Hi, everyone. 

I am considering staying in Chiang Mai, Thailand, for six months next year with a friend.  I hope to volunteer at orphanages and experience the culture. 

I am trying to research the logistics of everything and I am getting mixed results, primarily in what type of visa I should acquire.

 

Should I apply for a one-year visa?  These seem expensive.  Are they worth it and the best fit for my situation?

 

What about a work visa?  Does volunteering count as working?  If not, is there any places in Chiang Mai that would be convenient to work for part-time for a English-speaker?

 

What is the best agency/website to apply for a work visa?

 

Any other tips and advice would be greatly appreciated! 

For volunteer work you would first get a non immigrant O visa (non-o) with documentation from the organization you are working with. You would also need a work permit to work as a volunteer.

There is no work visa. You would need a work permit and a non-b visa to work.

2 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

For volunteer work you would first get a non immigrant O visa (non-o) with documentation from the organization you are working with. You would also need a work permit to work as a volunteer.

There is no work visa. You would need a work permit and a non-b visa to work.

So the volunteer (Farang) some working in Immigration (Phuket) most have Non-B and work permit ? They never have that in Phuket.

23 minutes ago, nasa123 said:

So the volunteer (Farang) some working in Immigration (Phuket) most have Non-B and work permit ? They never have that in Phuket.

Not the same thing as the OP asked about. Volunteers workers with a government agency can be exempt from needing a work permit.

you should contact any orphanage you want to work with first to tell them of your intentions to volunteer for them and find out if they can help with getting you a WP. as a side note i doubt very much if you'd have any problems with immo or the labor dept doing voluntary work at an orphanage on a tourist visa although officially not permitted without the WP

Edited March 28, 20188 yr by Happy enough

I think that you are thinking that it's an easy thing to do. It's not.

As said already, you need a work permit for this.

If the orphanage wants to get a work permit for you it does of course cost them time, and they also have to pay money for it, so i doubt they would do it for you.

After they applied for a work permit for you, you could get a non-b visa with the documents supplied by them

2 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

Not the same thing as the OP asked about. Volunteers workers with a government agency can be exempt from needing a work permit.

Of course it's the same job is work whether it's voluntary in government agency or not, but clearly this country is through rotten all the way.

A private school wanted me to volunteer to help with pronunciation, just pay me my expenses. I said OK just get me a WP....The kids lost out...

The right non-immigrant visa for a volunteer is a non-O, not a non-B.

 

You can't get a non-O visa or extensions of stay for volunteering for a government agency, such as a school or the police. Volunteering for the government is not exempt from needing a work permit. Only if there is a royal decree stipulating that can (groups of) people volunteering be exempt from the need for a work permit.