Volunteer Visa From Neighouring Countries

[mja1906]

Hi,

I am a UK passport holder currently in Thailand. I need to go to one of the neighbouring countries (Msia, Laos, China ....) to apply for non-immigrant O volunteer visa. I have heard that some embassies are easier to get visas from than others. Can anyone shed light on this, or have experience doing this? Also what docs are needed to apply for this? I have an invitation from a government hilltribe school. Anything else?

Thanks,

[ubonjoe]

There is no special visa needed for a volunteer visa. It is a non-o visa issued for that reason.

You don't even need a letter to get a non-o since you are married to a Thai (I answered your previous post). Just show your marriage certificate, your husbands house book and ID card (and/or copies of them) and you can get the visa.

Do you want a single or multiple entry visa? I will be able to answer your question about where to go with this info..

[ubonjoe]

I have closed the other tppic that you made on this subject.

I see you are asking about getting a 1 year visa in your other topic. You will not get one at any nearby consulate as a volunteer.

You could get a multiple entry in KL or Penang based upon marriage but as I told you in an earlier topic you can easily get a 1 year extension of stay. A multiple entry means you would have to leave and re-enter every 90 days.

[sriracha john]

just to add... don't forget the required work permit when you volunteer.

[pecker]

I understand that volunteers must get a work visa, type O according to discussion above. However, I am also told there are lots of volunteers helping refugees in border regions around the country on tourist visas. Does Thai immigration turn a blind eye to this practice? An organisation I know sponsoring such volunteers told me that volunteers did not need work permits? Have I been incorrectly advised?

[Lite Beer]

I understand that volunteers must get a work visa, type O according to discussion above. However, I am also told there are lots of volunteers helping refugees in border regions around the country on tourist visas. Does Thai immigration turn a blind eye to this practice? An organisation I know sponsoring such volunteers told me that volunteers did not need work permits? Have I been incorrectly advised?

Yes. Any kind of work needs a Work Permit. and a Non Imm Visa.

[ubonjoe]

I understand that volunteers must get a work visa, type O according to discussion above. However, I am also told there are lots of volunteers helping refugees in border regions around the country on tourist visas. Does Thai immigration turn a blind eye to this practice? An organisation I know sponsoring such volunteers told me that volunteers did not need work permits? Have I been incorrectly advised?

It is not a work visa. The visa and work permit are separate things.

Enforcement of work permit requirements are more the labor departments responsibility than immigration.

I think they just don't bother enforcing the law.

Most people that go through the process of getting the work permit are on staff and working full time. Getting the work permit enables them to get an extension of stay so they don't have to make border and visa runs.

[mja1906]

Well actually I'm not married yet, I have a partner here and was just looking at what the steps were to get a marriage visa. For personal reasons I don't think I will get married.

To explain, my situation is this-

I am on a non-imm O volunteer visa which I go to the Mae Sariang imm office to extend for 90 days at a time. The government hilltribe school I work for provides the documentation for this. This has worked fine for the past 6 months, until for some reason my application for extension now has to be approved by Bangkok instead of Mae Hong Son. It’s a long story but to cut it short, Mae Sariang immigration have told me that it is not a good idea to use this method anymore (too much hassle and slow getting approval from Bangkok) so they said I either have two options a) get a work permit which will allow me to get a non-imm for 1 yr or get married.

The government hilltribe school don't have the resources to get wp for me. I'm not ready to get married yet.

To throw in another detail - an NGO in town also want me to teach for them which I have agreed to do. They said that ED visas were easy to get in Ventiane and they can provide me with a sponsorship/invitation letter. (but I have to check with them bcos ED visas are for educational purposes?). Which is why I asked about getting volunteer visas in neighbouring countries. UbonJoe you mention I cant get this in neighbouring countries, why? Are they just very strict/reluctant about these kinds of visas?

Also still confused, does one need to show proof of wp application when applying for a volunteer visa? My friend from Holland recently flew in, he has a non-imm O volunteer visa from Holland, multi entry 1 yr, he didn't need to show anything about work permits.

......very confused!

[ubonjoe]

The nearby consulates will only issue single entry visas. That is their plolicy why I can't answer. You could get a single with the the letter you have.

If you will be getting paid by the NGO it would be a B visa if not it would be a non-o. At one time teaching was under the ED catagory so they may be just mentioning the wrong one.

I don't uderstand why the current school has a problem getting the work permit. It takes very little paper work for them to do that since it is a goverment school. One of the other mods has a volunteer work permit so he may be able to be of some help on that. It may just be a matter of you doing the application yourself using the documentation they give you.

To legally work as a volunteer requires a work permit. I am suprised you got a 90 day extension without one.

Consulates outside the region are much more flexable about issuing multiple entry visas. If you were in the UK you get one in a couple of days.

[Mario2008]

The consulate in amsterdam is very easy and doesn't require much paperwork, like many other honorary consulates in the west. You will find that embassies and consultes in neighbouring country are more strict.

To get the visa your friend didn't need a work permit, he will however need one to do olunteer work legaly and it is also a requirement for getting an extension of stay from immigration. Mae sarinag has ben friendly to you, as you appeared to have worked without a WP. That is a crime and also reason to deny you an extension.

The ED visa is for studying in Thailand, you will not be able to get a WP on it.

[ubonjoe]

Mario

The OP needs help and advise on getting a vounteer workpermit. She is teaching at a goverment school.

[Mario2008]

I can confirm it is no problem getting a work permit for a volunteer at a government school. I have one. It is just some paperwork the school has to fill out and the labour departmnt is very helpfull. Your school probably just don't know how to go about the process. They can easily get a 1 year work permit for you. As said, volunteering without one is a criminal offense for you and the school.

[ubonjoe]

Here is a document with the requirements for getting a teachers work permit.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/post-a84076-...rements.pd.html

[sriracha john]

I understand that volunteers must get a work visa, type O according to discussion above. However, I am also told there are lots of volunteers helping refugees in border regions around the country on tourist visas. Does Thai immigration turn a blind eye to this practice? An organisation I know sponsoring such volunteers told me that volunteers did not need work permits? Have I been incorrectly advised?

Yes, as Lite Beer correctly points out, you were erroneously advised.

The practice of doing work for volunteer organizations, or working anywhere for anyone for that matter, without a work permit is precarious and subject to enforcement at anytime. Not unlike overstay. And similarly, given the potential consequences of jail, fined, deported, and blacklisted that exist for work permit violations and which mirror those penalties for overstays, why otherwise rational and prudent people would throw caution to the wind and actually perform this criminal act escapes me.

The more high profile the position the more potential for being "turned in" or "grassed out" exists and the OP working as a public school teacher is high profile, IMO.

Edited May 23, 2009 by sriracha john

[mja1906]

wow...... I have an 'application for consideration of stay' which expires on the 31st May, until BKK decide whether to grant me an extension. I am pessimistic about them granting me it, as I don't have a WP

Looks like I may have to leave the country, will there be any problems with immigration when I exit about not having a WP? or can I just slip away quietly? I will most probably exit by land.

[ubonjoe]

Immigration will not ask for a work permit when you leave. You won't have any problem.

[Mario2008]

The question is why can't the school get you a WP? For a government schoool it can be done in 1 day! It realy is just filling in some papers and getting a letter from the education district office and paying 3,100 baht for 1 year.

[mja1906]

Thanks guys....

Well its a hilltribe school remote in the mountains, the Thai/English teacher who I work with he is extremely busy all the time. He did mention about trying to get me a WP but think he has been too busy to actually do anything about it. So based on the document you posted I think will try and do most of it myself. All I need from his is the docs from the schools side, then I get the rest and go to the Labour office myself?

Mario, also I see that the link you posted says nothing about salary requirements etc. Is there a different kind of WP for volunteer teachers instead of paid teachers? Do they always request the Teachers license because I don't have this. How long does it take to process?

Ubon, if I have to leave the country and apply for a single entry non-imm O visa (which will give me 90 days?) can I then come back and apply for a WP and then an extension of visa?

[ubonjoe]

Once you have the work pemit it should be no problem to get your non-o permit to stay extended.

[Mario2008]

Thanks guys....

Well its a hilltribe school remote in the mountains, the Thai/English teacher who I work with he is extremely busy all the time. He did mention about trying to get me a WP but think he has been too busy to actually do anything about it. So based on the document you posted I think will try and do most of it myself. All I need from his is the docs from the schools side, then I get the rest and go to the Labour office myself?

Mario, also I see that the link you posted says nothing about salary requirements etc. Is there a different kind of WP for volunteer teachers instead of paid teachers? Do they always request the Teachers license because I don't have this. How long does it take to process?

Ubon, if I have to leave the country and apply for a single entry non-imm O visa (which will give me 90 days?) can I then come back and apply for a WP and then an extension of visa?

The WP is the same, only the job description is different and will say that you are a volunteer. So far there has not been any report of a labour office requiring a teachers license for paid teaching jobs. Only 3 immigration offices require a teacher license, Mae Sariang not being one of them. (If need be you can get a temporary waiver for 2 years, which will take 2 to 3 weeks to get).

Don't forget to go to a government hospital to get a health declaration, should cost something like 30 or 50 baht.

You can bring all the documents to the labour office yourself. As long as the school director signs the papers and you also get a letter from your regional educational office.