Can I Give Private Tuition On A Tourist Visa?

[stanny]

Can I give private tuition on a tourist visa? How safe is it? I plan to give some private English lessons here and there to supplement my income.

[Boater]

Good Question..... i think as long as you dont get caught !

[stanny]

Do they usually catch people this way? Would I be able to stay under the gun?

[robbiecia]

You can't legally work on a tourist visa..but stay under the radar, and you will be fine

[IMA_FARANG]

Can I give private tuition on a tourist visa? How safe is it? I plan to give some private English lessons here and there to supplement my income.

Short answer, No you may not work on a tourist visa.

Longer answer....not legally but in fact itwould be...unless you get caught. Question: how would you get caught. Possible answer....someone reports you because he/she is unhappy with something you did.

"It's up to you", as the Thais might say.

[stanny]

Alright cool, I'll give this a shot. I think the cops have better things to do than catch private tutors earning 400-500 BHT an hour.

[Moonfruit]

Clowns like you are what keep the immigration authorities of much mightier nations busier.

I wonder which way your vote would go in your home country?

May i suggest doing things in the legal manner and getting the correct Visa and a work permit to satisfy your desire to work. Ormaybe try the alternative and stay at home until you can afford not to work.Or, option number 3, come up with a better more original idea than taking some students money for sub-par teaching.

dam_n, clowns like you piss me off.

[Slip]

Only as an illegal immigrant. Safe enough until you get caught then a few weeks in immigration detention perhaps?

f you are unlucky enough to get caught I'm sure you'll have opportunity to rue breaking Thai law.

Have fun.

[Jingthing]

I don't understand the indignation about this. The buyer is willing to buy the service, isn't asking about wp's, and the seller is willing to provide the services. If the buyer isn't happy with the service, they stop buying the service. Anyone reading the teacher forum here knows what a nightmare it is getting legal here even for full time teachers with formal jobs, so telling this guy to get a WP is laughable.

[phaethon]

I'm thinking of coming to Thailand on a tourist visa to work as a freelance Prime Minister, will I need a work permit?

Also, will a 30 day stamp be too long for this job?

[Slip]

I don't understand the indignation about this. The buyer is willing to buy the service, isn't asking about wp's, and the seller is willing to provide the services. If the buyer isn't happy with the service, they stop buying the service. Anyone reading the teacher forum here knows what a nightmare it is getting legal here even for full time teachers with formal jobs, so telling this guy to get a WP is laughable.

But the OP should be aware of the fairly nasty downside risk in the (admittedly) very unlikely situation that he does get caught somehow and it can happen. Of course he's never going to be able to get a WP and be legal as a private tutor anyway.

(Off topic: 100th post )

[sriracha john]

Can I give private tuition on a tourist visa? How safe is it? I plan to give some private English lessons here and there to supplement my income.

Short answer, No you may not work on a tourist visa.

Longer answer....not legally but in fact itwould be...unless you get caught. Question: how would you get caught. Possible answer....someone reports you because he/she is unhappy with something you did.

"It's up to you", as the Thais might say.

Another aspect of Thais is they wouldn't confront the OP as jingthing posted. Typically they would go behind someone's back in order to deal with their being upset. This could quite easily result in someone simply make a complaint, even unofficially, to the authorities and he's nailed.

The possible scenarios resulting in someone in the OP's position being caught out are almost endless. Anything from suspicious neighbors wondering about his activities with children, disgruntled parents who are shocked their child isn't fluent in English after 3 months of tutoring and blames the teacher for it (an actual complaint I heard from a parent regarding an ECC language school teacher), to someone seeking a lower rate, to a stranger he bumped into at the market and didn't apologize because he was in a hurry and felt sufficiently pissed off... endlessly etc.

It's should be very easy to see that the OP could be "grassed out" and he wouldn't even know where it came from.

But, at the end of the day, as it is with the commission of any crime, the perpetrator should make a full and complete risk versus benefit analysis prior to deciding to commit the crime.

It would seem the OP...

Alright cool, I'll give this a shot.

hasn't completely done this vital task yet.

Edited September 17, 2008 by sriracha john

[Wrong Turn]

Good Question..... i think as long as you dont get caught !

This is the answer.

Also, how could it be proven - if you did get caught - that money changed hands. Would this hinge on the testimony of the students?

Probably safe enough if it's only a few hours a week and you keep quiet.

[GuestHouse]

Can I give private tuition on a tourist visa? How safe is it? I plan to give some private English lessons here and there to supplement my income.

You can, but you may not.

[Wolfie]

Good Question..... i think as long as you dont get caught !

This is the answer.

Also, how could it be proven - if you did get caught - that money changed hands. Would this hinge on the testimony of the students?

Probably safe enough if it's only a few hours a week and you keep quiet.

The onus is on the OP to prove he wasn't working, in that situation... i've been on the wrong side of the Immigration/Labour office once (fortunately just a misunderstanding) and believe me, they don't have to prove sh1t, its you that has to (dis)prove everything.

OP: Have you seen inside of one of the immigration jails? Have you seen inside one of the prisons? The likelihood of being caught is remote, however is a measly 400-500b an hour worth the risk?

[PhilHarries]

I'm thinking of coming to Thailand on a tourist visa to work as a freelance Prime Minister, will I need a work permit?

Also, will a 30 day stamp be too long for this job?

1. No, not unless you plan to do some cookery shows on TV.

2. Yes, but there's plenty to do in Thailand to occupy the spare 28 days.

To the OP, you've had all the answers so it is up to you as we say. Some people are happy scratching around picking up crumbs from the table and being illegal is just part of the scene. On an earlier thread you mention that you are 23 y.o. From that tender age are you prepared to spend the rest of your life being a parasite? You also claim to be qualified in IT stuff, well don't forget the train don't stop just 'cause you got off and don't be surprised if in a few years your skills aren't worth diddly squat.

Anyway do keep in touch especially if you get caught as we do love these heart rending stories of how some evil b@st@d grassed you up and you got deported. There are always sympathetic ears on ThaiVisa, and some not so sympathetic, and we are always up for a good laugh.

[Digitalbanana]

Alright cool, I'll give this a shot. I think the cops have better things to do than catch private tutors earning 400-500 BHT an hour.

Why not push drugs instead? Must be more money to be had in that line of work? Either way you'll be illegal and hardly doing the Thai's any favors with your teaching skills if you cannot do it above board?

[PeaceBlondie]

As Jingthing mentioned here, it is darn difficult to teach legally, as an employee. I never could, working for the govt. schools here. Self-employed is virtually impossible, even if you have a WP as an employee. And does the OP have any teaching qualifications? He can earn 200 baht an hour in Chiang Mai, maybe.