AjarnChan

My non-imm. visa expires on the 29th of this month. I'm in bangkok at the moment, plan to arrive to Laos on the morning of the 28th at the Thai consulate in Vientiane.

I want to get a tourist visa that allows 60 consecutive days of stay in Thailand, so is this a 2 entry tourist visa?

Also- would a train ticket (instead of the usual air ticket) be accepted as proof of onward travel from thailand?

Not sure what date to set the return ticket for before applying for my tourist visa. should it show me departing Thailand within 30 or 60 days of obtaining the tourist visa?

thanks for any feedback.

Please understand I have never made the trip to Vientianne, but reading other posts [type 'Visa Vientianne' in the Search box near the top of the page] it seems that:-

At present you can easily get a Free 60 day, Double Entry, Visa. Each 60 day Visa can be extended for a further 30 days at your local immigration office. In practice you do NOT need to show an Air Ticket for onward travel.

Hope this helps

Hello!!!

My bf and I are on a 15 day visa and need to extend, where is the best place for a visa run from Kanchanaburi?

Thank you!

Sorry but you are in an awkward location. The nearest crossing south of Kanchanaburi is Ranong on the way to Phuket, going north you will have to go to all the way up to Mae Sot. You cannot get a Thai Visa, or extension of stay, at the Three Pagodas Pass 'nearby', though you can make a brief crossing to Burma. You have to resign yourself to a lengthy journey, but there are buses that will take you in both directions, though you will need to make various connections.

If you think you may want to stay longer than the 15 days you will get at any road crossing, then why not consider 'biting the bullet', go into Bangkok and from there travel to Vientianne in Laos and get a 60 day Visa, or even two ? With extensions that would give you up to 180 days to explore this wonderful country.

If you need more details of the actual crossings, or how to get there, just ask here or send a PM. Without knowing your personal situation it is hard to be precise. For example why not consider hiring a car to make the journey ?

Does anyone know of a good doctor in CM who treats allergies?

My Thai/Chinese wife suggests you consider trying local herbal remedies, which work for her. If you go to any of the large 'herbal pharmacies', run by Chinese, they will 'diagnose' your problem and attempt to treat you. Of course not everyone believes in such things, but they work for many people.

If you are not happy with the results they will listen to you carefully, and be very keen to help you find an answer; especially if you can make the point that you are 'local' and not just a Tourist passing through. Sorry we cannot be more exact, but we live in Phuket; though we know CM pretty well the street names escape us.

My wife has used both Western & Eastern remedies. Neither cured her ongoing problem, due to an excess of Anti-Histamines and 'metabolic stress' caused by pollution; but both methods provide relief from the annoying symptoms.

Hope this helps.

It seems to me that normally rainy season starts in earnest about the middle of May until the end of May, but it started raining much earlier this year.

Do you think that it will just keep on raining until the end of September, or is more of hot season going to hit us soon?

Here in Phuket it started raining almost every day about a month ago, in mid April. My Thai family say it was early, but that it is not so unusual. The 'muddy puddle' behind my home has been a large lake ever since; to the joy of the Frogs and Water Buffalo

This from web search. You might try giving them a call. All consulates can issue visas.

Thai Consulate

Teşvikiye Cd. - Istanbul

Tel +90 212 233 11 16

If you can't reach them then you could try contacting the embassy for contact info.

Royal Thai Embassy, Ankara

Cankaya Cad. Kader Sok. 45/3-4 06700 Gaziosmanpasa Ankara

Tel.(90-312) 467-3409, 467-3059

Fax.(90-312) 427-7284

E-mail : [email protected]

re. 'All consulates can issue visas.' ~ I have not found that to be true in practice, at least not in Bulgaria or Turkey.

The Royal Thai Embassy in Ankara is the best place to get a Visa in that region. You can do it by post if you do not want to go to Ankara. They speak English, so you could phone to make personal contact and clarify the situation.

Your completed passport could then be sent on to the Thai Consul in Istanbul for collection if that is better for you. I live in Bulgaria when I am not in Thailand, and I have visited both the Embassy and Consulate. Personally I had mine posted out from the UK, since I did not completely trust the Bulgarian postal service.

Depending on where you are living there is also an Embassy in Bucharest in Romania, but they do not speak much English. There is also another in Athens, however I would prefer to use Ankara any day, they are really helpful.

My typing/listening/spelling practice activity is developing well. You can now save your scores and see a graph of your average times / number of words correct so far and a graph showing everyone's top 100 scores and times plotted on a graph.

Hope to get recordings of the most used 100 Thai words to make the first really useful activity on Monday or Tuesday. Right now the Thai vowels typing activity is fun and excellent listening practice.

Thanks for all your effort Jamie, looks really useful

Incidentally, Ajarn just means Teacher in Thai, another term is Kruu used by younger children.

Incidentally, you are wrong again.

Kruu is general teacher

Ajarn is expert or specialist teacher

language teachers are usually called ajarn but an expert in shoe repairing could also be an ajarn

Again correct.       Sigh.....................Mr. AjarnChan..........................get with the program buddy !!

Thanks for the input Phatcharanan et al

Actually it was my Thai work colleagues who christened me AjarnChan. When I asked them what it meant they said 'Ajarn just means Teacher in Thai, another term is Kruu used by younger children.'

From personal observation I hear the younger children I work with call all their Thai teachers Kruu, and the older ones often use Ajarn. However for some reason they all call me 'Ajarn Chan' which I am told is used as a polite form, and a mark of respect; regardless of whether or not I deserve it. Whatever the 'truth' as always I was simply passing on what I have been told by Thais; all of them educated Graduates with lifetimes in Education. The same goes for the TEFL Certification issue, and they all claim an absolute need for the 'Thai Language & Customs' course.

Given that the people who largely control my life are Thais at present, and that I am a guest in their country then I think I will stick to using their interpretation of their language. But thanks all the same

Incidentally I am NOT saying you are wrong; only that 'custom and useage' seems different from your opinion, at least down here in 'primitive' Phuket. I make no claims to any knowledge or experience much beyond 'Phuket Fantasy Island'

I accept that these Thais may simply be 'ignorant locals', whereas an American Scholar such as yourself probably knows better. I am assuming you are an American because of the way you 'misspell' Programme; that is misspelt from my viewpoint. In English the word has double M. But I believe there always has to be room for different views, and we all deserve equal treatment. Have another nice day

Ah Ha - now it has hit me ! Since you probably feel quite entitled to tell an Englishman how to speak and spell English, which your countrymen seem to think you now 'own'; then it logically follows that you also have no problem telling Thais what Thai really means, since they do not seem to know. Hee Hee Hee ~ Just Teasing

Final thought. Maybe I should be writing to the proprietors of Ajarn.com, AjarnJobSpace.com and numerous others to ask why there are not more features on shoe repairing, and suggest to them they change their site names.

Whenever I read a thread that starts with “My friend has a problem...” or “I know someone who…”, I am tempted to write “Cut the crap and start again using the first person!” So this is about me.

First of all, a bit about myself - I left school with GCE ‘O’ levels and ‘A’ levels which included English Language and English Literature. Very few of my generation went straight from school to university and I can’t remember anyone from my year that did. I went into nursing and have over 20 post-nominal letters after my name.

I settled in Thailand in 2002 and my nursing qualifications counted for nothing – nursing, when I qualified, was not a degree subject in the UK

Two of us from the same TEFL school found employment in a school in Nawamin, Bangkok and neither of us had a degree! We were advised by senior staff there to get fake degrees and then we would be able to get work permits and teacher’s licences which were duly issued. I left the school in 2004.

Fast forward to last Monday ( 4th), my extension based an marriage to a Thai would be approved for one more year and as my wife works not too far from there, she decided to go and leave me at home. Immigration phoned me at 1 o’clock to tell me that I have to go in person to sign a few papers; I thought that we had signed everything on the first visit! I phoned my wife and said that I would meet her there.

After waiting for about an hour, we were ushered up to the 5th floor (Immigration Police) where I was accused of using a fake degree – there’s no point in lying about it, is there?

So at about 5pm, I found myself in the Immigration Detention Centre in one cell with about 80 other odds & sods of various nationalities, no bedding and only a hard floor to try and sleep on. Tuesday (5th) was a holiday so my appearance in court would have to be today. I appeared before the court this afternoon and the case is being investigated further. I am now out on bail. The best result that I can hope for is a small fine and told to go back to England for a new visa.

I know there are others who have worked or are still working with fakes and I was told by Immigration Police that they are actively investigating over 60 more cases. I left that school 5 years ago so you have been warned.

Thanks for sharing your story, it is a very sobering lesson. Like you I am of the generation for whom getting a Degree was highly unlikely. I started work at 13 'up at mill' though I still managed to study part time and earned some 'O' levels. But the idea of going to University was beyond my wildest dreams. Something only for the Rich. Being able to go had nothing to do with intellect or aptitude, in those days it was purely about money and family contacts.

So far here in Thailand I have simply refused to 'pretend' to be a Graduate, and so earn far less than I could. However I am still 'illegal' since I cannot get a Licence, proper Visa or Work Permit. I persist simply because my Thai wife begs me to. Though she has lived in the UK she wants to be Home in Thailand now that we are both Geriatrics.

Anyway Thanks again. Can I please suggest you consider posting the same information in other Forums. Such as on TEFL.net, or Ajarn.com ? I know it will be beneficial to others considering taking the same risks.

Best Wishes. I sincerely hope it all works out relatively painlessly.

Thanks a lot for your replies! Will check out the information you are saying.

I was curious about the cultural course as I've heard mixed things about if you actually do need it or not. But if it's not a requirement I won't bother about that, I guess can always do it if required.

AjarnChan.... i do agree with you that some of the accents are bogan at times. I was originally from England so still manage to pronounce all my words... but for the most part Australian accents have improved over the years.

So being female is an advantage?

Is there a better time of year to go out and try and get a job? Or is it pretty consistent with employment all year round??

Thanks again for all the advice... will also make sure I dig out my transcript of my degree

Actually the school year is about to start in mid May, just about 2 weeks from now. I believe most vacancies will be filled and it may be awkward finding work after that; except that some people will quit early because they find they do not like the work. The first term/semester is roughly mid May to September, then a break before the second term roughly mid October to early March. The exact dates vary depending on location and the schools age group.

If you are really serious I would start applying on-line right now and get over here. Of course I am only aware of school timetables, not totally sure about the universities but I think they are similar. There is always some Corporate work, but the Economic recession together with the upheaval in Thai society caused by the Yellow/Red shirt confrontations, Airport seizures, ASEAN cancellation etc has all hurt job prospects.

YES as a young lady you will find things fall into place more easily than they do for most 'Old Geezers' like me

Incidentally, Ajarn just means Teacher in Thai, another term is Kruu used by younger children. Likewise Chan is the Thai version of Charles, just as those from the USA tend to call me Chuck for some obscure reason. Cultural diversity is a wonderful thing. BTW is 'bogan' a bit like 'chav' in the UK ?

Good job hunting Ajarn Sadie, and I hope you continue to enjoy Phuket

Hello! I know there will no doubt be a lot of similar posts to mine and I have spent the last half hour or so trolling through this forum and figured would start my own topic to get some help.... so here goes!

.....

Any help or advice anyone can provide will be GREATLY appreciated! I'm confusing myself in my research and feel like I'm going around and around in circles!! Thanks! Sadie

Hi again Sadie

In case you do not already know, you will need to show a Transcript of your Degree course so make sure you bring that along with you. Also another really good source of useful TEFL information is http://www.tefl.net/

Hope this helps.

Agreed, BUT 'in the near future' you will need not just any old Degree but a formal Educational degree; just as all native Thai teachers do already. They argue that you should be a professional teacher if you want to Teach.

A TEFL/TESOL/CELTA in Thailand will help you get acclimated to teaching in Thailand, but it is not necessary.

Nonsense, a TEFL Certificate is necessary.

Really?? That must just be a Phuket thing then because it is NOT a requirement on the mainland. Legal or otherwise. 

Sadie, one final observation not meant to insult you, your Great Nation, or cause any offence. Since you are Australian PLEASE try not to speak with a 'shrill over the top Aussie accent' because if you do far fewer people will readily understand you; I do not just mean the Thais either. I am a Brit and I love Aussies, but some are a nightmare to understand.

edit: flame removed - mario2008

 I live in Phuket and I expect I will be teaching here for the foreseeable future, but many schools that would previously have employed me are now closing their doors to Farangs/foreigners. Economics is one major reason for that shift in attitude, but also many influential Thais are simply very disappointed by, and no longer tolerant of, the often poor quality of some of the TEFLers who want to live and work here.

Poor quality "Teflers"? Hard to believe.  

Sigh...........

Ouch Phatcharanan, what side of the bed did you get out of ?

Assuming you are correct can you PLEASE point me to an authoritative source. I merely reported what I have been led to believe by the local authorities here. My intentions were genuine and my comments solely meant to to be constructive.

Have a nice day

I'm toying with the idea of starting a private language school in BKK that caters to Thai kids.

I'm not sure whether to run it as a 'language school' or 'tuition centre', and I wonder if there is any difference in the legal meaning of these two.

I'm considering offering both English and Chinese. Well, with English I understand teachers will have to be TEFL qualified. What about Chinese ?

I think there would be a great deal of demand for a good language school; there certainly is down here in Phuket. However I am certain you would have to deal with a lot of 'red tape', and at some stage probably be expected to provide 'tea money' to some 'official' before you get your licence from the Education department.

A TEFL Certificate alone is not enough to Teach, the Thai authorities require that all teachers are Graduates; as all native Thai teachers already are. Presently they accept any degree, but in time will insist on an Education qualification. In practice the Degree is needed to obtain the Work Permit which everybody must have in order to work at anything here. Also the TEFL course must include a Thai language and 'Thai culture' component to provide some insight for the Farangs.

My Thai friends tell me that one must be a specialist in whatever subject is being taught, as would be expected elsewhere. So surely to Teach Chinese you would need a Graduate who either was Chinese or who had studied Chinese at University.

If you want to open a Branch down here in Phuket please let me know. We have the local knowledge and existing customers, but no capital to do things on a larger scale. However there is definitely a healthy demand, and many Thai families will pay good money for good tuition of their children. They do expect results of course and certainly deserve value for money, since the costs to them are often a pretty big slice of their dwindling disposable income.

Good Luck

Just a report about how I did get an “Extension of stay” (for 1 year) on a Non-Immigrant “O” visa. .....

Hi changnoi48 and thanks for the information. It is really useful to hear how other people get on.

No experience required. You have a bachelor's degree. If you're white, not hideous, and have no severe speaking impairments, you can easily get a TEFL job, and probably in Phuket. You can also try to land a teaching job at a university that offers business degrees.

Agreed, BUT 'in the near future' you will need not just any old Degree but a formal Educational degree; just as all native Thai teachers do already. They argue that you should be a professional teacher if you want to Teach.

A TEFL/TESOL/CELTA in Thailand will help you get acclimated to teaching in Thailand, but it is not necessary.

Nonsense, a TEFL Certificate is necessary. You must also take a short course in Thai language and culture, to give you at least some understanding of the country beyond your Tourist perspective. You can do that alongside your TEFL course if you take it over here. It will give you some basic Thai and an insight in how Thais live and think.

I would only get the teaching certification in your home country, if you intend to teach elsewhere. Your prior experience may be helpful to you, but it will not really be considered by employers here, because it is not experience in teaching Thais.

Edit: forgot to mention, if you are female, you will be in high demand as a teacher

Agreed. I know of a Job starting in 2 weeks where they are crying out for a female to teach in a Kindergarten. I did it last Term/Semester and it was very enjoyable and rewarding; but as a 'bloke' I was treated as a reluctant compromise.

Sadie, one final observation not meant to insult you, your Great Nation, or cause any offence. Since you are Australian PLEASE try not to speak with a 'shrill over the top Aussie accent' because if you do far fewer people will readily understand you; I do not just mean the Thais either. I am a Brit and I love Aussies, but some are a nightmare to understand.

I suggest you also visit http://www.Ajarn.com and read other viewpoints. It is also a good place to find work. There really are a lot of TEFL Jobs available most of the time, but be aware that the current Economic climate and other factors are all having an effect. I live in Phuket and I expect I will be teaching here for the foreseeable future, but many schools that would previously have employed me are now closing their doors to Farangs/foreigners. Economics is one major reason for that shift in attitude, but also many influential Thais are simply very disappointed by, and no longer tolerant of, the often poor quality of some of the TEFLers who want to live and work here.

Good Luck and Welcome to Thailand

thanks, Ajarn, but it's a tourist visa, so the cutting ties, etc. is not a factor. Also, only four days til deadline, so no time to generate letters, etc.

OK, then just one letter, from YOU

Dear Canadian Embassy. I hereby confirm that I will be accompanying my wife on her trip to Canada. We will travel together, stay with my family in Toronto [or wherever], and fully intend to comply with all the rules.

In effect you are her Sponsor, so your 'word' is all they need to verify the legitimacy of Her application. But surely you have time to get at least one eMail from a friend or relative inviting you both to stay ?

Hope this helps. I had a similar hurdle back in 1997 to get my Thai girlfriend into the UK, and it worked then. I generated all kinds of 'family invitations', travel itineraries etc and bundled it all in. On the day the nice folk at the British Embassy in Bangkok ignored all of it, except briefly scanning the letter from ME. She got the Visa. Another friend I know improved on my simple solution and produced an Invitation to himself and his girlfriend inviting them to a business meeting to discuss a future joint venture they would be operating together. That worked as well; sorry it slipped my mind earlier.

non of what was listed is a cause. they are reasons behind having a dog become aggressive but not actually a 'cause'. being a first time dog owner means that u may not understand your dog's body language so u make mistakes when feeding/ training . lack of training is not a cause but certainly can enhance allowing a dog to get away with bad behavior. not using physical punishment? with some dogs that enhances aggression. buying a dog does not make it aggressive. spaying a female doesnt make her aggressive, nor does not spaying her. having a litter with her and bothering her might make her act aggressively to protect her litter however.

sorry not impressed with the list nor with the article. the only thing i agreed with is that many bad behavior patterns are the fault of the owner/mistake made by the owner. but that is nothing new. especially with breeds that have a highly developed aggression/protection factor in them.

sorry to ruin your fun jose, but it reminds me of a cartoon once cant remember by whom.. a pic of a dog driving a car with his owner holding the dog's leash and a police stopping them. the owner says, but officer, im holding his leash and he has his liscense.

whatever,

bina

israel

Hi bina, sorry but I have to vehemently disagree with "spaying a female doesnt make her aggressive". Of course it does, it radically alters the dog's hormone levels and from personal experience does directly lead to aggression. I have also seen similar 'masculisation' [is there such a word?] occur in women who had hysterectomies, and of course during and after the menopause ;{ ~ in fact right now I would take the Dog over my aging Thai wife anyday

So far as keeping a Thai Dog relatively sane, I find the only answer is Walks ! I make a point of taking the family dog out for at least half an hour practically every single day; usually in the evening. I make sure she can run free at some point, but also 'train' her on the lead and make a point of asserting control now and then. It works in her case. However without this small effort by me 'Pepsi' is sometimes violent and aggressive beyond belief. She especially dislikes the large trucks that pass in front of her Shop House and does her damndest to chase them away if not calmed.

The walks are also good for me, and help my general health. I cycle to the shop house from my home, walk the dog, and 'fuss' over her for a while. After that she goes back to guarding the shop, with only cats for company. From a Western/British perspective the way Thais treat dogs is semi-awful, but there are local customs and logical reasons; in my view they barely treat each other much better; or us for that matter. Callous, Indifferent & Insensitive is a lot more apt than 'Land of Smiles' most of the time; or am I getting jaded after 11 'wonderful' years in paradise?

My wife a tourist visa to go with me to my country, Canada. To get the visa, the Canadian embassy requires that she provide "proof that your spouse (me) will accompany you to Canada."

Anyone know what document, etc., would constitute "proof"?

And why am I not asking the embassy direct? Because I can't. They have an auto-phone service, whereby you place a message and wait for them to respond, and the proof must be submitted in four days' time.

Note that air tickets don't count.

Any ideas appreciated. Thanks.

Seems 'inane and very awkward' but it is logical from the Canadian perspective, I guess they want to try to prevent people going unaided etc; or for 'other purposes'. All Governments are very suspicious of single women travelling alone.

Perhaps you need to prove 'total committment' by both of you. So what about 'proving' that she has (1) left her Job, (2) said Goodbye to her family, (3) bought 'Winter' clothes and that You have 'cut your ties' here, got a Job in Canada to return to, arranged a Tour of Canada for when you arrive, enrolled her in School to learn English etc. I know these are weak and flimsy examples, but I think if you pile on enough of them it might count.

Certainly not an easy task, but perhaps if you generate a bunch of letters, emails and so forth it will do the trick. From past experience in the UK these 'impossible' questions are often just routine bureaucracy and not 'deal breakers'. However they do expect you to try to answer, even though they also know how ludicrous it all is. Good Luck

In the file attached you will see the statistics from my netgear modem.I am on TOT 2 Mb connection with no phone connected to the line.The modem has a direct line to the box TOT mounted outside my house of approximate 10 meter.No adsl splitter is attached.

The upstream and downstream noise margin are steady at those numbers.Reason I ask is that my modem disconnect from the exchange about 3 times an hour.Are the figures showed in the file reasonable or really to bad.

When I put the adsl splitter,given to me by TOT,between the outside line and the modem the downstream noise margin will heavily fluctuate between 3 and 9 db.The upstream noise margin stays steady.Is this better or worse then without the adsl splitter.Thanks for your replies.

You need [must use ?] the splitter to 'terminate' the line properly. The link to the splitter should be as short as possible, 10m is way too far. The noise margin is not extreme, neither is the frequent disconnection all that unusual, just damned tedious. You seem 'unlucky' with the line, the quality of which is often affected by poor connections long before it reaches you.

You can get a more reliable Internet service using Radio nowadays, such as the CAT CDMA offering, but it is more expensive to start; though a similar price monthly after that. [CAT = Communications Authority of Thailand, they have shops where you buy a package if you want to go down that route.]

Sticking with ADSL and TOT; I think everybody experiences 'service interruptions' quite regularly; especially if it rains. Sadly although ADSL is moderately 'hi-tech', the basic cabling technology is very frail & vulnerable once it leaves the Exchange.

Good Luck

PS - in my personal experience using a similar setup it 'got better' over time. No logical explanation I can offer, it just did.

Where qualified teachers dont want to go ? lol anyone here that teaches that can say with a straight face that a western degree has any value to teaching anywhere in thailand is only fooling themselves. Where are these great bastions of higher learning in thailand ? at the tremendous pay rate of 30-50k a month highly qualified teachers are flocking here in droves. I love thailand and teaching here but lets not kid ourselves that it requires a western degree to be a good teacher here.

"I love thailand and teaching here but lets not kid ourselves that it requires a western degree to be a good teacher here."

YES indeed, truer words have never been spoken

In fact in my experience it is the 'enthusiastic amateurs' who care the most and try the hardest.

BUT I now it can end abrubtly!

Good Luck

Keep spelling like that and it will end more abruptly than you think.

(Just joshing with ya)

Hi ~ I am English/British, and 'abrubtly' is how it was spelt when I grew up half a century ago. I actually looked it up on Google, and found most useage was 'abrubtly', with some instances of 'abruptly'. I guess it is either one of those cases where Brits and others 'agree to differ', or else a common 'mis-spelling' so widely used it has been 'accepted'.

Or did you mean my use of 'now' when I meant 'know' ~ MEA CULPA ~> Silly me, rushing as usual !

Thanks anyway

What I want to know is, where can I get a diploma or whatever to say I am qualified to teach English in Thailand and how much is it going to cost me?

Yes, I expect this post of mine to be removed by the mods

You can buy a nice piece of paper that looks a lot like a Degree on Kao San road in Bangkok. BUT do not expect anybody to take it very seriously, and be ready to be Deported if you are unlucky enough to be checked. Along the same lines you can buy a 'Degree' online which is 'accredited' by some Online Accreditation [scam]. Ditto so far as real value, in other words USELESS if anybody at the Education Ministry decides to check it out; for example during your application for a Work Permit, or at any other point while you are Teaching. Not so long ago some 'Teacher' from exotic places like Pattaya were arrested and deported for precisely those reasons. BE WARNED !!

There is no 100% reliable way around the rules. However it is possible to get legitimate work 'upcountry' in some location where qualified Teachers do not want to go. It is also possible to get illegitimate, but 'relatively safe' work through an Agency, working in a Private school not a State school. BUT long term you are likely to get caught ;{

Good Luck

Hello to you all

A question for those teachers who have been working here "without a degree" in Thailand successfully, and managed to earn a fair wage for their efforts.

I checked "ajarn.com" for news, jobs and any useful information that may help me with this answer but i seem to draw a blank with regards to being able to teach here armed only with a diploma. What experiences have you guys or indeed girls had with this, and what "if any" options are avaliable to us ? Would this also have any bearing on monthly salaries too ?

So that you know where i stand academically, i completed my TEFL course about 4 years ago and my diploma is in English language.

Any input you give will be greatly appreciated

From personal experience it has been relatively easy to get work through one of the numerous Thai/Farang agencies. But only outside the major schools and prime locations; you would never get a job in a prestigious 'International School' [unless it was owned by a personal friend], however teaching in a Private school has never been a problem. Just be blunt and open, a Thai manager will get you a job if there is one, it is in their interests after all.

Also there are State schools outside 'in the sticks' which are allowed to hire anybody willing to live there. One example that springs to mind uses a German national to teach English; ie ~ 'You vill do your homeverk' ~ I kid you not . But he is a good all round Teacher, they need him, and it works out better than having nobody.

Of course in some cases your presence may be 'illegal', and you have to come to terms with the slim prospect of being 'thrown out'. Personally I make no false claims, present no 'Fake Degree', and refuse to sign anything. I get paid in cash every week, and the arrangement suits everybody concerned. BUT I now it can end abrubtly!

Good Luck

Can someone explain how to stretch a one year (oa) retirement multipul entry visa into almost two years? How does that work?

Thanks

Two weeks before the multiple-entry "O-A" visa expires (the use before date on the visa) you exit Thailand to another country and return to Thailand where you will be admitted for another year.

Sorry if I am being 'dense', but I worry a lot about this subject

I have a 1 yr, multi, Non Imm O {married} Visa {issued in Ankara, 'cos I live in Bulgaria} and it Expires on 1st June 2009. It clearly says 'Extension not permitted'.

I have been doing 90 day 'visa runs' via Ranong, and I had always assumed I definitely had to leave Thailand and return from Europe by plane with a fresh Non Imm 'O' Visa later this year. I know I can get an 'extra' 90 days' near the end of this Visa; but 1 year ?

I have no significant savings, and earn far less than 40,000 Baht as a Teacher ;{

Please, somebody who has experience, can you confirm if the above '1 Yr bonus' is True ? Also is there something special about 'two weeks before it expires' ? Many Thanks everybody

Realistically you could teach for a while through an Agency, especially in a place like Phuket. If you teach in a Private School then it is up to them to decide if you need a degree. It is not an absolute requirement to Teach. But you do need to get a TEFL {Teacher of English as a Foreign Language] Certificate.

Where are you in Thailand ? Your prospects vary a lot depending on the area. What sort of Visa do you hold ? Also you should have a Work Permit to be fully legal. It is when you seek that you may well fall over the Degree hurdle, it all depends on the 'degree of inside help' you get.

Sadly long term it looks like you will NOT be able to rely on Teaching. The rules are complex and always changing. Overall policy seems to be aimed at replacing all Foreign Teachers not only with Graduates, but Graduates in Education. Yeah right, they are all giving up relatively well paid jobs in the west and flocking here in droves ;}

Good Luck

Can foreigner open a baht account in the major banks in bangkok? which one? what sort of documents are required?

NO!

I think you can open a Savings Account, with a Card {that cannot be used online} with Kasikorn {Thai Farmers}