Starting Up An Educational Psychology Consultancy

[singsling]

greetings all

looking for some advice. i am an educational psychologist looking to move into private practice consultancy and hoping to base in bangkok (for various reasons great place to live (i am currently in singapore) cost of living, a large number of international schools etc).

as an allied health professional in private practice do i need to register a company? eg. at present i can operate in singapore through just registering a business name.

as a consultant what are my options regarding getting a work permit? i also have a wife (chinese passport) and baby (australian passport). will they have to "visa run" or....?

as i gain practice i will need to get office space, get a secretary and may also employ other staff to assist in my consultancy - will this require a company registration?

these are some of my main questions...

hope to get some suggestions, comments, networking leads (if anybody knows anyone with a similar business)

thanks

Matthew Gosper

[Sunbelt Asia]

You need a non immigrant Visa first off for all three of you. This at first will be for 90 days with the Singapore Consulate. You’ll need to register your company and get a work permit. The 90 day visa then can be turned into a one year visa for your wife, baby and you.

E-mail us for more detailed advice. [email protected] www.sunbeltasia.com

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Getting a Non-Immigrant visa for a citizen of the PRC is not a breeze. Address that problem first.

[monitorlizard]

I met someone who works at a big name international hospital as a psychologist. Although he has a Ph.D., he is not aloud to be called a doctor. Anyway, the point is that he is now working at a lot of the international schools through the hospital.

I don't know what your qualifications are but you may want to contact the international hospitals. Another option is to contact the international schools but I was under the impression that the services were extra and offered by hospitals at various schools.

Good luck.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Didn't Sing say he was 23 years old ?

[singsling]

thanks to all that replied and for advice and comments... just some feedback...

still following up leads however things look kind of grim for setting up consultancy in thailand in my area of expertise. whilst singapore may be more expensive to live it is far simpler and cheaper (about US$300) to incorporate a company with none of the odious requirements that thailand places on foreigners.

appealing to the thai embassy for help here in singapore was no help either - they told me yesterday their business is imports and exports and they have no interest in facilitating health professional consultancies.

by the way (if anyone from the thai goivernment should ever happen across this site) since posting i have had a number of private replies commenting upon the dire shortage of professional support such as i would provide into thailand to both foreigners and locals. why don't you ease up thailand? you are making it near impossible for individual practioners like myself to enter your country and thereby benefit from the professional support and skills development that would flow from this...

anyway. looks like i will continue to fly in from time to time but setting up base in thailand not a strong option...

Matthew

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Did you seriously believe that the Thai Government would entice you ? Anymore than Singapore would entice a Thai to Singapore ?

[Sunbelt Asia]

making it near impossible for individual practioners like myself to enter your country and thereby benefit from the professional support and skills development that would flow from this...

How was it near impossible?

The Embassy of course deals with many businessmen that work with import and export. I could imagine their looks when talking "private practice consultancy "

That is not their expertise. The Thai Embassy in Singapore does not have raving reviews on helping people anyway.

I don't see any big hurdles in your case. More like paper cup hurdles if you are a businessman with funds. Its doable. The wife being from PRC will be the hardest part. But not near impossible especially as you have a skill that is needed.

Happy New Year

www.sunbeltasia.com

[caughtintheact]

I'm not in your field, but what I recommend is that you do some web searching to see what the field is like here and get some ideas and contact info on how to proceed.

Example: A google search for Bangkok "Edcucational Psychologist" got some hits that may be of interest, like

http://www.patana.ac.th/Curriculum/LearningSupport.shtml

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/edu/edu_ba...ednew_wed.shtml

and Thailand "Educational Psychologist

http://www.expatexchange.com/lib.cfm?netwo...8&articleID=562

http://www.bangkokpost.net/education/site2002/cvjn0402.htm

etc.....

[singsling]

thanks caughtintheact for the links.

to clarify re the other feedback posts from forum members - i already do private consultancy in thailand with several of the international schools and in a number of other asian countries -this is usually facilitated through the school and is possible.

my hope was, however, to set up a private service which may provide a level of voluntary support and was there was a way to do this without operating a "company". i am not a "businessman with funds" and am not running a business that requires the level of initial capital input, staffing, resourcing, administration, auditing etc that say a manufacturing company may require. further i provide a service to children who have significant emotional and learning needs that is currently not readily available in thailand- where a number of countries do provide some easing of working restrictions for individuals who provide such a service to their citizens.

thank you for the interesting commentary so far dr-pat-pong.

Matthew

[caughtintheact]

From my experience here, providing a service as you envision is still called work, which requires a work permit. In order to get a work permit, you need to be employed by a company (even if it is your own). So I doubt there is any way around it. Maybe the lawyers can be more encouraging. Perhaps forming a cooperative arrangement with an educational facility could allow you to provide the services from your home (which is what I think you are trying to do). This would obviate the need for an office, but the partner would still need to qualify in trms of registered capital and company objectives to be able to support a work permit for you. If you go this route, be certain to get a work permit that covers all locations where you would be providing the services. You would not want to become an "Effective Planner"

Over to the legal types.