Why Are Foreign Teachers Fleeing the Land of Smiles?
Thailand is great for backpackers, but not for long-term stays. Why are my wife and I moving to Belarus? Here is my answer
There are so many reasons why we dared to move to Belarus after more than 8 years of living here that it is easier for me to mention only one reason why we should stay in Thailand — a steady and well-paying job for my wife.
My wife is a Thai physical education teacher, and there are special benefits for teachers in Thailand. For example, they receive pensions, whereas the vast majority of Thai citizens do not.
Teachers also receive various incentives. For example, if my wife works for another two years, she will receive a one-time bonus of 300,000 baht on top of her salary. They also have a flexible salary increase system in place, with increases occurring every six months. As a result, my wife’s salary has equaled mine in six years and keeps growing.
Thai teachers start their careers with low salaries, around 9,000 baht. Their salary is low in the beginning because they don’t become teachers automatically. After graduation from the university, they need to pass the special exam. Once they pass this test, their salaries reach around 15,000 baht and steadily increase twice a year.
In seven years, my wife’s salary has already approached mine.
Some Thai teachers at my public school make 60,000 baht a month on hand, which is a very good salary given the other benefits.
Thai teachers also have preferential loans and health insurance, which should, in theory, cover both my wife and her husband — me. Yet, in practice, I have never received a discount from the village hospital.
Why?
The official reason for refusal is simple: they don’t know how to formalize it. It should be noted that foreigners frequently encounter additional difficulties with various documents because they simply do not want to deal with us. In contrast, I don’t have any bonuses or advantages like my wife.
So, my wife's stable job is probably the only reason why we shouldn’t move to Belarus. However, as you might guess, there are more reasons why we should move to Belarus. Let me tell you just three of them.
1. Visa & Permanent Residency
Thailand has a very complicated visa system. Even though I have been officially married to a Thai woman for five years, and we live together — I am still not eligible for a family visa.
Why not?
Because in Thailand, it’s not enough for me to have an official Thai wife. You still must have 800,000 baht in a Thai bank account for three months. In fact, you need to freeze the money.
If you don’t have that money in the account, you can open a type of family visa that requires you to leave the country every three months. This is expensive and inconvenient because I, for example, live in central Thailand, and the visa run will cost around 10,000 baht every three months.
How about permanent residency or so?
Well … despite officially working at a school for eight years, I still don’t have a permanent residency permit due to my low salary, but not only that. It means that every 90 days during my eight years in Thailand, I notified the immigration police that I was in my province.
Failure to notify in a timely manner can result in fines and, in extreme cases, deportation with a ban on entry to Thailand for several years. This factor simply does not improve my quality of life, and even having children in common would not qualify me for a residence permit either.
Some people obtain Thai Permanent Residency (TPR), which is not easy. They say that it’s nearly impossible to get it without giving a huge bribe. Yet, I strongly believe that if you set a goal, everything will be feasible, but not in my case, simply because of the low salary. I found simplified information about requirements and am eager to share it with you.
Here are the requirements for obtaining a TPR in Thailand:
- Live and work permanently in Thailand for at least 3 years without interruption;
- Work in the same Thai company for at least 1 year;
- The company must be really active;
- Official salary — at least 80,000 THB or monthly income on tax returns of at least 100,000 THB per month;
- Speak Thai.
For those who are married to a Thai citizen:
- Live and work permanently in Thailand for at least two years;
- Salary of at least 30,000 baht per month;
- Speak Thai.
There is a quota for issuance — a maximum of 100 people from each country.
The application fee is 7,600 THB.
If the decision is made, a one-time fee of THB 191,000 must be paid.
For those who are married to a Thai citizen, the fee is 95,700 THB.
After the documents have been confirmed, you will receive an invitation to an interview at the Bangkok Immigration Bureau in a few months. The interview will take place in Thai. After your recorded interview, your application will be forwarded to the Thai Ministry of Interior.
It is worth noting that there is no unified Thai language proficiency test similar to TOEIC or IELTS.
If the committee likes your Thai — you’ve passed.
In theory, the approval process can take up to 20 months. During this time, you will have your passport stamped for an extension of stay every 6 months until you receive a response.
If successful, you will need to go to the Bangkok Immigration Office again, where you will be given an approval letter and told how to get a blue book — a residency certificate.
In addition, you will need to obtain a foreigner’s certificate from the local police station, which will need to be renewed every 5 years for a minimal fee.
Source for obtaining a TPR: https://freten.ru/thailand-visa#11 © Freten Freelance Exchange
How about Belarus?
In blue-eyed Belarus, in contrast, we will not have any visa issues because it’s enough for her to be my wife to get a Belarus Residence Permit. She will get almost all the rights as me — a citizen of Belarus. For example, she will receive full medical care.
Fortunately, I have wonderful health, and I got sick just once during my life in Thailand — it was COVID-19. However, I realize that I’m not getting any younger every year, and my health might bring me some surprises in the future, which might cost me an arm and a leg, both literally and metaphorically.
I’ve also noticed that, as I get older, the heat becomes more difficult to tolerate, and I must tell you a few words about tropical heat with high humidity.
2. Climate
The world climate is getting warmer, and in Belarus, watermelons are already growing in summer. Yet, on our April vacation in Thailand, we had to sit all day long at home under the air conditioner because it felt like being in a sauna outside. Just look at this, please:
To be fair, during the school year, the temperature fluctuates around +36C, which is less than forty, but working in this climate is like torture anyway.
If we talk about the teaching profession, in my opinion, it is problematic to study in such temperatures. At such a temperature, all the body’s resources are directed toward slowing down thought processes but speeding up heat exchange processes. In other words, the brain is doing everything to survive, not to learn.
Believe me, you don’t even want to go out when it’s +40C. Besides, there are practically no pedestrian sidewalks in Thailand, and every now and then, plastic cups and bottles are lying along the roads instead.
3. Cleanliness and order
Belarus’ streets and cities are, in my opinion, the cleanest in Europe. You can check this out without leaving your house by watching any walkthrough video about Belarus.
I’m serious; in Belarus, people are well-mannered and neat, as our parents and teachers teach us from a young age.
How?
Let me share with you how my mother and father taught me.
Picnic Lesson
I remember when I first started primary school, my parents and I went deep into the woods for a picnic and barbecue. After we finished our little party in the forest, my parents took out plastic bags and started picking up the trash. I was surprised at that moment because I didn’t understand why we were picking up trash in the forest.
“Mom, why do we have to pick up trash?” my eyes sparkled with genuine curiosity.
"Because, my son, the forest needs to be kept clean,” my mom said without taking her eyes off the process of collecting plastic cups, “come on, help us.”
I took the plastic bag in my hands and continued asking, “Why do we have to keep the forest clean?”
My mom smiled and put away her plastic bag, squatting down — her eyes were level with mine, "Oh, my boy,” she sighed and paused for a while, picking the best words. “We should keep the forest clean because one day, other people will also want to enjoy nature and relax with their families,” my mom shook the dirt off my shoulder. “Who knows … maybe your kids will want to enjoy the beauty of nature too.”
After that, my questions were exhausted.
Despite my young age, it became so obvious and right to me that I have been cleaning up after myself ever since, not only in the woods. While in Thailand, I got the impression that Thais don’t care about their beautiful nature — trash everywhere.
My wife and I enjoy cleanliness and silence, so this is a significant advantage for us in Belarus. We just love peace and quiet.
Of course, these are many other reasons why we dared to move to Belarus. I strongly believe that Belarus is a better place for us to live, despite the situation in the region.
My wife and I are planning to blog about our life in Belarus; it may be interesting. As for now, I’m preparing to fly back to Belarus alone, and my wife will join me later.
It’s going to be a different story — follow me.
