Hi everyoneNearly one year ago now i planned to sell my apartment in Uk and move to Thailand do a TEFL course and work as a teacher. But in the time i have been trying to sell my home here it seems everything has changed. You now need a degree to get a work permit to teach (although no one seems to know for sure) and the visa rules have changed to. i just read the journal about visas it was very helpful.I have now got a buyer for my apartment, and will be leaving it in about 6 to 8 weeks. But i am confused about my plans. I could come for a long holiday say 30 days or 60 days or 90 days But really in my heart i would like to leave my place here and get on a plane to Thailand and not come back for a least 6 yearsHow can i do that? Any ideas!

Set up some business so many people have their business in thailand you can live and earn money for living as well..Hope you can sort out something soon =)

sure you can , every 30 days you leave thailand go for few hours to cambodia and back , or you have to prove income

Setting up a business is no longer a viable option, unless you want to invest a LOT of money, do things TOTALLY by the book, AND give the Government 33% of what you invest to play with on the money markets during the first year.

Come over, rent / buy an apartment, go back home, and go to the Thai consulate in either Hull, or Birmingham, and request a type 'O' Visa on the grounds that you have a 'Girlfriend' who you would like to visit regularly.

Check this out Andy ---> http://www.ajarn.com/

Angel_l ----->hmmm what kind of business????

gogi---------> is that still possable?

Stu_Thailand-----> Thanks you seem to know a bit about it, i heard starting a business was not easy, type o visa thats a new one seem to have the whole alphabet covered lol

Ladyvin-------> yes i have been kkeping an eye on ajarn.com but they seem confused to some articles say you need a degree some say you dont, no one can say for sure

Thanks for the ideas so far

changnoi 99 , yes it is few of my friends done that and they are still there now

Another teacher in Thailand?..............good luck, lol

ohh heaven i wish we could swop... i'm so sick at here, BKK

gogi [ 29 May 2007 | 1:56PM ]

< sure you can , every 30 days you leave thailand go for few hours to cambodia and back , or you have to prove income >

That is not possible anymore since october 2006. Since that time there is the 90 days in 180 days rule if using only visa on arrival (30 days). But it is still possible to stay for a long period of time with tourist visas. Just check www.thaivisa.com.

Yes you need a degree for sure if you wanna be legitimate. Lots of teachers have scarpered cos they didn't have a degree and the police were cracking down on it. One job i applied for said the wages were negotiable. I have a degree, a Celta and now 3 years experience. They offered me 35,000 baht a month. I told them, thanks, but no thanks.

You'd think and i was hoping that with the serious shortage of teachers here they would crank up the wages. But it's still the same. Thailand is a very attractive place to work and so there will always be people who will work for a pittance as long as they can stay here.

Oh well. My advice is do the CELTA in Siam Square or even back home. It's 1400 dollars here and it does help. Having a degree might mean that you worked hard for three or four years and you have the capacity to learn maybe more quickly than your average joe. But it in no way helps you to teach. (Unless it's in a related field)

For most teachers here it's just a way to stay here. Some earn good money and can even save, but most just just get by.

rkidlad---------> but i dont have a degree!

when i first get there i will have some money behind me, if i could have even a small salery not long after getting there say 1 or 2 months 3 at a stretch i would be ok but the money would run out fast if i had no income

Oh

who would be interested in a party when i get there maybe i should post a journal about that....i would love to meet some of the people i have been messaging for the past 6 months

You can work here teaching English without a degree. That's a stone cold fact. But you have to do border runs etc and run the risk of getting gripped by the filth. If you get caught you could get banged up and you would have to pay for your own deportation. You'd remain in prison untill you did so.

Not trying to put you off. Just saying it as it is. I've come accross many teachers here without degrees that have been here for years. If there's a will, and there's always a ******* will. There's a way.

Rkidlad--------> what about teaching privatly?

i find thailand is best as a few times a year thing or once a year,sure it would be nice to go for long time,but it may spoil the excitment and ahh you know what i mean!!

Teaching privately?. Good question. Well you wanna be pretty good and pretty sure of yourself. I teach private lessons in my school and the parents don't part with their cash easily. They always try haggling with the company and want cheap privates at first to see if their child is making any progress. (Fair enough, at first)

At the end of the day, you will be taking their money. Privates can pay anything between 400-1000 baht an hour depending on how handsome and how much fun you are. I'd get some experience before i did privates. Experience is the key.

P.s I really have matured into a fine young gentleman recently. I'd better leave some stupid messages on people' s journals again.

Rkidland----> good point i dont expect i will be a fantastic teacher, i have no exp and its not my forte, but i could make it fun. So maybe private is out to

And yeah carefull mate you nearly come over as a nice guy

you won't get privates until you have the experience and build a network.

getting privates is not as easy here as in Korea, but the same thing applies, you need to do the job first and learn the ropes of teaching.

rkidlad is right about payscale.

30-35,000 a month is average, and if you have no degree, you will get less.

if you have a degree, and years of experience, you can get around 60,000 plus

I get that for teaching 3 hours per day

but no degree, then no visa from a legit school .

thw higher paying schools work under the control of the ministry of education, and the ministry of education gives the "yes or no" to the immigration department.

so bottom line, for the one year teaching visa, you need a degree from an accredited university (kao san road fakes don't work any more)

and you need to provide a criminal record check, provided by your country. (since the recent law change)

it is also true you can work ilegal, but as was mentioned above, if caught, and that particular officer doesn't want a bribe, you go to immigration prison until you can pay for your deportation, and also risk being banned from thailand for life.

you need to use some of the other trickier visa options, and if you are caught working while under one of the other visas, you will likely just be fined, not deported.

( I thought you were still here! down South!....sent you a PM a few months ago and you didn't answer)

An 'O' visa is for visiting family/friends (non-thai friends) and you can not work with this visa. It is possible to get a tourist visa for 6 months with up to 4 entries. If you can work 6 months in the UK then holiday 6 months in thailand it will give you a better feel of the place (6 months is totally different from 2 week holidays).

If you have not run a business in the UK then starting a business in a foreign country is a big challenge. My friend moved to thailand nearly one year ago and has lost a lot of money in business and had so many problems with visa and work permit issues.

My advice is to research everything before you commit your future.

the thai consulate visa regulations are now up to date at last http://www.thaiconsul-uk.com/visas1.asp