Hi there,

I'm an English teacher who qualified in Phuket 3 years ago and would like to return to Phuket work. My partner is a Lithuanian Yoga teacher.

We are both keen to come and work in Phuket but are not sure what to do about Visas. We're tempted to just come on a tourist visa and sort things out once we're on the ground. Does this seem feasible? I suppose I'm basically wondering how sparingly working visas are given out and how readily we can get them for lower level jobs if we can't find teaching positions straight away.

If we want to work privately, does this mean we need to get business visas????

Question, questions.... Any help will be much appreciated as England is getting more depressing by the day. I am dreaming of Kow Neow....

Help!

Edited December 30, 200916 yr by oirman

If you don't have a job yet you won't be able to get the paperwork so you can get a non-im B visa so you can get a work permit.

I think there is an option of being self employed. You have to start your own company and get your work permit through the company. The downside is you need to have a large amount of capital in the bank to do this, one million baht rings a bell. There are lots of people out there who will know every option open to you, so hopefully they'll take the time to reply. I do know one thing for sure though, working legitimately here is not as easy as people think, and it's really not worth the risk doing it on the sly. Good luck.

Moving to Visa Forum

Yes, you can come on a tourist visa and look for a job. When you found a job, go abroad with all the right papers and get a non-B visa. Since you don't have a prospective employer yet, this is probably your only option.

Working privately means you will need to set up your own company, that will be a lot of work and money. others can better advise you than me.

Work permits, not visas, are required for all work. That is likely to be the major issue which could result in serious consequences if not taken care of. Although a qualified English teacher may be able to obtain there are many not in that category who live here on a day to day basis never knowing when they may be found out. You say you qualified in Phuket so hopefully you know about work permits. Lower level positions would not likely qualify for a visa or work permit.

For the teaching new term would be in May so before that date there may not be much available. Have no idea if yoga would be available - perhaps in a spa setting. You can come with normal tourist visa and look (almost have to do that to find job unless you are a qualified teacher in home country I expect).