The tri-monthly visa run shennanigan is really a hassle that I could do without. Living and working legally in Thailand is fraught with so many stumbling blocks, keeping ahead of them can be a task. Our latest fiasco has been with the work permit renewals, these coincide with the visa renewals.
Before this gets too complicated I will lay down the facts.
I am on a non-immigrant B multiple entry 1 year visa, these can only be aquired from a Thai embassy outside of Thailand. These are probably easier to get from your home country. I got mine in Kuala Lumpur last year. Previously I got my initial non-B-single from Penang, which is closer-but still 3 hours by boat and 12 hours by train, but I have heard many stories about Penang refusing visas - reasons for which are sketchy. Any way, the non-B-multiple allows me to hit the border and renew my 3 month visa, this you can do 5 times, effectively giving you 15 months on a 1 year visa.
Going back a bit, when I got the non-B-single, this allowed me to apply for a work permit, once the work permit is in your hand you can then on your next visa run, which has to be to an embassy, you can change your non-B-single into a non-B-multiple.
So the work permit, this is the scam, initially like everyone else we used a lawyer [see *robbery,daylight], I think we paid 15,000 Baht for the permit application/paperwork etc, add to that the two times they came back incorrect, which cost another 8 - 10,000 Baht to get corrected. Each visa-run you have to renew your work permit upon arrival, the visa and permit are connected, to do this the lawyer was asking for 2,500 Baht, this is every 3 months. Upon the years expiry ,ie when the visa expires, we have to then go to an external embassy again, this period for me is now approaching. Asking around the lawyers, they seem to be asking for 12 - 15,000 Baht for a work permit renewal!!!
Surely not, that is what we paid for the initial setup. So we researched further, bear in mind this ‘research’ has been going on now for 8 months or so, from when we discovered how easy and cheap it is to renew your own work permit, on a yearly or tri-monthly period.
For any foreigner living in Thailand I would advise them to at least try and do some things on your own, you would be surprised how easy they are. For people that have never lived in Thailand, well, it can be quite frustrating sometimes, the language barrier is massive, but with a few simple gestures and common phrases communication is possible. If you are dealing with someone working in a goverment office, chances are they can understand basic english.
Our first task was to find the Labour Office in our local district. We know Surat Thani quite well, we often joked that is was the land of riches, but it is a fact that prices there are 20-30% cheaper than here - for everything. So where to find the Labour Office, ask someone, a friend tells us it on the same road as Makro, but go the other way, then stop on you left 5 miles down the road when you come past the golf course. Fair enough, give it a bash next time we are over there, beleive it or not it was that easy. For anyone that likes maps, here it is in Google Maps marked with the yellow house icon;
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Now we have already prepared our paperwork, you need to photocopy every page in your passport, even the blanks, You also need a copy of form WP5-Work Permit Renewal, which needs to be filled out in Thai, this is where you really need the help of a Thai friend. So once you have your photocopies and your renewal form in your hand its off to the local Labour Office, if the other ones are anything like the one in Surat then you will be in and out in ten minutes and end up paying less than half of what the lawyer wanted.
Earlier I touched on the one-year-renewal fee, stated by all the lawyers as a 15,000 Baht service, well, we asked in the Labour Office the other day, same as what we have just done, another jaunt into the town, hand over the forms as usual, and then the standard 700-odd Baht renewal fee!! not 15,000, surely this is morally incomprehensible, the lawyer, who you need to trust, is just as ready to rip you off as the next man and its not just a couple of quid they are putting on top. Thankfully we managed to find out how to do all these tasks before we shelled out even more money on lawyers.
In conclusion, as the post header states……..who do you trust?