Opening A School

[Aussieabroad]

My partner and I are both overseas qualified primary school teachers with Bachelor degrees in education. We are wanting to open a school in a town in northern Thailand that badly requires a good school. The school will mainly service farang (actually half farang/half Thai) and any Thai kids that wish to attend.We understand that opening a school is very difficult and requires a substantial amount of money. We also know that we need a Thai principal, 2 rai of land and need to get a licence etc. But we have heard that you can set up a holding company and operate so long as you do not call it a 'school' as such. From what i can gather is that your company needs to be worth 4 billion in order to get 2 work visas and that we have to employ 4 Thais. Can anyone confirm if this is correct? How long would the whole process take? Are we able to have volunteers come and work at the 'school' and do we have to get visas for them as such? Someone else also suggested setting up a 'home schooling' company?If anyone has taken this route, we would greatly appreciate your advice. We did go and speak to a lawyer but he was a bit clueless on the topic.

[CharlieH]

Any work whatsoever done in Thailand, paid or unpaid, Volunteer etc ALL requires a valid Work Permit.

The value of the business I believe is 4 Million not Billion (perhaps a type error) for TWO work permits, other more knowledgable will confirm I am sure.

As for the rest of your questions you may find more help in the "Teaching in Thailand " forum

Edited March 22, 2011 by CharlieH

[Phatcharanan]

I believe that you have to have 4 Thais per each WP for a foreigner? So that would require 8 Thai employees. Not 100% certain though.

Your best bet is to take advice from Sunbelt Asia (sponsors). They deal with this stuff day in and day out.

[appropriate]

Believe the following to be true:

An old poster on ajarn.com set up a home school with his Thai wife. She needed a BA but didn't have to be in education, and a rental contract on a premise (townhouse) that had all the required stuff (toilets, fire exit etc).

She was able to hire him and get a WP without having to show massive funds as there was a loophole for small private schools or whatsuch. It was all surprisingly easy.

I found it interesting. It should be on ajarn.com somewhere from a few years ago as it was pretty well documented.

That may or may not help you though, but others may find it interesting, as would I and like to read about it again if anybody finds it.

Edited March 22, 2011 by appropriate

[Loaded]

Any school to function legally needs a school licence. There are many requirements associated with this such as an engineer's report for the building, class sizes, tax receipts etc.

It normally takes around 18 months for the licence to come through, but I guess it depends on your local education office. I believe a change to the law a few years ago forces schools to be owned by companies and not individuals.

You can apply for non-immigrant visas and work permits for your teachers only when you have 1-year's audited accounts and a school licence. It's catch 22. However, you are 'allowed' to open and run the school while the licence is being processed, but your teachers will be working illegally. The guy from post #2 who said all volunteers and teachers need a work permit is stating Thai employment law but reality here is different and many teachers and volunteers work without being legal. There's a chance you will be caught, but it's very small.

I believe the requirement of capital or number of classrooms per employee only applies if the work permit is through the company. Then there are also minimum taxation rules as well. If it's through the school's licence, I don't believe these requirements apply but not 100% sure.

Your school will be categorized either formal or informal. Language and tutorial schools are categorized as informal and teachers aren't required to have teacher licences.

I believe volunteers can only obtain a non-immigrant O visa and volunteer work permit through a foundation. If it could be done through a school, every school would employ 'volunteers' because then they wouldn't need to pay any tax or employer national insurance contributions or be obliged to follow Thai labour laws. They would pay their teachers cash.

Edited March 22, 2011 by Loaded

[pilgrim2505]

Amazing idea, I was wondering about this myself - Sounds challenging!

There are a few real cutting edge ideas on new age teaching and design on the TED website.

I found a project in Bali on there; really made me think. I am not suggesting you do anything as bold but it has a real wow factor.

[vont]

Amazing idea, I was wondering about this myself - Sounds challenging!

There are a few real cutting edge ideas on new age teaching and design on the TED website.

I found a project in Bali on there; really made me think. I am not suggesting you do anything as bold but it has a real wow factor.

http://www.ted.com/t...hool_dream.html

what an inspirational video indeed.

much thanks

[jdinasia]

Everything is going to depend on what "type" of school is being proposed. If the OP is meaning a school teaching the Thai curriculum or international curriculum, I don't think he will find it possible at all without major investment. The chances of getting stitched up can be much greater in a small town setting as you will be competing in a tighter market.

A more informal school offering short-courses etc may be feasible, but then again you risk the locals that have investment in the same type of school creating issues for you.

Schools and taxation are something best left to the accountants and lawyers ... but schools can get around the number of Thai employees versus the number of foreigners in a couple of different ways.

If the OP isn't looking at this as a PROFIT generating exercise there are certainly ways to get around many of the issues involved (that doesn't mean not getting paid ... just not operating for profits sake.

I would suggest contacting a lawyer that has experience both dealing with the MoE and foreigners. If the OP has the cash to go BOI they may be able to help with the process.

[kirk0233]

Believe the following to be true:

An old poster on ajarn.com set up a home school with his Thai wife. She needed a BA but didn't have to be in education, and a rental contract on a premise (townhouse) that had all the required stuff (toilets, fire exit etc).

She was able to hire him and get a WP without having to show massive funds as there was a loophole for small private schools or whatsuch. It was all surprisingly easy.

I found it interesting. It should be on ajarn.com somewhere from a few years ago as it was pretty well documented.

That may or may not help you though, but others may find it interesting, as would I and like to read about it again if anybody finds it.

I believe this is the post from ajarn.com you are referring to:

http://www.ajarn.com/blogs/jason-alavi/doing-it-yourself/

I found it interesting.

[PattayaParent]

Believe the following to be true:

An old poster on ajarn.com set up a home school with his Thai wife. She needed a BA but didn't have to be in education, and a rental contract on a premise (townhouse) that had all the required stuff (toilets, fire exit etc).

She was able to hire him and get a WP without having to show massive funds as there was a loophole for small private schools or whatsuch. It was all surprisingly easy.

I found it interesting. It should be on ajarn.com somewhere from a few years ago as it was pretty well documented.

That may or may not help you though, but others may find it interesting, as would I and like to read about it again if anybody finds it.

A Farang guy I met started his own school here 15+ years ago with just him and his Thai wife in a rented house they were also living in.

He's still in business today, still just him and his wife but now they rent a hall as their school.

[appropriate]

Yes, that's the one.