Hi,

I am at a government school and have completed 2 years. I signed for the third year and when we went to get my visa they only gave me three months. The secretary said no problem at the the time and later asked me for my Thai Culture certificate to make the new application.

I did the course years ago, but the certificate got lost in multiple house moves. I was also informed by my previous employer that it had become invalid anyway.

So now my current visa runs out on June 10th.

The secretary has applied for the new one but the documents state that the Thai Culture course cert must be included in the application. She has applied without this missing document. I have also heard that the course is not running anyway at the moment.

Can anyone tell me what is going to happen? The school want me to stay on, and I have signed a contract but I feel I will be refused a visa.

Any advise welcome.

You have already done the course, so I would get a copy of the course from someone and photo shop your name on it. You have legally done the course so I don't think you are doing anything illegal here per say. Worth a try I think until you contact the relevant school and request a copy. Good luck.

You could also check at the DoL, as they keep all documents in a folder.Best of luck.

You have already done the course, so I would get a copy of the course from someone and photo shop your name on it. You have legally done the course so I don't think you are doing anything illegal here per say. Worth a try I think until you contact the relevant school and request a copy. Good luck.

You are still forging a document. It would not be worth the trouble. Get in contact with the provider and try to get a replacement or take it over again.

I do know someone who forged a university degree (he had earned it, but had lost it). It caused him a great deal of problems and he nearly lost his job.

The Thai Culture course is not a requirement for either a visa or an extension of stay, because as you said, they don't run the courses anymore.

You have already done the course, so I would get a copy of the course from someone and photo shop your name on it. You have legally done the course so I don't think you are doing anything illegal here per say. Worth a try I think until you contact the relevant school and request a copy. Good luck.

You are still forging a document. It would not be worth the trouble. Get in contact with the provider and try to get a replacement or take it over again.

I do know someone who forged a university degree (he had earned it, but had lost it). It caused him a great deal of problems and he nearly lost his job.

This is the best thing for him to do. Contact the center that you did the course in and there will surely be a solution to help you. They surely keep records of people who have taken the course before and your name will be there and they will provide you with a paper that will help you. Do not go for photo shopping that may lead you into deep shit.

You have already done the course, so I would get a copy of the course from someone and photo shop your name on it. You have legally done the course so I don't think you are doing anything illegal here per say. Worth a try I think until you contact the relevant school and request a copy. Good luck.

You are still forging a document. It would not be worth the trouble. Get in contact with the provider and try to get a replacement or take it over again.

I do know someone who forged a university degree (he had earned it, but had lost it). It caused him a great deal of problems and he nearly lost his job.

This is the best thing for him to do. Contact the center that you did the course in and there will surely be a solution to help you. They surely keep records of people who have taken the course before and your name will be there and they will provide you with a paper that will help you. Do not go for photo shopping that may lead you into deep shit.

I've just extended my visa and work permit. The DoL have all my documents in a folder and i don't think they'd refuse to give me a copy of my Thai culture course.

By visa I presume you are talking about an extension as you are already working so your visa would have expired a long time ago and you you would have been given an extension of stay for the purpose of employment. However, neither visa, extension or work permit require the Thai Culture course for approval. It looks like you are talking about a renewal of a teachers licence or a waiver from the teachers council. If this is the case, they have sent the wrong information or someone is beeing difficult. The on off again course is not currently running and if it was the places are extremely limited so the chances of obtaining one would be nearly zilch. You could try the office where you obtained your last work permit as they should have a copy.

I would get the secretary at the school to clarify what forms she is talking about and to follow it up. Chances are she has no idea, like the teachers council what is going on and you may need to follow it up yourself. If it is a requirement of the teachers council, good luck, you may need your director to follow it up for you.

By visa I presume you are talking about an extension as you are already working so your visa would have expired a long time ago and you you would have been given an extension of stay for the purpose of employment. However, neither visa, extension or work permit require the Thai Culture course for approval. It looks like you are talking about a renewal of a teachers licence or a waiver from the teachers council. If this is the case, they have sent the wrong information or someone is beeing difficult. The on off again course is not currently running and if it was the places are extremely limited so the chances of obtaining one would be nearly zilch. You could try the office where you obtained your last work permit as they should have a copy.

I would get the secretary at the school to clarify what forms she is talking about and to follow it up. Chances are she has no idea, like the teachers council what is going on and you may need to follow it up yourself. If it is a requirement of the teachers council, good luck, you may need your director to follow it up for you.

I did the course years ago, but the certificate got lost in multiple house moves. I was also informed by my previous employer that it had become invalid anyway.

The OP's words. I've got two Thai Culture certs, one was conducted by an agency and not worth the paper it's written on. The other one was done by the Private Teacher's Association already a long time ago, in 2008.

To get to the point, if it's "invalid", then it makes no sense to get a copy. Please read my message.

Heh sorta begs the comment I suppose that if they're now in the business of invalidating old culture courses then what's the point of taking one in the future. That assumes it's offered at all anyways.

It sounds like OP is going for a 2nd waiver is this correct? I was able to get one without the culture course, and seeing as that it's not offered at this time...

Having said that, I think others have said some sort of progress on getting a masters or a diploma in education would suffice as well.

I can only speak to my own experience, I'm on my 2nd waiver and haven't done the culture course.

Heh sorta begs the comment I suppose that if they're now in the business of invalidating old culture courses then what's the point of taking one in the future. That assumes it's offered at all anyways.

It sounds like OP is going for a 2nd waiver is this correct? I was able to get one without the culture course, and seeing as that it's not offered at this time...

Having said that, I think others have said some sort of progress on getting a masters or a diploma in education would suffice as well.

I can only speak to my own experience, I'm on my 2nd waiver and haven't done the culture course.

I don't think that they're "invalidating" old culture courses. These were never valid in the beginning. I'd sent mine conducted by the Private Teacher's Association many moons ago, to the TCT and they told me that this one is accredited.

The other one, where an agency paid loads of money for about 100 + teachers, where they held a Thai culture course at a nice hotel in Kanchanaburi, turned out not to be worth the paper it's written on.

I'm afraid that OP has a similar problem. If the school had sent your documents to the TCT and only one stamp's missing, the stuff will just sit there for ages. They won't even inform you that something is missing, be warned.

It's always better to go there in person, preferable with a teacher/coordinator from your school. A Thai teacher from your school will have much better chances to come back with the needed document.

Edited May 6, 201511 yr by lostinisaan

Don't worry. Thai Culture course is not a requirement at the moment to get a waiver. As others have said no one is offering the course right now. So, it is not your fault.

I just got my third waiver, I think a month ago. I have not attended any Thai Culture course before. The glove guy at Kurusapha did not even ask for it.

Well, certainly I hope some of the gossip I've heard isn't true. Some talk about a new culture course that is longer. IF one did the previous culture course, but didn't yet get their teaching license then they may have to do the new course. Again, just talk at this point but I really hope that doesn't turn out to be the case. I think that would hurt a lot of people who are still plugging away trying to get their TL.

Don't worry. Thai Culture course is not a requirement at the moment to get a waiver. As others have said no one is offering the course right now. So, it is not your fault.

I just got my third waiver, I think a month ago. I have not attended any Thai Culture course before. The glove guy at Kurusapha did not even ask for it.

You might take a closer look at your 3rd waiver. Khurusapha did issue a document for me, but it was only good until the end of my contract, giving me time to continue working and going for an upgrade of my existing degree.

Thanks for the heads up. I just checked and it is valid for two years (until 2560).

The guy at Kurusapha asked me if I have an education degree. I said "No, but I'm planning to enroll for a course this year". So, I guess this will be my last waiver.