Do I need to extend my Non-Immigrant O visa if my stamp allows me to stay longer than the visa expiry date?

@Donna *********

no the visa date starts from the day it is put in your passport. Depending on visa type it may be valid for 90 or 365 days. It is the sticker that allows you to enter Thailand. It doesn’t allow you to stay. Your entry stamp starts from the day you enter Thailand and that’s what allows you to stay in the country. Most visas are “used” the second you enter. Some are multiple entry so are valid until the date they expire. You can enter and leave Thailand using the same visa until that date. Most embassies won’t sell multiple entry ones these days (except the OA/OX) because exiting and entering is quite hard.

@Stuart ********

so your visa and your entry stamp are different dates... ok. The date on the entry stamp is when you need to leave by? So if I get a tourist visa and then leave a week or two after it is issued, enter thailand. I have until the entry stamp expires to get a work permit and work visa?

@Donna *********

yes. If you get a tourist visa today, it’s valid for 90 days from today. That allows you to enter Thailand. On the day you actually enter you’ll be stamped in for 60 days. The visa is “used” and finished. The date you’ve been stamped into is what let’s you stay in Thailand. There’ll be words like “permitted to stay until” xx/xx/xxxx date. Changing visa types to a working visa in Thailand and getting a work permit are a completely different issue. Depending on what type of work and the company you plan to work for may or may not allow you to change a tourist visa (or exempt entry) in country.

@Stuart ********

thanks.