Marriage Visa - Any Perks?

[nitnoy22]

I'm about to go for my thai marriage visa and was wondering what does this mean now in terms of working here? i mean, do i need a work permit still? is it possible to do private teaching at home without having to step foot into an overcrowded Thai classroom ever again just to have a work permit?

also, is there a way of making home private teaching legal? i heard you could register it as a home workshop type thing under your Thai partner's name, paying tax etc.

finally,has anyone heard of a W.P 7 which enables an employer, particularly schools who are also agents, to add multiple locations onto the teachers WP? saw it in on Ajarn site but nowhere else.

[twschw]

Sorry , you will still need a WP if you plan on working here.

[withnail]

The perk that comes with a marriage visa is that it is not fixed to any job. So, although you still need a WP, if you cancel that WP you are still allowed to stay here.

As far as teaching privately goes I would say on a small scale the chances of you getting in any trouble are pretty slim especially if in every other sense you are legal. Of course to be completely legal you probably have to register your spare bedroom as a school, pay tax, employ Thai staff and get yourself a WP etc. etc. In which case, you basically have to start a language school. Doing this for a couple of privates a week will never be worth it, so again my advice would be take the risk or don't bother (or start a proper language school if you and your wife have the means).

As far as the W.P.7 goes, yes I have heard of it, but also only from reading about it. Whether such a thing still exists I have no idea, and I imagine 99% of employers in Thailand also have no idea about it. Even if they did the chances of an agency going to the trouble of getting you one just for your piece of mind when they have already made you legal at their school are pretty remote I'd imagine. Again, this falls back to my second point that if you are legally teaching here working somewhere else is unlikely (although technically possible) to get you in trouble.

Edit: Before anyone starts shouting abuse about how dodgy this is could you tell me how many legal teachers you actually have known to get in any trouble for being in a second location.

Edited March 22, 2008 by withnail

[PeaceBlondie]

I agree with withnail, as usual. I do not know if a home teaching location can be added to the list of approved places. I have heard that a second (or even third) location can be added, if they are official teaching locations such as a govt. school and a language school.

You might get an official language school license if your Thai spouse is almost a Ph.D. and you spend a year trying to get licensed. Not worth it unless you are going to have a lot of Thai staff, other teachers, etc.

Your chances of getting caught doing private lessons is decreased if you keep a low profile, do some of the teaching in the students' homes, cater to a special niche like Japanese or Samoans who wouldn't know the Thai law, you don't compete with Thai teachers, etc. ThaiVisa has this special rule against advising illegal activities, so don't do it.

[phetpeter]

WP 7 can be got from the work permit office. You will find it most suitable for your employer to go with you if he wishes you to work at different locations.

You will only be excepted if the different locations are on a reqular basis. If the agency you work for aren't willing to comfirm these extra locations in the same manner as your base location, you will have a problem.

Plus of course it also depends on the offical behind the desk! You could also try for more than one work permit for each location! (But! who's paying for the WP?)

Edited April 10, 2008 by peterandcat