What is the best strategy for transitioning from a visa-exempt stamp to a work visa in Thailand?

Nov 18, 2019

5 years ago

ORIGINAL POSTER

Hi everyone.

I am currently in Thailand with a 30 day visa exempt stamp. My exempt stamp is expiring in a little over a week. I am just now starting applying to jobs here (ideally not teaching, but leaving that option open as a contingency). I am not currently working and have not secured a job yet.

So my plan is to ultimately land a job and transition to a non-Immigrant visa and subsequently secure a work permit in the upcoming weeks. As I understand it, in order to get the non-immigrant visa, I already need to have an employer who can write me a letter.

So basically my question is: Seeing as my 30 day exempt stamp is expiring shortly, is my best option is to just go on a visa run, get another exempt stamp, secure a position during this new 30 day exempt period, and only then apply to switch to the non-immigrant/secure a work permit while I am back in Thailand? Is there a smarter way to be doing all of this?

Apologies if this is all a bit convoluted. Appreciate the guidance.

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TLDR : Answer Summary

The user is currently in Thailand with a 30-day visa exempt stamp expiring soon and has not yet secured a job. They are seeking advice on whether to conduct a visa run for another exempt stamp or extend their stay and how to best transition to a non-immigrant visa and secure a work permit. Community responses suggest various options, including extending the exempt visa for an additional 30 days at immigration, applying for a Single Entry Tourist Visa (SETV) for a longer stay, and highlighting the importance of securing employer documentation efficiently.

James ********

Good luck Kennan...you have helpful advice. Commenting Closed.

5 years ago

Stewart ***************

Yes as stated above it can take a while to get all the documents together especially if they haven't prepared the docs before. 30 days wont be long enough. You need police checks for teaching jobs, from home and Thailand and degrees certified. It can be a long process.

5 years ago

Zaid *********

Extend by another 30 days at immigration - 1900 baht. After that go get a 60 Single Entry Tourist Visa (SETV) at an embassy in a nearby country. That can also be extended by 30 days if you need to.

Should give you enough time to sort Job stuff out and convert to a non-imm B 👍🏼

5 years ago

Robert *******

Knowing that Thai Employers are fast in hiring foreigners but specially schools are extremely slow in using a copy machine and to make a few copies takes weeks, I advice you to apply for the Single Entry Tourist Visa, which give you 60 days of stay and can be extended once with 30 days. If you find a good employer on time you can depending on where you are inside Thailand convert this visa into the Non Immigrant B visa at your local immigration office.

5 years ago

Sam *********

So there's no such thing as "the school signing a Stat Dec to confirm to Immigration that you're definitely employed and the paperwork is in process"? How cooperative are the different entities here?

Also, can a visa exemption be converted straight to a Non-B or is a Tourist visa an unavoidable step?

5 years ago

Kennan ********

ORIGINAL POSTER

Interesting. I didn't realize a tourist visa could be converted to a non-immigrant. I do feel as though 30 days is a bit of a "crunched" time frame to get through the whole job seeking process, so this is very good to know. Thanks for your input.

5 years ago

Reply to

Kennan ********

Steve *********

Go to immigration and extend your 30 for a further 30 days for (I believe) 1900 baht

5 years ago

Reply to

Steve *********

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