7 replies to this topic

[Nak Muay]

Hi guys,

I have done a lot of research and found a lot of places offering ED visa's and the papaer work to get a visa.

Best i have found is an online study course for 15000baht where the school offers the option to study in house also if you wish.

here is the course http://www.olainter....rn-thai-online/

however on the FAQ page there is reference to needing to travel to samui http://www.olainter....nformation/faq/
well here is a segment quoted
"Please note that the first 20 hours of the Thai Language Course take place in class. At present in class lessons are only available on Koh Samui dui to the recent flooding in Bangkok.  We realize that it would be a hardship for people to have to come to Samui to complete these in class lessons. If you are unable to attend these lessons please contact us.

After the 20 hour in class lessons are completed, you would normally have 3 months to complete, you will be ready to do online studying. You will be able to commence the online lesson component after your first 90 day entry visa has expired and you send us a copy of the Ed visa extension that was given to you by immigration in Thailand. As soon as we receive that copy we will send you course details and login instructions. The courses commence on the first week of every month. Lessons are typically on a Saturday and last from 1-2 hours."

i have a couple of questions tho.

1- are there any exams that need to be taken with these ed visa's?
2- does this seem legit?
3- from the FAQ are they saying you must take a in house course for first 3 months of study or is this to cover themselves? (as info on course info on the first link does not say anything about this)

[zakooo]

Nak Muay, on 10 January 2012 - 02:47 PM, said:

Hi guys,

I have done a lot of research and found a lot of places offering ED visa's and the papaer work to get a visa.

Best i have found is an online study course for 15000baht where the school offers the option to study in house also if you wish.

here is the course http://www.olainter....rn-thai-online/

however on the FAQ page there is reference to needing to travel to samui http://www.olainter....nformation/faq/
well here is a segment quoted
"Please note that the first 20 hours of the Thai Language Course take place in class. At present in class lessons are only available on Koh Samui dui to the recent flooding in Bangkok.  We realize that it would be a hardship for people to have to come to Samui to complete these in class lessons. If you are unable to attend these lessons please contact us.

After the 20 hour in class lessons are completed, you would normally have 3 months to complete, you will be ready to do online studying. You will be able to commence the online lesson component after your first 90 day entry visa has expired and you send us a copy of the Ed visa extension that was given to you by immigration in Thailand. As soon as we receive that copy we will send you course details and login instructions. The courses commence on the first week of every month. Lessons are typically on a Saturday and last from 1-2 hours."

i have a couple of questions tho.

1- are there any exams that need to be taken with these ed visa's?
2- does this seem legit?
3- from the FAQ are they saying you must take a in house course for first 3 months of study or is this to cover themselves? (as info on course info on the first link does not say anything about this)

a mate of mine paid a lot for a ed visa and then at 90 day visit to jom imm they fired a load of questions at him in thai, he of course had no idea what they said,so they cancelled visa there and then.be careful.

[Edge]

zakooo, on 11 January 2012 - 08:34 AM, said:

a mate of mine paid a lot for a ed visa and then at 90 day visit to jom imm they fired a load of questions at him in thai, he of course had no idea what they said,so they cancelled visa there and then.be careful.

Ouch! That would be a bummer.

I don't know enough to comment, so I shouldn't.

However, LOL,
I have heard that there are some hidden costs with the Samui deal?
I have heard that if you get your dodgy Ed' Visa from Bangkok then Pattaya can't test you?

At the end of the day, if you go for an Ed' Visa with no intention of abiding by its terms then you are trying to circumvent the rules.
The Thai authorities will of course know that this is going on and although some bent officials will take your money, I would assume that I was taking the risk that I might get pulled up by another official and lose my Visa and my money.

[muu]

It does sound a bit dodgy to me - I can't see why the Thai Immigration office would issue an ED visa for you to study online as you don't have to be in Thailand to do this.

I was under the impression that attendance at school for a minimum of 4 hours a week was required for an ED visa. Hence most schools offering packages of 180 hrs (4 hrs a week for 45 weeks) for around 22000 baht.

I'm on my second year with an ED visa and have never been tested but the immigration oficer will occasionally speak to you in Thai presumably to get an idea of whether or not you do actually know any.

Although the ED visa is a 1 year visa it is issued 90 days at a time ie you renew 4 times for 90 days to make up your year. In order to extend you will need documents isued by the school that you take to the immigration office. One of the things needed are photographs of you in class. Reading the info you have provided it sounds like the school are putting the onus on you to sort out your visa - not always the easiest of things to do! The good thing about attending a school is that they provide (in my case) all the necessary documentation you need making the process of extending reasonably simple.

[whitespider]

Simple fact are these

A legitimate Ed' Visa must be backed up by actually doing the study for the time period. This you have to prove to Immigration by various means including them getting sly and doing as mentioned by a previous poster.

[Nak Muay]

yes i do want to learn thai and will attend classes but i was just looking for the cheapest way to do it.

best i can find is 25000baht for a class based study course in pattaya which sounds much better to me than risking this course.

i also emailed the site with some questions which a week on they have not replied to so this make me even more wary about this route!

[joseph44]

zakooo, on 11 January 2012 - 08:34 AM, said:

a mate of mine paid a lot for a ed visa and then at 90 day visit to jom imm they fired a load of questions at him in thai, he of course had no idea what they said,so they cancelled visa there and then.be careful.

If this happens to you, immediately file a complaint at the M.F.A. in Bangkok AND the Ministry of Education.
Not one single immigration-officer is permitted to examine ED-visa students. Only the Thai Ministry of Education is allowed to that and they will submit the necessary paperwork, needed for every extension.
Immigration's actions are just a way to get more money out of you.

[Edge]

joseph44, on 16 January 2012 - 02:19 AM, said:

If this happens to you, immediately file a complaint at the M.F.A. in Bangkok AND the Ministry of Education.
Not one single immigration-officer is permitted to examine ED-visa students. Only the Thai Ministry of Education is allowed to that and they will submit the necessary paperwork, needed for every extension.
Immigration's actions are just a way to get more money out of you.

Not that such rules are usually cast in stone anyway, but are you sure an Immigration Officer is not empowered to check the validity of your Visa?

File a complaint lol - sounds like a sure way to get an early trip home.  

You're right, I don't know what I'm talking about re' Ed' Visas....but I've got a fair idea how Thai authorities work.