Freelance as a side job

[Dyran]

Hi all,

 

I'm planning to go to Thailand with my wife. The idea is for her to get a job in a school, since she is a psychologist and has experience as a a teacher. With this, we would get her a work permit. I work in IT as a freelance so I can be anywhere. For my visa, I assume that I could get at least residence even if I have no work permit based on my wife's visa. Is this correct?

 

My wife also works with photography as a freelance here in Spain. Would be possible to do the same in Thailand without creating a proper company? Is it legal to do both things at the same time?.

 

Thanks a lot. We are trying to reach get information before going there but it's really hard.

 

 

[Iamfalang]

7 minutes ago, Dyran said:

For my visa, I assume that I could get at least residence even if I have no work permit based on my wife's visa. Is this correct?

I'm going to GUESS definitely not.  I'll let the experts give you the facts, but I'm giving you a heads up.   residence based on her work permit from school?  never heard of that.   she gets a WP that is as long as her contract.   she will teach ABC to kids, zero use of her psychology degree, sorry.  She will say Hello, how are you? 2000x a day, stuff like that.   30,000 baht a month.    You are on your own for your own visa.

 

I'm 90% I'm right.....would be interesting if I'm wrong.  I'll see....

[Lorry]

You know the meaning of "freelance" in Thailand? 

"Side job" doesn't make it any better. 

[Adumbration]

Chinese photographers working in Phuket were regularly arrested and deported prior to Covid.

[onthedarkside]

An off-topic trolling post has been removed.

 

[problemfarang]

hi,

i will give you a proper answer. please ignore the posts before. they are just being stupid. its obvious you are asking a legit question

 

so, if your wife find a job as a teacher.. she will have non-b visa which also allow you to stay with her which means you will get a non-o visa with her too. hers will be non-o work yours will be non-o member of your family has a work in thailand, you are the husband so you can get it.

 

about the photography. sorry but i dont think you can find a job about it. almost impossible.. maybe she can apply some university like teaching art and photography but really no chance. the best option for her is to teach english.

 

about IT. im sorry you have zero chance to find a job about it. you can do some work but dont count on it because it will be illegal. i suggest you to find a job about teaching english too. 

 

 

Edited April 25, 2022 by problemfarang

[timendres]

43 minutes ago, problemfarang said:

about IT. im sorry you have zero chance to find a job about it. you can do some work but dont count on it because it will be illegal. i suggest you to find a job about teaching english too. 

There are opportunities for foreign programmers here in Thailand that provide a work permit. They are not easy to find, but they exist. I would think you will have a much easier time finding one, once you are located here. As for freelancing, if you have clients from outside Thailand, and you are working for them from your apartment/condo, then that is a reasonable thing you can expect to do. However, obtaining clients in Thailand as a freelance programmer is a definite non-starter. You will find it exceptionally difficult to find these gigs, and even more difficult to handle them without running into problems.

[Hummin]

44 minutes ago, problemfarang said:

hi,

i will give you a proper answer. please ignore the posts before. they are just being stupid. its obvious you are asking a legit question

 

so, if your wife find a job as a teacher.. she will have non-b visa which also allow you to stay with her which means you will get a non-o visa with her too. hers will be non-o work yours will be non-o member of your family has a work in thailand, you are the husband so you can get it.

 

about the photography. sorry but i dont think you can find a job about it. almost impossible.. maybe she can apply some university like teaching art and photography but really no chance. the best option for her is to teach english.

 

about IT. im sorry you have zero chance to find a job about it. you can do some work but dont count on it because it will be illegal. i suggest you to find a job about teaching english too. 

 

 

For her being freelance photographer, her marked and customers must be outside Thailand. 
 

Freelance IT also fine as long your customers is not in Thailand, unless you have a foreign company set up serving the thai marked. 

[BritTim]

There are two separate questions here:

1. Assuming your wife gets a Non B visa and subsequent extension based on teaching in Thailand, can you get a Non O visa and subsequent extension as her spouse?
   The answer, I believe, is yes. However, it is tricky, you will not be able to get the Non O visa in Thailand, and cannot apply for the Non O visa at all until your wife is on a long term permission to stay. The logistics will probably involve a visit to an embassy outside Thailand to get the Non O. Prior to that, you will need to be in Thailand as a tourist.
2. Can you and your wife engage in offshore work (either as your only source of income, or as a side-line)?
   This is a recurrent question, and you will get mixed answers. I state with confidence that, at the current time, although not explicitly allowed, it is tolerated. This might change in the future. However, historically and at the current time, as long as you do not work for a Thai employer, and you do not earn income from customer here in Thailand, the authorities will not interfere.

 

[CharlieH]

Has the wife any experience in teaching ? If not as a minimum get a TEFL course under her belt. The money wont be great and the hours long and air con unlikely in many classrooms.The money is in universities but unless she has experidnce she"ll  probably be in a school in Nachorn nowhere.

 

IT work, you would be better, playing it very low, and get gigs on the net if possible, only you know how viable that is in your given area of ability.

 

Dont sweat the technicalities of visas too much, there are always different options available and many navigate them.

[Tropposurfer]

9 hours ago, Iamfalang said:

I'm going to GUESS definitely not.  I'll let the experts give you the facts, but I'm giving you a heads up.   residence based on her work permit from school?  never heard of that.   she gets a WP that is as long as her contract.   she will teach ABC to kids, zero use of her psychology degree, sorry.  She will say Hello, how are you? 2000x a day, stuff like that.   30,000 baht a month.    You are on your own for your own visa.

 

I'm 90% I'm right.....would be interesting if I'm wrong.  I'll see....

Yep as far as teaching is concerned you're right ... the psyche degree is not worth much in the mainstream here, UNLESS she speaks and reads Thai pretty well the she could teach at university, or get a job with a hospital perhaps, but without language skills pretty much useless. The wife could open a psyche related business (for falangs and english speaking hi-so Thais) but that would require a considerable financial investment to set up and maintain with all the Thai staffing and other requirements.  

[Iamfalang]

9 hours ago, BritTim said:

There are two separate questions here:

1. Assuming your wife gets a Non B visa and subsequent extension based on teaching in Thailand, can you get a Non O visa and subsequent extension as her spouse?
   The answer, I believe, is yes. However, it is tricky, you will not be able to get the Non O visa in Thailand, and cannot apply for the Non O visa at all until your wife is on a long term permission to stay. The logistics will probably involve a visit to an embassy outside Thailand to get the Non O. Prior to that, you will need to be in Thailand as a tourist.
2. Can you and your wife engage in offshore work (either as your only source of income, or as a side-line)?
   This is a recurrent question, and you will get mixed answers. I state with confidence that, at the current time, although not explicitly allowed, it is tolerated. This might change in the future. However, historically and at the current time, as long as you do not work for a Thai employer, and you do not earn income from customer here in Thailand, the authorities will not interfere.

 

I would focus on this answer.   Guy before said ignore my post as I’m stupid.  Hahahaha.  I’m right about the degree, salary, and the visa thing is way more complicated than you think.   Even a background check can take a month…..no permit before that’s done.    If you want to believe the guy that calls others stupid……up to you.   

[RafPinto]

7 hours ago, CharlieH said:

Has the wife any experience in teaching ? If not as a minimum get a TEFL course under her belt. The money wont be great and the hours long and air con unlikely in many classrooms.The money is in universities but unless she has experidnce she"ll  probably be in a school in Nachorn nowhere.

 

IT work, you would be better, playing it very low, and get gigs on the net if possible, only you know how viable that is in your given area of ability.

 

Dont sweat the technicalities of visas too much, there are always different options available and many navigate them.

CharlieH

 

Any idea how much a Thai uni prof with a PhD earns?

[n00dle]

12 hours ago, Lorry said:

You know the meaning of "freelance" in Thailand? 

"Side job" doesn't make it any better. 

there are those of us whose lives and language are not governed by tired sex trade cliches. 

[n00dle]

If you are any good as a programmer, there are countless ways you can freelance and make money online.

 

Thaivisa is not really the place to seek answers to questions about more modern ways of working. Few here have any real knowledge or experience with remote work.

Edited April 26, 2022 by n00dle

[RafPinto]

24 minutes ago, RafPinto said:

CharlieH

 

Any idea how much a Thai uni prof with a PhD earns?

I heard from a friend that his Thai GF is a lecturer at a BKK university only making low 30,000Baht a month.
Oh dear.
Go and work in a private school. They make at least 100k a month plus free accomodation, private health care

[FritsSikkink]

13 hours ago, problemfarang said:

about IT. im sorry you have zero chance to find a job about it. you can do some work but dont count on it because it will be illegal. i suggest you to find a job about teaching english too. 

 

 

He can find a job in IT when his skills are wanted. Many foreigners have jobs in IT here.

[ThLT]

14 hours ago, problemfarang said:

so, if your wife find a job as a teacher.. she will have non-b visa which also allow you to stay with her which means you will get a non-o visa with her too. hers will be non-o work yours will be non-o member of your family has a work in thailand, you are the husband so you can get it.

 

about IT. im sorry you have zero chance to find a job about it. you can do some work but dont count on it because it will be illegal. i suggest you to find a job about teaching english too. 

You say to ignore wrong answers, but then you give a wrong answer.

There is a decent amount of office jobs for foreigners in Thailand, especially in Bangkok, and if you have experience in IT, for example (like the OP).

 

6 hours ago, Tropposurfer said:

Yep as far as teaching is concerned you're right ... the psyche degree is not worth much in the mainstream here, UNLESS

Her wife is a psychologist, which means she has a Master's or Doctorate's degree in psychology. This will definitely be useful and will set her apart from the bunch of people with simply a Bachelor's in marketing, for example. Might even land her a position in a slightly better school and a slightly better salary.

Edited April 26, 2022 by ThLT

[CrunchWrapSupreme]

Indeed, if your wife gets a Non-B (work) visa for being a teacher, you can also get a visa to stay as being married to a Non-B holder. Some of my former colleagues who brought wives with them did exactly this.

 

Freelance work... It's online, right? And you already get the clients, from abroad? Hmm, someone I know might be doing this as we speak...messaging some of his Japanese students about business idioms. You can take that to the bank. ???????? Hmm, yes indeed. I heard he just did a transfer, and is now getting 34 baht to the buck. Maybe it'll afford him an extra beer this weekend. Just don't go blabbing about it too much.

 

Contrary to popular belief, there's work to be found teaching out here in Issan (the Northeast) for 40-45k baht a month. She will need to leverage her education and experience. Foreign teachers are in high demand given many still aren't coming to Thailand due to Covid, and even less out here as they're mostly attracted to the BKK area. Yeah, we don't have the excitement of the big city, but advantages are a lower cost of living, less traffic, less headaches getting around, and your school will be much more appreciative of you being here, given the few foreigners who cross their paths.

 

I once taught in a BKK private school with the exact opposite situation. Terrible, hi-so attitudes, you're expendible as they've always got fresh farangs lined up, no appreciation for filling in all their meaningless paperwork, having nothing to do with the little brats and their cushy jobs already lined up, and terrible 1-2 hour commutes each way, between moto taxis, BTS, and bus. Never again.

[n00dle]

16 minutes ago, CrunchWrapSupreme said:

40-45k baht a month

but teaching is a mugs game. you can easily make 3 to four times that with a a bit of effort as a freelancer with a decent skillset.

As you said 34 baht to the buck certainly doesn't hurt right now either.

[CrunchWrapSupreme]

10 minutes ago, n00dle said:

but teaching is a mugs game. you can easily make 3 to four times that with a a bit of effort as a freelancer with a decent skillset.

As you said 34 baht to the buck certainly doesn't hurt right now either.

He's the IT freelancer, I assume he's making good money with it. His wife wants to be the teacher. She'll get a visa for being a teacher, he'll get a visa for being married to her, and can continue his freelance work, so long as he keeps quiet about it.

 

IHMO, 40-45k is the best baht to BS ratio you're going to get for teaching. Many other schools still only pay 30k. Thai universities carry prestige and like high degrees, but they don't offer much higher salaries. Intl and private schools pay around 100k and up, but as I said, not worth their headaches. Especially if he can already bring it in by freelancing.