Finding an apartment & teaching in BKK

[Guest]

(moe666 @ Aug. 14 2007,23:50) NHS, did you get that email.

I did and I emailed you back......

Thank You soooooo much for the lead!

Nhscotsman

[ShockToe]

Based on all you written about yourself I would now STRONGLY recommend that you get your own 12-month multiple-entry Non-Immigrant B visa in the U.S.A. prior to your departure to Thailand. The total cost is ~ $325 USD (exclusive of mailing costs) but it is well worth the time, money and trouble. Getting hired will be greatly expedited, and you will stand out over other candidates. And, were you to part ways with the employer you are free to stay, whereas if you have obtained a non-imm B via the school you would have to leave the country within seven (7) days of terminating(-ed) employment. With this visa you have to leave/re-enter Thailand every 90 days. PM if you require additional information.

Re: personal appearance, I wouldn't worry about hair color but I would strongly recommend having shortish hair and being clean-shaven, immaculate personal grooming and wearing nice clothes (wear a suit to interviews) and footwear, no cologne, no jewelry/piercings/visible tattoos (might be too late for the latter?).

Transcripts can be "unofficial", aka "issued to student" as long as they are stamped and signed.

Letters of recommendation, proof of participation in social/religious/academic organizations and personal achievements all help your cause so secure/bring these. Again color printouts of scans are acceptable.

[Guest]

(ShockToe @ Aug. 15 2007,21:32) Based on all you written about yourself I would now STRONGLY recommend that you get your own 12-month multiple-entry Non-Immigrant B visa in the U.S.A. prior to your departure to Thailand. The total cost is ~ $325 USD (exclusive of mailing costs) but it is well worth the time, money and trouble. Getting hired will be greatly expedited, and you will stand out over other candidates. And, were you to part ways with the employer you are free to stay, whereas if you have obtained a non-imm B via the school you would have to leave the country within seven (7) days of terminating(-ed) employment. With this visa you have to leave/re-enter Thailand every 90 days. PM if you require additional information.

Re: personal appearance, I wouldn't worry about hair color but I would strongly recommend having shortish hair and being clean-shaven, immaculate personal grooming and wearing nice clothes (wear a suit to interviews) and footwear, no cologne, no jewelry/piercings/visible tattoos (might be too late for the latter?).

Transcripts can be "unofficial", aka "issued to student" as long as they are stamped and signed.

Letters of recommendation, proof of participation in social/religious/academic organizations and personal achievements all help your cause so secure/bring these. Again color printouts of scans are acceptable.

The Thai Consulate Generals Office states that for a NON-IMMIGRANT VISA "B" won't work, I would have to produce:

If a non immigrant "B" visa you must have a letter of introduction from a Thai Company certified with Company stamp / letterhead which will then enable you to be issued with a multiple B non immigrant visa. The letter states they intend to employ you or invite you to do research for the company looking towards employment.

So this won't work for me.....I don't have the job yet.

as far as the hair color, I have heard from many many people that gray haired people get hired second to someone with brown hair.

I have short hair, I do have a mustache but it's always trimmed neat, and I don't have tattoos, piercings or anything else hanging out of my face...haha.As for a suit, I don't even own one...haha. Even with the job interviews I have done in the states, a cleanly pressed shirt, Dockers and nice tie has always work well for me. As I stated before, my transcipts are all sealed and my degrees are the real thing, so I will do copies of EVERYTHING.

Nhscotsman

Nhscotsman

[stogie bear]

Lose the moustache and get some decent pants. Dockers are NOT gonna get you a decent job unless you know the person interviewing you. Dockers are just jeans that are brown or beige! You can't seriously expect anyone to hire you wearing 'casual slacks' right? I thought we agreed that Thailand is 'style over substance!' I don't know a single school panel that would even ask you questions if you showed up wearing Dockers... unless they were desperate.

Check out my thread on the Non immigrant B visa... You can just march in and get one if you DON'T say you are coming to Thailand to work! Instead say you are here looking at land purchases for your future retirement! They'll stamp your passport and wave you through!

Fuck... where have you been getting advice? ThaiVisa.com? LOL! Damn dude... Don't be as badly organised as SamplerDoc PLEASE!

[Guest]

(stogie bear @ Aug. 16 2007,08:04) Lose the moustache and get some decent pants. Dockers are NOT gonna get you a decent job unless you know the person interviewing you. Dockers are just jeans that are brown or beige! You can't seriously expect anyone to hire you wearing 'casual slacks' right? I thought we agreed that Thailand is 'style over substance!' I don't know a single school panel that would even ask you questions if you showed up wearing Dockers... unless they were desperate.

Check out my thread on the Non immigrant B visa... You can just march in and get one if you DON'T say you are coming to Thailand to work! Instead say you are here looking at land purchases for your future retirement! They'll stamp your passport and wave you through!

Fuck... where have you been getting advice? ThaiVisa.com? LOL! Damn dude... Don't be as badly organised as SamplerDoc PLEASE!

LoL.....actually I wear Black or Navy Dockers as do most every colleague at my school, but getting a pair of dress pants isn't a biggie. When I get to BKK, I'll buy a pair for the interview. Do they sell appropriate dress pants in BKK? (Grinning)....hahaha.

With regards to the mustache, my GF has been begging me to chop it off anyway, so I promised when I came to Thailand I would cut it off.

Well from now on, I will stay away from all the Thailand forums I read and just go to SB....you seem to know more about this subject than the others do anyway.

Nhscotsman

[ShockToe]

Re: the visa, I wouldn't recommend something to you that I did not know would work, or if I did not have first-hand personal experience. Many hundreds of people obtain 1 year multiple-entry Non-Immigrant B visas in the U.S.A. based on the need to "investigate investment opportunities". It is best to locate a Thai company which will provide you with the necessary documentation. This can be done for a fee and the cost I quoted includes this fee. There are also specific Thai Consulates that are more "sympathetic" to this application process. You can apply for a visa (by mail) to any Consulate.

Having this visa will be a HUGE plus for you, trust me.

I'd prefer not to say any more on this matter, rather PM if you require details. It's actually quite simple.

p.s. You need to buy a suit, only for the interview, if you wish to get a decent job here.

Even dark-colored Dockers might be too casual for every-day wear for the type of schools you are targeting. But dark is better than tan or khaki. Each school has it's own dress code which typically varies by day of the week.

[Guest]

SB,
I did a search and got 10 pages of listings and couldn't find the posting you personally did on the Non immigrant B visa you posted, what was the heading called?

Nhscotsman

[stogie bear]

 True true true...  

You need a suit for the interview only - but you don't need to wear the jacket!

Get the Non Imm B Multi Entry or you'll have a shit load of hassle trying to get legal here. It's doable of course but you'll have to leave the country to get a Non Imm B the hard way!

NOBODY becomes a teacher on a tourist visa! (legally, that is!)

[Guest]

(ShockToe @ Aug. 16 2007,08:21) Re: the visa, I wouldn't recommend something to you that I did not know would work, or if I did not have first-hand personal experience. Many hundreds of people obtain 1 year multiple-entry Non-Immigrant B visas in the U.S.A. based on the need to "investigate investment opportunities". It is best to locate a Thai company which will provide you with the necessary documentation. This can be done for a fee and the cost I quoted includes this fee. There are also specific Thai Consulates that are more "sympathetic" to this application process. You can apply for a visa (by mail) to any Consulate.

Having this visa will be a HUGE plus for you, trust me.

I'd prefer not to say any more on this matter, rather PM if you require details. It's actually quite simple.

p.s. You need to buy a suit, only for the interview, if you wish to get a decent job here.

Hi,
Thanks for the advice, I was saying what the consulate was telling me. I would rather get the year visa if I can. If I have to, I could drive to Boston and go the Consulate Generals Office directly if I need too. I'll PM you

Nhscotsman

[Guest]

(stogie bear @ Aug. 16 2007,08:27)

I suspect I'm going to owe SB a couple of drinks for the advice!

[Guest]

(stogie bear @ Aug. 16 2007,08:27) True true true...

You need a suit for the interview only - but you don't need to wear the jacket!

Get the Non Imm B Multi Entry or you'll have a shit load of hassle trying to get legal here. It's doable of course but you'll have to leave the country to get a Non Imm B the hard way!

NOBODY becomes a teacher on a tourist visa! (legally, that is!)

Hi,
I had been speaking with teachers on www.adjarn.com which is a teachers forum as you probably know and they advised me to get the tourist visa and then do the visa runs until I get the work visa. I was going by what they (the teachers in Thailand) were advising me to do. It's not ignorance on my part, I was just following their advice which from the sound of it, was incorrect.

I'll call the Consulate Generals office in the morning and tell them I would like a Non Imm B Multi Entry so I can look for some property to buy so when I retire in 2 years I can come and live in Thailand. Hopefully they will say sent the paperwork....NO PROBLEM. Any other advice while I am on the phone to them? Where I got the tourist visa, will they just change the tourist visa to the B Visa or will I have to do the whole process all over again. You know, full application, new photos, ect?

Thanks,
Nhscotsman

[PigDogg]

(stogie bear @ Aug. 15 2007,17:27) Get the Non Imm B Multi Entry or you'll have a shit load of hassle trying to get legal here. NOBODY becomes a teacher on a tourist visa! (legally, that is!)

So if a 50+ guy is moving to Thailand and doesn't know if he wants to work or not, the Non Imig B Multi Entry is superior to the retirement visa?

And if one winds up not working it's easy to switch over to the reitrement visa providng you have the requisite money in the bank?

[stogie bear]

Correct on both counts, PD

You can't work on the so called 'Retirement Visa' but you can get one easily when you have decided not to work.

I had been speaking with teachers on www.ajarn.com which is a teachers forum as you probably know and they advised me to get the tourist visa and then do the visa runs until I get the work visa.

I used to run that show with Bangkok Phil, till I got too busy. It's still got all the hallmarks of my kind of forum!

The trouble with doing the visa runs is that you have 90 days to get a job and a new kind of visa! It's really a poor option as you will STILL have to get a Non IMM B from somewhere when you have found a job so your process of becoming legal is worked out which could take months!

There's a fella on there who works at the Text & Talk institute. I can introduce you to him when you get here and he can give you the paperwork to secure a Non Imm B if you come here on an 'entry visa.' So it's not really a big hassle if you know the right people!

But even then the issuance of these Visas is not guaranteed. Phone your consulate ask them about a Non Imm B visa because you want to do a study about locating a business out there and you expect it to take about 6 months. Don't forget the 'multiple entry' part!

Don't forget that most teachers on that forum are skirting the law and all of them will have worked illegally at one time or another - the way the system is set up it's impossible not to!

Like I said before - getting a job is the easiest thing you'll do here! The rest is a pain in the rear!

[Guest]

Well, I called the Thai Consulate Generals office on Boston (closest to where l livve) and told them exactly what you all said......They said No! They said they didn't care what the reason was that I was coming to Thailand for, for the Non Imig B Multi Entry visa, I needed a letter from a company or business in Thailand. There was no way around it. I told her that I wanted to research both businesses and my future retirement address and she said she would give me a 6 month tourist visa that would give me 3 entries and that I could also get three 30 day extensions, giving me 9 months total, but that's all she could do.

I called New York and washington and fine tuned the approach and they said exactly the same thing. I spent all morning talking to them and they all said the only way ANYONE can get the Non Imig B Multi Entry visa is with the proverbial letter.

The woman in Boston said she fully understood what I was saying by my wanting to do it here in the states versus in BKK, but she said her hands were tied. She even looked into just giving me an additional 6 month visa on top of the 2 month one I had, but the paperwork requires flight arrival dates and she said she couldn't put in false paperwork. She is a sweetheart and she did try many avenues.

Anyway, I have the 6 month visa coming so I'm better off than I was.

Nhscotsman

[baroncarlton]

Im moving to Thailand in november and this thread has been most helpful,thanks to all that contributed.However i am slightly upset that i will require a shave and a haircut.Are you sure that the Che Guevara look won't go down too well in Thailand.