gascooker

Not quite. If you undertake one of the more reputable PGCEi courses then you will be able to sit the TCT exams. If you pass those, then you will get a permanent license.

The St.Theresa’s course will qualify you to sit the TCT license exam. The PGCEi will make you much more employable, and it will get you into lower tier international schools where you could earn 100k baht plus additional benefits. However, you still need to sit the TCT exams with a PGCEi if your course was completed after 2019. Ultimately, the best course of action would be to return to your home country and get an education certificate comes with a teaching license. Though, I understand that isn’t practical for everyone.

I thought it better to ask first for some opinions, rather than waste time going to the bank.

Sorry, not true. I bought my car with a 50% loan from TTB Drive.

Yes, I don’t need the money, it’s purely to build a credit history.

Hello, I am looking to build up my credit profile here in Thailand. I was thinking of getting a small loan of say 10k baht from a bank. I have valid 1 year visa and work permit. Is this possible?

Funny, it's always the women that are unpleasant, male IO's usually ok in my book.

I think it’s unlikely, but not impossible. I remember when they first started letting people back into Thailand during the Covid situation, it was Thai citizens only, no permanent residence holders. So, if they can do it to permanent residence holders, then it’s not impossible that they will do it to elite card holders. However, I do think it is extremely unlikely.

Possibly, but I’ve come across some inexplicably rude IO in my time, particularly at Samut Prakan immigration.

Sure they are, well at least the interpretation of the laws are. Look at all the rigmarole around the Covid extension visas. They said they were stopping them, then on the very last day they said they would issue them again.

The weather in Chiang Mai has been gloriously dry and sunny, slightly cooler in the evenings and in the mornings. The pm2.5 chart is gradually starting to go up which is concerning. I’ve a feeling that in the next few years we are going to start moving from rainy season right into smoky season. That would be hellish, and I would likely consider moving elsewhere if that’s the case.

I’ve contemplated the elite visa before, but I can’t bring myself to put down such a large sum of money in a country were immigration laws are changed on a whim.

You are right, but I am assuming the majority of the demographic on this board originated from the western world.

You have made a very important point. The reason why the visa system has become more ‘difficult’ over the years is due to the previous abuse of what was an overly generous system. Let’s face it, how many countries allow you to stay there for months upon months at a time without requiring evidence that you had the means to support yourself. That was abused by many who used visa runs and tourist visas as loopholes to work illegally in the kingdom, and sometimes to engage in much more nefarious activities. But still, the kingdom has very generous visa requirements, particularly for those folk from the western world. Now, think about the paperwork and requirements for Thai people going to somewhere like the UK, who really gets the raw deal?

Yes, the immigration officers at swampy tend to be quite abrupt. I dislike engaging with Thai bureaucracy at any level.

As stated above, there are no limitations on the number of entries permitted by air travel. However, immigration officers may want to know why (and how) someone is spending so much time in Thailand as a tourist. I know they've been questioning people who were in the country for a long time on 'covid extensions'.

Especially when you consider that 3 of the dead were over 80 years old, way beyond the average life expectancy of the area. Not that this diminishes the pain and grief of the families, but it’s important to make the distinction between those that died from the illness, and those that tested positive whilst dying from some other disease.

Vietnam, really? Vietnamese immigration is 100x worse than Thai immigration. They have a very well known and long running scam at Ho Chi Minh airport. They find the slightest mistake on somebody’s visa, be it a double spacing error, incorrect spelling of a calendar month etc then refuse them entry. They claim that they can only issue an ‘emergency entry visa’ that costs 150 dollars. Honestly, it is far easier to deal with Thai immigration.

Have a look at the news. There is currently a big investigation here into drug dealing and money laundering by foreign nationals who acquired visas through fraudulent means, often supported by bent immigration police. There is a national ‘crackdown’, and people are being asked to produce visas to prove they are in the country legally, if they are unable to do so they are being rounded up and arrested. Understandably, there has been widespread fury amongst the Thai public about what’s been happening, so expect this to continue. What you experienced is merely an extension of immigration officers likely being told to double check everyone leaving and entering the country. When dealing with immigration just smile, be polite, answer whatever questions they have and don’t try to go be friends with them.

Exactly, hence my question about CM. I have just given my documents to my employer, so we will find out.

Yes, because syphilis is the only thing they test for in the blood test.

Some work permit offices do require evidence of a blood test specifically for syphilis. For example, Samut Prakan. How long ago was this? It’s been a requirement to have a blood test for syphilis diagnosis for some time now. Whether every office enforces that or not, that’s another question.

Requirement for a work permit.

Hi. I am applying for my work permit in Chiang Mai. I have had all the proper tests, including the blood test, and the doctor gave me one A4 piece of paper that states I’m from everything on there. Is that all I need? Are they meant to attach blood test result.