Job Discussion Forums

[james_tesol]

I will soon be starting a new job in Thailand and will have to get the non-immigrant visa to get the work permit process rolling. The last time i did this was in 2002 when i did it in Laos. I was wondering where other people have been to in order to go to the Thai consulate.

I have a few weeks to spare so i would like to travel around the place i choose, while the visa is being processed. I have heard a few things about Penang just wondering if there are any other recommended places?

Cheers,

James

[kenkannif]

Laos and Penag are tricky at the moment in regards to Non-imm B Visas, I'd go for Singapore or Hong Kong personally.

[Sgt Killjoy]

What is making it tricky at the moment? I am planning on going next month. What about KL?

[james_tesol]

When you say tricky what does that mean exactly? I will have all the documents form my uni so will it still be a problem?

[tirelesstravelerasia]

People have been saying 'Penang is tricky at the moment' ever since I did my first visa run there in October 99, but I personally have never had a problem there.

I think Penang / Georgetown is one of the coolest places to do the run - great mix of cultures, excellent food, funky forgotten part of the old British Empire. Vientianne is also a very cool place to hang for a bit, but I've never done a visa run there.

Here's the 'trick' to getting it done in Penang - don't go to the embassy yourself; let an agent do the work for you. I've always used the visa agents just outside the Swiss Hotel on Lebuh Chulia (btw this hotel is not nearly as nice as it sounds - a real flea-ridden hole) - 2 Indian brothers who have managed to get 3 separate non-imm B visas for me, at a cost of 10ringgit/100 baht for their trouble. (The last one had a stamp across it that said 'no more non-imm B next 24 mo" - which meant they expected me to get myself legal next time).

According to one of the brothers, part of the money they charge is used to grease the palm of the official at the consulate - they walk in with 20 passports a day, so even 10 baht each is a nice take. Anyone unwilling to get on the gravy train and tries to do it themselves is under scrutiny -- the thinking is, "This guy's too cheap to pay a couple dollars for something so important? Must be a 'ki nok falang' khao san road type - let's make trouble for him!"

Whether that part's true or not, I'm '3 for 3' in my attempts at getting the B visa this way. Any passports turned in by noon will be ready for pickup the next day by 4 - just in time to catch one of the minivans back to the border, but I'd still plan on spending 2 nights -- last time I was there, lots of decent rooms for 8 to 12 ringgit per night. (Beer's a bit pricier than Thailand, however )

[kenkannif]

^ It's all changed mate recently (well last 6 months or so). If you already have a Non-imm B in your passport you need a WP3 form to get a Non-imm B from Penang. And this is using an agent.

[kenkannif]

[kenkannif]

[kenkannif]

[Sgt Killjoy]

Ok thanks Ken. I thought it was more tricky than that.

The rumo mill, and I have it from a good source, some Filipinos have been very adept at creating fake job offer letters to get non-immi b's in Penang. By chance, one particularly consulate employee decided to check out the school listed and found out that the school didn't exist. At first they hit out only against Filipinos and then realized a good number of farangs were doing it as well. Hence the wp-3 requirement.

There are literally thousands of Filipinos teaching in Thailand and many have been resorting to illegal behavior to remain in the country.

From another source, Filipinos crossing via Sadao and Padang Besar are being asked to show 10,000 baht in order to cross the board if they have more than a couple of 30 day stamps. I haven't heard of denials yet, but could be soon.

[kenkannif]

[james_tesol]

Has anyone done a visa in KL recently? Wondering what the situation is like there.