do all your business for visas through BKk or do you use lots of different places through out Thailand?

If its only Bkk, it might be worthwhile making that clear. Someone working in, for example Had Yai, is a long, long way from Bangkok.

Indeed, in 3 years of living in Thailand, i have only been to Bkk twice.

Not all immigration departments work the same!

We do legal work in other parts of Thailand with our seven Sunbelt offices in Thailand.

www.sunbeltasiagroup.com