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Changing Jobs/Work Permit Without a Border Run?

 
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ldragon



Joined: 01 Jan 2011
Posts: 32

PostPosted: Thu May 17, 2012 12:07 pm    Post subject: Changing Jobs/Work Permit Without a Border Run? Reply with quote

I want to change jobs and get a new work permit. But I dont want to do a border run. Is this possible? Has anyone ever done it? Im currently employed as a teacher w/ a work permit. My current employer is happy to give me a fourteen day window to terminate my work permit. The new employer is very supportive as well and seems to have all the paperwork ready to go.

Everyones telling me it cannot be done. Id lose my work permit and visa when I quit my current job and be forced to leave the country in one day. Return w/ a new non-B and begin the process of obtaining a work permit.

But then I did a little research... It seems if I pay for a seven day extension AND get all my paperwork for the new job (medical cert., new teacher license, new work permit application, etc...) submitted w/in the seven days, that I wont have to leave the country and will be granted a new work permit.

If thats not a little confusing, today I went to immigration. They said teachers have many exceptions under the law. They said I could turn in the work permit and stay here until my visa expires (I guess because theres less than 90 days remaining on it...?). Or if I get all the paperwork submitted before then, I can stay.

Anyway, please dont respond w/ any theories or rumors. Im really interested in hearing from people whove successfully changed employers w/ a work permit and not had to leave the country.

THX.
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Eagle Eyes



Joined: 26 Apr 2012
Posts: 121
Location: Istanbul

PostPosted: Thu May 17, 2012 12:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

You must contact immigration for your answers. Good luck! Smile
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MaiPenRai



Joined: 17 Jan 2006
Posts: 390
Location: BKK

PostPosted: Thu May 17, 2012 1:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
please dont respond w/ any theories or rumors


Too bad. I'm going to at least get the conversation started for you.

Im no expert at visas but here is my understanding of the process.

You can change any visa to a Non-B in Bangkok providing you have the correct paperwork and you have at least 21 days remaining on your current visa.

You can cancel a work permit quite easily but simply going to the Labour Office where it was processed and cancelling it.

An extension of Non-B visa is directly linked to a work permit (for teachers) and thus if the work permit is cancelled, the visa extension is cancelled as well. Likewise, if the visa expires or you leave the country without a re-entry permit, you lose your current visa as well as your current work permit.

Quote:
They (immigration)said I could turn in the work permit and stay here until my visa expires (I guess because theres less than 90 days remaining on it...?


I wouldnt trust that as it flies in the face of everything I have ever heard of in this process.

Possibly, and based on the info you provided it sounds as if you have yet to extend your initial Non-Imm B?? (you have yet to get a visa extension) which is why they may allow you to stay for the duration of the original visa even though you are cancelling a work permit.

After all that, here is the key in my opinion.

Quote:
The new employer is very supportive as well and seems to have all the paperwork ready to go.


So get them to do it for you. If they wont go down to the Imm office with you and you havent gotten a clear answer of what is necessary from the Imm office, then you need to leave the country whether there is a way to do it or not.

And no, in about 7 years, I have never heard of a teacher transferring one Non-B visa to another Non-B visa in Bangkok.

Personally I wouldn't play around with it. If you dont get a precise clear answer of what is possible and required, then dont get caught in a bad situation, just take a trip to Laos/Malaysia for a day or 2.
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tttompatz



Joined: 06 Mar 2010
Posts: 1951
Location: Talibon, Bohol, Philippines

PostPosted: Thu May 17, 2012 2:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I just hired 20 new teachers for this term and ALL of them had to do a border run. We were NOT able to successfully transfer the visa/WP for any of them.

Most of them grabbed 60-day single entry visas in Laos and we changed their status from tourist to non-b at immigration in BKK about a week after they re-entered and was pretty painless all-in-all (just a boatload of copies, a couple of letters and show their original documents).

The visa run wasn't that bad. Catch the van in BKK and the agency took care of the rest. Total cost was b2800 per person including the cost of the 60-day single entry visa. (3800 if they want a double entry).

Only 1 was able to get her non-b in Laos and that was fraught with issues, faxes and e-mails of scanned letters from everyone and their dog.

.
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ldragon



Joined: 01 Jan 2011
Posts: 32

PostPosted: Fri May 18, 2012 1:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

tttompatz wrote:
The visa run wasn't that bad. Catch the van in BKK and the agency took care of the rest. Total cost was b2800 per person including the cost of the 60-day single entry visa. (3800 if they want a double entry).


The problem for me- and the reason I dont want to do the border run if I dont have to- is I cannot ride in a van. Even busses are difficult. My choices are the overnight train or airplane. The train takes a long time. And the plane is expensive.

Thanks for the advice though. Im think Im gonna have to do the border run. The thing Im afraid of is my employer wont get the work permit w/in 60 or even 90 days and Ill have to do another one...
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