19 replies to this topic

[welshwonder]

Just read an article stating all you have to do is pay 28,000bt( not exactly free as stated in ad   ) and attend a language school in North Pattaya for a period of 200 hours , hours can be taken in either 2 hour session or 4 hour sessions to suit yourself.

Plus by obtaining this ED Visa you are entitled to a thai driving licience, bank account, thai medical insurance and do away with those costly border runs ????

Has anybody heard of this or has done this course, looking for feed back and advice and whether its reputable and are there any down sides financially or legally, thanks guys.

[hedonist]

WELSH WONDER, on 12 July 2009 - 11:30 AM, said:

Just read an article stating all you have to do is pay 28,000bt( not exactly free as stated in ad   ) and attend a language school in North Pattaya for a period of 200 hours , hours can be taken in either 2 hour session or 4 hour sessions to suit yourself.

Plus by obtaining this ED Visa you are entitled to a thai driving licience, bank account, thai medical insurance and do away with those costly border runs ????

Has anybody heard of this or has done this course, looking for feed back and advice and whether its reputable and are there any down sides financially or legally, thanks guys.

I actually comunnicated with a school that was advertising the same deal.....10 years Ed visa
You talking about the TLS School in Pattays Klang?
She said i could THEN go on to doing a TEFL course for ANOTHER few years after that, which i took with a pinch of salt tbh
I would think 10 years would be stretching it a little, tbh. Most other schools offer upto THREE years
Nothing wrong with it legally (but expect this visa type to be "on the radar" so to speak, which is why i say its stretching it)
Or financially, except for the cost of visa on top, and any extensions you have to pay every 90 days
As to the entitlements you can get most of those WITHOUT any sort of long stay visa. But i aint heard of any "free medical insurance" with the ED visa. Can you enlighten me on that?

Hedonist

Edited by hedonist, 12 July 2009 - 12:16 PM.

[quenton79]

I read a thread sometime ago that you can get a 1 year education visa for a Thai language school at THB 20,000.

The THB 20,000 pays for your school the entire year. All you have to do is go for at least 4 hours a week.

If I can confirm this I will let you know. Good luck!!!

[boydeste]

WELSH WONDER, on 12 July 2009 - 11:30 AM, said:

Just read an article stating all you have to do is pay 28,000bt( not exactly free as stated in ad   ) and attend a language school in North Pattaya for a period of 200 hours , hours can be taken in either 2 hour session or 4 hour sessions to suit yourself.

Plus by obtaining this ED Visa you are entitled to a thai driving licience, bank account, thai medical insurance and do away with those costly border runs ????

Has anybody heard of this or has done this course, looking for feed back and advice and whether its reputable and are there any down sides financially or legally, thanks guys.

Forgive my ignorance but what is an ED Visa?

[Mike Asia]

boydeste, on 12 July 2009 - 01:18 PM, said:

Forgive my ignorance but what is an ED Visa?

Erectile Dysfunction... When you can't get it up you have to prove this to the immigration and you can stay ten more years with free viagra

[hedonist]

boydeste, on 12 July 2009 - 01:18 PM, said:

Forgive my ignorance but what is an ED Visa?

EDucation Visa

Hedonist

[boydeste]

hedonist, on 12 July 2009 - 01:23 PM, said:

EDucation Visa

Hedonist

Thanks for that,  it looks like I may need one !!!

[Thai Tech Trader]

WELSH WONDER, on 12 July 2009 - 11:30 AM, said:

Just read an article stating all you have to do is pay 28,000bt( not exactly free as stated in ad   ) and attend a language school in North Pattaya for a period of 200 hours , hours can be taken in either 2 hour session or 4 hour sessions to suit yourself.

Plus by obtaining this ED Visa you are entitled to a thai driving licience, bank account, thai medical insurance and do away with those costly border runs ????Has anybody heard of this or has done this course, looking for feed back and advice and whether its reputable and are there any down sides financially or legally, thanks guys.

You still have to pay 1900baht every 90days!! So you only save a few hundread baht...

[hedonist]

Bagwan, on 12 July 2009 - 02:46 PM, said:

You still have to pay 1900baht every 90days!! So you only save a few hundread baht...

You pay that on ANY visa extension, so its nothing to be worried about, in the grand scheme of things.
You STILL need one visa run, too, but that can be combined into a side trip to a neighbouring country anyway. Whether thats each year is something to be gone into while over there i would think
All in all its not a bad way to obtain a long term visa for those under 50, or not married to a Thai, without much hassle, and with the benefit of learning da lingo for about a tenner a week thrown into the mix too.


Hedonist

[welshwonder]

Thanks guys for all your input, think i will research it further to find out a little more before committing i will let you know how it goes.

[AjarnBill]

Where in the world is this 1900 baht fee every 90 days coming from? I have been in Thailand for 4 years on a series of ED visas. The only thing you are required to do every 90 days is either report to immigration or as I do submit a form to document where you are living. I mail it registered mail and get a receipt. The same with repeated visa runs for teachers. I have a friend here at the university who has been teaching three years and has never left Thailand. The point of the visa is to avoid repeated visa runs. The visa for Laos for an American is 1400 baht now. To do that every 90 days would be ludicrous. I obtained my last ED visa in April of 2008. 90 days later I extended it at the immigration office in Phibun at a cost of 1900 baht. I never had to leave Thailand until the end of July this year.

[hedonist]

AjarnBill, on 09 August 2009 - 05:39 AM, said:

Where in the world is this 1900 baht fee every 90 days coming from? I have been in Thailand for 4 years on a series of ED visas. The only thing you are required to do every 90 days is either report to immigration or as I do submit a form to document where you are living. I mail it registered mail and get a receipt. The same with repeated visa runs for teachers. I have a friend here at the university who has been teaching three years and has never left Thailand. The point of the visa is to avoid repeated visa runs. The visa for Laos for an American is 1400 baht now. To do that every 90 days would be ludicrous. I obtained my last ED visa in April of 2008. 90 days later I extended it at the immigration office in Phibun at a cost of 1900 baht. I never had to leave Thailand until the end of July this year.

I'm a bit baffled and confused by your post, tbh
In your 1st sentence (highlighted in blue) you ask a question. Then you answer it in your next to last sentence (highlighted in red)
Or are you saying you ONLY reported to Immigration once during the year, instead of at the end of every every 90 day period during the year?


Hedonist

[maliminer]

AjarnBill, on 09 August 2009 - 05:39 AM, said:

Where in the world is this 1900 baht fee every 90 days coming from? I have been in Thailand for 4 years on a series of ED visas. The only thing you are required to do every 90 days is either report to immigration or as I do submit a form to document where you are living. I mail it registered mail and get a receipt. The same with repeated visa runs for teachers. I have a friend here at the university who has been teaching three years and has never left Thailand. The point of the visa is to avoid repeated visa runs. The visa for Laos for an American is 1400 baht now. To do that every 90 days would be ludicrous. I obtained my last ED visa in April of 2008. 90 days later I extended it at the immigration office in Phibun at a cost of 1900 baht. I never had to leave Thailand until the end of July this year.

think you might be a tad cofused here

[The Mentalist]

Hell I'm confused by this thread, Is the ad for an English speaking person to go to Thailand and get a qualification to teach English or is it to go to Thailang to Learn Thai in other words you are there as a student?

[hedonist]

luckyphil91, on 09 August 2009 - 07:53 AM, said:

Hell I'm confused by this thread, Is the ad for an English speaking person to go to Thailand and get a qualification to teach English or is it to go to Thailang to Learn Thai in other words you are there as a student?

Its for people to get a long term visa for the purpose of education, so yes it IS for "study"
This can be for learning Thai as a second language
But it is also a way of getting certification to teach english as a second language, and they have other "getaround courses" too, like Thai culture study, for example
What usually happens is people sign up with a Thai language school, and are allowed (i think) a maximum of 3 years on that proviso. After that 3 years then the language schools say "there are other courses available to meet further requirements regarding clients wishes to extend their visa capabilities past 3 years"
In other words, they are exploiting a loophole in the system, whereby the younger folk (and pooper folk too) for that matter can stay long term in Thailand
Some (lets say more unscropulous) language schools more or less guarantee a yearly visa for upto 10 years doing various courses they offer
This is why i think the NEXT visa to come under scrutiny and new regulations announced for will be this Ed visa

Hedonist

[AjarnBill]

maliminer, on 09 August 2009 - 06:53 AM, said:

think you might be a tad cofused here

Sorry. I posted that in a confusing manner. The 1900 baht fee was to extend the visa to a full year. The initial visa that is issued outside of Thailand is valid for 90 days. Before the 90 gays are up you extend it to the full year. That is the last fee you pay. In my case the gentleman at immigration extended a year from that day's date. I was not here studying Thai. I was a student in a new international business program that was being initiated when I came. Since the students were for the most part local and weak in English they wanted some native English speakers as students. All courses were taught in English. I essentially got a tuition free scholarship because I speak English. I was also employed by the university as an English teacher on a 3 month basis.

The bottom line is that these visa do not require border runs or endless fees.
I hope that cleared it up.

[hedonist]

AjarnBill, on 09 August 2009 - 01:23 PM, said:

Sorry. I posted that in a confusing manner. The 1900 baht fee was to extend the visa to a full year. The initial visa that is issued outside of Thailand is valid for 90 days. Before the 90 gays are up you extend it to the full year. That is the last fee you pay. In my case the gentleman at immigration extended a year from that day's date. I was not here studying Thai. I was a student in a new international business program that was being initiated when I came. Since the students were for the most part local and weak in English they wanted some native English speakers as students. All courses were taught in English. I essentially got a tuition free scholarship because I speak English. I was also employed by the university as an English teacher on a 3 month basis.

The bottom line is that these visa do not require border runs or endless fees.
I hope that cleared it up.

OK, so why am i reading these from actual Thai Language School websites??:

Quote

1 Year ED (student) Visa
Students who enroll at our school in a one year course are eligible to apply for a one year non-immigrant ED visa. With this visa you do not have to leave Thailand every now and then but can stay here continually for one year. On arrival you will be permitted to stay for 90 days and then with a paperwork provided by our school you will be able to extend your stay every 90 days at the local immigration office for the duration of the course. At present extensions cost 1,900 Baht. You can enjoy studying Thai and at the same time not worrying about making any visa runs.

And:

Quote

Student Visa Services

Students who register for 180 lessons and pay the full tuition fee of 28,000 baht/course will be eligible for a 1 year ED Visa. First, students will get a Non-immigrant ED Visa for 3 months and then a 9 month Student Visa by extending it every 3 months and paying a Government fee of 1,900 baht. The school will prepare all the documents from the Ministry of Education for the students to have the Visa issued from a Thai Embassy and to get it extended at the Immigration on Sathorn road in Bangkok or at another Immigration office.

students would like to continue their studying, the school could run the same process for another 2 years.

Enjoy your Thai Language course and traveling in Thailand.

I REALLY want to believe you are correct in that one doesnt need to report at 90 day intervals, but all the language schools i have either looked at or enquired about are all saying the above........report every 90 days. And its hardly like Thai Immigreation to cut a bit of slack to ANY visa !!!!

Hedonist

[AjarnBill]

hedonist, on 09 August 2009 - 01:44 PM, said:

OK, so why am i reading these from actual Thai Language School websites??:

And:

I REALLY want to believe you are correct in that one doesnt need to report at 90 day intervals, but all the language schools i have either looked at or enquired about are all saying the above........report every 90 days. And its hardly like Thai Immigreation to cut a bit of slack to ANY visa !!!!

Hedonist

I have had 3 1 year ED visas. In some areas of the country perhaps they do make you report every 90 days. That has not been my experience. Rather than reporting every 90 days I had to mail in a form reporting where I am living. I would think that if you are reporting all you are doing is handing this same form to them in person. There is no fee involved in this 90 day report.

I did not attend a Thai language school. I was attending one of the state universities pursuing a bachelor's degree, which I am happy to say that I have completed. I doubt though that they have special standards for language schools. In fees you should be looking at 2000 baht a year for the ED visa and 1900 baht to extend it to one year after the first 90 days. I hope that clears this up.

Bill

[philbfire]

WELSH WONDER, on 12 July 2009 - 11:30 AM, said:

Just read an article stating all you have to do is pay 28,000bt( not exactly free as stated in ad   ) and attend a language school in North Pattaya for a period of 200 hours , hours can be taken in either 2 hour session or 4 hour sessions to suit yourself.

Plus by obtaining this ED Visa you are entitled to a thai driving licience, bank account, thai medical insurance and do away with those costly border runs ????

Has anybody heard of this or has done this course, looking for feed back and advice and whether its reputable and are there any down sides financially or legally, thanks guys.

could i please ask where did u see this advert as im interested my self

[hazze]

Sounds an intersting route.

If your doing it as a swerve rather than full time education then your rather dependant on the ED visa people.
Once your over in thailand and have have a business/life built up, these people would have you over a barrel. Especially if there was anything a bit iffy about the applicaiton.
Pay up lots of extra charges or they'll 'discover' that your not using the ED visa properly etc etc.

Or maybe i'm just being paranoid.