Still need a WP if if you are not getting paid. The reason I ask is because I want to teach and I believe that the norm is to start teaching while they are processing your documentation(ILLEGAL). I do not want to get deported/go to prison. I was thinking that I could start teaching and do it for free until all my documentation is in order.

Otherwise I cannot see another solution to my problem.

max, even if you're 'working for free,' the Thai law still considers that work that requires a permit, so that doesn't help.

It's nearly impossible to teach 100% legally from the beginning. That's just the way it is in Thailand, and even the authorities usually understand that.

I believe it's board policy that we never tell anybody to do anything illegal. Don't jaywalk, don't go 1 km/hour over the speed limit, pay all the taxes, never use prostitutes or drink illegally - and all those other, countless things.

But this is Thailand, where the laws aren't designed to let foreigners work legally from day one. If it's your first teaching job in Thailand and you have no more than a BA degree and a TEFL certificate, you'll probably find work at a school that simply doesn't bother themselves until you've passed the probationary period. Heck, I worked for two years in a province where they wouldn't know what a work permit looked like if it hit them in their faceless face.

So it's up to you, Mr. Farang: unless you have a Ph.D. and got recruited by a major university stateside, you have two choices: work illegally for a while, or stay home.

It's why I quit after four years of volunteer teaching.....

I relunctantly felt it was not worth the risk anymore.