☆ PLEASE HELP ☆ Teaching in Thailand ☆ Visa problem ☆ ?

Question

Hi to all,

I'm from Switzerland (Geneva) and I'll be 23 years in September. I've just been finishing my commercial studies here in my hometown and I'd like to experience a new chapter of my life by working a while in Thailand as an English teacher. I have bachelor degrees but no TEFL certificate. I'll be arriving in Bangkok in the beginning of October.

My problem : I'm confused about which visa I should take.

If I came with this Tourist Visa, once in Bangkok, I could have time to find a school as cheap as possible to pass the TEFL and then I could take time to apply for a job with it.

The tourist visa seem to be the easiest way to do it but I'm still not sure...

1. Will there be any problem to attend a school with a tourist visa ?

2. And then, when I'll get a job, will there be any problem to change it as a working visa ??

I REALLY NEED YOUR HELP ON THIS ONE... THANKS IN ADVANCE TO ALL OF YOU FOR HELPING !

Answer 1

I don't know, but how did you get the stars in there?!!

Answer 2

You can come here on a tourist visa and once you find a job you can leave and go to Peneng and apply for a B Visa (see section 2.4 of below link. Then you need to get your work permit from the Department of Labor (school should help you in this area).  Some schools will let you work with just a college degree.  However, the word is that the rule may change next year and if your degree is not in Education your need to take a course  on teaching.  Other web site of interest is ajarn.com which is a site for teachers by teachers and you can ask questions in a forum.