Non-Immigration B Visa

      

        Finally, today I got the stamp in my passport for my one year Non-Immigrant B extension visa, the 5th time that I went back to Immigration Office Division 1 at the  Government Complex Commemorating His Majesty the King in Chaengwattana and, after 21 days since I filed the application for such. 

       It was actually my Thai colleague who facilitated the processing of the papers starting from the preparation of the requirements concerning the company documents up to dealing with the immigration officers. I just had to go with her as it is a part of the requirement. As I am the first and only foreigner employee of our company, it was the first time for them (my employer) to apply for papers needed to legalize my stay and working in Bangkok. However, on my part, it is my second employment here in Thailand but on a different type of organization, the first one in a government owned university. As it is not my first to apply for visas, I had taken some of the leads. It was really tough! The least in my expectation.

       With my first job in Bangkok as a government university lecturer, processing of visa including the work permit were not a problem. There was a delay in the application of my Non-B visa when I applied in the Royal Thai Embassy in Manila because there was no attached request letter from the president of the university to the Thai Consul in Manila. After that the succeeding applications and extensions plus the work permit were acquired smoothly. The applications were done by me alone, without the need to be accompanied by a Thai representative from the university.

     With the previous experience, I expected my recent application would be easy plus the thought that it is only an extension and I have my work permit. But it was not! Most of the paper requirements for the extension of Non-Immigrant B were the same as when applying for a new one except that a picture was taken of me working in the office and proof of my salary. I was thinking, because of my past work experience in one of the technology university in Bangkok and the fact that since it is an extension visa only, acquiring it would be easier. But it came to be, the applying of the Non-B Visa was easier than acquiring an extension visa.

       There are few things I had learned which I would like to share to the readers:

      1) application of visas are classified. The department that accepted and processed my documents are in business category perhaps of private companies only; 

        2) the minimum salary requirement for foreign nationals must be met and shown in the tax document as indicated below

• European Countries, Australia, Canada, Japan, and U.S.A. Baht 50,000/month.
• South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong Baht 45,000/month.
• Asian Countries, South America, Countries in Eastern Europe, Countries in Central America, Mexico, Turkey, Russia and South Africa: Baht 35,000/month.
• African Countries, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam Baht 25,000/month;

     3) the application of extension visa can be done one month before the expiration;

        4) if passport is a new copy, requests to transfer previous stamps from the old to the new one.

       One thing I realized though, it is true like what others say, the immigration policies change as often as they want to. So the saying goes "there is nothing permanent but change".