toffee

The length of experience issue is related to the letter of guarantee from your school so presumably if you have less than one year the school can possibly still guarantee you however I am still trying to get something more concrete on this. Also if transferring to a different school I am not sure who gives the letter of guarantee. The exemption letter will state the name of the school where you work. However once you have the exemption certifcate you will then have to undertake the 20 hour cultural course at accredited providers in Bangkok. Regarding undertaking a years PGCE it is possible to take the 4 exams (1000 baht) but they may not be that easy. They relate to 9 topics. Curriculum, management, psychology,evaluation, research, innovation, technology and teaching.

Yesterday my friend who has been teaching at a goverment school for 2 years was refused a 1 year visa extension until he produces a teachers licence at Pong Nam Ron immigration office. He had all the usual documents needed plus his reciept for application for teachers licence. He told me that that they said that this requirment came into force on the 12th. He paid the 500 baht as everyone did some time ago.

Has anyone else encountered this problem this week, or knows anything about it?

Go to Teachers council of Thailand Nakhon Ratchisima Road Bangkok.

Supply Degree (and transcripts if possible) Work Permit, Passport, letter of recommendation from school stating length of time teaching and good teaching practise, contract, two photos and any receipt you may hold for the 500 baht. You will provided with a two year exemption to allow time to gain required extra documentation. There is a need to have more than one years experience. I spoke to them on the phone today. Regarding not having one years experience - tried to phone back but not available so will ask again.

Regarding cultural course and the need to undertake a years PT PGCE study things appear to be up in the air. It appears schools should be trying to supply cultural course of 20 hours ( I presume this would vary according to teh school and area you are in) somehow and there is talk of more discussions regarding the the more complicated and expensive need for a years study at university. Not every thing is clear yet. Immigration Offices have however been informed that they do need the License or exemption letter for B visa renewal. Also schools can collect all the required information and go to the TCT on teachers behalf but again I suppose that their choice.

If you hold a BEd or a degree and PGCE already it may be different for you but I am not sure if there is still the need to undertake the 20 hours. TCT should be able to confirm this.

Hope this helps!

OK the implication in the post was that his degree was from Australia. I would have thought that if his teaching certificate (BEd??) from the Phillipines would be sufficient also. It could just be that the school wasn't chasing up the new TL from the TCT. There's no excuse for that, esp. if the TCT had sent documents to the school informing them of the changes.

I dont know anything about the teacher who has this certificate . I just know immigration is using the copy as an example of what needs to be presented for visa applications. I dont know if he did do the cutural course or how his school provided him with the information required.

Actually if he is a qualified teacher from Australia (means he has a teaching qualification), then it should have been no problem getting the TL from the TCT, provided he did the Thai Culture and Ethics course.

It didnt say what degree was held but the teacher is actually a Phillipino.

The only hard proof that I have seen is a photocopy of an A4 certificate from Immigration that allowed a visa renewal. It would appear that this was not actually a license but some kind of permission certificate.

Thanks for the info Toffee.

Would be nice if you could scan that document and post it on this board.

Petch01

Sadly I dont own a scanner but if I can find someone who does who can block out all the personal info about the peson whose certifcate it is. I will

Schools may not have informed teachers but I am fairly sure that schools were notified last year - probably the same time as immigration was informed on the rules and regs of TCT. Schools were supplied with a weighty document from TCT explaing all the guidelines of what will be required for foreign teachers which relates back to the 4 exams that have to be taken if you are not a holder of a B.Ed.

Having spent some time finding out what can be done it would appear that there is a possibility that you can gain an exception certificate allowing a possible 3 years to obtain the following.

So, if it isn't gossip, please tell us where can we find information to apply for an exception certificate.

Petch01

I not being the oracle of all information can only pass on what I received from a teacher I emailed in hope of finding out information for someone who has been refused a visa and those hoping to start at school in May. It was the first I had had heard of an excemption certificate and it would appear that you go to the TCT as education no longer deals with this. The only hard proof that I have seen is a photocopy of an A4 certificate from Immigration that allowed a visa renewal. It would appear that this was not actually a license but some kind of permission certificate. The translation remains dependent upon Thai friends as I cant read Thai. The logo however was that of the TCT. Hope this helps

Regarding what is needed for Teachers license it may be worth looking at the thread on this subject.

I have been searching on forums for two days regarding this and am not someone inclined to post but after reading the response from David I felt I should. Bear with me too Im new to this. What David says is correct. B visa renewals are being denied if applicants do not hold a certificate from TCT. Irrespective of holding a receipt for 5OOB, having a degree, WP, contract and tax receipts. Having spent some time finding out what can be done it would appear that there is a possibility that you can gain an exception certificate allowing a possible 3 years to obtain the following.

a) 20 hours of Thai culture and ethics course. (If holding a BEd or BA and PGCE (one year educational training)

20 hours plus one year at university (weekend courses) to obtain the required education cedits (27 I think) plus BA any field.

There are ofcourse various other stipulations relating to years of experience. But this is it in broad terms.

This isnt scaremongering. As someone who has just had to inform newly appointed teachers that providing 500B to the school just wasnt sufficient and spending two days trying to decipher the legal documents from the TCT i really dont have the energy to get into idle gossip.