Are police checks required?

[Matthew Swat Cat]

Hi!

 

In short I have a caution within the last few years for holding my wife's wrists at her side when she went berzerkazoid in front of my 9 year old by hacking a kitchen door to pieces with a chinese cooking axe. This is apparently classified as actual bodily harm as I was restricting a persons movements. Anyway I have taught in many places across Asia and Europe and would like to return to Thailand, with my new partner, to teach but my question concerns police checks. Do I definitely need to do one and I would have thought a caution for this against a Thai person will rather cock things up, no?

[Scott]

Do you need one:   Yes, if you are getting a Teacher's License, which is required for most teaching jobs in primary and secondary level students.  

 

No idea if a caution would be included, but if it is a criminal offense and was on your record, then it will show up.   You could probably contact your police in your home country and find out the status of a caution.  

[Matthew Swat Cat]

It will show up on my record but it is not a criminal offence. I don't really know what it is lol! Will try google it now pal.

[Matthew Swat Cat]

The best definition I can find: 'A caution is a formal warning that is given to a person who has admitted the offence. If the person refuses the caution then they will normally be prosecuted through the normal channels for the offence. Although it is not technically classed as a conviction (as only the Courts can convict someone) it can be taken into consideration by the Courts if the person is convicted of a further offence. '

[crazygreg44]

you poor puppy

Edited March 7, 2017 by crazygreg44

[Scott]

If it is on your record then I would guess that it's going to show up on a criminal records check.   If a Court can take it into consideration, then the Court wouldn't have anyway of knowing about unless it was on your record.  

[Preacher]

On 3/7/2017 at 7:25 AM, Scott said:

Do you need one:   Yes, if you are getting a Teacher's License, which is required for most teaching jobs in primary and secondary level students.  

 

No idea if a caution would be included, but if it is a criminal offense and was on your record, then it will show up.   You could probably contact your police in your home country and find out the status of a caution.  

 

As far as I know no actual police check is required for a teaching license or waiver.

 

The form to apply merely asks:

 I hereby request for issuing teaching permit without a license and inform personal
imformation as follows:

Having Improper behavior or immorality.      YES/NO

Being incompetent or quasi-incompetent.     YES/NO

Having previously been sentenced to imprisonment (identify).   YES/NO

 

It is self certification. You only need a police check when applying at some Thai consulates for a visa as teacher or when the school asks for it.

[Scott]

Best of luck with that. We sent a teacher to Laos to get the non-Immigrant B visa and he was refused because he didn't have a police clearance.   Other people have had the same experience.   He returned, we wrote the letter for him to get the police clearance, he got it, returned to Laos and got the Non-immigrant B.  Without the Non B, none of the people could get a Teacher's License.  

 

So, do you need it to get the TL, maybe not, but you will have trouble getting a non-B without it.    

[claffey]

Just get the police check anyway and then you will know! It's only a caution so any employer worth working for would ignore it and give you the benefit of the doubt as it is not a criminal conviction. I also had a few cautions in my younger years but they didn't show up on my record. You won't know until you apply for it.

[sapson]

On 3/14/2017 at 7:04 PM, Scott said:

Best of luck with that. We sent a teacher to Laos to get the non-Immigrant B visa and he was refused because he didn't have a police clearance.   Other people have had the same experience.   He returned, we wrote the letter for him to get the police clearance, he got it, returned to Laos and got the Non-immigrant B.  Without the Non B, none of the people could get a Teacher's License.  

 

So, do you need it to get the TL, maybe not, but you will have trouble getting a non-B without it.    

Which Consulate in Laos did you send them to I guess it was Vientiane?? could a teacher use a Thailand police clearance if they had been here many years?

[Scott]

The police clearances that we usually get are done by the Royal Thai Police.   I believe they contact the home and former countries of residence.   The only people who have had a police clearance from their home country, were people who very recently arrived and were told to get one before they left.  

 

We have also had a few people who came from South Korea and had a police check from there, but again, they were very recent arrivals and had the police check done in anticipation of working in Thailand.  

[Rhys]

...actually again it is up to the immigration officer... and work permit officers as well,  even on the university level, at a certain southern university they require the new farang teacher to have a police check as part of the process of making sure this person does not have a criminal record.

 

It was always, the 2-3 professional references to take care of this.    Now again, the school is going out of its way to make sure and along the way to created bias towards a non-Thai teacher... At the same university, the new Thai English teachers do not require the "syphilis test, and the police check... just the western staff...

Edited March 29, 2017 by Rhys

[sapson]

12 hours ago, Scott said:

The police clearances that we usually get are done by the Royal Thai Police.   I believe they contact the home and former countries of residence.   The only people who have had a police clearance from their home country, were people who very recently arrived and were told to get one before they left.  

 

We have also had a few people who came from South Korea and had a police check from there, but again, they were very recent arrivals and had the police check done in anticipation of working in Thailand.  

Thanks for the input, 

 

Did your guys who were refused without a police check applying for the B visa go to Viientiane or Savanakhet? and if it was required it could be the local Thai police check, without the enormous expense and faffing about for a home country check.

[muzmurray]

On 3/7/2017 at 7:03 AM, Matthew Swat Cat said:

This is apparently classified as actual bodily harm as I was restricting a persons movements.

 

Not sure where you got that info, or if you expect anyone to believe it. ABH is assault, not restraint.

[White Tiger]

OP - it's not clear to me if your offence was committed in Thailand or in your home country. It seems you are currently living outside Thailand, presumably in your home country. As you are concerned about this offence showing up on any police check I would suggest:

 

1. You get a police check carried out in your home country before you come to Thailand.  If this offence does not show up then use that police check in Thailand.  

 

2. If your offence shows up on your home country police check you disregard that police check. Instead get a new check done - a Thai police check - after you arrive in Thailand.  Presumably that Thai police check won't show up your overseas offence. Then use this Thai police check in Thailand.

 

Don't know if that will work but it seems to me it might be one way to address your concerns.

 

 

[Scott]

The police check in Thailand covers any country you have lived in for around 6 months.   At least that is how it was in the past.  

 

Those living in Thailand for a while are usually required to get one from the Thai Royal Police.