I'm currently teaching 50 hours per month. Two questions:

1. Would I be right in thinking that the employer will be breaking the law if I am working there without a work permit?

2. Can I legally work part time hours without a permit (in any teaching position)?

Thanks in advance.

You need work permit and Non-B or Non-O visa for any work, even volunteering.

You and your employer are breaking the law.

Working without work permit usually is fined with 200.000 baht and deportation.

Although the penalty scale goes up to five years in prison.

As said, a Work Permit and the appropriate Visa is needed to work.

Full Time. Part Time. With or without payment.

Cheers. I thought as much - I currently have a work permit but my employer reduced my hours to part time about a month ago. They claim I am now on a part time contract - although I did not sign anything to this effect.

Apparently Head Office told the manager to cancel my work permit because the company only provide work permits for full time employees. The manager told me the permit has not been cancelled at this time though.

I now need to apply for a new Non B Visa as my previous one expired. I have the documents I used to get the last Non B (just over 3 months ago) which state I'm on a full time salary. I doubt the Embassy will check into this, but don't see any alternative as the manager claims they are unable to help me further with providing any other documents - despite already reissuing copies of my letter of appointment and terms of employment they gave me the first time round.

Can anyone advise where I stand with this and if I'm in the right to go ahead to the Embassy and apply with with I have for the Non B?

Go ahead and apply.

KL is only place close that will give you a 12 months multiple non-B.

Paperwork needed here : MFA

Thanks for the link Poorsucker - I have all the documents listed under requirements for Non B Teaching Visa except for;

- Letter of approval from government agencies such as the Office of the Private Education Commission, the Office of the Basic Education Commission.

- School license or business registration, list of shareholders and school profile. - I have the first two, but not a school profile. I am employed at a language center.

There was some confusion about this on the last visa run - the local immigration office asked me to prepare the letter, my manager told me there was no such office locally (Phitsanulok) and the company letter of appointment would suffice.

The Thai Embassy in Laos didn't say anything about the letter of approval so my documents were sufficient enough for them to grant me the visa. Does anyone know if they are now more strict about seeing this letter or should it be okay?

To my way of thinking, having been to get the visa for this job and now being able to show the work permit for this employer, they would probably grant the visa based on my having a valid permit?

Only Work Permit is not enough.

Yes, thanks - I am aware the Work Permit alone is not enough to be granted a visa having lived and worked in Thailand for 15 months now. .

So I shall reiterate. As per the first paragraph of my last post:

I have ALL the documents listed under requirements for Non B Teaching Visa except for;

- Letter of approval from government agencies such as the Office of the Private Education Commission, the Office of the Basic Education Commission.

- School license or business registration, list of shareholders and school profile. - I have the first two, but I do not have a school profile. I am employed at a language center and they did not give me one.

So can anyone advise if the Letter of Approval and School Profile are definite requirements for obtaining another Non B bearing in mind that I have the Work Permit plus all required documents minus the two listed above?? i was not asked to provide them last time.

I doubt anyone can advise you on this. If its listed as a requirement and you do not have it, you may get away with it or you may not. It depends who deals with your application, how they interpret it, how they feel that day, what the latest word was from head office and so on. Personally I would go back to the school and get them to put something together for you - they will surely also need it for other teachers, so it makes sense that they have them.

Otherwise, I would look around for another job.