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That's great to know. Thanks for the detailed reply.

That's a great idea for traveling to Europe. I'll definitely consider that for my next trip. Out of curiosity, can you book that as a single flight itinerary, or do you need to book two separate flights? Assuming single itinerary, since you mention already being checked in.

Hi BusNo8, Thanks for the reply Do you mind clarifying a few points? Do you mean that you had SS before working at the private school and then were able to continue your coverage while you worked there? If so, was the school making the payments for you out of your salary, or did you have to arrange direct payment to the SS office yourself? Or, do you mean that you had SS coverage while working at the private school, but you no longer work there and you are going to try to continue SS coverage by trying to set up direct payment? Or, neither of the above? 🙂 Sorry for all the questions; I'm just trying to understand your situation to see if can add any clarity to my own. Thanks.

Hi Sheryl, Thank you for the reply. That was my initial suspicion as well. I've had several back and forth messages with the head SS office in Bangkok to try and get a direct answer. Below are some of the replies from the officer. As you can see, according to what they have written, it seems I was never supposed to be allowed to be insured under Section 33 to begin with. I asked them several times directly if my school could choose to continue paying into SS for teachers, but their answer never seemed to directly answer that question. Instead, the officer kept coming back to the point that private school teachers are not allowed to be enrolled. Here are some snippets of the officer's replies for your reference: "In the case an employee is an individual primarily engaged in teaching duties (including international schools), they will not be able to register as insured persons under Section 33." "SSO Contact center 1506 wishes to thank you for your interest in our services, we would like to inform you that The Private School Act (No. 2) 2011, came into effect on June 10, 2011. It stipulates that employees of the following entities must register as insured persons under Section 33: - All non-teaching staff in non-system schools - Individuals not primarily involved in teaching or supporting the educational activities of the school within the system (including international schools) - Educational personnel of international schools, provided they were previously insured under Section 33 of the Social Security Act 1990 and have contributed supplementary funds before January 12, 2008, according to the Private School Act 2007 (Amendment No. 2) 2011, Section 86." "SSO Contact center 1506 wishes to thank you for your interest in our services, we would like to inform you that in case employee primarily engages in teaching duties (including those at international schools), they will not be able to register as insured persons under Section 33 due to not following the criteria and conditions for registering an employee/insured person under Section 33."

Hi Sheryl, Sorry to dig up this old thread, but I have a question directly relating to your point here. I have worked at a private international school for the past 5 years. The school has always opted to enroll all staff into the Social Security scheme, even though I understand that they are not required to do so, as they are a private school. This is in addition to a school private health insurance plan. However, now they have informed us that there has been a decision by the Social Security Office that from now on, only non-teaching Thai and Burmese staff will be allowed to contribute to the scheme. Foreign teachers will no longer be allowed to contribute. Are you aware of any changes to SS policy? Or is it likely that the school has made the decision to stop paying into the scheme? I have contacted the head office in Bangkok and am awaiting a reply. I would really like to continue SS coverage, as it is quite likely that I will retire in Thailand. I have already enquired about changing from Section 33 to Section 39 to pay into SS directly myself, but was informed that I can only do this if I am no longer working (must show an expired/cancelled work permit). Any info or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.