I Think My School Is Screwing Me.

[Yimmy]

I had a non-imm B for 2 years and recently moved to BKK.

I went through an agency and all's been ok... except that not only did I lose my non-B, am now on Tourist visa for the past month, and have to go do another visa run - 2000 baht and a saturday wasted again next week. I get the picture that the agency doesn't want the teachers to be legal for tax and other legalities - the other teachers don't care, half of them are on overstays for the past year++.

I want to be legal. I have all my docs and the receipt for my TL application which my last school applied for, but the agency keeps saying the school hasn't got the docs ready yet every time I ask them.

What docs do the school have to get?

Does it really take this long (since mid-april)?

I was pissed off enough at losing my non b in the first place, but now having to waste my time and money doing visa runs every month

Does anyonr know the answer to the 2 above Qs?

Thanks

Edited May 25, 2008 by Yimmy

[Ijustwannateach]

It seems very unlikely they are being straightforward- if they had the ability and intention of getting you a non-imm. B and a work permit (which is what you need along with a non-imm B to be legal) it is fairly easily done, and if they are an agency then they should be fairly knowledgeable about the process and your chance of success.

I think they're playing you and you should look for other jobs ASAP. Too bad; it happens all the time here.

"S"

P.S. If you didn't have a work permit those 2 years and you were working, you were still working illegally. It's possible that may count against you in future attempts to get Non-Imm B's and work permits- I'd make the next one count.

[Yimmy]

I did have a WP permit along with everything else for the past 2 years. That's why I'm slightly pissed at the situation.

Gone from having everything, to doing visa runs with my own time and money every 4 weeks. Even though the new job does pay a lot more. Still though

[joskydive]

I had a non-imm B for 2 years and recently moved to BKK.

I went through an agency and all's been ok... except that not only did I lose my non-B, am now on Tourist visa for the past month, and have to go do another visa run - 2000 baht and a saturday wasted again next week. I get the picture that the agency doesn't want the teachers to be legal for tax and other legalities - the other teachers don't care, half of them are on overstays for the past year++.

I want to be legal. I have all my docs and the receipt for my TL application which my last school applied for, but the agency keeps saying the school hasn't got the docs ready yet every time I ask them.

What docs do the school have to get?

Does it really take this long (since mid-april)?

I was pissed off enough at losing my non b in the first place, but now having to waste my time and money doing visa runs every month

Does anyonr know the answer to the 2 above Qs?

Thanks

I think you should get out of there quick and find yourself and agency or school that is legal. At the end of the day, you are working with no visa to work and no work permit.

You are the one that would get into trouble, not the agency.

You are the one that would be arrested and deported, not the agency.

You are the one who would be most likely be told never to come back to Thailand, not the agency.

You and your family would be the one's picking up the tab, not the agency.

Will they care? Not a bit!

Will they disown you when you have a problem? Yep!

As far as they are concerned, you are just another guy whose walked in off the street and if you go, there's loads more who can fill your shoes.

My non-B. An overnite visit to Mayasia.

My Work Permit. 1 week.

[gonzobrains]

how did you get a work permit in only one week?

[joskydive]

Paid my Lawyer for company setup and work permit. Told to come back in a week where my work permit an Company was waiting for me.

[Scott]

Sorry to hear about your problem. There maybe a couple of things going on; the first your getting screwed; the second, they don't know what they have to do. It depends on where you are at but here's what I have to go through:

1 Get copies of all pages of the passport (with a visa entry from anywhere).

2. Get copies of your degree (and now they are requesting--translate, requiring--transcripts)

3. Verify that your degree is valid--this means writing to the school and getting them to write back saying that someone by that name graduated with that degree on that date. From the US this is easy, they have a national clearing house, so you can get an answer in a matter of hours. From the UK it has taken up to 4 months to get a response. By the way, this can be done by email.

4. You must have a police clearance.

5. If you are from a non-native English speaking country you need a language proficiency exam with an acceptable score, set by the MOE.

All these documents go to the MOE. They they issue a letter requesting that the embassy/consulate where you have stated you want to get the visa (no changing your mind, by the way, it can only be presented to the one it's written to), to give you a non-immigrant B visa.

This process takes about a month--that's a month after they get all the paperwork.

You go to, say Penang, and you get the visa.

Once you return, they apply for the TL. Once you have the TL, then they can apply for a Work Permit.

We had several teacher's whose visa's were going to expire and decided they would have to do something different. They took our registration papers, a letter of employment written in Thai and went to Laos and were given a visa, by passing this whole ordeal. I don't know if that would work for you or not, but it did for them. They, however, had reached the point where they could not return to Thailand because they were going to exceed the total limit.

Best of luck to you. If there's anything I can do, just ask or feel free to PM me.