The price of a non-immigrant “B” visa (Nov 2004)

This is the story of my visa run to Malaysia to get a non-immigrant B visa in September 2004. It's not a comprehensive survey of all neighbouring countries and visa prices. There are many other websites (including this one) that give more detailed information. I just hope newbies can pick up some interesting information. This is just about one man and his visa.

The price of a non-immigrant “B” visa: about 10000 baht

What? Are you joking?! That much? But they told me it only costs about 2000 baht. This might be the first reaction of would-be visa runners when seeing the above heading. This piece will give you an idea of how much you are really going to spend to get one.

Indeed, two thousand baht is more or less the price a Royal Thai embassy will charge you for this kind of visa, and it will be probably issued in two or three working days. To be perfectly clear, I’m talking about the three-months, single entry non-immigrant B visa. If you plan to work in Thailand, this is the one to get. It is also the only visa you can get quite easily in the Thai embassies around South-East Asia if you plan to work in Thailand. Multiple entry non-immigrant B visas valid for one year are virtually impossible to obtain.

If you really plan ahead, you could apply for one of those in your home country and get it fairly easily if you already have a job lined up in the Land of Smiles. When you are already in Thailand, flying back home is usually not an option. You’ll go to Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia or any other Asian country instead. Although the visa fee is about 2000 baht, I think there is more to it than just that. This is what I did and what it cost me.

I entered Thailand without a visa, as most people do, and got the free ‘30 days on arrival’. I had travelled extensively in South-East Asia before and this time I came to Thailand looking for a job. I was living in another neighbouring Asian country, but I knew it was impossible to get a non-immigrant B visa there without the necessary documents from an employer.

I gave myself a month to look for a decent job and planned to get the necessary paperwork done after finding it, i.e. obtaining a long-term visa and a work permit. I thought finding a job and getting a work permit would be a piece of cake, as I have both a Master’s Degree and a TEFL Certificate (real ones, to be perfectly clear) and seven years of teaching experience as a full-time corporate instructor in a previous life. It was.

By the way, in order to get a work permit easily, you need at least a Bachelor’s Degree. If you haven’t got one you won’t get a work permit, which means you’ll join the perpetual visa run carousel every month or every few months. Having a TEFL Certificate is not mandatory, but if you’ve never taught before or you haven’t got any experience in education, getting one might be a VERY good idea.

After a week I found a suitable job and I started working as an English teacher for a respectable language school. Three weeks later my tourist visa expired and the school gave me the necessary documents (a letter from the school stating they employed me full-time and a copy of the manager’s credentials) to get my non-immigrant B visa. I chose to fly to Penang in Malaysia.

Laos (Vientiane), Cambodia (Phnom Penh) or Singapore are other popular destinations, although the latter one seems to be a lot more fool-proof. An AirAsia round-trip Bangkok-Penang cost me 2640 baht, including regular taxes and Malaysian airport tax but excluding the 500 baht “Service Fee” one has to pay at Don Meuang airport in order to leave the Kingdom by air. This was the cheapest fare I could get at the time.

Going to Laos or Cambodia by bus might have been a bit cheaper, but unfortunately one needs a visa to enter those countries so that would jack up the cost. Not so for Malaysia. Anyway, I heard from a few colleagues that the Royal Thai Embassy in Vientiane is staffed by frequently obnoxious personnel (however, another colleague told me he didn’t have any problem at all there). In Cambodia there is no Thai embassy near the border, so one has to travel all the way to Siem Reap or Phnom Penh. This is a very long bus/pick-up truck journey overland and flying to Cambodia is a bit more expensive than flying to Malaysia.

So Penang it was. Upon arrival I noticed to my discontent that there was no airport bus into Georgetown. Travellers were gently coerced into using the taxi service. Luckily I met another traveller at the taxi counter and we shared a taxi to Georgetown (prices are at the end of the article). He was also on a visa run and was planning to go to a visa agent in downtown Georgetown. After about half an hour, the taxi dropped us in Chulia Street, the main backpacker’s area. Although I had planned to go to the Thai embassy myself, I decided to check out the visa agent.

The agency employees were a bunch of friendly Indians and were all too happy to offer their services to the two foreign cowboys. They could arrange the non-immigrant B visa in two days for the regular fee plus a small commission. The Thai embassy charges 200 ringgit (2200 baht) for this visa and the agent wanted a 10 ringgit (220 baht) commission. It was 1.30 in the afternoon and I decided I didn’t want to go to the embassy myself if these guys could do it for a mere 220 baht. It would save me the hassle and two taxi rides.

Unfortunately, my flight back to Bangkok left two days later at 1.25PM, just too late to get my visa in time. I needed one-day service and got it. Unfortunately, it cost me an extra 70 ringgit (770 baht), which went straight into the Thai embassy’s coffers. Mai pen rai. Never mind. I checked into a modest hotel and enjoyed my two days’ holiday. I had visited Penang before and I can confirm that the island has lots of beautiful sights to offer to fill two days. Historical Georgetown with its Heritage buildings, Penang Hill Station and a famous temple somewhere in the hills are really worthwhile exploring.

The next day I went to pick up my visa at 2.30 PM. I realised they hadn’t even given me a receipt and had some trouble finding the right place. Indeed, there are many visa agents in Chulia streets and their offices all look alike. They themselves also look alike. They’re all Indians, cousins probably. Anyway, I got my passport with the visa just as promised without any problem at all. Decent and efficient chaps really. I’ve put the name of the agency at the end of the piece, just in case. I don’t get any commission whatsoever, if you wonder. I was satisfied, but then again, I’m just one man with one visa.

I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening in Georgetown. I had some delicious food and a few drinks. Alcoholics beware! Alcohol is expensive in Malaysia. Beer and spirits are readily available, but at a price. A big bottle of beer (all imported, from Heineken and Carlsberg to Tiger and Chang) costs between 11 and 15 ringgit (120 to 160 baht) in the cheaper tourist hangouts or at the 7-Eleven.

The next day I took a taxi back to the airport and landed in the early afternoon in Bangkok. I could stay for three more months in LOS. Now I just hope my work permit gets processed ‘quickly’ (6 to 8 weeks) so I can get an extension without leaving the country. By the way, when you apply for a work permit, there supposedly have to be 60 days left on your visa. The detail of my expenses follows. I almost spent 10K baht. I suppose you can knock off a few baht if you live like a monk, but for most of us, that’s probably not an option.


What did it really cost?

Minivan to BKK airport : 15 baht
Bangkok airport service fee : 500 baht
Round trip Bangkok-Penang : 2640 baht
Taxi airport-Georgetown (shared): 150 baht
Visa fee (incl. Agent’s fee) : 3190 baht
Accommodation (2 nights) : 500 baht
Food, drink & various (2 days) : 2500 baht
Taxi Georgetown-airport : 220 baht
Bus BKK airport-home : 8 baht

Grand total : 9723 baht

The visa agent I used

N.J.
Books centre – Arranged Thai visa – Licensed money changer
Haji Jabar/Muhammed
425, Chulia Street
10200 Penang – Malaysia
Tel: 604-2616113, 2642033
Email: njbookscentre@hotmail.com


A few tips for those wanting a visa and a teaching career

• Inform yourself as much as possible before going on a visa run. There is plenty of information available: visit relevant websites (e.g. www.thaivisa.com), go to forums, read discussion boards and talk to your colleagues (if you have any).

• Try to get a visa in your home country before coming to Thailand if possible (Update 2007: and get a police clearance as well). The chances of getting a long-term multiple entry visa are much better than in nearly all Asian countries.

• If you go on a visa run, check out the low-budget airlines. The deals and promotions they offer are sometimes too good to be true (e.g. fly to Singapore for 15 baht). The fares are often as low as a bus or train ticket.

• Don't forget to check out the airport departure tax (if any), you don't want to spend your last money on the eve of your departure and subsequently get stranded at the airport.

• Make sure you have a decent set of clothes when you plan to apply for the visa yourself. Appearance matters to Thais. No need to buy an original Armani suit and matching Jim Thompson silk tie. Just don't wear your faded, dirty jeans and matching "I love cannabis" T-shirt when going to the Royal Thai Embassy.

• Take enough money with you, depending on where you go. There are very few ATMs in Laos, Cambodia or Myanmar (Burma). An ATM (or credit) card will do fine in most other countries to obtain cash from the readily available ATMs.

• Plan ahead. I mean make up your mind about what you want to do. Do you really want to be a teacher? Have you ever taught before? If the answers are no, it might be a good idea to give it a try first (for instance by taking a TEFL or looking for a part-time job at a language school) before getting yourself a non-immigrant B visa and applying for a work permit. It's just not worth the hassle it if you plan to be a teacher for a few months.

• Know what you're getting into. Inform yourself about salaries and work conditions. Don't compare them to your home country. This is Thailand. You can have lunch for 20 baht and rent a room for as low as 3000 baht a month. Nobody gives a shit that "you're worth 3000 dollars a month" where you come from. You should have stayed there then. In Thailand you'll probably make somewhere between 25000 and 45000 baht a month (600-1100 USD), like most teachers do. That's about five times more than your average Thai colleagues.

• Consider your visa run to be a city trip. There are most likely some interesting things to see where you are going. How can you go to Phnom Penh and not visit the Tuol Sleng museum, to Penang and not see the historical centre or visit Penang Hill etc.? I think it sounds fairly stupid when you tell someone where you've been there and then have to admit that the only things you saw where your hotel room and the closest bar.

Heaven and Hell - Tips for Teaching Kids (Oct 2004)

Hell

Pandemonium. Utter chaos. Those are the most appropriate words to describe the state my classroom was in the other day. Kids running around shouting. A boy kicking the wall. A boy kicking another boy. A boy scaring girls. Girls starting to scream. A girl running out of the classroom crying hysterically. Materials scattered everywhere. Get the picture? Well, at least Teacher wasn’t supposed to clean up the mess.

Sounds familiar? Maybe, maybe not. That’s why I think it’s eliciting time. Where do you think this happened? What kind of school was it? How many kids were in the classroom? What was the classroom like? How old were they? What do you think happened afterwards? I’ll give you one minute. Set? Go!

All right, time’s up. Stop thinking and read on to see if you were on the right track. Contrary to what some of you might have been thinking, it didn’t happen in a Thai elementary school and no, there weren’t 40 kids in a hot, dilapidated classroom. No blackboard with good old chalk. No kids shouting “Good morning Teacher!”

It happened in a respectable language school, in a small, modern, air-conditioned classroom where five and six-year olds come every Saturday morning for their weekly English class. There were seven of them. Yes, that’s right, just seven kids. If you are wondering how on earth a handful of kids can create such a situation, you’ve obviously never taught kids.

It had all started very well at nine ‘o clock. The sky was blue, the birds were singing and I was in a good mood. It was my first week working for the school and this was the first day I was teaching that particular group of “very young learners”.

I replaced another female teacher who had apparently quit her job halfway through the course, although some teachers claimed she was just having a break. Other teachers had never heard of her and were even amazed to find out we had a female teacher on the staff. My guess was she’d quit. Maybe she didn’t like teaching kids. Maybe she didn’t like teaching obnoxious kids. Maybe she didn’t like teaching at all. Maybe she had had a nervous breakdown. Maybe she’ll turn up in a klong somewhere, wrapped in a plastic bag and cut into pieces. At least then she’ll make the front page of the Thai newspapers, most probably with a close-up of her severed head. Thais love stuff like that. We’ll probably never know. Moving on.

At nine o’clock sharp I welcomed the kids, said hello to just a few of the parents and started the lesson. We playfully reviewed some of the language they’d learned before (or were supposed to have learned) and I started eliciting and introducing new words. Topic of the day was clothes. After an initial period of cooperation that lasted for about twenty minutes, it became quite clear that it would be a gruelling three hours. Although I’m a born-again atheist, I profoundly thanked Buddha for the two 15 minutes’ breaks.

The group consisted of three nice girls, a shy boy, a normal (regular? ordinary?) boy and two Problems. Minor Problem was a very bright boy, in fact way too intelligent when compared to the others. He didn’t want to be there, except to play and have a good time. Major Problem was a big, fat, super-sized Thai bully (I’ll call him BB or Big Bully) whose command of English was above average and who was only interested in playing, shouting, wreaking havoc and encouraging the other, good kids, to do so too.

After those first twenty minutes, I realized I would be in for a rough ride. What do you do when kids just don’t listen to what you say? They don’t want to do what you say. They don’t want to sit down (although you know the instruction in English and possibly Thai, just to make sure). They don’t want to do the activity you prepared. They’re not interested in your game. They want to play their own, in their own language.

They don’t want to be quiet when you’re asking someone a question or when you’re explaining something. They start running around. They start tampering with the cassette player. They start writing on the board. They take your pen and notebook. They take the markers. They get physical. They kick you. They lie on the floor. They fight. One hits his ear on the table (or has it hit for him) and starts crying. One takes a nap.

A few play with a Spiderman puppet, have an argument and in the end a girl starts crying hysterically and runs off to find her mummy. A few others draw stuff on the board. Not really pictures, just lines, dots and other nonsense, making sure the markers will be as good as useless next time. A few still sit at the table, a bit shy, but will join the rest soon.

Do you think I’m exaggerating? Unfortunately I’m not. I really don’t want to scare would-be teachers away from the profession. I think this is a rare worst case scenario. Well, not that rare to be honest, but not very common either. Teaching children is often a tiring and difficult job. But also rewarding and reasonably well paid according to Thai standards.

Now back to the classroom. What happened next? I tried to teach a number of new words as well as I could, using the kids as live models (the topic was clothes, remember); I had them colour a number of memory cards, draw their own set of clothes and then we reviewed the words.

Obviously, the main problem was that towards the end of the first period and during the whole second period, all discipline was completely gone. Nothing I did or said mattered, never mind the intonation or facial expression I used. No one seemed to remember their parents told them to listen to the teacher and be good. The classroom had become the Bounty and they were a bloody bunch of mutineers, with Sergeant-Major Big Bully and his second-in-command Minor Problem in charge.

After two tiresome periods I asked for a bit of advice and feedback from a few colleagues (and really started worrying about the physical and mental health of my predecessor). They basically told me to be a good babysitter and grin and bear it. However, I interrupted class in the third period and went to see the head teacher. I asked him if it was possible to remove an extremely troublesome student from class (BB of course) or have a chat with his parents. As it was, that kid was basically wasting the other parents’ good money because he was the main reason why no learning was going on at all.

Head Teacher accompanied me to the classroom and asked the kid “to be good boy and listen to Teacher” (yeah, right). This may seem useless, but his presence made a difference because I then told BB to go into the hall for a few minutes with Head Teacher to continue the chat. I asked him to leave the classroom. In English. In Thai. In Thaiglish. He didn’t want to. He really didn’t want to leave. In fact, he seemed scared shitless. The look on his face was priceless.

One of the reasons why he was extremely reluctant to leave the classroom could be the loss of face. Another reason could be that he was afraid to face the music when his parents saw him being accompanied out of the classroom and subsequently having the problem explained to them by the head teacher. That might have caused loss of face for the parents as well and BB surely would have lost the ability to sit down for a few days or been forced to wear sunglasses.

Although I’m not an advocate of corporal punishment, I think that’s exactly what he deserved. But no, Head Teacher decided he could stay in the classroom if he listened to Teacher. Discipline did improve afterwards, but BB soon forgot all about his promise and became his obnoxious little self again. I had to remind him a few times of the possible consequences of being a bad boy.

Luckily for the both of us, the class came to an end and lunch break started. I got it all off my chest during lunch with a couple of colleagues while BB was probably bragging to his folks how much he’d learned during class. He’ll have to watch out. I’ll get him in the end. I don’t know how, I don’t know when, but I’m planning my revenge.

Or maybe I’ll just forget all about him. Time makes you see things differently, put things in perspective. Kids. Aaaargh. Boy am I glad I’ve never had any of my own. Never have, never will, that’s for sure now. When I was his age…

Heaven

In the afternoon I had a similar very young learners’ class on my schedule, but this time there were only four students. They were all girls. A very shy four-year old, a shy five-year old and two ordinary six and seven-year olds.

We reviewed the previous lessons; I elicited and introduced new words. All the kids were very smart and knew a lot more words than I had expected. They were eager to cooperate. They repeated when I wanted them to repeat. They answered when I asked a question. They sang when I asked them to sing (although not wholeheartedly, but they did). They sat when I asked them to sit. They stood up when I asked them to stand up.

They jumped when I asked them to jump. They coloured when I asked them to colour. They cut and pasted when I asked them to cut and paste. We had fun, it was great, it was a dream class. The three hours just flew by. By the end of the class the two older girls were already becoming a bit forward but they never really misbehaved.

Thanks girls. Just what I needed. Boy do I like these like kids. I want to have some of my own. Right here, right now. Can’t wait. Come to think of it, does anyone know if it’s possible to rent them? I’m not rich, but I could teach them English for free. Uh-oh, something’s wrong here, stop, relax, breath, take my pills, think straight…


Tips for teaching kids (from the very young to the grown-up kids)

• Don’t think teaching kids is easy, it’s not.
• Tie everything down that’s yours. Keep it in your pockets, your bag, briefcase, socks, travel pouch, wherever.
• Learn to enjoy singing. A lot of books are based on songs and chants.
• Learn to draw, paint, cut and paste. Enjoy crafts!
• Learn how to use the REW, FF and PAUSE button on a cassette player.
• Try to persuade the manager/principal/director of studies to buy (and copy) the CDs instead of using (copied) cassette tapes. We’re in the year 2547 (2004) after all. Do you know when the CD was invented? Exactly 20 years ago, in 1984!
• Don’t get frustrated too easily.
• If the kids don’t understand what you say, explain again. And again. And again.
• Use very clear instructions and simple language, based on vocabulary they already know.
• It’s unlikely kids will understand instructions like “NowIwouldlikeyoutotakeyourbookwhenyourereadypagefortysevenopenitandcolourallthepicturesIthinkthecrayonsmightbesomewhereunderthetableyourememberthewordunderdon’tyouit’slikenexttoandabove”. Difficult to read? Well, that’s probably how the whole sentence sounds to them.
• Demonstrate, rather than explain.
• Mime, rather than explain.
• Point, use hand movements and facial expressions, rather than explain.
• Repetition is often, if not always, a key to success.
• Review material introduced the previous week(s).
• Don’t get angry. As with adults, it will probably get you nowhere.
• Remember that a number of elementary young learners should actually be called ignorant spoilt brats.
• Don’t hit the kids, farang (= foreign) teachers are not allowed to.
• It’s better to make the parents hit their kids if needed.
• However if you do hit one, make sure not to leave any marks.
• The teacher’s ultimate threat is to make a kid leave the classroom. Anyone threatened with expulsion will calm down and behave. This threat can be used more than once if needed.
• Reward good answers (a nice remark will do fine, no need to hand out hard cash to make yourself more popular, like some politicians).
• Try to understand that with very young learners, you’re not only a teacher but a (quite expensive) babysitter as well.
• If you’re paid per lesson, don’t take on too many lessons. Teaching kids 40+ hours per week can damage your health. You’ll just drop dead on your day off.
• Use strong students to demonstrate. Encourage weak ones to repeat.
• Encourage physically strong, good students to keep physically weaker Problems in line.
• Don’t cause major psychological trauma by making a shy girl sing a song in front of the classroom.
• Persuade the management to make casual clothing (jeans, tracksuit, coveralls, clown suit etc.) part of the dress code when teaching young kids.
• On the other hand, don’t forget that parents or relatives often wait in the school lobby and see teachers come and go. Appearances do matter in Thailand. If you’re not tall, blond, blue-eyed and if you come short in the hair or teeth department, I’d definitely stick to a shirt and tie.
• Try not to be late. However if you are late, make sure to have a good excuse like an accident and be able to show at least some nasty looking bruises or a reasonable amount of dried blood on your clothes to corroborate your story.
• Don’t take any sharp or dangerous objects into the classroom (sharp scissors, knife, gun, machete, acid etc.). They can and will be used against you or anyone else present.
• Learn some basic Thai, but don’t tell the kids you speak Thai.
• Student’s books vary in quality, ranging from very adequate to utter crap. Be creative, adapt and supplement the teaching material if necessary.
• If the book you (have to) use is really worthless, it might be a good idea to convey your point of view in a tactful manner to the Director of Studies.
• Don’t be too hard on the kids. Many of them study English because their parents want them to. They’d rather be somewhere else.
• Don’t be too soft either. Their parents pay a lot of money for the English lessons so the kids should be learning at least something. Also, the kids themselves might start treating you like a doormat. Don’t think this is a figure of speech, take it literally.
• Don’t use Thai words when you’re eliciting or introducing vocabulary. Let them get used to English words and language. However if you’re determined to use some local lingo, be careful if you use the Thai word for banana (or any other Thai word really) unless you’re good at Thai sounds and tones. Watch out for the stand-alone form of the personal pronoun “he” as well.
• And last but not least, have a good time!