What area are you planning on doing your IDC? Would be a good idea to look at what systems the local dive students are using at the moment to prevent you from spending what you might not have to. If you are thinking about Koh Tao you can contact me directly for local logistics and options. cwerger@hotmail.com
Craig, can you clarify what you mean by this? Are you saying that in certain areas a dive pro won't need to follow the system of setting up a company in order to get a work permit? Or are you saying that work permits are optional in some areas? As far as I know, work permit laws are uniform across the Kingdom of Thailand, so I'm wondering if dive operators on Tao are more likely to facilitate work permits for their staff than operators on Phuket, where the norm is a requirement that the dive pro have his/her own work permit as a freelancer.