KellyDown

4 hours ago, jobsworth said:

as a matter of interest, for which organisation would you be working  and what work would you be doing? you mention rescue centre - for what or for whom? on my travels i have come across many NGO's on tourist visas, so it must be quite normal.

 

First, thank you for your responses. 

A month for a wildlife organisation which helps elephants, apes etc and a month in an animal shelter with cats and dogs. The work will consist of feeding, cleaning, building, petting etc. 

Did you work at these NGO's yourself? I think it's quite common that people travel and decide there to volunteer and these of course dont have a WP.

3 hours ago, AaronC76 said:

What he said.

and make sure your travel insurance covers manual volunteer work.

Will that still be covered if you work illegally? 

1 hour ago, 007 RED said:

OP….  I don’t want to make you feel despondent, your ambition to help the Thai rescue organisations are very admirable, but you do need to be aware of a number of issues which can cause you potential problems.

Firstly you will need to obtain a non-O visa and also obtain a work permit even for the type of voluntary work you have indicated.  As has been previously indicated, if you get caught working without a work permit the Thai Authorities will take you to court and you will be deported and banned from entering Thailand for some considerable time.   Some previous posters have indicated that your chances of being caught are remote, and even if you are it is unlikely that because of the nature of the work that you are proposing, the Authorities will not take any action. 

Are you willing to take the risk? Bearing in mind that if you attend incidents with the rescue organisation it is highly likely that the police will also be attending and as a foreigner you are going to stand out like a ‘sore thumb’ as far as the police are concerned and it is possible they may, just may, start asking some questions.

Secondly, if you hold any professional advanced lifesaving skills (Paramedic or EMT) you will not be allowed to employ those skills in Thailand without accreditation from the Institute of Emergency Medicine.  At very best you will have to confine your assistance to very basic first aid only.

Thirdly, most rescue groups that I have had contact with are very enthusiastic but very much basic first aid trained and they tend to be ‘scope and run’ merchants.  You also need to bear in mind that members of these rescue groups tend to only speak Thai as will the people who you may have to assist.  So having a good command of the Thai language is essential otherwise you will be more of a hindrance than help.

Best of luck.

It's indeed an animal rescue centre. It's clear to me it's going to be almost impossible to work legally in Thailand. I would have problems with jail time, but being deported doesn't seem so bad to me. 

I choose rescue groups which could host a considerable amount of volunteers so I will not be staying alone somewhere. 

1 hour ago, darrendsd said:

I know a couple of volunteer organizations are they are left alone by Immigration

 

However if you decide to go ahead with a Tourist Visa you do it at your own risk, it's up to you to decide what you want to do

Are these for animal rescue? Can you tell me which one that are?

1 hour ago, moontang said:

If they really needed you or wanted you; there would be a more straightforward way.  If it was easy to be a "volunteer" here, there would be armies of penniless backpackers justifying their existence by the work they do for their top heavy NGO.  Ironic how so few have any worthwhile skills, at all, and often seem to be escaping seemingly hopeless conditions back home.  Same goes for most of the missionaries.  

Well, afaik, it's not common in the rest of the world to require WP for volunteers and it's not like armies of volunteers are over there. 

Thank you for your responses. 

So besides the visa I also should have a work permit (which I need to apply for when I arrive in Thailand as I'm correct?). What are the chances I will get one if I'm only doing 1 month of volunteer work at one place and 1 month at another (and I will arrive one week before starting). Are there specific requirement to get one? And for the visa?

As I learn all this I almost understand why organizations don't want to deal with it, but they're also not responsible for the consequences. In fact when you get caught you have to leave the country? No jail time? 

@gk10002000 What do you mean by the recent crackdown on visa's and abuses? 

Thank you.

Kind regards

Hi,

I'm new here because I have a question about Thai Visa. I'm willing to do volunteer work at two rescue centre in Thailand in september until november. When I checked the site of the embassy in the Netherlands I saw the next Visa: Non-Immigrant type O (vrijwilligerswerk):single entry which required the next documents: an invitation to me for doing volunteer work, in which period I will be doing that and the type of work I will be doing. Also they need a copy of the Chamber of Commerce from the organization (not older than 6 months) and a copy of the ID card from the person who signed the letter. 

So I asked both rescue centre to provide me these documents but they both state that I don't need that Visa and should just ask for a tourist Visa because of the complications that are required by getting such a Visa. 

What should I do? What will happen if I go to Thailand and do volunteer work with a tourist Visa? Do you recommend that? Or should I insist on getting the documents from the organizations I will do the volunteer work.

Thank you very much!

King regards