Thread: newbie tefl school & student visa questions

i have been visiting Thailand as a tourist for 10 years now .. 15 trips .. several stays of over 1 month (w/ 2 old style visa runs, bangkok bus & a flight to Penang) I am retiring from my US day job later this year. I have enough savings & pension income to get by for an extended period. The crashing $ has put a major crimp in my 'glorious retirement on the beach' dream. I have thought of trying teaching .. TEFL I have 2 US college degrees, 1 biz & 1 science. I am at the point in my planning to be evaluating Thai visa options & have contacted the Thai consulate in Portland regarding paper work required for a ("non 30 day entry permit" )multi-month Thai visa or a retirement visa .. the lass there was really pushing the retirement visa .. my long term US doc indicated the "elephantiasis & 3rd stage Syphilis, TB et al" medical letter was easy for him to provide. in order to enroll in / take a 'tefl' class what type of visa is acceptable? is a 3 month tourist visa OK? (if 3 month is an incorrect time frame I concede my lack of detailed visa knowledge) optimally I would like to vacation a little while I visit schools in Bkk, CM & Phuket. I plan on actually visiting assorted schools before I enroll.. take 3 or 4 weeks to do that in a leisurely fashion. of course, I will listen to school recommendations but would want to inspect my self... the option of enrolling over the internet or before I inspect seems less than optimal. any help is appreciated.

Sounds like a good idea.
Teaching is ok here if you have an alternative financial source and can pick and choose when and where to work.

Originally Posted by foreigner

any help is appreciated.

Ajarn Forum - Living and Teaching In Thailand

Not a bad plan, but what happens in the future when things get more expensive and you find yourself unable to carry on working?

Make sure you take out health insurance when you get here. Just your basic catastrophic cover for major illnesses etc. The premiums shouldn't be that much.

Try to find a school that will sponsor a multiple-entry non-immigrant B visa. This visa is good for 1 year but you can extend just before expiry for a further 3 months. Total 15 months! You'll need this visa if you want to work legally.

Chiang Mai is a cheaper, friendlier and more Thai option than Bangkok or Phuket IMO.

Originally Posted by DaveRobin

Chiang Mai is a cheaper, friendlier and more Thai option than Bangkok or Phuket IMO.

True.

But the pay is less than half of what you'd get for a similar job in Bangkok.

Originally Posted by foreigner

re visa:
how to handle the non-immigrant visa / student visa

enter on a 30 day entry permit, find a school & get paper work from the school for the non-immigrant visa & do a border crossing?

can i legally attend classes on a tourist visa?

I would prefer to get a visa before leaving the US that would cover touring & school.

I'm going to call the Thai consulate today to clarify this >>

3 hours later: talked to the consulate
tourist visa for 6o days w/ 30 day extension .. up to 3 x the 90 days ok
once a school is chosen they can provide the documentation for me to leave Thailand & get the non-immigrant visa.

3 options:

Arrive on a 60-day tourist obtained from a Thai consulate or embassy, which can be extended for a further 30 days without leaving the country, and when/if you find an employer who is willing to sponsor your single-entry (90 days only) non-imm B visa, you'll need to do a visa run to a Thai consulate or embassy outside of Thailand. Note: very difficult, if not impossible, to obtain a multi-entry non-imm B unless you apply to a friendly consulate in your home country.

Arrive on a non-imm B 1-year multi-entry visa obtained from a friendly Thai consulate in your home country. You'll need a sponsor letter from an employer or TEFL course.

Arrive without a visa in your passport and you'll be stamped 30 days visa exemption. You are allowed 180 days visa exemption (visa runs required every 30 days) in any 6 month period. Then find an employer and do the same as 1 above to obtain a single-entry non-imm B.

You can do a TEFL course with any of the above. However, far better to have a long non-imm B visa in your passport when you arrive IMO.

Originally Posted by benbaaa

Originally Posted by DaveRobin

Chiang Mai is a cheaper, friendlier and more Thai option than Bangkok or Phuket IMO.

True.

But the pay is less than half of what you'd get for a similar job in Bangkok.

The better government and private schools in CM are paying 30 K per month. But, some pay as little as 22K. Cost of living must be half of living in Phuket and significantly less than Bangkok as well. Swings and roundabouts.

Originally Posted by foreigner

have contacted the Thai consulate in Portland regarding paper work required for a ("non 30 day entry permit" )multi-month Thai visa or a retirement visa .. the lass there was really pushing the retirement visa .. my long term US doc indicated the "elephantiasis & 3rd stage Syphilis, TB et al" medical letter was easy for him to provide.

Maybe it's the cheap wine I'm drinking but is this dude saying you need to be a fat shit with syphilis to get a retirement visa and a job as a teacher in Thailand???

^ We might both be drinking the same cheap wine, cause I thought the same thing too. Retirement visa requirements just got a lot tougher.

[quote=johnbkk;588804]Not a bad plan, but what happens in the future when things get more expensive and you find yourself unable to carry on working?

the crashing $ is a major problem for us near geriatrics.

the NY Stock Exchange has fallen 50% in EUs (or Thb) this year.

oil in EUs is about the same as it was 2 years ago.

my home has kept up with inflation but has fallen 30% in Thb.

Originally Posted by Marmite the Dog

Originally Posted by foreigner

any help is appreciated.

Ajarn Forum - Living and Teaching In Thailand

A fuking great mod this guy, providing links to a (shit) competitor.