Changing a Non 'O' with work permit to a 'B' for Teaching

[danstarr]

I'm currently a volunteer with a foundation and am on a Non-Immigrant 'O' with a work permit. The field I'm volunteering in is not teaching-related; however, I have been made aware of a part-time teaching opportunity out in the sticks who are interested in having me teach English for them. I have a CELTA from a few years back and am also currently doing a semi-distance learning BA course here in Thailand.

The school is a private, non-formal one and don't know how to proceed with helping me get the 'B' visa. I've got nearly 3 months left on my current visa but would be happy to apply for a new one before it is due for expiry. My work permit expires in November.

Can anyone please advise? I have the option of an Ed Visa from my college but this doesn't legally permit work. Ideally, I want to be able to do my studies for the next three years and be able to do some part-time work at the same time.

Any help much appreciated.

[Mario2008]

Do you have a non-O visa and have to leave the country every 90 days or are you on an extension of stay from immigration? it makes a lot of difference.

If on a non-O extension, that will end when your volunteering ends.

Yes, you can not work on an ED-visa.

[danstarr]

I'm on an extension of stay every ninety days.

[Mario2008]

That means that the day your volunteering stop you have to leave the country.

What you must do is first have the school contact the labour office to get the forms to apply for a work permit for you. They can explain the process and tell you the documents the school and you must provide for the work permit.

They can also tell you if they will issue you a WP straight away or that you have to go abroad first for a non-B visa. They might give you the WP straight away.

If they do, you can go to immigration and try to get an extension of stay based on your work. They might accept it or send you abroad to get a non-B visa first. (I know of one immigration office that will send you abroad, but that might be a local policy. Other immigration offices might extend your stay).

The trick is to cancel the WP for volunteering and get the new WP at the same time. Than go to immigration t cancel your stay based on volunteering and get a new permission to stay based on teaching (or leave the country for a non-B visa).

The WP part can be coordinated with the labour office, they can be very helpful.

[danstarr]

Thanks for taking the time to respond Mario. So, they might let me stay on the 'O' visa and keep extending, is that right?

OK, so we should contact the labour office first and take it from there.

Do you have any idea of the costs involved for changing the work permit and for the prospective 'B' visa?

[Mario2008]

Correct, take it from there.

A WP costs 3,100 baht per year. A new non-B visa would cost 2,000 bah in local currency. If immigration extends without the need for a new non-B you would need to pay 1,900 baht for the extension. Which will be for 1 year or the duration of the contract, whatever is shorter.

On a side node: with a letter from the governor of your province or a similar high government official the organization deals with you could get 1 year extensions of stay for volunteering.

[danstarr]

I'm not really looking into doing any more volunteering; it's either just study or work and study. One more thing: is this really doable by myself or are there agencies that can process these applications too?

[Mario2008]

You can do it all yourself, with the help of the school. The labour office will guide you and the school through the WP application process and any questions you can ask here.

The first time can be a bit difficult for the school as they will not know what paperwork to provide, but the labour office and other schools can help them with that.

[danstarr]

Thank you very much indeed Mario. I've posted here because I've been scratching my head trying to work out what to do.Really appreciate your taking time to respond.