# Thai Visa for One Year



## Kelly!

My husband and I are seriously considering a move to Thailand in approx. one year from now. We have both visited and love the country. So here is my situation:

We have been doing our research but cannot seem to find any conclusive answers to our visa questions. My plan is to teach for a year. We both have Bachelor's degree's and I have close to ten years of teaching experience. We are not going to be backpacker's, party 24/7, or disrespect the Thai culture. We both really want to learn as much as possible and contribute to the people, as well as gain insight from them. Is it a legitimate plan to move there first and then find a job? Is there any way to obtain a visa from a Thai Embassy in the U.S.? Will many schools provide a visa for you? As I stated above, we are only planning on being there for one year. I would hate to get there and find the visa process to be an impossible and unbearable one. 

Any advice and wisdom would be much appreciated! Thanks for you time!

Kelly


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## synthia

Since you are a certified teacher, you might be able to find a job in an international school in advance, in which case they would arrange for the visa for you. There are a lot of international schools in Thailand.

There is no way to get a work visa without having a job. Many language schools hire people illegally, but I think the international schools get visas for their teachers. The school year starts in April for most schools, but there are a few that keep a western calendar.

There are conferences every year in Iowa where schools recruit teachers for international schools. I don't know whether Thai schools participate in these.

Thailand has so many people who want to live there, I think there is a tendancy to rely on hiring people who are already there. Again, that may not apply to international schools.

If you were thinking you'd be an ESL teacher, you will make a much lower salary. If you have to teach for a place that won't sponsor you for a work visa (and that's a lot of schools), you will make even less.


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## sarinya

Dear Kelly,
if you're planning to stay a year only, don't harass yourself with a work permit.
Most of the techers there will teach and at the same time study language and then get a one year non immigrant ED visa which is easy to obtain if you subscribe to a right Thai language school. I represent a Thai language school called "My Thai Language School" so if you're interested, you can ask me the URL in a private message.
Regards.
Sarinya.


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## Kelly!

sarinya said:


> Dear Kelly,
> if you're planning to stay a year only, don't harass yourself with a work permit.
> Most of the techers there will teach and at the same time study language and then get a one year non immigrant ED visa which is easy to obtain if you subscribe to a right Thai language school. I represent a Thai language school called "My Thai Language School" so if you're interested, you can ask me the URL in a private message.
> Regards.
> Sarinya.


Sarinya and Synthia,
Thanks for that info! That definitely sounds like something we would be interested in! Can you get a work permit from a school if you have an education visa? Is it legal to work and study? I would be interested in finding out more about this process. Thanks again! 

Kelly


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## singto

If you're going to teach - that is work - in an English school, get your work permit (after the visa) to WORK at the school where you'll be working. I do not believe you can obtain a work permit you get an ED visa. Sarinya wants you to go to her school - of course - because she's making money from you going there. This in itself isn't a bad thing but your visa will be a students visa and I don't believe you're able to legally work.

Let me just say one thing - DO NOT risk working in a school if they don't get you a visa. If you're coming with your husband then you're both working illegally - obviously this can cause you quite a bit of grief. You have the credentials; perhaps with them you can set up a job prior to leaving, perhaps not, but you can get a visa in the US at a Thai embassy. If you're hired and then need to change the visa and/or get your work permit, you'll need to go out of the country anyway so it's not necessary to get your visa before you go.

I taught around 12 years ago for about 6 months - no work permit, only a tourist visa - times were slightly different then and it's not quite as easy now as it was then. Anyhow, all it takes it the school to be raided, or someone to rat you or the school out and you're going to have to pay a fine and stop working, or get booted out of the country (unlikely though), not to mention they keep a record of this. 

Believe me, do it the right way and don't just start working at some crummy school that is too cheap to have legitimate teachers working for them.


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## Kelly!

so, technically my husband and i could get a 60 day travelers visa/permit in the US. Then we could travel to Thailand. I could find a job at a reputable school and he could get an ED visa. The school should assist in or provide the work permit and all papers to obtain a "B" visa. We would then travel outside of Thailand to get the visa. And assuming this happens like this we are good and legal for a year. My husband would not be working on his ED visa, but he would be attending school. 

Is this somewhat correct? 

Thanks!

Kelly


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## singto

Yes, you got it...


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## sarinya

Hello Singto,
I never say she could work with a non immigrant ED visa (read my post) but I m just saying that most of the teachers in Bangkok work without having the non immigrant B Visa (I even know some teachers from big language school who works like that and never get any problem) and apparently you know that as you work on tourist visa before. I m trying to promote my school for sure but I can do it and stay honest. 
Regards.
Sarinya.


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## synthia

Teaching at an international school will pay much better than teaching at a language school.


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## singto

Teaching at an international school is infinitely better than teaching at a language school.

Sarinya - what you're asking Kelly and her husband to do is come to your school as a student so they can get a visa - not to teach. 

As I said, they can work illegally, granted, and they may not have problems, but times are different than 10-20 years ago and the Thai government is not as lenient as in the past. If you can do it legally, that's the way to go. If you've got to do it illegally - come as a tourist for a few months, sort it out, then come back and stay legally.

For more info about teaching, I suggest Ajarn.com - living and teaching in Bangkok, Thailand , a site geared towards teaching and what it entails..


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## Ted88888

There are plenty of good jobs here that will get you legal working papers. As you both have degrees and you mention ten years experience for yourself - there is NO GOOD reason to not be 100% legal - and who could recommend otherwise?!

The previously mentioned Ajarn.com website is pretty good - also, if you are interested teaching somewhere like Phuket try www.TeachEnglishPhuket.com and I am sure there are other websites for Bangkok and Chiang Mai as well.


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## synthia

I neglected to mention another site with good information about teaching ESL in Thailand, tefldaddy. I think it also has a link to the 'How to get a job in Bangkok in 10 days' article that is really a plan for getting work anywhere.


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