Teacher's License Confirmed Requirement For Extension Of Visa

[AJmatt]

I work in a large Government High School English Programme with 12 foreign staff. We have been following the requirements of the TCT and have completed 2 of the 3 clauses for acquiring a teacher’s license. Many teachers are due to renew their visa and one of the requirements for a visa renewal is a teacher’s license, this is being asked for at the immigration office.

Only one of the 12 teachers in my school has a teacher’s license the rest of us are waiting for our boss to finish the paperwork and get our temporary license.

So it now appears all visa renewals/one year extensions at your local immigration office for a teacher’s visa will now only be granted with a teacher’s license or a temporary teachers license,

This was in Nan, and in Tak, as we used to use Tak but now we use Nan as the law just changed regarding local jurisdiction, but that’s another story altogether.

Good luck to all…

Matt

[PeaceBlondie]

I can see the immigration police, etc., requiring the temporary license (for which basically you need to finish the 20 hour Thai culture course, right?).

[AJmatt]

I can see the immigration police, etc., requiring the temporary license (for which basically you need to finish the 20 hour Thai culture course, right?).

To get the temporary teacher’s license seems to be different for everyone involved. But if you don’t have what they are asking for you will not get a teacher’s license you will get a temporary one. This will then give you a two year period to fulfill the criteria for a teacher’s license.

As for the culture course and everything else required to qualify for an actual teacher’s license you need to look at this document:

Notification of the Teachers Council of Thailand Board Re: Rules and Procedures for Testing and Evaluation of Knowledge of Foreigners in Applying for License to practice the Teaching Profession B.E. 2549 (2006)

www.pathum2.net/grp4/pvcht(E).pdf

Good luck to all involved as it now appears, to get an extension of visa as a teacher they will be asking for the teacher’s license or temporary license.

Matt

[zaphodbeeblebrox]

I work at the largest school in the Rayong province and am the EP Coordinator for the school. We employ 25 foreign teachers. We had two new teachers issued work permits today, along with extensions to stay, for our government school. We also had three teachers renew their WPs and get extensions of stay. None of our teachers have teacher's licenses, temporary or otherwise, or have complied with any of the alleged requirements for obtaining a license.

Rayong immigration has emphatically stated that a teacher's license is not a requirement for issuance of a WP or extension of stay for a foreign teacher.

Edited February 19, 2009 by zaphodbeeblebrox

[AJmatt]

I work at the largest school in the Rayong province and am the EP Coordinator for the school. We employ 25 foreign teachers. We had two new teachers issued work permits today, along with extensions to stay, for our government school. We also had three teachers renew their WPs and get extensions of stay. None of our teachers have teacher's licenses, temporary or otherwise, or have complied with any of the alleged requirements for obtaining a license.

Rayong immigration has emphatically stated that a teacher's license is not a requirement for issuance of a WP or extension of stay for a foreign teacher.

LOL

Well it seems that Rayong are slow to jump on the band wagon as everybody going to Nan and Tak are now being asked for Teacher's license!

So it seems the best thing to do is move to Rayong and ask "zaphodbeeblebrox" fo a job!

[zaphodbeeblebrox]

I work at the largest school in the Rayong province and am the EP Coordinator for the school. We employ 25 foreign teachers. We had two new teachers issued work permits today, along with extensions to stay, for our government school. We also had three teachers renew their WPs and get extensions of stay. None of our teachers have teacher's licenses, temporary or otherwise, or have complied with any of the alleged requirements for obtaining a license.

Rayong immigration has emphatically stated that a teacher's license is not a requirement for issuance of a WP or extension of stay for a foreign teacher.

LOL

Well it seems that Rayong are slow to jump on the band wagon as everybody going to Nan and Tak are now being asked for Teacher's license!

So it seems the best thing to do is move to Rayong and ask "zaphodbeeblebrox" fo a job!

Just the opposite. Assuming you have accurately described your school's experience at immigration, Nan and Tak are operating out of the old administration's rule book (is it surprising that they would think that the PPP is still running the government?).

Please note that there were prior anecdotal incidents of northern rural provincial immigration offices trying to implement these regulations which technically were not to go into effect until May 2009. Those incidents were sporadic and seemed to stem from confusion on the part of the provincial immigration offfices.

New MOE regulations come out at the end of March. The prior MOE regulations are no longer in effect meaning that the TCT doesn't have authority at this time to be issuing teacher's licenses, despite the fact that it is operating with ostensible authority to do so. The TCT might reclaim formal authority to issue teacher's licenses when the new regulations go into effect but we will have to wait to see on that.

And as for a job at our school, it is a little too late. We filled our 3 openings for the new term this week, and have pulled our job ad.

Cheers

[ubonjoe]

It is the same as it always has been. Different offices different requirements. That goes for immigration and the labour department both. It is the same for any type of extension or work permit.