omlagus

If you have a Thai drivers licence it works just as good as your passport, if not better! It 's got all the info they could possibly need. Take this along with your aunt and the 'Tabian Baan' to the 'Amphur' and unless they are 'Gestapo' you shouldn't have any problems.

Best ov luck!

In my opinion 'Sadao' is the easiest but you could also go to 'Padang Basar' , upto you.

It was pretty straight forward last Oct. Just drive upto one of the cubicles for cars and get out and hand in your passport. You then get stamped 'out of Thailand' and drive down a couple of hundred metres to the Malaysian Imm. and fill out a TM card and walk through Immigration. Get back in your car and do a u-turn. Stop at one of the cubicles and get stamped out and then drive back up to the Thai border fill in a TM card, go to one of the cubicles the cars go to and hand evrything over and get stamped back into Thailand. Drive back to Hat Yai! Or.....................you could park your car up just before the border and do eveything on foot. It'll take 30mins to 1hour approx.

Hi,

We always have problems when looking for new employees. We prefer Thai national females between 22 and 32 with at least a college degree and with good skills in written and spoken English. Also they should be personable as we have contact with the clients.

Hi Kronberg. what sort of job and salary are you offereing? I know quite a few English speaking females and some with college degrees. Have you ever thought of advertising or contacting some schools and asking if they have any students just finishing who are willing to do a little bit of training. It might not be a bad idea.

Good luck!

Moondragon.........if it's not too late or even for future reference, i live in Surat so get intouch if you want some info. As for hotels, the 'Bandon' next to 7/11 is quiet and clean with fan for around 250-300B and it's right in the center. The 'Wang Tai' is nowhere near 'Big C' but it is a very nice hotel for around 750-1000+B, all ameneties. Just 10mins or so from the river road.

Hope this helps a bit

can someone clarify it a little bit.What is the procedure to have my name included as just the occupant of a house?i.e. i don't wanna be the owner of the house in the tabian baan?

My wife (who is Thai) and i, and our newborn son all have our names on the 'Tabien Baan' as occupants of the house we rent. All she did was take down our marriage cert. and our sons birth cert. to the local 'Amphur' and all is "hunky dory". If your not married or legaally married then i'm not sure because i only know farangs who are legallly married with their names on the 'Tabien Baan'.

My Thai called a friend that works in the Mae Rim Amphur to confirm the belief that all residents of a household may be included in the Tabian Ban.

Get married.........have a baby!

My wife's from Udon and we rent a house in Surat. Before our son was born she asked the lady who owns the property if we could borrow her 'Tabien Baan' to register for the 30B scheme. No problems. When our son was born and she changed her family name to my name we borrowed the 'Tabien Baan' again, and this time all our names are included as i am the father of the child. Once again, no problems.

How does this effect me? Upto now, it's made absolutely no difference.

So, what are the pro's and cons of having your name on the 'Tabien Baan'?

Cheers! OldAsiaHand, thanks for the info. I haven't asked at any Banks yet but your suggestion seems worth pursuing. It just so happens that one of the Thai English teachers whom i know has a daughter who works in SCB, and she just married the manager not so long ago.

I'll see what happens this week.

Regards,

Omlagus.

Hi Jodric. The course at Stamford lasts for 4weeks (an intense course) , 120hrs i think. I did mine a year ago and started teaching within a couple of months. As for competitive price, it was the cheapest. I have heard about a course at about 30,000B in Bangkok, which used to advertise in the Bangkok Post. If i see anything today i get back to you.

Regards,

Omlagus.

Dive masters in Koh Tao dont have to worry about work permits, their employers are way more powerful than the Thai immigration police.

Is that why Koh Tao got raided by Immigration last year and some people had to leave?

How sure are you guys that the instructors are all farangs? I took my DM with a khun thai who spoke excellent english.... must be more of them out there.

Who said all the Instructors were farang?

eyespan, how about an eye check up! The vast majority are farang. I have lived, worked and dove here for the last 3years. Did you know that a Thai Course Director, just over a year ago translated the 'Open Water' manual. And if your a DM, why not log into the PADI website and find the answer.

Ukman, don't worry about the south, Hat yai, it's safe! A couple of the teachers who work at the school i'm at have just recently(2weeks ago) come back from Penang in Malaysia via Hat yai. No sign of trouble. With regards to a B-Visa get it in the UK if you can. I've heard Birmingham is very good and some stories about London refusing people. If you can't get a B-Visa you should be able to get a (Ed)ucation Visa which after your course you can then apply or maybe change to a Non Imm-B.

Hope this helps.

Thanks guys!

Why didn't i think about asking a Bank!!! Well, it's time consuming and i wanted to know if it is possible or not because i've heard so many rumours. But i will enquire now at a couple of Banks.

Cheers

Hi UKman, there are lots of TEFL here in Thailand. Unfortunately i can't say which is the best but i can say which is/was the cheapest. Stamford College in Hat Yai 26,000B incl. accom. Very relaxed and thorough course covering all aspects unlike some who charge you more. They are also good at finding you work but no promises and they also give info on resources, web sites etc.

As for finding work, Ajarn.com is the most popular.

Best of luck!

I have been legally working here on a Non-B Visa for about a year and i am legally married and always i leave a few thousand baht in the bank out of my monthly salary but not too much, so is it possible to obtain a bank loan for a small amount of money, about 40,000B, or not.

'the truth is out there'

Ban Thale, your right about the tax bit or having to pay more money, as i heard a little whisper from a dive shop owner who said 'it wouldn't be worth it'. As for splitting work permits equally amongst the shops...........nice idea, but the authorities don't do it like that! The main problem being some shops are busier than others and need more permits for staff.

With regards to work permits in the 'Dive Industry' great!!!!!!!!!! In Phuket many instructors have permits but Koh Samui, Koh Tao "NO". The reason being is dive shops tell you they cannot get you one because the permit situation depends on how much the business is worth. E.g. 1 owner and the business is worth 1,000,000B = 1 permit. 2 owners and the business is worth 1,000,000B = 2 permits.

I worked in the industry for 2 1/2years. I applied for a permit in Penang and got refused as do most people in the industry.

WHY?

'The truth is out there'