New Requirements - Notarising Degree Cert.

[Arthur Mullard]

Can anybody shed some light on the new regulations, as of June 2018, whereby British teachers wanting to apply for the non-b are required to have a notary sign a degree certificate, back home (UK). I have been presented with a £500 quote from a professional notary in SE1, who is basically ensuring all three stages of this ridiculous process, will be safely completed; 1) the notarising of the degree 2) the apostille stamp at the FCO in Milton Keynes 3) the stamp of the Royal Thai Embassy in London.

 

I work in a notorious province for being a stickler to detail, Samut Prakan. I am just wondering, since this is an astronomical cost, why other teachers are not up in arms? Could my province be the issue here or are teachers elsewhere experiencing the same? The non-b is for a school, not a language centre, where the application process is, I understand, less complex, i.e no notarising required.

[dabhand]

There are a few threads on this topic on Thaivisa. A search should reveal them. Here's one for info.

 

https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1048649-getting-your-uk-degree-certified/

[BobbyL]

Never heard of this from HR in my international school or from other people I know in other schools in Bangkok. 

[allane]

It seems to be only the Brits who face the hassle the OP mentions, though I have seen one or two posts from non-Brits. It seems that other foreigners can get sufficient co-operation from their respective embassy in Bangkok to have this attended to there, if it is required at all. If the degree appears to be original and has an embossed seal next to the signature(s) of the officer(s) of the university, it may be accepted at face value. If Immigration does not accept it at face value, local embassies seem to be providing authentication, using whatever internal procedures they consider necessary.

[legend49]

Just another way of keeping aliens out of our excellent education system. I wonder how many Thai English teachers could spell Notarising certificate then explain what it is?

[PerkinsCuthbert]

As the link given above by dabhand advises, go to get your non-B at a Thai embassy or consulate in a neighbouring country, they do not require notarisation and other rigmarole of the degree certificate. Chiang Wattana (and I assume Samut Prakan) immigration does, and it's a costly and time-consuming process.

[worrab]

As has been explained before this is a painless procedure as long as you have family/friends in the UK.

Firstly you have to book online, if you can print off the receipt with the FCO in Milton Keynes and pay their fees. 30 quid for the notarising and apostille then 5.50  for it to be couriered to the Thai Embassy. Send 2 A4 envelopes, one for courier to Embassy and second for Embassy to family/friends. 

Secondly this is where family/ friends come into play. They will need to pay the Embassy by cash or postal order the sum of 10 pounds. Then the document will be sent to them when completed. Ideally you need to email the Embassy to inform them of the arrangement. Family/friend is paying by postal order to have this document of mine stamped.

They then use DHL or whatever to get the document back to you in Thailand safely. Cost is about 50 pounds.

Takes between 2 and 3 weeks to complete depending on the post to UK. 

Then all you need to do is go to the MFA, get it translated and stamped there. Costs are around THB 2000 depending if you want to wait or use an agent to do everything for you and post it to you.

 

Easy to do yourself as long as you have computer, printer and good family/friends in UK. Lot less than 500 pounds.

[Arthur Mullard]

Much appreciated to all the above respondents. 

[Arthur Mullard]

On 2/16/2019 at 2:30 PM, worrab said:

Firstly you have to book online, if you can print off the receipt with the FCO in Milton Keynes and pay their fees. 30 quid for the notarising and apostille then 5.50  for it to be couriered to the Thai Embassy. Send 2 A4 envelopes, one for courier to Embassy and second for Embassy to family/friends. 

 

 

Easy to do yourself as long as you have computer, printer and good family/friends in UK. Lot less than 500 pounds.

Thank you for this. So what I have misunderstood is the Gov.UK application process, which goes straight to the FCO, NOTARISES AND APOSTILLE STAMPS? Me and a couple of colleagues here have lost time scratching around for a lawyer, here, Hong Kong and back home! One reason was, one colleague reported that he followed the online application process and a window popped up, saying his certificate had to be notarised before proceeding. But it is good news and a massive saving to me, if what you say is true.

[Arthur Mullard]

On 2/13/2019 at 2:59 PM, BobbyL said:

Never heard of this from HR in my international school or from other people I know in other schools in Bangkok. 

This is also encouraging and a colleague recently said the same about teachers working outside of S Prakan. One theory is that although this has been introduced last year, not all provinces are enforcing it, like the one I am based in. Such is the reputation, i'm being advised to get a new passport based on a previous non-b which ran its course without the WP, over a year ago! I left that establishment before the WP application, and returned to a tourist visa after the 9 months. I lived off my UK account in the interim. But what the hell has it got to do with a province I am employed in months down the line? Unbelievable. Or am I missing something? I have refused to change my passport out of fear of what S Prakan are going to ask.

[Arthur Mullard]

On 2/13/2019 at 4:32 PM, allane said:

It seems to be only the Brits who face the hassle the OP mentions, though I have seen one or two posts from non-Brits. It seems that other foreigners can get sufficient co-operation from their respective embassy in Bangkok to have this attended to there, if it is required at all. If the degree appears to be original and has an embossed seal next to the signature(s) of the officer(s) of the university, it may be accepted at face value. If Immigration does not accept it at face value, local embassies seem to be providing authentication, using whatever internal procedures they consider necessary.

My understanding is that this former service carried out in our overseas country of residence has closed down globally, not just here in Thailand. Imagine how much work the FCO at Milton Keynes must be dealing with?

[worrab]

2 hours ago, Arthur Mullard said:

Thank you for this. So what I have misunderstood is the Gov.UK application process, which goes straight to the FCO, NOTARISES AND APOSTILLE STAMPS? Me and a couple of colleagues here have lost time scratching around for a lawyer, here, Hong Kong and back home! One reason was, one colleague reported that he followed the online application process and a window popped up, saying his certificate had to be notarised before proceeding. But it is good news and a massive saving to me, if what you say is true.

I have just had another look through the process and apologies for my wording. This is what I have found :

 

Degree certificate or transcript (UK)

Your degree certificate or transcript (UK) must be certified by either:

a solicitor or notary public in the UK

an official of the British Council (only original certificates)

When the solicitor or notary public signs the document, they must:

have a valid practising certificate

sign the document in the UK

state the action they have taken eg witnessed, certified a copy, confirmed as original

use their personal signature, not a company signature

include the date of certification

include their name and company address

The solicitor or notary public’s signature must be an original, hand-written signature. We can't accept a photocopy or scan of a signature.

 

And this info: Please note that some documents may need to be certified by a solicitor or notary public in the UK before they can be submitted to the Legalisation Office. If you need a notary contact the Faculty Office. 

 

All this can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/714089/Legalisation_info_June_2018.pdf

 

It would just mean one extra step and an extra A4 envelope so they can then send the document to the FCO.  

[oldwelshman]

On ‎2‎/‎19‎/‎2019 at 2:15 PM, Arthur Mullard said:

Thank you for this. So what I have misunderstood is the Gov.UK application process, which goes straight to the FCO, NOTARISES AND APOSTILLE STAMPS? Me and a couple of colleagues here have lost time scratching around for a lawyer, here, Hong Kong and back home! One reason was, one colleague reported that he followed the online application process and a window popped up, saying his certificate had to be notarised before proceeding. But it is good news and a massive saving to me, if what you say is true.

Does it need sending to Thai embassy? I thought it just needs legalising in MK?

[Number 6]

Apologies, is this regarding...?

Work permit

Application B visa

Is anyone aware if this affects other passport holders to date?

 

It might be a requirement of British curriculum schools that filtered down to Thai bureaucracy somehow. For all intents and purposes only UK nationals work in these schools. Maybe Immigration has had lots of diploma fraud from individuals claiming degrees from UK.

 

Did I not read some Americans had this issue as well? Wasn't it for the B visa?

[worrab]

10 hours ago, oldwelshman said:

Does it need sending to Thai embassy? I thought it just needs legalising in MK?

Unfortunately it does need to be sent to the Thai Embassy for their stamp.

[worrab]

4 hours ago, Number 6 said:

Apologies, is this regarding...?

Work permit

Application B visa

Is anyone aware if this affects other passport holders to date?

 

It might be a requirement of British curriculum schools that filtered down to Thai bureaucracy somehow. For all intents and purposes only UK nationals work in these schools. Maybe Immigration has had lots of diploma fraud from individuals claiming degrees from UK.

 

Did I not read some Americans had this issue as well? Wasn't it for the B visa?

It is not for any of these. It is for a degree certificate so it can be accepted by the Thai authorities for teaching in schools. A quirk for Brits to go through for some crazy reason.

[otherstuff1957]

I had to show the TCT a notarized copy of my degree when applying for a Teacher's License.  Fortunately, the US embassy will still notarize degrees, so this is not as difficult for us as it is for our friends from the UK.

[Scott]

18 hours ago, worrab said:

It is not for any of these. It is for a degree certificate so it can be accepted by the Thai authorities for teaching in schools. A quirk for Brits to go through for some crazy reason.

The US has a nation-wide degree clearinghouse that can certify a degree.   There is a small fee, but once the basic information is submitted, within a day or so, an email is sent that certifies the information on the person, the degree received, the date conferred etc.  

 

In the past the Immigration has accepted the copies of the degree along with the certification.    The transcript has to be original and more recently has to be an unopened copy sent directly from the University.  

 

For people in the UK, there is no clearing house and some schools have changed hands and confirmation as to the authenticity of the degree cannot be obtained.   Apparently, some schools also conferred a degree, but with no transcript.  

 

We have been unable to get a Teacher's License for those applicants.  

 

[Number 6]

On 3/9/2019 at 1:02 PM, worrab said:

It is not for any of these. It is for a degree certificate so it can be accepted by the Thai authorities for teaching in schools. A quirk for Brits to go through for some crazy reason.

Well, I have my license so no worries there. Thank you.

 

I suspect there was a spate of teacher's from UK with bad degrees. It's a ridiculous criterion. They should be verifying themselves if it's that important.