Job Discussion Forums

[Jared]

Hello. Most of my research has mainly been with Taiwan and Japan. Well now I'm thinking about comming to Thailand on a visitor visa and just doing a visa run every 3 months. First of all, which country would be best to go into when doing a visa run? Vietnam or China? Also, the thing that gets me is that if your working on a visitor visa, your employer can take advantage of you anyway they want and that it's illegal to work on a visitor visa anyway. I hear that it's unlikely to get caught like you normally would in Taiwan. Also, with little teaching experience, who would hire me? And would it be possible to find a school where there's small class sizes? thanks.
Jared

p.s. As far as getting fake Degrees on Khao San road is concerned, do they always work in Thailand when it comes to getting a work visa there? How long does it take for a visa to process through anyway?

[kenkannif]

If you come in on a visitors Visa you'll only get 30 days on entry, not 90 days.

If you wish to obtain 90 days on entry you need a Non-imm Visa of some kind.

Or you can apply for a tourist Visa which will give you 60 days on entry with the option of extending for a further 30 days at Immigration for 1,900 Baht.

Neither China or Vietnam are particularly 'friendly' in issuing Visas. They only generally issue single entry Non-imm Bs, and I'd be surprised if they gave you a tourist Visa with more than one entry on. Penang is the best place to go to as they'll issue you a triple tourist Visa if you go through a kosher agent.

There's also no such thing as a work Visa per se, you're referring to a (generally) Non-imm B Visa (although Os can also be used) which is need if you wish to obtain a work permit.

Employers often take advantage of you regardless of the Visa you hold In fact sometimes if they've tied you to a WP they can take the pee even more. Also as long as you have a contract you'll have rights....now whether you wish to enforce these rights while working here illegally is another matter.

You generally need a degree to get a TL and thus WP. Although some schools will require a TEFL as well. But you shouldn't have problems finding some kind of work here.

KSR ones IMO are utter shite. Some work, some are so crap a kid could spot they're fakes.

[Jared]

[junkmail]

WP = work permit. It's not a visa though. Your work permit is not tied to your visa as such. You need a non immigrant visa (usually B but otherwise O), a work permit and teachers license to be fully legal.

Jared, look at this:
http://www.ajarn.com/Banter/visaworkpermitfaq.htm

That's where I'm getting my info from to be honest.

I think kenkannif's last sentence was questioning the logic of someone trying to enforce their rights while employed illegally. Why not just go there and see which way you want to go with that. Border runs don't have to involve airplanes in Thailand.

Anyway,
Good luck!

[Jared]

[kenkannif]

Yeah that's what I meant JM thanks!

Yes, you can get a Non-imm B or O without a degree.

The KSR are pretty crap. It might work, it might not.

[joe beets]

[Jared]

[kenkannif]

If you can get a multiple Non-imm B it's basically good for a tad under 15 months in 90 day intervals (i.e. you have to do a border run every 90 days or less).

After the 15 months, you can either do 30 day border runs. Or get a triple tourist Visa from Penang so you don't have to run as often.

You can't get a multiple entry Non-imm B from ANYWHERE within Asia (without a work permit), the best you'll get is 90 days (in a Thai Embassy/Consulate in a bordering country....or Singapore etc.) and you need paperwork to obtain this. That's the downside of not getting one from a Western country.

[brewsterbudgen]

I thought I had this sussed but now I'm confused (again!).

I'm heading to Thailand to take the CELTA course (and have a week or two relaxing on a beach). I don't have a job offer so I assume I am unable to get a Non-immigrant B visa. I propose to apply for a 60-day Tourist visa which will last for the duration of the course plus another few weeks. If I get a job in Thailand, to start shortly after I pass the CELTA (hopefully), can the school sort me out a work permit on my tourist visa, or will I need to leave Thailand and apply for the non-immigrant B visa?

Confused? Yes!

[Jared]

[kenkannif]

[kenkannif]

[bluffer]