How to get the 5-year Teaching License from the Krusappha?

A lot of you have been asking about the process of getting the permanent five-year teaching license from Krusappha. Here, I will detail the process that my wife and I have gone through to obtain the five-year teaching license. So basically, this article will be based on our experience, and maybe some teachers will have their own experience of how they got their teaching license.

For those who do not know yet, initially, you will be given a two-year temporary waiver to teach without a license by the Krusappha, which you can renew up to three times. That’s equivalent to six years of temporary waivers. This amount of time is enough for you to enroll in an education course in case you have none. Nonetheless, anytime after the first waiver, assuming that you have an education degree or have a teaching license in your home country, you can apply for the five-year teaching license already.

So, the following are the standard teaching license requirements for foreign teachers that you will need to obtain a five-year teaching license based on the website of the Teacher’s Council of Thailand:

1. Not younger than 20 years of age
2. Have academic qualifications in one of the following:
    (a) Have a degree in education or its equivalent
    (b) Have a degree in another field and a teaching license from another country
    (c) Have a degree in another field and a graduate diploma in the teaching profession with 1 year of course study
    (d) Have a degree in another field and have passed other professional certifications in accordance with the professional standards of the Teachers’ Council of Thailand
3. Have continuing experience in teaching of not less than 1 year
4. Have a Thai work permit
5. Have evidence showing that an applicant has been permitted to stay in Thailand
6. Not possess any of the prohibited characteristics pursuant to section 44 of the Teachers and  Educational Personnel Council Act B.E. 2003
    • Having improper behavior or immorality
    • Being an incompetent or quasi-incompetent person
    • Having been sentenced to imprisonment in any case, in the opinion of the Teachers Council of Thailand, which may bring dishonor upon the profession.

You can download these comprehensive Guidelines Related to Teaching License Application for Foreigners.

So, if you think you are qualified to get the five-year teaching license better get one to avoid the hassle of applying for a temporary waiver every time you will renew your Non-B visa.

You can read the step by step guide on how to apply including the forms that you will need to fill in in the guidelines related to teaching license application for Foreigners but I will still outline it here below to make it easier for you:

First, download and fill in the Application Form.

The following are the documentary requirements that you need to prepare:

1. Copy of educational certificate along with official transcripts
2. Copy of teaching license/ certificate from abroad (If any)
3. Original official degree confirmation letter for graduates of institution or an original official Transcript or original of statement of professional standing (as the case may be)
4. Copy of Translation of non-English or Thai documents
5. Copy of documentary evidence related to your professional certification (if any)
6. Original of Professional Experience Evaluation Form (this form must be completed and signed by all evaluators and enclosed with a copy of their current professional licenses)
7. Copy of all the used pages of the teacher’s passport; preferably the photo page and present Non-B Visa page
8. Copy of all the used pages of the teacher’s work permit
9. Other relevant documents (if any)e.g. Certificate of Name/Surname Change, Certificate of Marriage/Divorce, or related document, in case of name, or surname discrepancy between that appears on the degree certificate and
   that appears on the passport
10. Two 1 x 1.25 inch half-length, full face photograph; wearing formal clothing without hat and sunglasses; taken within 6 months before application submission (Do not wear a t-shirt or tank top, no smile; taken against plain, blue or white background)
11. Payment receipt for registration fee: 500 Baht

Next, prepare all the applicable documents above and give them to your school’s liaison officer who is in-charged of foreign teachers.

Depending on your school, the officer may scan all the documents for you or he/she can ask you to scan all the documents by yourself. If they ask you this, don’t be angry, remember getting the license is for our own personal gain and we are just asking them the favor to apply for us.

For the application process, your school will do this through Krusappha KSP website. Your school will make an account for you on the website and upload all the scanned documents there. It’s in their discretion whether to give you access to the account or you will just wait for it. My wife has been given access by her school so she can see everything about the application process in real-time. For me, they didn’t give the access but they update me every time about my application process.

These are the stages of your application process. Your school can monitor this on the KSP website. Each stage turns green every time the Krusappha finishes each stage. When the last stage turns green it means that your school can now download the teaching license.

 

Your school can see here whether your documents passed the screening process or you need to submit more documents before it gets approved.

Some teachers I’ve talked to said it took them almost a month to get the license done. But as for me and my wife, it only took less than two weeks before we get our teaching license.

So, if you have a question feel free to comment down below and I’d be happy to answer again based on our experience. Thank you and I hope it helps you.