Thanks for checking out this post !!!

I'm going to keep it short and sweet - otherwise i'll write a novel and a sequel.

My employer in Bangkok is downsizing - using all sorts of underhand tactics to save a buck without consideration for those under its employ. Most vexing of all is the attempts to avoid or 'skip' distributing due severance support. Can they get away with this?

The tip of the iceberg and most pressing issue, however, is VISA's and Work Permit's - which will be filed as invalid from Friday 18th March, as its shuts down the presiding branch of business.

I have had 7 days notice to organise a new VISA something which I have not yet done outside of their authority. It seems my best option would be a border run for a few days in Cambodia.

- Am I able to get a 90 day tourist VISA in my current situation?

- Do different borders provide access to different VISA's?

Most of my searches have returned mixed answers so I wanted to open it up to discussion if anyone has faced a similar situation? The longer the VISA, the better.

Any suggestions on the legal/financial side of things would be hugely appreciated too.

Thanks again and much appreciated in advance,

f4s

Border immigration checkpoints do not provide visas. Depending on your nationality you can get a visa-exempt entry with permission to stay for 15 or 30 days.

What is your nationality?

Are you married to a Thai?

Over 50?

There is no 90 day Tourist Visa, TVs allow 60 day stay (some nationalities get shorter stays) which is then extendible by another 30 days. Get a TV at a consulate / embassy in a neighbouring country (there's a thread on where is currently best).

You can also get a 7 day extension for 1900 Baht when you go to immigration to cancel your current stay, all good if that's enough to close out your affairs and leave the country.

The cannot cancel your extension or work permit without your consent. You would have to go immigration yourself to cancel the extension and grant them power of attorney for them to cancel your work permit.

They have to give you a termination letter for you to cancel your extension and if leaving from some border crossing you will not be allowed to leave the country without one.

You have a legal right to 30 days notice and severance pay under the Labour Protection Act B.E. 2541 (1998) You could file a complaint at the labor ministry if they violate it.

We need to know your nationality, your age, and whether you have a wife and/or dependents here.

there is too much information missing

last day of the work agreement/work contract/emplyment contract, when is that date?

when did they notify you they not will continue.

is the work permit einding before the end dat of the workagreement/workcontract/empoyment contract?

the work permit and the visa are linked to the employer so when they cancel your work/employment the Visa and work permit will be cancel as well.

but the employer as well the employee have to respect the law.

canceling a employment/work contract is not easy under Thai law before the end date.

If there is an end date then the contract stops automatically as well; the visa linked to it.

you can have an extension at the immigration office for 7 days to arrange things is this is the case stop ed by due date/end date of the contract.

the labor officer of the local labor office can tell you about this, I advise you to inform with a lawyer too.

the labor officer has a lot of power to arrange things if they are in your favor and can force the employer too to do or accept things. This is free for the employee as far as I know..

the immigration office will only cancel the visa as long as you come in person and even then is will be very difficult if it is a multiple entree, they not cancel that one easy due to problem immigration department can get with canceling a multiple visa or converting the visa.

As long as your workcontract end date is not arrived the employer need to provide you with a work permit. Covering the work as describe in the employment /work contract. adn you need toappear at work place every working day you did in hte past.

if you have not been at the workplace 3 days with out a valid reason or valid written permission or more they have a legal right to terminate the contract directly.

endo f contract menas end of all. Work permit and visa becasue you have no emplyer.

in the case you are going to court/labor court then you are entitled to have Visa for attending the Court case and defend you case.These are 30 day visa that can be extended with help of the lawyer and court case at the immigration office.

for the rest is it then back to basics.

tourist visa are for tourist purposes and if you enter on that one not being or having the intention of tourism you can run in to trouble.

So be wise and apply for the right visa.

good luck

OP - there is a lot of help and experience waiting for you here. If you can succinctly answer the questions above you will get answers very quickly.

At the very least you could tell us your visa dates and current entry/extension dates.

The labor department is generally on the side of the employee here.

http://www.thailaws.com/information/thai_legal_info_07.htm

The cannot cancel your extension or work permit without your consent. You would have to go immigration yourself to cancel the extension and grant them power of attorney for them to cancel your work permit.

They have to give you a termination letter for you to cancel your extension and if leaving from some border crossing you will not be allowed to leave the country without one.

You have a legal right to 30 days notice and severance pay under the Labour Protection Act B.E. 2541 (1998) You could file a complaint at the labor ministry if they violate it.

so this means everybody who has a work pemit in Thailand, cant go out of the country?

I can believe this, nobody cant go for holidays, bussiness trips, family visits?

So all the CEO´s, hotelmanages, aso have to quit their job, if they want to leave the country?

for sure this is not true, if you have a valid passport you can leave thailand whenever you want

The cannot cancel your extension or work permit without your consent. You would have to go immigration yourself to cancel the extension and grant them power of attorney for them to cancel your work permit.

They have to give you a termination letter for you to cancel your extension and if leaving from some border crossing you will not be allowed to leave the country without one.

You have a legal right to 30 days notice and severance pay under the Labour Protection Act B.E. 2541 (1998) You could file a complaint at the labor ministry if they violate it.

so this means everybody who has a work pemit in Thailand, cant go out of the country?

I can believe this, nobody cant go for holidays, bussiness trips, family visits?

So all the CEO´s, hotelmanages, aso have to quit their job, if they want to leave the country?

for sure this is not true, if you have a valid passport you can leave thailand whenever you want

All they need is a re-entry permit.

Okay thank you everybody for your advice: here is some more information:

I'm 27, British, and I have no thai dependants or spouse.

My Visa is a Non-Immigrant VISA or Non-B VISA which started in September 2015 and due to last for 1 year with the company.

I have been checking in every 90 days to keep my current VISA open. So far I have checked in twice once in November 2015 and once in February 2016 - My current extension is due to run out in May 2016.

My Work Permit is from 14/09/2015 - 10/09/2016.

As a comment mentioned earlier - I believe Power of Attorney was signed over to an administrative girl who dealt with alien VISA's etc. months ago.

I was notified about the termination of employment on February 29th until March 31st. However, yesterday I was informed that my VISA and Work Permit now expire, along with my job, on Friday 18th March. 1 weeks notice.

I also do not have a copy of my contract. But i have requested a copy to collect on Monday. I will not be surprised if they fail to produce! The boss informed me if i didn't sign, i will be covered under 'company law??' I don't remember signing a contact and I don't have a copy of the original myself.

And I have just asked the boss "will I be receiving any severance pay?" and he has completely failed to answer.

If I've left out any more vital info, please let me know.

All your comments are hugely appreciated. Thank you

f4s

Edited March 11, 201610 yr by farang4skil

My Visa is a Non-Immigrant VISA or Non-B VISA which started in September 2015 and due to last for 1 year with the company.

I have been checking in every 90 days to keep my current VISA open. So far I have checked in twice once in November 2015 and once in February 2016 - My current extension is due to run out in May 201

When you say checking in, Are you doing the 90 day reporting ?

If yes then you are not on a visa at all, you are on an extension and that will cancel the same day as the work permit.

The cannot cancel your extension or work permit without your consent. You would have to go immigration yourself to cancel the extension and grant them power of attorney for them to cancel your work permit.

They have to give you a termination letter for you to cancel your extension and if leaving from some border crossing you will not be allowed to leave the country without one.

You have a legal right to 30 days notice and severance pay under the Labour Protection Act B.E. 2541 (1998) You could file a complaint at the labor ministry if they violate it.

so this means everybody who has a work pemit in Thailand, cant go out of the country?

I can believe this, nobody cant go for holidays, bussiness trips, family visits?

So all the CEO´s, hotelmanages, aso have to quit their job, if they want to leave the country?

for sure this is not true, if you have a valid passport you can leave thailand whenever you want

Nothing of the sort was said or implied

Those with a multi entry "B" visa can come and go as they wish at any time whilst their visa is valid

Those with "extensions of stay" can leave and return at anytime with a re-entry permit.

Why not re read UJ's comment again and attempt to understand what was said ?

If you have a multiple entry visa, there is no reason you need to have it canceled, according to my understanding, even if the work permit is canceled. Thus, your immediate issues about staying in Thailand would be unchanged.

If you are on an extension of stay, your permission to stay will cease as soon as your work permit is canceled. Immigration will give you 7 days to leave the country. However, as a UK citizen, you can make a border hop to get a 30 day visa exempt entry giving you time to consider your further options. The border hop can be by land, or (more comfortably IMHO) by a same day flight out and back to somewhere like KL.

If you have a multiple entry visa, there is no reason you need to have it canceled, according to my understanding, even if the work permit is canceled. Thus, your immediate issues about staying in Thailand would be unchanged.

If you are on an extension of stay, your permission to stay will cease as soon as your work permit is canceled. Immigration will give you 7 days to leave the country. However, as a UK citizen, you can make a border hop to get a 30 day visa exempt entry giving you time to consider your further options. The border hop can be by land, or (more comfortably IMHO) by a same day flight out and back to somewhere like KL.

The 7 days is not "given" it has to be applied for and costs 1900Bht !

Okay thank you everybody for your advice: here is some more information:

I'm 27, British, and I have no thai dependants or spouse.

My Visa is a Non-Immigrant VISA or Non-B VISA which started in September 2015 and due to last for 1 year with the company.

I have been checking in every 90 days to keep my current VISA open. So far I have checked in twice once in November 2015 and once in February 2016 - My current extension is due to run out in May 2016.

My Work Permit is from 14/09/2015 - 10/09/2016.

As a comment mentioned earlier - I believe Power of Attorney was signed over to an administrative girl who dealt with alien VISA's etc. months ago.

I was notified about the termination of employment on February 29th until March 31st. However, yesterday I was informed that my VISA and Work Permit now expire, along with my job, on Friday 18th March. 1 weeks notice.

I also do not have a copy of my contract. But i have requested a copy to collect on Monday. I will not be surprised if they fail to produce! The boss informed me if i didn't sign, i will be covered under 'company law??' I don't remember signing a contact and I don't have a copy of the original myself.

And I have just asked the boss "will I be receiving any severance pay?" and he has completely failed to answer.

If I've left out any more vital info, please let me know.

All your comments are hugely appreciated. Thank you

f4s

You don't have a visa but an extension of stay based on your work permit. Once the work permit has been cancelled your extension of stay ends and you must immediately leave the country, or apply for an alternative extension of stay. Until the work permit is cancelled you are free to stay in the country.

If you leave the country without a re-entry permit the extension of stay will end on exit. However, if you exit at a land border the IO may want to see your termination letter before letting you out.