Thai Visa Process for English Teachers
The teachers who have opted for the teach and travel program for the English jobs in Thailand offered by American TESOL Institute are expected to bear the cost of visa processing for Non- Immigrant B Visa.
Teachers on this project with ATI are allowed to stay in Thailand for 30 days if they are going for a free 30 day transit visa. It is advised to collect Non- Immigrant B Visas back home which is issued by Thai embassy or consulate just before departure. The South Africans who are planning to visit Malaysia and other places will be in need of Non- Immigrant B Visa issued through visa run in Thailand.
ATI is there to assist the TESOL trainees to get a 90 day single entry Non- Immigrant B Visa from Laos. A teacher is expected to spend 5000- 6000 baht for a visa trip to Laos which will cover accommodation, transportation, Thai Non- Immigrant B Visa and Laos Visa. It is mandatory to pay the visa processing cost to ATI in advance. You just have to follow the schedule prepared by ATI next.
ATI will send all the relevant Visa papers to the concerned Thai embassy or consulate 15 days before the ESL teacher lands. This is because visa processing takes up few days. If you have travel plans elsewhere before coming to Thailand you may not get the Non Immigrant B Visa from the third country. It is better to enter Thailand with a 60 days tourist visa (a 30 days visa is not recommended) and then get it transformed in Thailand or go for a visa run. The whole process will cost you 5000- 6000 baht approx.
Important Information:
The teachers who have enrolled for the teach and travel project in Thailand are expected to teach in a school which is also ESL provider to Thai Government and Private Schools in Thailand. This group of specialized schools will offer you a training of 3-5 days in Bangkok after the completion of your course. After applying for the Non- Immigrant B Visa and getting the same, you are expected to teach in that particular school which is mentioned in your visa. If you are not going to do that after landing in Thailand, you should cancel the existing visa and apply for a fresh one once again. The fresh visa is issued by Thai embassy. This is really a big hassle.
In order to avoid this hassle, you can try out an alternative. You can apply for a simple 60 days tourist visa from your home country. The school will then convert your Tourist Visa to Non Immigrant B Visa in Thailand in lieu of a Visa run trip to Laos. This will not only save your money and energy from going through the canceling process but will also be easy for you when you leave Thailand for any other country. Moreover, this process is pretty cost effective. You can get a Tourist Visa and a converted Non Immigrant B Visa within 6000 baht.
Work Permit:
You can apply for a work permit after you have secured the Non- Immigrant B Visa. The application can be forwarded after 2 weeks of teaching experience. The TESOL trained teachers in the local schools of Thailand are expected to pay only for the copies of passport pages, educational documents, photographs and health certificate etc. The schools pay the processing fee for work permit. But if you are shifting to another school, you have to bear the cost of the new work permit.
