Expat volunteers in Chiang Mai denied visas in work permit standoff

The head of two foundations in Chiang Mai has revealed to Thaivisa that a standoff between the new head of the Chiang Mai labor office and the city’s immigration department is causing trouble for up to a thousand foreigners who are volunteering at charities in the province.

Our source – who has asked not to be named – said that visas were not being issued because volunteers were being denied work permits.

He called it a standoff between the new head of the labor department and Chiang Mai immigration.

Thaivisa understands the labor department in Chiang Mai has not been issuing work permits for foreign volunteers, with immigration then saying “sorry, we can’t issue you visas as you don’t have a work permit”, said the source.

He said this was causing serious problems for long term non-immigrant “O” volunteers and charitable foundations and that as many as 1000 foreigners are affected.

Thai Visa

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