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Friday, July, 30, 2010 
How to Turn a Tourist Visa into a One-Year Visa
For a large number of foreigners living in Thailand,
the real "coup" took place in the immigration department
a week before tanks rolled into Bangkok. News that holders of
tourist visas now have 90 days at most - with three 30 day visas
- to stay in the country has the expat community in an uproar.
But the endless discussions of the current visa situation that
occur whenever two or more expats are in the same place at the
same time seem to be characterized more by blame, speculation
and indignation than pragmatic suggestions of how to overcome
the setback. Setbacks and obstacles are nothing new for foreigners
living in Thailand -- they are the price we pay for living in
this paradise of a country. Fortunately, when the dust clears
after the announcement of some new crackdown, it inevitably
reveals itself to be more of a minor inconvenience that the
long-dreaded "deal breaker" that will send all of
us back to the dreary shores of our home countries.
"The tourist visa and visa-on-arrival was never intended
for long, indefinite stays in Thailand," states Drew Noyes,
President of Pattaya Advertising Promotion & Publishing
Alliance, or P.A.P.P.A. Co., Ltd. as it is more commonly known.
"The Thai government has always made provisions for foreigners
living here by offering several categories of nonimmigrant visas,
which are relatively easy to obtain. Government officials take
the position that if a foreigner chooses not to apply for a
nonimmigrant visa in favor of endlessly coming back and forth
on a tourist visa, that person must be trying to stay under
the radar for some nefarious reason. We expats know this is
rarely the case, but understand the Thais concern."
P.A.P.P.A.'s legal department has responded to the current tourist
visa "crisis" by offering a service to convert tourist
visas to one-year, nonimmigrant visas. The procedure, while
somewhat lengthy, does not require a trip outside of Thailand,
and the client is able to stay in the country legally while
his applications are being processed.
Finding solutions to the everyday challenges of life in Thailand
is P.A.P.P.A.'s specialty, as evidenced by their highly successful
publication, the "Official Thailand Survival Guide."
Established in 1998 to do real estate development, advertising
and promotion, particularly for Thai government agencies such
as the Tourism Authority of Thailand, P.A.P.P.A. added visa,
work permit and company ltd. registration services to its extensive
resume two years ago.
"It was a natural for us because we were so deeply involved
with Thai government agencies that we acquired an thorough knowledge
of Thai laws and regulations," explains Drew. "This
led to us creating an alliance with Thai attorneys and government
officials to find the easiest ways for foreigners to understand
and abide by immigration law, labor law, property law and Thai
company limited commercial registration.
"When the change in the enforcement of land transfers by
limited companies took place, we received many calls from foreigners
who needed our services to protect their investments and we
did. Now there is a huge pool of expats who are affected by
the changes in tourist visa and visa-on-arrival regulations
who need our assistance,"
The final decision by the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs which decide these matters is expected to
be determined this month. Currently reports are that a tourist
visa allowing the holder to stay in Thailand 30 days will not
be continuously renewable as before. Rather a maximum of two
30-day consecutive renewals will be allowed. Thereafter, he
or she cannot reenter the country for a period of at least 90
days.
Drew believes the crackdown is in response to two major issues:
The first is the abundance of illegal construction workers from
neighboring countries who are in Thailand on temporary visas
and are illegally working at below legal wages, which are renewed
over and over again. The second is the huge amount of negative
publicity that resulted from the John Mark Karr matter and revealed
that few foreign nationals in Thailand have been screened for
criminal backgrounds.
"Thailand has worked hard to shatter the myth that pedophile
is tolerated here and this [Ramsey child murder] case put that
horrible stigma back in the spotlight, although undeserved,"
Drew said.
Consequently, holders of tourist visas are now under increased
scrutiny. Drew's unofficial estimate is that at least 600,000
Westerners are living in Thailand nationwide on tourist visas
as opposed to only around 40,000 that are here on one year nonimmigrant
visas. It is possible for the vast majority of these tourist
visa holders to obtain a nonimmigrant, one year visas without
having to go outside of Thailand, but time is of the essence
if they hope to remain in Thailand without interruption. In
all likelihood, immigration offices will soon be overwhelmed
by tens of thousands of applicants.
"This process is very difficult because it must be submitted
in Thai language and every item must be correctly submitted
as evidence so approval is guaranteed and we have a 100% success
rate for one year approvals," Drew points out.
P.A.P.P.A.'s procedure for turning a tourist visa into a one-year
nonimmigrant visa is explained below. It can be done on your
own, but be aware that there are over 100 forms and evidentiary
submissions that must be filled out in Thai, and any minor mistake
will derail the process.
| 1. |
P.A.P.P.A. reviews the client's passport and stamps
to advise the best course of action. If all is in order
and there are at least 21 days remaining on the current
stamp, an application will be filed for the nonimmigrant
visa that is most appropriate for the client. If there
is not 21 days reaming a quick visa run is arranged and
the application is submitted with the required 21+ days
remaining. The tourist or visa on arrival visa must be
converted into a Nonimmigrant visa for 90 days before
a one-year nonimmigrant visa can be applied for by the
foreigner. The one-year visa cannot be applied for at
this point -- the initial nonimmigrant visa will only
be for 90 days. The 90 visa will be the same class of
visa applied for later for one-year, renewable stay. The
choices are:
| a. |
Nonimmigrant A (Retirement Visa): 50 years or
older with either 800,000 baht in the bank or a
verifiable income sent from abroad of at least 60,000
baht per month. The holder cannot obtain a work
permit. |
| b. |
Nonimmigrant O (Married to a Thai or supporting
Thai children): Must have 400,000 baht in the bank
or a monthly income from abroad of 40,000 or from
working legally in Thailand. Can work with a work
permit. |
| c. |
Nonimmigrant B (Business Visa): Must present a
declaration of education and work experience, in
addition to a letter from a Thai company to the
effect that it is hiring the applicant. (P.A.P.P.A.'s
legal department can set up the client's own Thai
company that will provide the letter of employment.) |
|
| 2. |
The visa forms for the appropriate visa are completed
and reviewed by P.A.P.P.A.'s lawyers for completeness
and accuracy. |
| 3. |
The application and documents are submitted to the immigration
office along with their fee of 1,800 baht on the next
business day. The customer immediately receives a 30-day
stamp that allows him to stay legally in Thailand while
under consideration for his change in visa status. You
do not need to go out of the country ever again to get
a re-entry stamp provided your visa is approved, which
Drew says is easy if you do it now. |
| 4. |
The client returns to the immigration office within
30 days to receive his 90-day, nonimmigrant visa. At this
time, another complete set of documents as well as another
1,800 baht fee is submitted for the one year, nonimmigrant
visa. |
| 5. |
When this visa is completed, the client is home free.
Yearly renewals are easy. In addition, this visa, having
been obtained inside of Thailand, has major advantages
over nonimmigrant visas issued by Thai consulates and
embassies abroad. Most notable is the ability to obtain
permanent residency after three renewals of the visa. |
From being refused entry to Thailand as
an lowly tourist to permanent residency within three years -
they don't call it Amazing Thailand for nothing!
P.A.P.P.A. Co., Ltd.
448/21 Theprasit Road, 100 meters from Sukhumvit Road in the
white, tall building opposite Siam Commercial Bank.
Tel: 038.301.048-50
Mobile: 084.111.7999
E-mail: drewnoyes@gmail.com
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