Applying for WP for University position. Immigration transferred all necessary stamps to new passport and told me I no longer needed to keep old passport.

Roll forward 2 months and now WP officer wants to see the original non-O visa from 7 years ago.

 

Old passport has since been discarded. Is the WP officer obliged to need this stamp or is he being the usual Thai bureaucrat?  Also is the WP tied to the contract or the visa/extension? or tied to both.

 

Many thanks.

 

 

The employment contract is an essential document for the application for the work permit. The work permit is an essential document for the application for extension of stay on the basis of employment.

 

Your new passport has an immigration stamp with full details of the original visa and a copy of the currently valid extension of stay. Point these out to to the Department of Employment (DoE)official and give him the phone number of you immigration office to call if he has any questions about the validity of your permission to stay.

 

Of course, if you have a copy of the relevant pages on file or saved on your computer, you could print out copies for the official. If you didn't keep copies, your immigration office has them, no doubt.

 

Does your new employer, the university, not have a person to handle work permit applications? It is that person who should argue the case with the DoE, not you. It is possible that the DoE official is fishing for a "facilitation payment" and it is preferable that you should not get involved in such illegal shenanigans.

..... in a time long ago, I had an immigration official, who wanted to see my old Passport, with all the old stamps, she indeed wanted a processing fee, I was even with my Thai HR person as well.