What Strategy To Take?

[jirikoo]

Hi to everyone,

I fell in love with Thailand on my last visit and want to come back. So I've decided to set off sometimes around April or so.

My priority is to take a break and get away from and after the European winter, but as im a certified ESL teacher I am thinking of landing a teaching job once there.

The drawback is that I am 'only' a Czech, thus non-native English speaker and hold no uni degree. I live now back in CZ and start arranging for the trip including visa.

What is the best strategy to take? I have got a couple of questions that may sound silly (sorry for them upfront)

1) Should I try to arrange/apply for the work offshore while still in CZ before I fly out to Thailand?

Considering my education and nationality, it seems I have only a dog's chance to get successfully through an application process - is that right? I know, I can find out from the local embassy but I want to be ready before I call at their office. What kind of visa should I enquire after? What 'story' am I to come up with?

2) Or..., another option is to fly to Bangkok on tourist visa, turn up in some of Bangkok's schools and possibly get a teaching job. Then, if accepted, fly out, apply for visa and come back? May I apply for visa while in Thailand (Bangkok)?

Be sure, I am heading to Thailand in any case - if unsuccessful in teaching, I'll just do some travel and most importantly enjoy the sun!

Please clarify this for me,

The warmest regards

[Lite Beer]

I am moving this to the Teaching Forum where you should get some advice.

My view is to get whatever Visa you can get in Czech Republic and take it from there.

http://www.thaiembassy.cz/

[Ijustwannateach]

Chances are any work you arrange before coming here will be under disadvantageous conditions.

Proper paperwork is notoriously difficult to arrange- I would be surprised if you had a work permit within the first year, unless you were very lucky. It may help if you sought work through an agency, but once again salaries would be disadvantageous.

It is obviously not in your favour that you are not a native speaker and don't have a degree; however, your experience may help out. I'd advise staying out of the big cities- in the country there will be so little English that your not being a native speaker won't really matter as much, though it may mean getting the paperwork is even harder.

Given everything you've said, I'd regard this more as a vacation and not make any big plans based on employment here.

Regarding the visa- I'd come in, find work you like (if possible) and then make a quick border run with the paperwork.

[dgwooster]

Regarding the visa- I'd come in, find work you like (if possible) and then make a quick border run with the paperwork.

Ijustwannateach,

Is it true that a foreigner can only get a non-immigrant B visa from their home country? This has never made sense to me but I read it somewhere. Thanks.

[PeaceBlondie]

I suspect many non citizens get Thai visas from many countries other than their own/

Newcomers, especially those with the odds stacked so heavily against them, should get the longest, best visa they can get in or near their home country. My Slovene and Danish friends are having trouble finding work because they only have a TEFL, and near-native speech. They also have good interview skills. Then again, this is January/

[mssabai]

Yes you can get a a non-immi b from your own country, but only if you have the paperwork to say you are employed. My advice (for what it is worth) is get your self a 90 day tourist visa from your country. Fly to Thailand asap (recrtuitment is starting now for the next school year starting May). Save yourself a bit of cash so you can travel around and work out where you like and then look for jobs in that area, or vice versa. Once you have found one, they will get all your paperwork together and send you outside the country to get your non-b. Once you have this you will get your work permit from your local labour office. The school should sort all this out for you and you shouldn't have to pay a dime. Except for maybe your travel.

I would say though that you should look and apply while you are outside thailand too if you have a good idea of where you would like to be. If you find a school, seach their name on the internet to find out any dirt on them. I did this with my first job and it was all great. They did still get me to arrive on a tourist visa and then sorted out my non-b and work permit once I was there.

Be sure to bring your tefl and degree certificate with you as they will need this for your work permit.

Good luck! Oh also have a good think about the age ranges you would like to teach...from 4 to 40!!

[jirikoo]

thanks guys for your words of advice

so far, it has been the most useful information

could you tell me if i am supposed to leave THAI upon applying for the visa? I read somehwere that you can actually do it from Thailand (eg.: BKK)

[Loaded]

thanks guys for your words of advice

so far, it has been the most useful information

could you tell me if i am supposed to leave THAI upon applying for the visa? I read somehwere that you can actually do it from Thailand (eg.: BKK)

You can only obtain a Thai visa from outside Thailand at a Thai consulate or embassy although it is/was possible to change a Visa Exemption to a Non-imm B visa at Bangkok Immigration with sponsoring papers from your school; I think there still needs to be 21 days left of the Visa Exemption. Obtaining a non-immigrant B visa for teaching English is straightforward (if you have a sponsoring company) in most English native-speaker countries and it's much easier to obtain in your home country although also possible to obtain in a 3rd country. Many teachers who arrive in Thailand with just a Tourist Visa travel to Laos, Malaysia or Singapore with a pile of documents from their new employer to obtain one. You may have difficulty in the Czech Republic obtaining though as I'm sure the Thai embassy receives few applications for non-imm B visas for English teachers.

Edited January 23, 2009 by Loaded

[Scott]

Also, if you are from a country where English is not the native language, then you need an English Language Proficiency Test with an acceptable score. You can take the TOEIC here if you want.