Leaving Thailand for good in 2 days. Should I cancel WP or just let it expire? I don't plan on teaching here again at this time, but who knows as they say "never say never ".

You could let it expire. But the school may want it to canceled to clear it off their records. They can do it for you if you sign a power of attorney.

Since you are leaving, canceling it can only work against you. How? your time and possible overstay accusations. Nobody cares about the school and usually they don't keep up with the "records" but even if they do, they don't care either. God Bless You and thank you for your service to the Kingdom. OO.

IMO- cancelling it is a good idea. I had a situation once where in another country (not Thailand) I left without cancelling a work permit. When I returned to this country several years later for a holiday I was detained by immigration when I was leaving because they wanted the balance payment of unpaid taxes from my expected earnings. They were not going to let me leave the country. It took a lot of talking and investigation of the visa stamps in my passport to convince them that I was truly gone and not earning money there.

 

If as the above poster says- schools can be lax in "keeping up with records", I would want to be sure of this for myself.

Yes, of course you cancel it yourself in person. It is YOUR work permit.

Keep it clean, you never know

Do you have a current VISA or do you have an extension to your visa.

If you have an actual visa, canceling your  work permit will allow you to stay in Thailand as long as your multi entry Non B visa remains valid.

If you have an extension to your visa based on your work permit, and your Non B visa is already out of date then canceling your work permit will also automatically end your visa extension based upon your work permit.

You will then have to leave Thailand in a maximum of 7 days to get a new visa.

....hmmm, a friend did this, left without canceling his WP,  came back to work, had to go back to the work permit office and contact the school and pay a fine.

 

....But do agree, turn your work permit in... It depends, return it to the school or the office, depend on who paid for the work permit fee.

 

....another friend told me at the airport immigration the officer gently reminded him to cancel his work permit and let the school know that he resigned... He went out of the Thailand on the non B, and came back in on a Tourist visa.

 

....thus...best to cancel it... get the receipt.  Like you said, you may get feed up with home and decide to return..

 

Cheers Mate

Can one still keep the work permit book after it is cancelled?

11 hours ago, arminbkk said:

Can one still keep the work permit book after it is cancelled?

According to the written rules you can keep it. But their have been reports of some offices wanting to keep it.

Thanks Ubonjoe!

 

Any such reports on the office in Bangkok?

Hi Guys,

Does anyone have official input on transferring work permits and  days to leave after cancelling a WP.

 

I will leave Thailand mid June and hope to transfer to another school. How easy is this? How long does it take? Also if you decide not to transfer and leave, once the WP have been cancelled how long until you have to leave on your extended visa. I heard 2 days, but read above 7 days.

 

I have to disagree with one point above, the WP is not yours. It belongs to the work and must be kept at the place of work, not with you. 

 

Any info will be much appreciated.

 

Jamie

18 hours ago, jamiejoel said:

Hi Guys,

Does anyone have official input on transferring work permits and  days to leave after cancelling a WP.

 

I will leave Thailand mid June and hope to transfer to another school. How easy is this? How long does it take? Also if you decide not to transfer and leave, once the WP have been cancelled how long until you have to leave on your extended visa. I heard 2 days, but read above 7 days.

 

I have to disagree with one point above, the WP is not yours. It belongs to the work and must be kept at the place of work, not with you. 

 

Any info will be much appreciated.

 

Jamie

It's not all that clear what you are asking...but suffice to say I am sure about one thing...if you are on an extended VISA based upon specific work, and you cancel that work permit, you have to leave the same day or of course switch the VISA to another type. There may be grace but not legally. The seven days applies to requesting an extension, which should be granted but voids the VISA. This means you have to start all over again. The myth about whose property the actual Work Permit is has been bantered for a decade or more. You are always better off holding it yourself and not believing those who say your workplace needs to hold it etc.. God Bless You and good luck. OO.

On 5/3/2017 at 11:01 PM, ubonjoe said:

You could let it expire. But the school may want it to canceled to clear it off their records. They can do it for you if you sign a power of attorney.

Ok So here's MY WP pickle....Cooked for a company(Market) in CM and it took me a YEAR to finally get it so I could start working...that work lasted about 5 months due to culture issues--food issues-etc....Any way this was 2010! so about 8 years ago..I ended the job and went home, BUT KEPT the WP as a sort of trophy as it was such a pain to get in the first place....So still having it and it being EXPIRED-would I still be able to use it or "reactivate" it with this news of those with a WP can seek other work, etc......be nice to be able to do something and make a few baht instead of just slumming and being a "tourist"?  From reading thread a bit nervous to bring it out of hiding..tax--immig--etc....Thanks.

3 hours ago, ChakaKhan said:

Ok So here's MY WP pickle....Cooked for a company(Market) in CM and it took me a YEAR to finally get it so I could start working...that work lasted about 5 months due to culture issues--food issues-etc....Any way this was 2010! so about 8 years ago..I ended the job and went home, BUT KEPT the WP as a sort of trophy as it was such a pain to get in the first place....So still having it and it being EXPIRED-would I still be able to use it or "reactivate" it with this news of those with a WP can seek other work, etc......be nice to be able to do something and make a few baht instead of just slumming and being a "tourist"?  From reading thread a bit nervous to bring it out of hiding..tax--immig--etc....Thanks.

Since the work permit expired many years ago it is of no use for anything. Nor would it be a problem for not having it canceled.

On 8/14/2018 at 8:51 PM, ubonjoe said:

Since the work permit expired many years ago it is of no use for anything. Nor would it be a problem for not having it canceled.

Might be a stupid question since I really only used ONE page of a perfectly good permit

 

Is not possible to find some work and simply reactivate it with a fresh stamp OR it is wasted and simply trash??

 

Be a shame if latter...really...being it took me a year to fight to even get it...

3 minutes ago, ChakaKhan said:

Is not possible to find some work and simply reactivate it with a fresh stamp OR it is wasted and simply trash??

It is not possible to do anything with it since a work permit is issued for a specific employer.

1 minute ago, ubonjoe said:

It is not possible to do anything with it since a work permit is issued for a specific employer.

Last question on this i guess..what if I returned to that same employer--could it then be "reactivated"??

8 minutes ago, ChakaKhan said:

Last question on this i guess..what if I returned to that same employer--could it then be "reactivated"??

It would require a new application for a work permit and they would likely issue a new book.