Need help with multiple-entry Non-Immigrant visa

[bestmate]

YOU ABSOLUTELY RIGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING

I AM ABSOLUTELY WRONG ABOUT EVERYTHING

 

KEEP WELL!

 

Glad we got that sorted!

[ingo67]

Kuffki,

The OP was asking what he needed to obtain a Non Immigrant Visa. As he has not stated any intention to work, then obviously an "O" would be appropriate. Talking about gettting "B" is only confusing the discussion.

My reply to the original OP was in reference to applications to Hull Consulate, thats why I replied because I have knowledge of that Consulate but not of Consulates in Australia.

With reference information in writing or from phoning the Consulate, possibly they have to cover themselves more.

 

To the OP, let me state again, gettting a Non Immigrant "O" Visa from Hull is very easy. Download the VISA APPLICATION FORM and fill in all the details, and for line "Evidence Substantiating purpose of Visit", just state visiting friends. In the "Additional Pack for 'O' Visa", there is a proforma "Letter confirming staying with family/friends in Thailand". Just fill in an address of a friend and sign your name. SIMPLE.

I have done been through this process in the past, and as stated before, 2 friends have been doing applications to Hull for the last 5 years. I have spoken to one of my friends recently (last month) and he has got another "O" with no problems, no additional info, so all info I have stated is current info for Hull consulate.

[Edge]

Glad we got that sorted!

 

Took a while but it was fun while it lasted.

I thought we were off on a round the world trip at one point.

[kuffki]

Took a while but it was fun while it lasted.

I thought we were off on a round the world trip at one point.

 

With your comments and cheap shots i only wonder who came up with idea to make you into a moderator

[kuffki]

Kuffki,

The OP was asking what he needed to obtain a Non Immigrant Visa. As he has not stated any intention to work, then obviously an "O" would be appropriate. Talking about gettting "B" is only confusing the discussion.

My reply to the original OP was in reference to applications to Hull Consulate, thats why I replied because I have knowledge of that Consulate but not of Consulates in Australia.

With reference information in writing or from phoning the Consulate, possibly they have to cover themselves more.

 

To the OP, let me state again, gettting a Non Immigrant "O" Visa from Hull is very easy. Download the VISA APPLICATION FORM and fill in all the details, and for line "Evidence Substantiating purpose of Visit", just state visiting friends. In the "Additional Pack for 'O' Visa", there is a proforma "Letter confirming staying with family/friends in Thailand". Just fill in an address of a friend and sign your name. SIMPLE.

I have done been through this process in the past, and as stated before, 2 friends have been doing applications to Hull for the last 5 years. I have spoken to one of my friends recently (last month) and he has got another "O" with no problems, no additional info, so all info I have stated is current info for Hull consulate.

 

Thanks for clarification mate, The NON B is not about work its a business visa which allows you same as O but little extra's here and there.

 

From what i know about O, they wanted to see letters, all people i know with O had girls write them letters.

 

If indeed in Hull, they do not want anything then it makes life very easy for OP, but NON B is also an option and is easier obtained if OP does not know any Thai and they do ask for a letter.

[ingo67]

Thanks for clarification mate, The NON B is not about work its a business visa which allows you same as O but little extra's here and there.

 

From what i know about O, they wanted to see letters, all people i know with O had girls write them letters.

 

If indeed in Hull, they do not want anything then it makes life very easy for OP, but NON B is also an option and is easier obtained if OP does not know any Thai and they do ask for a letter.

 

A extract from "Additional Pack for 'B' Visa" provided by Thai consulate Hull -

"A Non-Immigrant Category “B” Visa is required by anyone travelling to Thailand for the purpose of working for a non Thai company or to take up employment with a business based in Thailand."

[kuffki]

A extract from "Additional Pack for 'B' Visa" provided by Thai consulate Hull -

"A Non-Immigrant Category “B” Visa is required by anyone travelling to Thailand for the purpose of working for a non Thai company or to take up employment with a business based in Thailand."

 

Thats first i read anything of a kind.

Non B, does not give anyone any right to work, work permit can be put on but the visa itself does not allow any work.

 

B-stands for business.When applying for a NON B you need to provide a letter from a law firm or a company who is inviting you to Thailand to do some business or look for business opportunity's

 

They also accept an invitation for work, however just visa itself does not give the right to work and person still need to apply for work permit.

[Regor21]

if you come into thailand on a tourist visa you can now apply for a O visa here now , have a look on the Pattaya city expats website there is info there but not sure now if that is only over fifties,

Edited August 27, 2010 by Regor21

[Edge]

if you come into thailand on a tourist visa you can now apply for a O visa here now , have a look on the Pattaya expats website there is info there but not sure now if that is only over fifties,

 

You can come in on a Tourist, or any other proper Visa and then apply for a 12 month Extension of Stay on the grounds of Retirement or Marriage etc.

 

An Extension of Stay is not a Visa in itself, but many people including agents, wrongly refer to it as a Retirement Visa and that often causes confusion.

I am on my 3rd One Year Extension of Stay but they were all extensions to the One Year Multi-entry Non-O Visa I started with.

 

I haven't looked on the Expats site but I imagine it's an Extension of Stay you've read about.

You cannot get an O Visa, or any other Visa for Thailand, inside Thailand, only at a Consulate or Embassy in your home or another country. There may be some back door method but I don't know how that would work as you need the border stamp to activate the Visa.

[Scumbag]

You can come in on a Tourist, or any other proper Visa and then apply for a 12 month Extension of Stay on the grounds of Retirement or Marriage etc.

 

An Extension of Stay is not a Visa in itself, but many people including agents, wrongly refer to it as a Retirement Visa and that often causes confusion.

I am on my 3rd One Year Extension of Stay but they were all extensions to the One Year Multi-entry Non-O Visa I started with.

 

I haven't looked on the Expats site but I imagine it's an Extension of Stay you've read about.

You cannot get an O Visa, or any other Visa for Thailand, inside Thailand, only at a Consulate or Embassy in your home or another country. There may be some back door method but I don't know how that would work as you need the border stamp to activate the Visa.

Are you able to leave Thailand and come back on an extension of stay?

[Scumbag]

A extract from "Additional Pack for 'B' Visa" provided by Thai consulate Hull -

"A Non-Immigrant Category “B” Visa is required by anyone travelling to Thailand for the purpose of working for a non Thai company or to take up employment with a business based in Thailand."

I think it might be poorly worded. The first part could be on about coming to Thialand for the purpose of business while working for a non-Thai company. I am fairly sure that the part about taking up employment in Thailand means that a person can come to Thailand and either look for employment or has a Thai company who will subsequently apply for a work permit. A non-imm B visa can be converted to a work permit but a type-O can not.

[kuffki]

I think it might be poorly worded. The first part could be on about coming to Thialand for the purpose of business while working for a non-Thai company. I am fairly sure that the part about taking up employment in Thailand means that a person can come to Thailand and either look for employment or has a Thai company who will subsequently apply for a work permit. A non-imm B visa can be converted to a work permit but a type-O can not.

 

You are correct, work permit can be made to NON B while it can not to NON O

Also if you decide to open a company you will need to obtain NON B, as it can not be done on NON O

 

There reason why they mention working, is because NON B is the only visa that allows to have WP

But is also allows few other things, which makes life little easier, not to mention never ever get questioned by the immigration at the borders or airport

[Cerberus]

No Visa gives you a right to work within the Kingdom of Thailand, for that any foreigner requires a work permit.

 

Regards the one year Multi-Entry 'B' Visa, if applying at Hull or Cardiff in UK, you can support your application with a letter of self validation. I cannot comment on any other countries, however having done 7 such applications in UK I have never been refused.

 

Both locations are efficient, if you post your correctly completed application on a Monday, they normally receive and process it on Tuesday and you receive the completed Passport back on the Wednesday, that is using recorded delivery postage.

[Edge]

Are you able to leave Thailand and come back on an extension of stay?

 

Yes, provided you get a Single (1000) or Multi (3800) Re-entry Permit before you leave.

 

If you don't, then your Extension of Stay and the Visa it is based on are terminated when you leave and you won't get back in without a new Visa.

Many people forget this. There is a reminder included in the stamp.

[Edge]

if you come into thailand on a tourist visa you can now apply for a O visa here now , have a look on the Pattaya expats website there is info there but not sure now if that is only over fifties,

You can come in on a Tourist, or any other proper Visa and then apply for a 12 month Extension of Stay on the grounds of Retirement or Marriage etc.

 

An Extension of Stay is not a Visa in itself, but many people including agents, wrongly refer to it as a Retirement Visa and that often causes confusion.

............................................................

 

An Extension of Stay looks like this. As you can see, it is not a Visa.

 

 

 

The Re-entry Permit stamp is a separate one and they don't appear to put it in if you get a Permit at the same time as the Extension. edit not sure.

Re-entry Permits used to be 1900 Single and 3800 Multi I believe, which was easy enough to figure if you thought you were going to go out more than once. At some point they reduced the Single to 1000 and now more people are inclined to get them one at a time, which makes it easier to forget ( = disaster).

[Regor21]

That site was Pattaya city expats website not pattaya expats, but you can now if you have not got a O visa you can now apply for one so they can give you the retirement extension straight away if you are over fifty and have the required money and paper work etc,

 

TIPS: The following tips are based on report(s) from fellow expats:

1. Entering Thailand using the Visa Exemption or a Tourist Visa, contact the Immigration Office where

you plan to apply for a Non-Immigrant “O” Visa to determine if they require you have a minimum

number of days remaining on your permitted “stay” time in the Kingdom. If a Visa Exemption, do so

promptly as there are reports on Thaivisa.com that you must have at least 21 of your 30 days remaining.

2. If you entered using the Visa Exemption or a Tourist Visa and opened a Thai bank account with the

800,000 Baht to meet the financial resource requirement, but it has not been there for the required 60

days - Pattaya Immigration will still issue a Non-Immigrant “O” Visa, thus extending your stay for 90

days - when the funds have been on deposit the required amount of time, you can then apply for the one

year extension of stay (which is usually one year from the 90 days permitted upon issuance of the Non-

Immigrant Visa).

3. Some expats using the 800,000 Baht in the bank to qualify do not like the idea of having to have these

funds on deposit for the 60 (initial) or 90 (renewal) day time requirement as they would rather have the

funds earning a higher rate of interest then that paid by Thai banks - if you have a small amount of

monthly income that can be certified by your Embassy, by using a combination of income and funds in

the bank, there is no requirement that funds be held on deposit for any specified time period. For

example, you have a monthly pension totaling 6,000 Baht per month; this would be an annual income of

72,000 Baht. You would then need at least 728,000 Baht, which can be deposited a few days in advance

of the application.

4. Do not wait till the last day to renew your extension of stay - give yourself time to take care of any

“hitches” that might arise as Thai Immigration is sometimes known to make changes without advance

notice

Edited August 27, 2010 by Regor21

[Edge]

That site was Pattaya city expats website not pattaya expats, but you can now if you have not got a O visa you can now apply for one so they can give you the retirement extension straight away if you are over fifty and have the required money and paper work etc,

......................................................

 

I know things can and do change, but a lot of that is so contrary to anything I've read that I would have to see it in print from the correct source rather than word of mouth eg. I've never heard of you being able to get from Visa Exemption to an O Visa without leaving the country.

 

I can't say you're wrong, because there is another thread on here suggesting an end to border runs. I'll go and update myself on Thaivisa, where there are lawyers and other experts posting, but if you can post any links to hard information I'd be grateful.

[Edge]

................................

TIPS: The following tips are based on report(s) from fellow expats:

................................

 

I realise I'm tempting providence here, but it will make some people happy if I'm wrong, so I'll stick my neck out.

 

I don't have time to search in depth tonight (Soi6 calls) but a cursory look says that there is nothing new out there and your TIPS are way off the mark. If you have the time you could start HERE. All 3 of the Global Moderators (Litebeer, Mario2008 and Lopburi3) who have answered that Q really do know what they're talking about, unlike me who just says what he thinks is correct, plus my own experience.

There are many other threads over there which I've yet to explore, plus links to the actual Regulations.

 

Anyone not out on the piss tonight feel free to go look.

 

Good Night.

 

PS - I'd still like the links to what you read. Was it editorial or readers write type stuff?

 

PPS - Apologies to the OP as we have now gone off at a tangent - again.

I do have a Retirement Extension thread going and I just got confused by someone as to which one I was on. Most of these latter posts would be better over there.

[Regor21]

Pattaya city expats website under visas/retirement info after telling a friend about this the other day he went straight down to jontiem and got a O visa for ninety days because his money wasnt in the bank but he will get his extension at the ninety days, so big news for many people because every one said you couldnt do it here.

What kicked this whole info off was I had breakfast with a friend who was on a tourist 60 day visa and he had this piece of paper with him from immigration with the same info that the Pattaya city expat site had and he had that info for a month or so and he is in process now with his visa and like I say my other mate who has been here 3 years now has just got his this week, so good news for many as long as you are over fifty pattaya city expat not pattaya expat site

Edited August 28, 2010 by Regor21

[Edge]

.................................he went straight down to jontiem and got a O visa for ninety days because his money wasnt in the bank but he will get his extension at the ninety days, so big news for many people because every one said you couldnt do it here.

.............................................................

 

It certainly sounds like it.

 

My head still hurts so I'll look later if someone hasn't already done it.

 

All I saw was this, which isn't new. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong place?

 

Or option B If you are in Thailand

 

Step 1: You have to enter Thailand with a tourist visa.

 

Step 2: When you enter Thailand our staff will accompany you to go to the immigration office to change the class of visa from tourist visa to a non-immigrant visa , which will extend your visa for 3 months. This process will take 30 mins.

 

Step 3: After 2 months you have to go to the immigration office again to apply for a year retirement visa. This process will take 30 mins.

[Edge]

Pattaya city expats website under visas/retirement info .....................

 

 

Can't see it yet - you do mean HERE ?

[Regor21]

Hi Edge, Im sorry but the site is www.pattayacityexpatsclub.com sorry to put you wrong and I was not sure how to insert link

look under visas / retirement , thats where I copied the tip sheet from, cheers

[Edge]

Hi Edge, Im sorry but the site is www.pattayacityexpatsclub.com sorry to put you wrong and I was not sure how to insert link

look under visas / retirement , thats where I copied the tip sheet from, cheers

 

No problem. I haven't found that list of tips yet, but I'm on the right site now and, following the "Staying in Thailand for Retirement etc." took me to this, which does confirm what you said.

 

 

 

The above gives a Police Regs reference so I need to read that.

 

I still wouldn't be coming in here on Visa Exemption expecting to get from that to an Extension.

Tourist Visas are free so why risk it?

 

I will look again later but it does appear that there is some change in the Regulations.

Thanks.

[bestmate]

You are correct, work permit can be made to NON B while it can not to NON O

 

There reason why they mention working, is because NON B is the only visa that allows to have WP

 

 

You CAN get a work permit with a non 'O' visa! Found out when i was trying to get a job in Thailand back in 2008 and also confirmed this on both ThaiVisa.com and Ajarn.com

 

Cheers.

Edited August 29, 2010 by bestmate

[kuffki]

You CAN get a work permit with a non 'O' visa! Found out when i was trying to get a job in Thailand back in 2008 and also confirmed this on both ThaiVisa.com and Ajarn.com

 

Cheers.

 

NON 0 is either retirement visa or other(traveling to be with family or friends) how exactly do you put a work permit if your purpose of travel is retirement or being with family?

 

Visa would need to be changed to NON B before work permit can be applied.

 

PS. There has been a number of changes to the visa rules since 2008

Edited August 29, 2010 by kuffki