Chiang Mai: Crackdown on tourists teaching at language institutes and cram schools

[miamiman123]

Get em all

many EP/international schools in Bangkok have teachers WITHOUT a degree teaching or shady school graduate like religious school from USA? Sound familiar Mr.T??? 

[Columbus]

I know 2 people from the UK on fake degrees teaching in Khonkaen Government schools. 2 teaching on Retirement visas, the school protects them and pays the usual fees to the local boys in blue. So my question is, "who is breaking the law? 

[MaxLee]

And so the TM 30 crusade continues in schools

[Kelsall]

1 hour ago, keith101 said:

Why not apply for the right visa and just work legally ?

A good question.  However I've run into several expats in CM, many actually, over the years who feel the opposite: Why do something legally when the criminal way will work?  This includes committing perjury on the old Immigration pension form and scheming to bring in 800k THB in cash, undeclared, when wiring it would work just as well.  Not filling out FBAR's on US tax returns, easy to do, but why not break the law if you can.

 

Looks like "Patricia" got what she deserved.

[Ketyo]

Now everyone is complaining about immigration having more capacity and going after Farangs. Why not! Thailand is not a poor country any more. When I was a youngster back in Aus the Immos used to raid the fruit picking farms regularly for backpackers working without visas. They would come into the paddock in force and find maybe 1 or 2 casuals working illegally. They were protecting Australia's national security. They probably still do the same.

[EricTh]

Immigration isn't doing their job in letting her do border runs to continue her long term stay under tourist visa.

 

I thought there is a limited number of tourist visas per year that the immigration can grant per year to the same person?

[sniggie]

47 minutes ago, legend49 said:

Just IMO and BIB jealous they cant speak more than 1 language.

Most BiB that i have encountered can say 'licence' and 'two hundred baht'.

[fruitman]

2 hours ago, Tropicalevo said:

Well, I back the immigration people on this one.

Working illegally, not paying taxes etc. These people cause problems for all of us.

Yes it's vely annoying that NONE of the staff in Siam Paragon or Siam Icon can speak english....so annoying that i won't go shopping there anymore.

[holy cow cm]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

On Monday a raiding party led by Saraphi station chief Pol Col Songkran Sanwong with immigration and labor department officers went to a well known cram school in Saraphi. 

 

They were acting on a complaint that a 57 year old American tourist was teaching there. She had been reported as creating annoyance among traders and businesspeople elsewhere in the city. 

 

Saraphi is relatively a small town and foreigners stick out like a soar thumb. Not sure if buying it that she was annoying everyone other than could be the xenophobic race card. But once talk starts going around and it gets to the local flat foot, then you can bet your bottom satang they are going to take her out anyway they can just to get her out of Saraphi.  

[SuwadeeS]

Here are some more fact, why not to forget to blame THAIS

 

1. The most teaching agencies are hiring teachers, do not help for get a work permit.

2. Many good Filipino teachers with all the proper documents getting not hired because,

the many school require only native speakers. I have seen many of the native speakers with many hard to under standing dialects. That is why I think it is stupid, not to hire Filipino teachers.

3. There is a lot of money under the table involved. 

4. Of course there are some foreigners they do that, but as a matter of fact Thailand is social political still in stone age.  The government wants to be a global player, but when you look how inhuman they treat foreigners waiting for deportation. That is so disgusting. All the world talk about North Korea, and how the torture prisoners, but why nobody talks about Thailand and how they do not care about human rights. 

[Cereal]

1 hour ago, Neeranam said:

It is farang. 

 

Only a lroblem if tou poss off the wrong person. 

Who here hasn't  broken a law on Thailand?

My cleanest of mates, anti corruption giy even paid immigration money for something he didnt have.

He wouldn't  evrn pay 100 baht to a cop in the past.

I am going to assume you were hammered drunk whilst typing this barely comprehensible drivel. 

[spiekerjozef]

I smell a rat...

[kiwikeith]

1 hour ago, Neeranam said:

Why not just tell us the name of rhe company?

Name is Big Company

[moontang]

13 minutes ago, fruitman said:

Yes it's vely annoying that NONE of the staff in Siam Paragon or Siam Icon can speak english....so annoying that i won't go shopping there anymore.

They will probably learn Mandarin, before they learn English.  The only thing I went there for was Filipino cigars..then they raised the price 50%.  

[Jimbo2014]

TM30 Involved?  Thought not

[crickets]

Work permits and non b is a gauntlet that is not.easy for most. Labor department and immigration refuse to work together which is part of the problem.

[soalbundy]

1 hour ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

Nothing...  And as usual in the OP article, no mention whatsoever of any consequences for the school or its owners, etc.

 

It takes two to tango, and clearly the school had knowingly decided to hire someone who didn't have a work permit and didn't have a visa that legally would allow her to work.

 

So why weren't the school operator's hauled off to jail along with the teacher?

 

 

My 12 year old British/Thai son speaks perfect English and his teacher complained to me that he reads English better than he can read Thai. The headmaster of the school was so impressed that he asked me to teach English there, I explained that I don't have a work permit and am retired, that doesn't matter he said, nobody will know, we will take responsibility, so I asked him if he would go to prison for me, cough, cough, foot shuffle, "OK forget it"

[Matzzon]

More pack to show the door. My favorite people at work again. Now, they do another great work. Hope they find more illegal foreigners they can show the door.

[Hank Gunn]

1 hour ago, Baerboxer said:

 

Or they get a genuine qualified teacher with a WP and appropriate visa.

Problem is, in general, Thailand doesn't want to pay for "qualified teachers". They want to pay "backpacker wages" (which by the way haven't changed in the last dozen-plus years) and the results are what you see, a large amount of unqualified teachers, whose main "qualifications" are pretty much limited to having a light complexion and maybe being a native English speaker (although that's not always the case).

[metempsychotic]

2 hours ago, Neeranam said:

It is farang. 

 

Only a lroblem if tou poss off the wrong person. 

Who here hasn't  broken a law on Thailand?

My cleanest of mates, anti corruption giy even paid immigration money for something he didnt have.

He wouldn't  evrn pay 100 baht to a cop in the past.

You back on drugs? 

[moontang]

I wonder how many of the Fred Flintstone lookalikes, SJWs that march around the narrow sidewalks three wide in CM are a part of the illegal workforce?  

[orchis]

''The authorities have said that there are many tourists on 30 day visas continually nipping across the border to extend then going right back to work illegally at language and cram schools in the northern city.''

 

How would that work if only 2 border crossing for visa exempt allowed per year, also 30 day visa, actually visa exempt cannot be extended by crossing borders.

[kensisaket]

I recently spoke to a newly graduated teacher. I asked what he taught....English.  Based on our conversation; and, his limited ability to converse in English I believe any native English language speaker who wants to teach in Thailand should be given an open-ended visa to stay and teach as long as they want.  

[Dap]

2 hours ago, darksidedog said:

Really? Enough reports of people being turned away when having had 2 or more actual visas, and border hopping has been tough for a long time, so how have they been getting away with it all those years?

One teacher having been caught, also doesn't seem like massive evidence of a grand epidemic.

 

And that, only because "She had been reported as creating annoyance among traders and businesspeople elsewhere in the city." 

[Dap]

2 hours ago, bkkatl said:

I think bigger issue is people on marriage and retirement visas working without a permit. Half the guys I know don't have a work permit but they're married.

There's no law prohibiting married folk from working as long as they have the proper paperwork.

[Odysseus123]

5 minutes ago, Dap said:

And that, only because "She had been reported as creating annoyance among traders and businesspeople elsewhere in the city." 

"creating annoyance" probably tramslates to.."I want a refund."

 

That'll teach her!

[Odysseus123]

Just now, Odysseus123 said:

"creating annoyance" probably translates to.."I want a refund."

 

That'll teach her!

 

[DannyCarlton]

1 hour ago, legend49 said:

Just IMO and BIB jealous they cant speak more than 1 language.

Neither can the "English" teachers.

[Neeranam]

1 hour ago, Columbus said:

I know 2 people from the UK on fake degrees teaching in Khonkaen Government schools. 2 teaching on Retirement visas, the school protects them and pays the usual fees to the local boys in blue. So my question is, "who is breaking the law? 

Everybody, including the police, school, teachers and you. I have kids at schools there. Care to name the schools' names? 

I will happily be the law abiding one.

[NightSky]

Not exactly a new crackdown is it, it’s been going on since 2014 or so the news tells us every day.