Before you leave

Some things to do before you set off for Thailand

1. Check your Passport

Long before you are due to leave, please check that your passport:

  • is valid for at least 6 months from date of entry (requirement for immigration) and preferably until the end of the contract (Getting a new passport while in Thailand may be difficult).
  • has plenty of blank pages.

If your passport expires within 6 months or you have few blank pages, you will need to get a new passport before you leave. Please contact us if you think you need to get a new passport.

2. Send us a scan of your passport and let us know where you will get your Thai visa

This is very important. We aim to bring you into Thailand on a non-Immigrant ‘B’ visa. The process of getting this is quite long and complex so you need to send the following immediately so that we can prepare the papers you will need to get a visa: 

  1. E-mail us a scanned copy of the identification page in your passport (the page with your photo on).
  2. Let us know which Thai Embassy/consulate you want to get your visa from. This will usually be in the country where you are presently resident. You can find a list of Thai consulates on the link here: http://www.thaiembassy.org/main/ 

You should send the scan of your passport and the location of the consulate where you want to get a visa to:

3. Get your Thai non-immigrant ‘B’ visa

It normally takes 6-8 weeks for the Thai Ministry of Education to prepare the papers you will need to get your Thai Non-immigrant ‘B’ visa. While we can usually get the Ministry to do this a bit more quickly, perhaps in 4 or 5 weeks, it is likely that you will go to get your visa just before you depart for Thailand. You can claim the travel costs for getting your visa when you arrive but let us know what these costs will be before you go to the Thai embassy/consulate.

When you go to the Embassy you will need:

  • two passport photos
  • the appropriate fee, which you can claim back
  • Copy of your professional certificates (Diploma, PGCE, TEFL cert etc.)
  • CV
  • A set of supporting documents from British Council, Thailand which will be sent to you via courier – you will need to provide us with an address to send these to.

To complete the Non-immigrant ‘B’ visa form:

  • Please tick the box for single entry – you can change this to a multiple-entry visa when you are in Thailand, if you want to.
  • Where the form asks for a contact person in Thailand, put:
    Duangkamol Assawawongsakul
    British Council Siam Square
    254 Chulalongkorn Soi 64 Phyathai Road
    Pathumwan
    Bangkok
    Thailand 10330

Note, on some occasions there is not time for you to get the non-immigrant ‘B’ visa before you arrive. In these circumstances we will ask you to either:

  1. enter on a 30-day tourist visa – this is free and available at the airport when you arrive
  2. enter on a 60-day tourist visa, which you need to get at the Thai consulate in your country

It is legal to work on a tourist visa for a limited period while your work visa is being processed. If you need to take this option, we will let you know and support you with this.

4. Get your British Council occupational medical check done

You need to have a medical check done before you arrive. Cherry will send you the form for this. The medical check should be done by a doctor who knows you, usually your GP. If you're already away from home, this check should be done by an English-speaking doctor. Please ask your doctor to complete the form and either give it to you or send it to us. We will reimburse medical check costs up to £100 on arrival if done out of Thailand or 2000THB if done in Thailand. Please bring copies of the form and receipts with you so we can check them when you arrive.

5. Get your Police Checks done

As you will be conducting training in working schools, you need to complete police checks with full disclosure.

UK DBS police checks

If you were born or have been resident in the UK then you need to complete a UK DBS police check

1.Log into the system using this link: https://disclosure.capitarvs.co.uk/cheqs/applicantLogin.do?applicationTy...

2.You need to use the organisation reference and password below, to log in: 

Organization Reference: BCSIAMSQUARE
Password: BritishCouncil1934

3.Important - If you are applying outside of the UK, or if you think your DBS certificate will arrive after you depart, then please give the British Council London as your current address: 

British Council (Bangkok, Thailand)
10 Spring Gardens
London
SW1A 2BN

List your actual address as your most recent previous address and list the city and country where you are based as below.  Failure to do this could cause delays.

If you are in the UK, Kris Thomas will assist you with your DBS check: Kris.Thomas@britishcouncil.org

4.You need to present 3 forms of evidence of your identification. For more information on acceptable forms of ID click here. If you are in the UK, speak to Kris Thomas in London (see above), or, if you are in another country, present these to HR in Bangkok / Chiang Mai when you arrive:

a.If you can get to London easily, you can make an appointment to see Kris Thomas.
b.If you are elsewhere in the UK, you can get your ID checked at your local post office (see attachment) and then post the certified copies to Kris Thomas in the UK or Duangkamol Assawawongsakul (Cherry) in Thailand.
c.If you are outside of the UK, you will need to go to their nearest British Council teaching centre to get the ID check done.
d.Alternatively, you can bring the ID for the British Council Thailand HR to check.

Some advice on completing the check is available here. 

Police checks for non-UK nationals

If you have never lived or worked in the UK and you are not a UK national, you need to get a police check from your country of origin.

Local police checks

If you have lived abroad recently working for the British Council in another country, for instance, then you need to get a local police check from that country. Please contact us if you have any problems with this.

6. Organise your flights and shipping

Flights

You need to arrive in Thailand the day before your start date. We ask you to provide three quotes for a flight to Bangkok and we will approve the lowest quote. Please send your quotes to Cherry (Duangkamol.Assawawongsakul@britishcouncil.or.th), Grid (Grid.Ganjina@britishcouncil.or.th) and Ian (Ian.Clifford@britishcouncil.or.th) 

Baggage and shipping 

If you are stationed outside of Thailand before you start this appointment, you are entitled to an accountable baggage allowance of up to £1500 for both incoming and outgoing shipping, with a maximum of £1200 in either direction.  If you are sending unaccompanied shipping, you are advised to wait until you have found accommodation and then have this sent on after you arrive. Excess baggage costs can be included within this allowance. Please bring receipts, which will be reimbursed on arrival. 

7. Get any vaccinations you need

  • Make sure you have had all the vaccinations that you will need to live in Thailand – some of these are quite long courses so you need to start them as soon as possible The vaccinations you need come in two categories.
  • Make sure you are up to date with the basic vaccinations recommended for your own country. This link will take you to the vaccinations recommended by the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK:  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-complete-routine-immunisa... .
  • Make sure you have the vaccinations required for Thailand. These are listed in this website: http://www.fitfortravel.nhs.uk/destinations/asia-(east)/thailand.aspx  and another useful website here: http://travelhealthpro.org.uk/country/221/thailand . 
  • Some of these vaccinations involve courses of several jabs (e.g. rabies) so it’s worth starting these as soon as possible.
  • While it’s worth thinking ahead about vaccinations, especially those that require a long course, these vaccinations will also be available in Thailand, including those for Japanese Encephalitis and Rabies.
  • You can claim these vaccinations from the project on arrival.

8. Consider getting insurance for your possessions

British Council provides health insurance, but it does not provide cover for your possessions. You may wish to get insurance for your possessions, especially any high value items, particularly electronics.

9. Buy some smart clothes

Dress for work

Dressing suitably will be a key component of success in your role and a smart appearance is very important in Thai culture. For men, shirts should have a collar and be tucked into trousers. Short sleeved shirts may be acceptable but polo shirts are not. Tattoos should not be visible. Ties are not compulsory but they are a good idea, especially as you need to make a good first impression. For women, tops should cover the shoulders and not be low cut, strappy, revealing or see-through. Skirts should be knee length at the very shortest. 

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