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What worries me is that all these schools don't even take the time to check on these applicants. When are they going to learn that? If the appropriate authorities had gone into this a little bit deeper they might've prevented all unnecessary suffering as mentioned in this article. As far as I'm concerned scumbag like him should never be allowed to return and rot in the Bangkok Hilton!

All what schools? I can tell you that any school that pays enough for a farang to live on will be checking references. The rules have become very stringent over the years.

Maybe it depends on what area of the country you are in and who you work for! I have taught in the upper NE for many years and have never heard of a private or government school doing a background check. I recently become employed by a large and well known language school company that provides programs to government schools (it offers a program via power point presentations with a repeat, repeat, repeat motto) that hires without needing a police clearance letter. In fact on several occasions I offered to provide one and they said it was not a problem. This past summer one of their recruits was arrested in Udon Thani for allegedly killing his girl friend in (pattaya or pucket, can not remember but made headline news here on TV), as well they constantly send out e-mails regarding inappropriate touching of students is to be avoided! They also hire teachers without degrees and a few without even a high school diploma.

This company offers 33,000 baht/month plus a year end bonus at the end, operate in what I believe are nearly 70 government schools in Thailand, So if a large, well known language school operating under "Western Management" in government schools across Thailand does not bother with screening its employees, can you tell me what are the chances of government (or not) school outside of Bangkok doing so?

edit - 33,000baht/month

Thanks guys for your help. Is it just me or does it seem like they should have helped me and informed me of that, rather than just letting me go and inform my address without telling me that I needed to do additional work to extend my period of stay. They really should have realized that my visa expired in a few days and that I was going in to try to extend my visa, not just inform them of my address. It seems like they are really trying to be unhelpful to me. I am really personally offended by the immigration office. I dressed up nicely and everything. I don't understand why they would do that to me. I am just very lucky that I, for no real reason at all, decided to open up my passport and look at it.

Thank you to everyone on this website for being helpful in my time of need. I really deeply appreciate it.

"I am just very lucky that I, for no real reason at all, decided to open up my passport and look at it" ????

This statement pretty much sums up the mind set of the type of person who calls Thailand home. And should be posted in every immigration department in Thailand. Why in the world anyone would not review their passport after it has been handled by any official in any country is beyond me. I never even move my ass untilI have reviewed my passport, in front of the official, and am comfortable with the outcome.

Being new, or just not caring is no excuse.

You mentioned you will have to pay the 1,900baht again? Did you pay 1,900baht on this visit? If so did you keep the receipt?

It would not include items such as taxes, visa fees, meals or insurance. However after running tours in this region in the 5 yesrs previous to this one the price seems reasonable. We used room rates if around 800baht, fuel and drivers fees add up quickly. I would add in Phu Phra Bat Historical Park to the itinerary if time allowed. As mentioned above Phu Foi Lom is one of those places not many farang get to, but it is a wonderful day out.

As for getting into Laos the visa fee ranges greatly from free to about $42 (canadians). with most paying 30 or 35 dollars (usd). see the countless threads on this subject here on the travel forum.

have recently gone through this process.

for TRV (temporary visitor visa) you need to prove to immigration officer of canada that your partner will return to Thailand . Being married will make it tougher but not impossible. I am married and have been for over 2 years prior to our application and have been living in Thailand.

You can no longer submit directly to the consulate a paper application and must use vfsglobal. You can however submit your application online. We used an agent, sort of, and submitted via vfs.

Are you looking to apply for her PR based on family sponsorship? If so the application is done via singapore and can take up to 9 months. You can apply for a TRV while the application is in the process but not sure of the succes rate for Thai citizens.

All TRV applications are considered as multiple entries as of earlier this year. We applied for a 3 month multiple entry visa and it took 12 working days to get her visa. We were given a stay of 6 months upon our arrival in Vancouver.

My wife completed most if the application herself but did include lots of information regarding all the reasons she would be returning to Thailand at the end of her granted stay. We supplied a detailed itinerary as well with travel plans, hotel bookings and places we would visit.

Good luck with your application, we had an agent review ours and they did arrange for the delivery and follow up for a small fee (about $100cad) but was worth the peace of mind knowing we submitted an application that was complete. They also did the flight itinerary, insurance, photos, translations of documents, bank drafts, and a few other minor things.

i have commented on a few posts and would be interested to know how many people are in the same situation as i was in as it relates in part to your post.

i worked for a school for four years, no degree, yet received a valid work permit. i was living in thailand on an Imm o based on married to a thai. i was near nong khai and know of at least 10 others in similar situation. in all the time at the school they did not apply for or even attempt to get the waiver (license). I am aware of several teachers working for a well known company that have employed teachers without any back ground checks as well as no formal education who have received extensions and work permits.

I truly believe, in rural areas mostly, that they follow their own set of rules. One school in nong song hong outside of Udon Thani has for years hired whomever they wanted with or without qualifications and provided extensions & work permits without involving tct.

I am sure in Bangkok and popular tourist places it is much different but I too would be interested to know what, if anything, teachers in the far northeast are planning to do if things change.

OP depends on where you want to live. i was near nong khai and there are always jobs available for non degree holders. i and several co-workers are examples. all working government schools, with valid visa and work permits without problems. if a school likes your look, energy and life experience they will work it out.

rate of pay between 22,000 & 35,000 baht per month. places such as nong khai (ptk), tha bo, sri chiang mai, chiang kan (beautiful city by the way), have employed teachers without degrees. some have worked at these schools for 7+ years, so it is possible. i even know for fact companies like sine and others hire non degree holders.

in nong khai you can find ac equipped housing for less than 2500 baht so living off of 22-30,000 baht would be easy.

i recently left the teaching industry as i did not agree with the companies hiring practices. as a parent i found no value in the program but the school had committed to them for the year. next year when they end the contract i may reconsider.

good luck in your search.

welcome to Thailand! Information has been provided which states what MAY be asked for. As even you stated in your post you did not provide this letter in previous application. It can however be asked for and it only takes that one consulate employee doing theirjob correctly to mess up your day.

good luck

Somebdody must know him on here as it says he was teaching at ECC.

He sat next to me during a training session for SINE and i believe he was working for them just outside of Udon at the time of arrest. still gives me the shivers as a background check would have possibly nabbed him

Not in your vicinty, i think, but if ever in Nong Khai try the large "IP" rated high school. offers an IP, EP, and MEP, no degree needed. As well have heard of a new program offering a MEP for P1-6, no qualifications as such required. As well as Tha Bo, Sri Chiang Mai,and Bueng Khan. All nice places to live with very relaxed requirements.

good luck!

Was both a parent of children going to school and working as a "teacher" in Thailand. I packed in the teaching gig after the school I was employed with switched their program. They hired it out to a well known "Western"managed company that uses power point presentations to teach English. They claim in their Ads to only employ Degree holders etc. But after learning what they were really like prompted me to move my family back to the US. (among others)

Most serious for me was they do not perform any background checks on their employees. In fact they had employed the suspected (alleged) murderer of the Thai woman found in a garbage bin. He sat 2 persons down from me at their training program in Bangkok. He was working for them just outside Udon Thani when he was arrested. They never asked for a background check on myself, even after I offered to supply one, not neede was their answer. I nor did my other 5 fellow teachers hold degrees (2 possibly 1 other had not finished high school), no problem, visas and work permits supplied. Although they did slash the salaries by a third based on this reason. But lastly was the program itself. Filled with errors, spelling, grammar, using voiced characters the English speakers could not understand. One of my last lessons I showed a picture of a red dot located outside a box. The word they wanted to use was "outside" grade 10 students! Scary. Two weeks into the new program emails start appearing from the regional boss outlining inappropriate touching rules for teachers on students. If I aas to be honest this program could just as easily be taught by a slightly advanced M6 student. Not only would they be able to do roll call easily, it could provide a huge profit for the company and possibly increase Englisg language skills, could not do any worse then the French guy who asked how to pronounce "chip"(he kept saying ship).

If this is the wave of the future for "teaching" programs in Thailand I am glad my children will never experience it.

Hard work? Please explain your definition of hard work. Albeit we only have about 5 rai it would not be what I call hard work. A couple of weeks of some stiff labor over 4 or 5 months of growing is not hard work. Also if everybody gave up and started buying their staples from Tesco just what would the results be? Think about it for a moment.

I have never paid for any of our production yet our family makes money and provides us with rice at every meal every day, all year long.. I have friends in Canada who without subsidies from the government would face financial ruin on wheat, rice, and corn as well as dairy, and the grand daddy of them all....poultry farms. Bad farming economics us not just a Thai problem.

walk into Home Hardware 11:23am looking for some paint (custom tint) . Nobody around. 12:0pm along comes a Philippino ask me can I help you? Need some paint mixed. Where is everybody? He says "I start at twelve, no people want to work here, dont pay enough. ". Turns oyt he is on A foreign work permit and no local people will work for $13/hour. Soon most foreign workers will go home as visas expire. At that moment I would dearly have loved to have had 20 workers bugging me fir help!

This morning standing in line local coffee shop, maybe 15 ir 20 people waiting. Behind counter 1 Somali and 1 person of Soyth American area. Running front counter and drive thru. Ask people in line if like this everyday. Yep, oil boom town, no locals will work for service wages. Grocery stores, restaurants, small local businesses all hurting no workers. I am making $32/hour but is considered below average for the area. Businesses open 6-8 hours a day, gas stations, hardware stores, even local 7/11closes between midnight and 7am, why? No workers! So becareful what you may wish for. Extra staff wandering buggjng me, gladly. Can't find someone to pour me a cup if coffee for 30 minutes?!?!

not sure how often i have taken this trip, but often. It is, okay. If you take this route do the overnight 2nd class sleeper. Leaves BKK at around 820pm. Is almost always late arriving 8-10am next morning. At train station take a tuktuk to the border (5-10 minutes away). There are usually 10-15 tuktuk drivers all waiting for business and the going rate is about 50 baht. It can be very hectic with everybody trying to barter, tuktuk drivers trying to jam 5 people with luggage into their tuktuks, and everybody tired from a long journey, so just stay calm. Normal immigration procedures, show your passport & departure card.

As mentioned take USD for the Laos visait will save you money. Rate varies subject to the passport issuing country. Canadians pay $42, many others pay either $35 or $30.

I wouldn't get a hotel or guest house nesr the consulate, but prefer closer to Nam Phu (fountain square) as there are many restaurants and decent shopping in thevregion as well as a good selection of accommodations.

The ride from the birder into Vientiane takes about 30 to 45 minutes and is best if you share a mini van or shuttle service. You meet many like minded travelers so can get some ideas of what to do. I take my car so do not know current rates but look around 100-150 baht for shared service. I would not recommend taking a tuk tuk as it is a long journey, dusty andcreally not that much fun.

good lyck and google more info from this sute, llenty if threads of past trip reports.

for what is worth, as far as costs are concerned probably cheaper to find a girlfriend in Australia! However some people do not have that option, hence, Thailand. At the moment there are no problems in obtaining tourist visas in Vientiane. Entering Thailand at the Nong Khai border is also pretty relaxed. They have periodically asked for some documents such as hotel reservations, proof of funds or travel documents (which is wthin their optiins) but is not common.

we just recently applied via the VAC office in bangkok and paid via mondy order (bank cheque) applied 8 augudt and it took exactly 12 working days. got a multiple entry visa stamp and upon entry received a 6 month stay. there is an avenue on the cic website fir credut card payments and scannable receipts

applied for trv for canada august 8th, received multy entry visa in her passport august 22nd. relatively easy for us i think. biggest hurdle is to prove to immigration officials that. she will return home at the end of her allowed time. sometimes easier said then done. being married and able to support the other spouse is not actually in your favor, sometimes.

she was stamped into canada no problem for 6 months providing her acces to the United States during her stay. Make sure your application is complete and tell the truth. number one is starting with a letter of invitation indicating why she is travelling. a solid travel itinerary, compelling reasons for her to return back to thailand, and possibly a letter from your brother offering accommodations for her/you and as a contact in canada would be helpful.

good luck

Off topic but your new life of being responsible adult is about to begin! I have a Thai family and some of the sacrifices you will be faced with in the coming months and years are going to much greater than not being there for their birth. You have begun a process that will require you to put anothers needs before your own. However you do need to be responsible for the financial, emotional, and parental support of a family unit. Firstly, keep the money rolling in, you will need it. Look at ways after the child is born to be together safely. At 24 and not knowing your back ground I have to guess that making a decent living in Thailand will be difficult. Discuss with your wife and start making plans now. We made some huge sacrifices for 3 years but established a plan (which included time apart from my wife and children which was very difficult for me) but we have now started a new life overseas, have visas for her, replenishing the bank accounts, and preparing for a return in 3 years.

Good luck, it is a great new adventure you are now on that involves a precious little gift.

sorry to sound harsh, but they may done you a hugd favor. takd your time as others have stated. I would likd to add that it is your girlfriend, nit you, that needs to prove she will not overstay her visa. you being able to support her and providing everything does not always help a thais application. if everything is provided for free, why would she want to return to Thailand? Try and think like an immigration officer when looking at her application and ask that question.

Good luck, if she is genuine then a year or two wont be a big issue.

my wife obtained a TRV for Canada (also a difficult country for thais to get visa) with a solid application and plenty of supporting documents.

nearly any travel agent can produce a flight itinerary. just ask for ond to "show" for visa, most know. they may charge a small fee for their service. ours produced an itinerary and insurance for this very purpose. albeit in nong khai but i am sure you will find one.

As an aside Canada does not recognize the Thai drivers license and uf caught driving on one by law you can be fined. If in an accident the consequences could be worse. For residents of Canada not as a tourist, and you will need to prove you are a tourist (return ticket, etc), as spoken to me by ICBC in Vancouver, and police. True? have not tested the theory as i live in US.

just moved back to the west after 5 years fulltime in Thailand. Never again fulltime. 50/50, ha sip / ha sip, my wife says. perfect! just long enough to enjoy the weather, visit with the family (mil,fil,bil, allgood people)who I love dearly, my children learn both Thai and English but get the bonus of civilized living here in the west. think it will help keep me sane, and the wife enjoys working and television here (US).

so me thinks your plan is perfect. bring your wife/gf/partner with you life will be less complicated.

you may not see thais in public holding hands etc as it is usually the guys girlfriend he is with and does not want to show up his wife by being gropy/feely with girlfriend. they are just being considerate.

5 years in thailand

now living in US

Dr.s both countries = allopurinal

US = Ibuprofen for pain

Thailand = colchicine

both effective.

Both countries= lose weight, no alcohol, chicken, bamboo curries, pop, sweets, shellfish, seafood, organ meats, and a few other things.

So approaches in both places similar. Thailand however had me come in monthly for blood tests 150 baht same day results. US every 3 months $300 and takes about a week to hear back, if at all.

firstly i wish as best as possible this lady receives the best medical care possible and access to counselling to help heal from this traumatic experience.

this, among many other, reasons are why i decided to leave thailand with my wife and young daughter. yes it can happen anywhere i understand that. but after living in rural village for many years you hear of the stories from both thai people and foreign NGO workers of the cases of violent sexual assaults against women (and many ladyboys). i was lucky in a way as my wifes parents were very vocal about this issue in their village and were well known for turning in culprits to the police, or worse yet the local protectors of the minicipal district who were far more harsh in handing out punishment. still it is a harsh reality for a large minority of women in thailand.

i would encourage all keyboard warriors to just help keep spreading the word of the dangers and for tourists (and those living in ghailand) to continue to be vigilant in in your awareness.