Udon Thani Thailand Forum - Udon Thani, Thailand

My name is Bill and I am from America. I have been to Thailand 11 times and have lived in Udon Thani for many months. I have taught at 3 different schools in Udon and one in Kumphawapi from ages 8 to 21 years of age. I have also taught at the Polytechnical College in Sakon Nakhon.

I am looking for an Englsih teaching position in Udon to begin after the break. I will arrive in Thailand in late October and be available at that time.

My Thai wife, from Sakon Nakhon, is usually my teaching assistant and we can come as a package or me alone. I teach because of the enjoyment and not so much for the money so the salary in negotiable.

To be straight forward my wife is 45 and I am a young and enthusiastic 62 years old.

Photos of me teaching and other information are available upon request.

Need to hear from you soon otherwise I will be in Khorat.

Thank you.

Bill Voelker [email protected]

I will be back in Udon around April 2019. Will teach as volunteer.

You're going to teach as a volunteer?

What did the school say about providing the work permit?
When a achool asked me to help them by conversing 'informally' with their kids, when I mentioned a work permit, it was clear they had no understanding about it and dropped the idea straight away.

I have volunteered at several schools in the Udon and Sakon Nakhon areas and a work permit was never brought up My assumption was one was not needed as you are not getting paid for it.

Any work - paid or unpaid - requires a work permit. Voluntary workers need one just the same,

That was why the school dropped it when I said I wouldn't do anything without a work permit. If anyone found out, I wouldn't want to be deported and separated from my Thai family.

Good to know. Thanks

For those schools a little concerned about obtaining a work permit for me-----I stopped in at Udon immigration office and told them I am a volunteer (free) English teacher and was officially told no problem as long as teaching hours '"not excessive' there is not a problem.

Please check for yourself. There is absolutely no possibility of me being deported because of a little volunteer teaching and was never concerned about it.

Will return to ,Udon on April 8.

Thanks

niceguy11954 wrote: ↑

April 2, 2019, 8:26 pm

For those schools a little concerned about obtaining a work permit for me-----I stopped in at Udon immigration office and told them I am a volunteer (free) English teacher and was officially told no problem as long as teaching hours '"not excessive' there is not a problem.

Please check for yourself. There is absolutely no possibility of me being deported because of a little volunteer teaching and was never concerned about it.

Will return to ,Udon on April 8.

Thanks

I honestly don't mean to be a damp squib about this.

Further to my earlier post asking the school to provide a WP for me as a volunteer, causing them to drop the idea.

At the time (perhaps three years ago), I also asked the same question at Udon immigration and received a similar reply to you.
The IO seemed understanding about it, and suggested I 'just do it and not worry'.

What concerned me was one IO could say that, then a few months down the line if I was teaching and immigration was informed, another IO could see the situation completely differently, saying I was working without a WP.
As we all know, it's always stated as being "at the discretion of the IO" investigating the case at the time.

OK, from what I've read more recently, some of the rules regarding 'volunteering' have apparently been relaxed to some extent, but if it was me, I'd like to see something in writing explaining what exactly is possible about this.

You say there's absolutely no possibility if being deported, but if it did happen to me then I have nothing to go back to in the UK for, nowhere to live, so there's no way I'd risk it at the verbal say-so of one IO.

Apologies again for sounding so negative.