Working As English Tutor While Doing Business Research?

[canphotog]

Hello,

I am looking for some advice on how to approach this situation.

I am in thailand on a 1 year business visa. I am researching potential businesses in northern thailand. I first want to see if they are feasible before commiting to a specific location and business.

I am a native english speaker with a diploma in visual communcations and 2 years of university in medical sciences. I would like to help the community i am in to improve their english skills as best i can and thought about volunteering some time with teachers and tourism (possibly police and medical as well). I have approached a couple of schools and the teachers are very receptive to the idea of teaching and consulting with the teaching staff after school and they are willing to pay a small amount ( what they can ) for these services.

I have also been asked to tutor employees of local guest houses with their english. In addition i am now getting requests to tutor 4-6 students once the school term begins and i have a few medical professionals that also require tutoring and consulting. There are only a few native english speakers in the community thus all the requests.

The question is am i jeopardizing my future in thailand and running a business with this consulting, if i receive payment or if i do it on a volunteer basis? If i start a restaurant, guest house or other non-education business and have a work permit for that, am i still jeopardizing that business by receiving an income from tutoring? I have heard that even volunteering can get you thrown out of the kingdom. Realistically is this going to happen if you are trying to give back to the community in a positive way by volunteering to tutor in english? How much risk is there in receiving a small income from tutoring while doing research on business setup in thailand?

The community is small but the corruption is minimal in the community. The expat community is tiny and the number of native english speakers is only 3-4.

Thank you in advice for your advice.

[mogandave]

I would say yes.

[guavagirl]

Realistically who knows. But you most definitely need a WP to teach. A way to get around this is to register your business as a consulting company as well as a restaurant/guest house. This way you are covered for all.

[Mario2008]

Work including volunteering requires a work permit. The work permit is very specific in stating for whom you work, where you work and in what function. Every job needs it's own work permit (or been mentioned in the WP).

[canphotog]

Work including volunteering requires a work permit. The work permit is very specific in stating for whom you work, where you work and in what function. Every job needs it's own work permit (or been mentioned in the WP).

So just to clarify, if i run a restaurant with 4+ employees, consult on english for teachers and students at the same location, and do the occasional photography portrait session on location at a temple lets say, is it possible to get work permits to cover that. Especially the photograpy that constantly changes location. I don't see alot of money in photography here but it would be fun to do the occasional job either for ngos, families or companies.

A friend currently has a problem with his work permit because they were on location shooting when the government inspected his office. How do you specify an address if your business is at a different address everyday?

One last question, who checks on the work permits?

[Riley'sLife]

OP, if flirting with disaster turns you on, go for it!!

However, you need to first be aware of the consequences of working without the correct Work Permit. Many people think the risk is low and the consequences trivial, or that they can "buy" their way out of the problem. Unfortunately, the level of risk is quite impossible to assess in Thailand. That element is determined by luck!! Yes, it can be minimised by being "Mr. Niceguy" to everyone, and/or by having the patronage of a seriously well connected Thai, but to imagine that the Thai Authorities will take an altruistic approach if you are discovered working illegally would be niaive, and bordering on crass stupidity, to say the least. For you to be caught it just takes one person to complain to the police, and your nightmare will start.

Working as a volunteer requires documented proof of appointment by a registered charity or foundation and this rule is adhered to by all Labour Departments I have had contact with, before they will even consider a Work Permit application based upon volunteering.

It is all very well for board members to have a cavalier attitude about working illegally, but you will not find these "cavaliers", or anyone else at your side when you are arrested.

The best advice that can be given is to stay legal. What you propose is illegal, be warned. Shit happens, especially here!

[Mario2008]

You would need different employers for that. Yes, you can specify that you work on location as a photographer, besides at your office. But you must specify that in the WP.

A work permit can be checked by police, immigration and labour officials. They do sometimes check.

[canphotog]

Thank you for all the responses. It would be nice to give back to the community while i have the time and resources to do so. However I do not want to mess up the long term goal. What a horrible system, when you want to help and you can not. I guess there is nothing logical about thai logic.

[BrianCR]

Apart from needing a WP you would also need a "Thai teaching license" (or a 2 year exemption to sit the examinations) both issued by the Teaching Council of Thailand. Without one of these documents they will not issue you with a WP or Visa. Many people seem to forget that (however badly) teachers, like any other profession need to be trained!

[BrianCR]

Thank you for all the responses. It would be nice to give back to the community while i have the time and resources to do so. However I do not want to mess up the long term goal. What a horrible system, when you want to help and you can not. I guess there is nothing logical about thai logic.

A horrible system? When Thailand is trying to make sure that people being let loose on it's future generation have the correct training and not just being staffed by Westerners (as brilliant as they maybe) who are out to make some money

[wayned]

Your biggest problem of doing it "under the table" would be if you happened to get on the "wrong side" of the "wrong person" and they took it upon themself to report you Saw it happen to a friend who set up a store front school where he was living for after school tutoring. Unfortunately it was in the same block where there was an agency that supplied English teachers and also had their own school. He wasn't arrested and deported but was forced to resign from his approved teaching position and look for employment elsewhere.

[Mario2008]

Apart from needing a WP you would also need a "Thai teaching license" (or a 2 year exemption to sit the examinations) both issued by the Teaching Council of Thailand. Without one of these documents they will not issue you with a WP or Visa. Many people seem to forget that (however badly) teachers, like any other profession need to be trained!

Not all teaching requires a teaching license. For language schools and universities for example no teaching license is required. Volunteers also do not need a teaching license.

[canphotog]

Thank you for all the responses. It would be nice to give back to the community while i have the time and resources to do so. However I do not want to mess up the long term goal. What a horrible system, when you want to help and you can not. I guess there is nothing logical about thai logic.

A horrible system? When Thailand is trying to make sure that people being let loose on it's future generation have the correct training and not just being staffed by Westerners (as brilliant as they maybe) who are out to make some money

I understand the professional arguement, both my parents are teachers with my mother sitting on the board of advisors to set the cirriculum for english education in alberta. However Thailand faces an impossible task of hiring enough qualified teachers to teach english in this country. I think your opinion on teacher qualification is flawed. I have seen rural schools at both village and city level where the english teacher was a thai that barely knew enough english to have a short conversation. I see schools that can not attract english teachers with proper qualifications to fill teaching positions. Forget perfection as a solution how about basic english ( and conversational english ) as a start and then look at more advanced english skills when the student advances into an area where they are required.

[mogandave]

Thailand has a shortage oh English teachers in much the same way as California has a shortage of grape pickers.

[tolsti]

the OP needs to forget about the huggy fluffy, giving back to the community <deleted> (what have they given you that you feel such a need to give back to?) and simply stick by the rules and get on with it. Yes, its tough and often illogical but that's the way it is. Tough.

You're not in Alberta now Dorothy. Forget fairness and social programmes from foreigners being valued.

1 Year visa researching business opportunities? What visa is that? Loads of Ed visa failures will be interested.

[mogandave]

the OP needs to forget about the huggy fluffy, giving back to...

Giving back for money.

[YTP]

I understand the professional arguement, both my parents are teachers with my mother sitting on the board of advisors to set the cirriculum for english education in alberta. However Thailand faces an impossible task of hiring enough qualified teachers to teach english in this country. I think your opinion on teacher qualification is flawed. I have seen rural schools at both village and city level where the english teacher was a thai that barely knew enough english to have a short conversation. I see schools that can not attract english teachers with proper qualifications to fill teaching positions. Forget perfection as a solution how about basic english ( and conversational english ) as a start and then look at more advanced english skills when the student advances into an area where they are required.

You mean professional "argument"? No one cares about your mom and dad's qualifications, you don't even have a degree. That means anyone able to speak a fart of English is qualified to "consult" for a fee. Regardless of how small the fee is and how much you think you're helping, it's not a good idea.

Anyway, I'm not sure where exactly you're referring to by rural, but if it's the boonies of northern Thailand they probably already have their hands full teaching standard Thai, let alone English.