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macedonianmike
Joined: 28 Jun 2007
Posts: 64
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 Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2010 11:42 am Post subject: Thailand work visa - basic info |
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| My girlfriend and I are planning on moving to Thailand within the year. She is Russian and I'm American. According to travel agencies both of us can be in the country for 30 days without a visa. Is it possible to get a work visa while visiting? Or do you have to be outside Thailand to get a work visa? Any info or links would be much appreciated. |
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Knexus
Joined: 21 Jul 2009
Posts: 34
Location: Thailand
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| Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2010 12:57 am Post subject: re:visa question |
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I'm pretty sure you will need a non-imm B visa in order to get a work permit. I'm also pretty sure you can only get those outside Thailand. If that is the case you can either do it in the US by mail, or make a "visa run" by flying to Malaysia to go through the process of getting the non-imm B visa there.
Here is a website a guy named Eddy gave me on the Cafe...
www.thaivisa.com
I don't know if it will help you or not.
Here is my post too concerning the two different durations of non-imm B visas you can get.
http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=78223
I hope you both enjoy Thailand! I have so far! |
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NigerianWhisper
Joined: 21 Mar 2009
Posts: 176
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| Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2010 1:38 am Post subject: Re: Thailand work visa - basic info |
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| macedonianmike wrote: |
| My girlfriend and I are planning on moving to Thailand within the year. She is Russian and I'm American. According to travel agencies both of us can be in the country for 30 days without a visa. Is it possible to get a work visa while visiting? Or do you have to be outside Thailand to get a work visa? Any info or links would be much appreciated. |
You cannot obtain a Work Permit whilst on a 30 day Visa exempt entry, which is what you have upon arrival in Thailand by air.
To obtain a WP you need to have a Non Immigrant B or 'O' Visa.
The B visa is the more common for work. You will need to have company sponsorship for that or an employers 'Letter of Intent'.
O Visas are generally issued on the grounds of marriage to a Thai, visiting friends, support of a Thai child and sometimes on the grounds of researching for retirement or looking for investment opportunities.
Both types of Visas are generally issued at Consulates outside of Thailand.
There are some exceptions. You can obtain a 60 day Tourist Visa and then convert that in-country if you have an employment offer. You must have a minimum of 21 days remaining on the validity of the Tourist Visa. |
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macedonianmike
Joined: 28 Jun 2007
Posts: 64
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| Posted: Sat Feb 13, 2010 2:07 pm Post subject: |
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| Thanks for the info. Once I have support of a school what's the cheapest route to get the visa outside Thailand? Can you get it in Cambodia or Laos? |
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NigerianWhisper
Joined: 21 Mar 2009
Posts: 176
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| Posted: Sat Feb 13, 2010 4:06 pm Post subject: |
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| macedonianmike wrote: |
| Thanks for the info. Once I have support of a school what's the cheapest route to get the visa outside Thailand? Can you get it in Cambodia or Laos? |
Not sure on the latest info for Cambodia or Laos but can definitely be obtained from KL in Malaysia. |
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tdu1510
Joined: 25 Jan 2010
Posts: 24
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MaiPenRai
Joined: 17 Jan 2006
Posts: 390
Location: BKK
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| Posted: Sun Feb 14, 2010 3:30 am Post subject: |
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Laos is the cheapest way to go and is probably the most commonly used route for average teachers getting Non-B Visas. The tourist sector of Vientienne relies heavily on people getting Visas. Get all the info you can about Visas for your wife (Russian). Some embassies and consulates do not issue Visas for certain countries.
Don't think it is possible to get a Non-B in Cambodia. If it is possible, it is most definitely not easy. |
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Gypsy King
Joined: 05 Mar 2010
Posts: 77
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| Posted: Thu Mar 11, 2010 1:29 am Post subject: |
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Heard from an immigration official friend of mine in the Big Mango that Work visa fees will go up next year to Baht 50,000 pp of course for a one year stay in Thailand. This is not the work permit issued by the labor department which is a seperate issue. Reason being I heard is that immigration officials want an increase in salary and of course the best way to do this is to milk more baht out of expats (including EFL teachers). Hope this news is not true but this is TIT!  |
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MaiPenRai
Joined: 17 Jan 2006
Posts: 390
Location: BKK
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| Posted: Thu Mar 11, 2010 1:35 am Post subject: |
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| I really hope you had a misprint. from 1900 baht to 50,000 baht. Not even Thai cronies have the balls to do that. With a new government program to vastly increase English Programs next year (grants for 500 schools), a massive raise in work visa fees is highly unlikley (for teachers anyways). Where is your information coming from? I haven't heard anything about this and I am somewhat involved in visa and work permit processing for teachers. |
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AjarnIam
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 95
Location: Thailand
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| Posted: Fri Mar 12, 2010 6:14 am Post subject: |
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| Gypsy King wrote: |
| Heard from an immigration official friend of mine in the Big Mango that Work visa fees will go up next year to Baht 50,000 pp of course for a one year stay in Thailand. This is not the work permit issued by the labor department which is a seperate issue. Reason being I heard is that immigration officials want an increase in salary and of course the best way to do this is to milk more baht out of expats (including EFL teachers). Hope this news is not true but this is TIT! |
Yes, I'm also curious where you obtained this info. From 1900 to 50000 in one year  |
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ThailandHereWeCome
Joined: 25 Mar 2010
Posts: 4
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| Posted: Fri Mar 26, 2010 4:36 pm Post subject: |
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| Haha, so what is it....50,000 (I'm guessing not)? |
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Gypsy King
Joined: 05 Mar 2010
Posts: 77
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| Posted: Sat Mar 27, 2010 1:55 am Post subject: |
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The planned Baht 50,000 work visa fee increase hike only happens in amazing Thailand. It's an amazing rip-off! TIT  |
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MaiPenRai
Joined: 17 Jan 2006
Posts: 390
Location: BKK
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| Posted: Sun Mar 28, 2010 8:46 am Post subject: |
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First of all, there is no such thing as a work visa. There is a Non-Immigrant B and Non-Immogrant O visa, both of which you can work on, assuming that you get a work permit.
| Quote: |
| Heard from an immigration official friend of mine |
That about sums it up. Third hand rumors with no evidence are simply not helpful. There hasn't even been a peep about anything like this from anyone/anywhere else. That includes people with many more connections than "an immigrational official friend of mine". This would be all over the other major Thai based info sites if it were even being thought of.
It may possibly relate to the Non-Immigrant O Visa (marriage) requirement of making 40,000 baht/month. May be going up to 50,000 baht/month. These regulations often change from office to office and province ot province and officer to officer.
Again, no chance of a 2,500% increase (or whatever) in the case of the Non-Immigrant B Visa (currently aprox 2000 baht) for teachers. The government has just started grants for 500 schools to initiate and expand English Programs.
Its just so stupid, why am I even wasting time trying to explain it?
P.S. If it does happen (for teachers), I owe you a thousand beers. |
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