Thailand: Work Permit & Visa Renewal Process

This is a two part post which demonstrates the typical process of applying for and renewing a work permit and visa as a teacher in Thailand.

Those who live in and work in the kingdom of Thailand know that whether they like it or not, once a year they will be required to renew their documentation to remain in the country for another year. This has always been a contentious issue for a large number of long term expats who feel aggrieved that they have to effectively ask permission to remain in the country each year with no consideration or reward given for their investment in the country.

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Part two (Renewing Visa & Work Permit)

In Part One of this post we talked about the typical process one would go through when applying for a work permit and visa in Thailand. 

If you offered a new contract from your current employer and you would like to stay for another year you will be required to extend your work permit and obtain a new visa for the forthcoming year. The paperwork involved with both the application and renewal of a work permit are mammoth including various copies of the directors i.d, maps of the school and even details of the schools financial position (if private). This should however not be your concern and either your school or agency will know exactly what is required for the work permit. 

The first stage of renewing your work permit is to check the status of either your teachers licence or waiver to teach without a licence. Teachers licences are valid for five years before they need renewing, whereas waivers to teach without a licence are only valid for two years. Teachers who hold a waiver to teach without a licence are given an initial two years which can be extended subsequently for another two years providing they have taken part in the 'thai culture course'. The official rules from the TCT state a maximum of two waivers (maximum four years) will be given and that during this time the teacher must become 'fully qualified' to receive a full teachers licence. It is worth noting at this stage that the waiver you receive is permission to teach in your current school. If you change school at any point you will be given a new waiver and you will loose any time on your current waiver. 

*Please note that I believe that if you were only at the school for a short period of time (i.e. less then four months) that this waiver will not count towards your total count. I was at my first school for six months but only held a work permit for three months and the TCT gave me a new waiver for my next school without taking part in the thai culture course.*

The current route to becoming a 'qualified teacher' is to either take a degree in education or to sit the TCT professional knowledge and ethics tests. Both methods require that a thai culture course certificate be obtained as well. Let's be honest the vast majority of teachers are not going to want to pursue a degree in education merely for the purposes of teaching in a Thai government school. If they did want to obtain a degree in education they would then be suitably qualified to work at an international school, which attracts more pay and doesn't actually require a thai teachers licence, so most people will look to taking the TCT tests. There are four tests each with varying levels of difficulty which in theory can be taken in one day (nobody passes them all at once though). The main complaint about the tests is that the standard of English used in the tests makes the answers ambiguous and very difficult to work out. In theory you will have multiple attempts at these tests providing that you start the process early enough. It is worth noting that the thai teachers who wish to obtain a licence have to take nine tests, so maybe we should feel lucky to only have to take four (just a thought) 

*YOU CAN CHECK THE CURRENT STATUS OF YOUR TEACHER LICENCE USING YOUR PASSPORT NUMBER HERE - Check Foreign Licence*

Current Situation (March 2014)

• The TCT has currently suspended the thai culture course and has not announced when it will be running again. 

• The TCT has also not announced the details for the next set of tests which had been due to be announced in January.

Teachers who are needing to obtain new waivers to extend their work permits (myself included) are being given work permit and visa extensions for a full year without the usual requirements due to there being no possible way for them to comply at the current time. I can confirm this to be 100% true because I have just extended my work permit and visa until 31st March 2015 but my teachers licence ends in July 2014. I cannot confirm whether a new two year waiver has been given at this point though. 

Once you are in possession of a waiver to teach without a licence for a full year you can apply to extend the work permit. This is done at the local labour office and the renewal of the work permit is actually quite an easy stress free process (providing all the documents are in order). The process typically takes 7 days but smaller offices take much less then this. You must leave your work permit at the office during this period. 

(a work permit book which has been renewed two times)

'but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes'

—Benjamin Franklin, in a letter to Jean-Baptiste Leroy, 1789

Yes that's right just because you live in Thailand doesn't mean the tax man is off your back, but i'm guessing that he's not going to be as much of a burden then in your home country. The truth is that the tax situation in comparison to most other countries in extremely generous. I am no expert on the Thai tax system but I have been told that the rate is 3% of your total salary for employees but much more for businesses or those who are self employed. There is no universal monthly tax system i.e PAYE(UK) so most people settle their tax bills at the end of the financial year. I am going to assume that there is a minimum threshold of which you can earn before you pay tax because my last tax bill was (thankfully) much less then I had anticipated. My income comes from my teaching job of which i'm paid 30,000 baht per month. My last tax bill was 870 baht so I cannot accurately conclude how this was calculated.

(Receipt for tax paid)        

Armed with your renewed work permit and the receipt for your paid tax you can head to immigration to extend your visa for another year. The immigration official will check through all of your paperwork and providing everything is in order you will receive a brand new stamp in your passport (full page). Please see below a full list of what was required for my latest work permit and visa renewal and their costs.

1. Work Permit (3,100 baht)
2. Visa (1,900 baht)
3. Tax (870 baht)
4. Official Stamp (400 baht)
5. Health Clinic Certificate (40 baht)

Total: 6,310 baht

(one year extension visa stamp)         

If you would like to leave the country at any point during the time you hold your visa you will be required to purchase a re-entry permit. Those who travel frequently in and out of the country should purchase a multi reentry permit (3,800 baht) which entitles you to unlimited trips throughout your visa period. I myself who only anticipates taking two trips out of the country find it more cost affective to purchase two single reentry permits (1,000 baht each). In order to apply for these permits all that is required is a passport photo and the fee. It is vitally important that you obtain these permits prior to leaving the country because if you leave without one you effectively cancel your visa. If you do not obtain these prior to travel you WILL only be given a tourist visa on reentry to the country and will have to reapply for a work permit and visa again from scratch. I am sure your employer will not be amused particularly if they have paid for the work permit and visa!!!.

(single entry reentry stamp in passport)        

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