saanya

Unless a holiday crossing is open 7 days a week. Closes at 10 PM. You buy Lao visa at their immigration check point on the north side of bridge.

haha, my Thai wife swore up and down it would be closed on the weekend. But then she's only been across to the duty free shop and was so scared to leave home she came right back without even going to Vientiane.

I mentioned us going too for fun, but that provoked some minor whining. -she swears she needs to get a pass first from the local Thai administrative office, then go to the bridge, otherwise she can't go in to Laos. And also swears she can't get a pass in advance, only on the day she wants to go. Has to stand in line, etc. and wait, and not sure when they'll actually issue her the pass.

But maybe she's right, -she also seems afraid of Laos in general, and leaving Thailand even more so. I might go with my friend just to check it out, heck we live right here in Nong Khai. Not much else to do except drink coffee at the cafe anyhow.

Oh but the re-entry fee (on my own existing Thai extension) is costly (1900THB). Time to rent a jet-ski and some camo.

By the way,-he seems to have a bit of extra cash, and is bent on getting back to Thailand in the same day.

So someone else mentioned in a previous Laos Visa Run post that there are "agents a few doors down who can get you the visa same day".

Is there any truth to this? For my money, I'd rather stay overnight, it's just not that long. But a phone number or location of one might help.

haha, sounds good. I was wondering about that post on the other forum, It sounded a bit scary and glad to hear it's not true.

as for the extensions, it sounds much easier to just have the $ and do the retirement.

as for marriage visa, it seems like a lot of hassles.

-it might be useful to check into "O" visas, I know a few visa expediters stateside who took care of my previous thai visas, I did almost all of it by FedEX.

i am almot sure you are english.

but just as a "joke" its people not poeple.

In my language poeple has a "shitty" meaning.

by the way I am Dutch so my English aint Much but i keep on trying to improve thanks to our respected community.

hgma

if you feel you are ill treated there is a possibility to complain.

straight at the top.

POL.COL.PICHIT ITTHIPATACHAI SUPER INTENDENT.

E-MAIL, [email protected]

7 years of extensions in NongKhai.

Up till today NEVER EVER had a problem.

I realy dont know YOUR situation but in general.

"those who forget to prepair themself.....prepair themself to be forgotten"

hgma

Should say "Poeple don't plan to fail, they fail to plan".

Boarder crossing is open on Saturday and Sunday.

So actually he can go in Sunday and get a Laos visa?

Understandably he can't go to the Thai embassy until they open Monday. But this is actually pretty handy. Saves a night of hotel costs in Udon or NK.

He asked if the border is open on Sundays, my initial reply is No, and also, "join thaivisa and ask".

But it's a good question. I guess the intent is to get Laos visa, hang in VT, wake up Monday AM close to Thai Embassy.

Just checking since I just recommended a friend to it, -then remembered, -it was supposed to be free till February 2011.

Also, he wants to go same day, I told him there were "agents" nearby, but probably better to do all himself unless he has a lot of stamps.

I warned him off using the "one-day visa run" guys on the road to Freedom Bridge, as they charge a lot of $ and might even rip off or attempt to copy whatever documents inside the passport they can find.

So if someone wants get get a double-entry tourist visa, what's the cost as of March 2011?

-saanya

When you no longer study, you have to leave the country per immigration rules. Unless you qualify for an extension of stay base on another reason.

If you apply based on income you need to show proof of that income. Income from within Thailand is shown with tax documents, income from abroad must be confirmed by letter from your embassy. Your embassy decides what they accept as proof.

Showing a bank statement with very month 40,000 baht deposited in it is not accepted by immigration. Only when you apply based on 400,000 in the bank is your (updated) bank book together with a letter from your bank confirming your balance required.

Right, I caught on to her intentions in asking me if I was finished studying. My answer was that I was there to ask a question because I planned to finish studying and do a marriage visa.

And I get those other rules, I have had them printed on my desk for weeks, and have researched EVERYTHING. I happen to have worked in the US Immigration sector previously, so I can count on the laws and facts pretty well.

What I can't count on is the interpretation of them by vested officers, nor can I count on that officer's politics.

A Certifying Officer has a degree of power within the law.

In Phuket, they agree with written law about extending ED Visas for a year at a time, elsewhere in Thailand they do not agree with the law and will curtail you to much shorter times.

In marriage, it's far more complicated here and in the U.S. Thaivisa has hundreds of threads covering where one office doesn't mess with your bank statements if you have an Income Affidavit from the US Embassy. Still others show that no matter what, the officers are going to check your paperwork thoroughly, and insist on 400K baht in the bank, and not even consider allowing you the alternate option of 40K a month from outside the country into a Thai bank.

But aside from that, I repeat, she was a simply rude. We had our information long before going in and asking with regard to the above details.

Good to see that Miss Personality is still as cheerful as ever.

I would move to Khon Kaen if I were you.

As Mario said for monthly income you need a letter from your Embassy for foreign income or income tax records for local income.

For money in the bank you need a letter and a bank book from the bank.

(6) In case of marriage with a Thai lady, the husband who is an alien must have an average annual income of not less than 40,000 baht per month or a money deposit in a local Thai bank of not less than 400,000 baht for the past 2 months for expenses within a year.

Yes indeed. I actually mentioned to my wife some of the threads you and I and a few others exchanged a while back about Nong Khai Immigration vs. Khon Kaen vs. Korat. Due to the location we reside, we are literally right down the street from Nong Khai Immigration and Freedom Bridge.

What I went to ask them as exactly about this item #6.

average annual income of not less than 40,000 baht per month or a money deposit in a local Thai bank of not less than 400,000 baht for the past 2 months

I felt that because the word "or" exists between the 40,000 and 400K items noted, that it would be wise to inquire if the immigration officer interprets this "or" as "or" or if she interprets it her own way.

What is the law with regard to this sentence? In plain English it means we have two options, and can select the one that suits us. If we have a big grip of cash in the bank, choose the latter. If we get money every month over 40K, choose the former.

Obviously there's some discretionary power vested in an immigration officer, and this particular officer makes it a requirement to have 400K baht in the bank. When we asked, over and over "what about the 40K a month option, she steadfastly refused to answer, only barking out, 400K.

It took some explaining of this "discretionary" aspect of immigration officer behavior in Thaivisa with various people over the past years with Mario, Lopburi, and others, and even to my wife.

But basically that's it. There's the written law. And then there's how an immigration office enforces the law.

The law is you can can get extensions to the ED visa for a year or more, but only in Phuket is this ever done. The rest of the country, it's flat out 90 days and no more.

The law is that you can do wither 40K a month income from outside sitting in a Thai bank or 400K sitting in a Thai bank, 2 months, etc., etc.

But what I see about your wisdom and others, is that really, to persist in various parts of the country, one's visa situation is shaped by where they choose to live, and what visa they pursue.

We'll have to keep reviewing what's next, but I wouldn't risk trying a marriage extension in N.K.I. unless I saw someone on here who already has done so and succeeded.

I predict 100% of the replies saying they never had a problem are retirees with some cash cooling itself in a bank local safe.

I beg to differ.

Six extensions @ Nong Khai Immigration never caused any hard feelings.

Right paperwork an right attitude did the job.

:jap:

6 (year-long? 3 month long?) extensions on what kind of visa? Marriage, Retirement, Tourist?

I agree, right paperwork and right attitude do the job, but today, she was just outright rude. Not only to us but everyone there.

My guess is that the people reporting never having had a problem are all on retirement visas. Her rudeness seemed to amplify when we noted it was a Marriage extension we were in preparation for, we simply paid a visit well in advance to verify two questions about it, because it is more complicated that, say, a Retirement extension or a Tourist extension.

Alas, we were correct in the information we had to begin with, not sure why she was rude, -mostly that kind of attitude is reserved for people who simply show up with no clue on the day they wish to transact their extension.

if you feel you are ill treated there is a possibility to complain.

straight at the top.

POL.COL.PICHIT ITTHIPATACHAI SUPER INTENDENT.

E-MAIL, [email protected]

7 years of extensions in NongKhai.

Up till today NEVER EVER had a problem.

I realy dont know YOUR situation but in general.

"those who forget to prepair themself.....prepair themself to be forgotten"

hgma

Thanks HGMA, by the way, not being rude here, but for future reference, the word prepare is spelled p-r-e-p-a-r-e. :jap:

Lucky for me, I went there specifically with 2 questions, in the very name of preparedness. It was smart to do so, smart to ask a question about my existing visa which I plan to change, and smart to ask about that immigration officer's interpretation of the law with regard to bank account balances.

Are you on a retirement visa with 800K in the bank? Or are you on a Marriage Visa with 400K in the bank?

As far as complaining to the boss, we thought about it, but I have read some recent forum threads that quote him as stating that "foreigners are a problem" during a public meeting between Nong Khai Immigration and the public.

Without knowing if this was true or not, my wife and I decided against complaining. Our opinion is that this office has staff that are rude, and why engage them in a sensitive matter such as an extension based on marriage when there's an indication that other offices treat immigrants a bit more rationally.

Again I ask, -what happens to be your visa type? My guess is that it's a retirement visa. Those are fairly easy-going when you have the 800K baht cash in the bank.

When you no longer study, you have to leave the country per immigration rules. Unless you qualify for an extension of stay base on another reason.

If you apply based on income you need to show proof of that income. Income from within Thailand is shown with tax documents, income from abroad must be confirmed by letter from your embassy. Your embassy decides what they accept as proof.

Showing a bank statement with very month 40,000 baht deposited in it is not accepted by immigration. Only when you apply based on 400,000 in the bank is your (updated) bank book together with a letter from your bank confirming your balance required.

Right, I caught on to her intentions in asking me if I was finished studying.

And I get those other rules. But aside from that, I repeat, she was a simply rude. We had our information long before going in and asking with regard to the above details.

I went with my wife this morning to Nong Khai Immigration. I went to ask 2 questions. The first, "can I extend based on marriage using my ED Visa, or do I have to exit and get an "O" Visa?" The second "do I just need 40K per month income verified in a Thai bank account or the whole 400,000THB".

I got answers to both questions, but before, during and after that, I got something else: A really <deleted> attitude from the get go. Before I even got to ask my question, she grabbed my passport, and complained I had been in Thailand too long. She tried to act like my Visa was expired until I pointed at the most recent stamp.

She maintained that only with 400K in the bank account could I get a marriage visa WITH 40K a month also. So both. Ugh. Elsewhere it's not like this. More than anything, both my wife and I could sense her deep disdain for foreigners. I had heard tale of her before, and after being there not more than an hour ago, I can verify, she really is a bitch. Suffice to say, if I did get an "O" visa and then decide to extend it based on marriage, I would probably do it at another immigration office.

That's easier said than done, we live in Nong Khai. But if we need to, we would definitely not mind hanging in Phuket for a year, or Kon Kaen. Something, anything, would be better than risking such ill treatment. Let's say even if we did do everything by the book, -anyone here think we'd stand a chance with such rude staff?

She even asked if I was "done studying yet", eyeing my passport as I answered. If I would have said "yes, I am done studying", I am almost certain she would have killed my previous stamp and sent me packing.

Anyone else chance into this lady before?

OFF TOPIC:

Not to be a dissenter (given my tenuous status), but there ARE schools in Phuket which teach THAI to foreigners and which also offer the "one year / one time" extension @ 1900baht!

Months ago, I called two schools (which shall remain nameless as NEITHER are forum sponsors) and BOTH said they could get a student a YEARLY extension of stay, IF they paid for a year's schooling up front.

Phuket seems like an entity in-and-of itself in that regard. The Immigrations Officers there are pretty open to their own "interpretation" of the rules as far as foreigners attending a "private" Thai language school.

Last time I checked (which I do once in a while), MOST private Thai language schools offer 90 day 'extensions of stay' for the duration of a students' year of attendance. Then again my experience is ONLY in Bangkok, not other areas.

Not living anywhere near (nor even having visited) Phuket, I couldn't comment more than that!

Amazing Thailand, huh?

Perhaps the forum sponsor known as 'macwalen' who recently opened a branch in Phuket could enlighten us all? Mac, is there any news about Phuket and students securing a "yearly" extension of stay first time outta the gate for attending a 'private' Thai language school???

Really (luv him or hate him); if there's anyone who knows anything about ED visas, it's Mac Walen. Single handedly he drove the price for a year's tuition down in Bangkok at almost EVERY school out there and his school(s) have gotten more foreigners ED visas than I care to count.

Mac, while we may not see eye to eye on things; I still respect how you run your business(es)!

Note 2 the MODZ; if the last part I wrote about 'mac' violates ANY of the T/V forum rules, just delete it okay?

Sadly, I have NO info about schools in or near Udon. .. (Although I did suggest to Mac that he should open a school there given the number of foreigners living up-country!)

Hi Tod,

-yeah, I agree, I saw you wrote this in another thread where I was differing with what Mario2008 wrote, and Maestro asked about. Both were in that thread before, and as moderators, I have yet to hear them acknowledge what either you or I have maintained all along. If you hadn't have chimed in, I'd have been alone on this yet again.

Thaivisa moderators, -can you acknowledge we are correct about Phuket please?

(dead silence, followed by detailed explanation they weren't disagreeing with what we said, just that they haven't seen this before and that it's definitely not "normal" in their experience, -even though they have never had any kind of ED visa anyways, just seeing posts makes them the experts I guess). Not to bag on them too hard, but after seeing them do this twice, it does irk me a bit that they would persist in providing misleading information when many people in Phuket could be enjoying along stay just like I did.

alas, I will end my ED visa soon. 3 years was a good run. see my next post on how rude and terrifying it is to try and do a marriage visa at Nong Khai Immigration. :o:o:bah::bah: it's the polar opposite of my Phuket ED Visa days.

My current stamp is an extension for the 3rd year running, on an ED Visa I got back in 2008 by exiting to Penang, returning to Phuket, and extending yearly, doing 90 days reports.

saanya, what school in Phuket was this? Other foreigners in Phuket reading this topic might be interested in getting a one-year extension for learning Thai. Also, how much did Phuket immigration charge you for these annual extensions (I understand they sometimes apply a special tariff)?

extensions each year cost 1,900. sometimes it's wise when extending to get fresh photos taken for the paperwork, so those are like 200 baht nearby at the photo store. also, fill out your TM7 yourself, and directly reference the course materials. are you learning verbs, adjectives, exactly what parts of speech, writing, or conversation, what types of vocabulary, and the exact duration in classes this will take. asking for a year is fine, but try to be realistic. university courses even have start and end points, don't just request the max so you have as much time as you can get. it's school.

your 90 day reports are free. I have done a few 90 day reports where they didn't even look at the form I filled out, they were too busy, and just stamp the 90 day report slip with a date 90 days in the future and say 'don't forget to report by this date, thanks'.

My current stamp is an extension for the 3rd year running, on an ED Visa I got back in 2008 by exiting to Penang, returning to Phuket, and extending yearly, doing 90 days reports.

saanya, what school in Phuket was this? Other foreigners in Phuket reading this topic might be interested in getting a one-year extension for learning Thai. Also, how much did Phuket immigration charge you for these annual extensions (I understand they sometimes apply a special tariff)?

Maestro, just look up the major schools on Phuket and ask them, google works great in this regard. It's been shown before by a previous poster who wrote to Mario2008 or Lopburi (I forget which). He called, verified what I've been saying all along.:jap:

Naming companies on Thaivisa always backfires, one side says "you are just advertising for them" and another says "you are damaging the company by writing about it".:jap:

My original question still stands, moderators included. Do you know the names of any schools in Udon?:jap:

Try not to distract from my question and I'll place more faith that your forum is something more than a glorified ad service fed by clueless ranters. :lol:

Benz4me seems to have understood the question outright, and provided the name of AUA. : )

Anyone hear of Risol (the one with the Mickey Mouse statue standing out front?)

error at line 1 .... farang cannot own house, only give money to the wife and pretend it was a gift...

can one be assaulted gently ? oh, i will rough you up a little bit now...

I hate to be finicky, but "oh yes they can" - in every possible instance.

It's the land on which the house sits that they can't own and, even then, there are legal and regular circumstances that they can.

Perhaps what is meant is, error at line 1.... farang cannot own house, and expect not to be shadowed and eventually robbed or worse...

Can't help with an address. But extensions of stay based on study at a language schools are normally for 90 days at a time. 1 year extensions are only given to university students and the likes.

Hi Mario,

Just about every post I have written in the last 2 years you have said this. Why don't you just give up stating this over and over, you are not 100% correct and we've gone over it plenty before. :jap: :jap:

-Know any schools here or not?

In case it turns out to be less of a hassle, I figured I would check on this before launching into a long-winding process of obtaining an O visa and extending it based on marriage.

Are there any language schools in Udon Thani anyone knows about or actually attends, who extend their visas by way of education?

I have done so in another part of Thailand, and Udon is fairly close to where I stay. My current stamp is an extension for the 3rd year running, on an ED Visa I got back in 2008 by exiting to Penang, returning to Phuket, and extending yearly, doing 90 days reports.

I have never had to leave the country since being on it, but I assume the rules are different in other parts of Thailand. I imagine there are schools in Udon Thani, but maybe you have to get extensions every 90 days instead of doing 90 days reports, -please advise.

I am pretty fluent in Thai now, can write well, read well, and speak. But there's still a ways to go.:jap:

I've seen plenty of people getting slapped in bars in Thailand and it's nearly always because the customer is steaming drunk and abusing the staff or a member of staff. They get warned but don't give up and continue the foul mouthed abuse which inevitably leads to getting a good slap.

If you fancy a good slap yourself simply get blind drunk, argue the toss over a few baht on your bin, call them thieves, shit bags and you will "be back" then get what you deserve after repeatedly being asked to tone the foul disgusting language down, be that here or anywhere else in the world for that matter.

And i have seen pretty much sober customers get bottled by the staff because their bill was padded which means not few baht but few hundred baht or customers who were bottled because without even asking the customer, girl rings the bell and customer is expected to pay, even though he is screaming on top of his head that he did not ring the bell and did not want to buy 30 girls a round.

I have also seen sober customers get jumped and bottled when they were having an argument with the staff, but were attacked by people not relating to the bar at all.

I have also seen customers being attacked by the staff, customer being a better fighter and kick their ass, to then be jumped by every Thai Dick, Tom and Harry.

I guess it takes a "REAL MAN" to slap or beat up on someone steaming drunk according to your post and is perfectly acceptable to be cheated out of your money because they see customer as being drunk so he/she would not notice.

Whats a real man in your view?

Saw hit the nail on the head. Sounds like it hit a nerve

It's a bar in Thailand, what does anyone expect to find? You'll have your bad guys, your victims, and the peanut gallery of naysayers, pessimists, explainers and narcissists.

Every now and again a good Joe will come through, and invariably wind up as one of the latter.

Can't expect much good from a bottle no matter how much in the name of fun, fraternity and relaxation the back-home townie pub culture might lead some to think.

Drink it up in the back yard with the BBQ, with the old friends, a better route in this country. It's how the locals tend to do, -just a built in safety & respect factor.

Just some tips! Of course you only need the income affidavit for your visa. All the notarization is very quick in and out in less then a hour if you make a online appointment. Then take it to a translation office. The ones the US embassy recommends are expensive. When walking back towards the bts on the embassy side not the consulate side there are several place. I used one that was up one flight of stairs. Cost 250 baht to translate a page. I think M.O.F. charges 400 or 500 baht a page. The translation service will take it to the M.O.F. and have it stamped for you. They will also ems it to wherever you live so you dont have to wait. They charge 500baht for the service. A bargain if you dont live in bkk. Basically you can all your paperwork done in about two hours. Then just wait for the mail to arrive...

This sounds cool, but I am confused about this line:

"I think M.O.F. charges 400 or 500 baht a page. The translation service will take it to the M.O.F. and have it stamped for you. "

-is the M.O.F. you are referring to the Ministry Of Foreign Affairs?

-that's a useful service though, I might look into it, I am just confused about perhaps a typo in the sentence, -or is it that

MOF charges 400-500 baht per stamp/page

Translation service charges 250 baht per page translated 500 for the routing to MOF & then send to me by EMS

Hi,

I married my Thai wife via wedding ceremony at her house in her Amphur. The house is registered in her name as is the land. Lots of photos, perhaps way too many.

Obviously that's the unofficial part in the eyes of the governments of Thailand and the United States, -now we have to register our marriage with the Amphur.

To do this, we know I have to visit Bangkok and do the following (for Brits, -here's a nice link on how to get your Affirmation of Freedom to Marry in 24 hours) :

1. Make an notarial appointment (link is here) at the US Embassy Notarial Division for 3 documents and follow the procedures listed in their Marriage In Thailand page:

I fill these out, pay the $50 for each notarial seal. Question #1: How long does the Notarial paperwork take to be signed/stamped by the Embassy staff?

I then drop off these documents to a translator such as one of the firms listed here, wait, and then pick up my translated copies of these documents.

I then proceed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, specifically to:

Legalization Division

Department of Consular Affairs

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

3rd Floor, 123 Chaeng Wattana Road

Tung Song Hong, Laksi District, Bangkok

Tel: 02-575-1057-8, Fax: 02-575-1054

I then return home to the Amphur in which I reside, and go to the local office and Register ourselves as married.

I provide my signed and translated and certified Freedom to Marry affidavit, as well as the Divorce Affidavit, as well as the translated Divorce certificate my ex-wife sent me a PDF copy of.

This part it seems there's a bit of official, as well as ceremonial action going on, I've been told to bring a camera, etc.

Question #2: Is there a cost for this, how much is it? Is it like a "second wedding ceremony", how long will it take the Amphur to provide our Certificate Of Marriage (is that what it's called)?

So that should take care of the OFFICIAL MARRIAGE PART right? Now, for the Non-O Visa...

And for the Visa, by the time all this is completed I should have about 60 days left on my Non-ED Visa extension.

We live extremely close to Laos, -we are literally right across the river and very close to the Freedom Bridge border crossing.

So obviously I am considering trying to obtain a Non-O visa based on Marriage to a Thai as coverd in Thaivisa's post on the subject.

I fill out a T.M.7 Form, downloaded from the Immigration Bureau's page as .doc and then I fill it out, and save as PDF.

My plan is to exit at Nong Khai at Freedom bridge, go to Vientaine, and request a single entry Non-O Visa. Is this correct?

Is this considered applying for a Non-O Visa or is it applying for the actual marriage visa?

My understanding is that the Thai Embassy in Vientiane DPR Laos is issuing singles, but not multiple entry Non-O visas. Like I said, I literally live right across from the crossing to Vientiane.

Is it upon my expiration of the initial visa, that I get the Extension based on Marriage at the localNong Khai Immigration Office?

(caveat being to avoid Mr. Happy, a well-known and much-derided staff member).

What's the step-by-step process for this? I'd like to have a clear outline, and get it such that I can localize the data, e.g. what's the norm in Nong Khai, -get advice from other US nationals on this...

saanya

Basically what Tod-Daniels did in effect confirms what I have been saying all along.

"once their students have their first single entry 90 day ED visa, getting a one year extension of stay based on education and studying thai at a private thai language school thru the Phuket Immigration office was the 'norm', rather than the exception"

Please, on this one, take me at my word. It's not "irregular" on Phuket. No worries if you are slightly incorrect from time to time, you are basing it on a different format of experience, e.g. past posts, etc.

Normally most others interested in staying a while (the visa subject), are actually surprised to learn that if you just commit to studying, there's not much stopping you on Phuket from staying in excess of 3-5 years just on the ED Visa extensions.

Honestly, you are going to need that time to really get a grasp on this language, especially if you aren't already married to a Thai. Class is OK, but you really need the genuine exposure of daily immersion. Expect that in 2 years you have enough to go on, where someone worth taking seriously, takes you seriously.

My feeling is that throughout Thailand, private language study and it's relationship to visa extensions is not very limited. It's only a few high-profit business owners out there that might be attempting to control the market by way of curtailing the packages down to smaller sizes, for higher profits. It's against their interests to offer year-round language study because good teachers are hard to find, especially advanced teachers. It's more in their interest to have lots of "short timers" who will buy in to a "limited course", and then abandon it after a while and move on.

Most people don't have the cash to last very long here anyhow, so even if language school owners don't intentionally structure things to profit from their market/ niche position, human nature of students (missing home, partying, romance, driving on wild roads), financial circumstances do indeed make it wiser to just offer 3 month course packages to students, and focus on "group only, strictly-scheduled" packages. If you sell a year of courses for 35K baht, the legal requirement for the visa is 4 hours a week. That's 35,000 baht divided by 208 hours (52 weeks at 4 hours per week. That's 168 baht per hour @ 4 hours a week. It's not much profit for committing to teach someone every week for 4 hours. Just running the aircon in high season's gonna blow that away. Etc. Etc. So the school I go to is probably running on volume of students being high.

The biggest school (the one in BKK and Pattaya) sees it better to charge 24K for 180 lessons. But that same school's owner has been the source of the information noting you probably can't get more than 3 months extension. It probably means that won't provide a latter asking for a year, or that Immigration in BKK and/or Pattaya won't accept one. They might have a deal with Immigration, they might not. These are big cities with their own expat dynamics, and what flies on Phuket, might not fly there. So essentially the picture is different depending on where you are.

In Phuket, Immigration's not going to hassle you if their manager is in regular contact with your school (e.g. she sees students coming in all the time from the school, all with well arranged papers and in full compliance). Ask your school outright, -do they work with the ED Ministry and Immigration regularly? They might lie, but it's a smart question to ask. You'll find out the truth when you go to extend, they usually call the school as they xerox *and* scan your paperwork into the database PC right next to the copier. When she calls, the school had better pick up the phone, and someone with a clue had better be on the phone with the school's ED Ministry credentials handy. The senior staff member doing these phone calls to the school is a pretty serious lady, your visa extension depends on what she thinks of your school and how it's staff behave, regardless of whatever the ED Ministry accepted/recommended to her in extending your stay. If there's a hassle, it's because the school isn't savvy on the ED Visa side.

It's a defining element of the long-stay principle behind this visa type, -so ask other students before you enroll. A good school should have students coming & going, and it'll be free & open for you to speak with them. Half the time the owner/teacher would rather you speak to existing students because it makes their job easy, the students will make the sale for them. That's how it is in my school, usually people all see someone new and have only excellent things to say, lots of advice, etc.

In reference to what I pay, it's 35-45K a year in installments of about 8-10K baht per every 3-4 months. I pay the higher amount of 45k a year because I get one-on-one study, which is a really good way to go, that's only 10-15k more baht, and I don't have to deal with a group. Every time there's a group, there's someone in the group who's going to interrupt progress, either by being late, hung over, justifiably mystified, unjustifiably rude, or just downright lame. It's usually offset by the teacher or someone else being amazing. But no matter what, it eats a lot of time you could be focused and really absorb something rather tedious. 45K is sort of the affordable version of one-on-one study. I expect the price will go up, but I also expect to be glad to pay it. Even if it was 60K baht, -that's a lot of knowledge for a pretty good price.

Often times throughout the year, another advanced student and I will decide on the same schedule during rainy season, high season, whatever, so that we can take a load off the teacher that day or somehow allow us to collaborate on a specific aspect of speaking, reading, writing or listening.

The reason I don't request the full 365 days extension is more to do with just matching what a college, university or even high school does. A normal school year doesn't run 365 days a year. Private language schools do in fact go year round, but i always try to keep things arranged in an academic logic for this extension type. I'm sure if I extend 365 they aren't going to reject it either. But sometimes your approach means something. On the first one the guy actually asked why I didn't ask for a year, and I just replied in Thai that "maybe I would need a break from school, all year is a bit much, 275 days is fine, we will be done with adjectives, etc. in Book #2 by then anyways". It's just being realistic. I keep my textbooks handy anyhow, they like to check them out, just being curious. When they see how good my teacher's books are, they sort of wave them around to one another saying "did you see this one, it's all on Thai, she doesn't give them a break at all".

On more than one occasion I hear them say stuff like "look at this, he writes better than I do" or "he speaks in the polite way", "so when are you going to get married?".

Anyhow, another thing to consider is the aspect of Permanent Residence. Not many people know much about it, but it's out there. It's not to say that you can or can't get it. But if you approach your long term presence in this country with an eye toward something like that, you can see how Phuket and it's habit of allowing long stays based on Education is well suited toward the goal of obtaining Permanent Residence.

As far as 90-day reporting in Nong Khai, that was a"no-go" when we called Bangkok about it, same as Phuket. They both maintained I'd better show up in person, so I flew down and spent a few weeks and checked out the advance version of the year #3 textbook before it went out to print. Cool stuff. Tedious, but cool.

I see that even on his site, Mac's both specifically offering *and* guaranteeing that the student will get the 1 year visa. http://www.thaiwalen.com/student_visa.php

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.

Do you guarantee that I'll receive a 1 year non-immigrant ED visa?

• Yes, we do. We are applying for this kind of visa for our students on a regular basis, thus we have a lot of experience. Our school is recognized by the Thai Ministry of Education as providing education to international students and promoting Thai language and culture. We can also help with obtaining this visa for people who are not in Thailand at present but who wish to come to Thailand in order to learn Thai, we can send all the paperwork to your country. Contact us for more information.

He's clear about the current practice of renewing this every 90 days via "local immigration", but this doesn't mean it's specifically the policy of Immigration in BKK or Pattaya where his schools are at. The laws are clear on it, so in a way, even if Immigration is acting in practice in a contrary way, it's not that tough to get them to accept the actual law. To do so, one simply can visit the 2nd floor. That's the secret to living in Thailand forever. 2nd floor is everything. Letter from that guy for anything + Letter from your Embassy for anything = easy times.

(Just don't find yourself in the basement, that means you somehow skipped a few legal steps during your stay in Thailand, bwahaha, LOL :lol::lol::jap::jap::jap::whistling:

Basically what Tod-Daniels did in effect confirms what I have been saying all along.

"once their students have their first single entry 90 day ED visa, getting a one year extension of stay based on education and studying thai at a private thai language school thru the Phuket Immigration office was the 'norm', rather than the exception"

Please, on this one, take me at my word. It's not "irregular" on Phuket. No worries if you are slightly incorrect from time to time, you are basing it on a different format of experience, e.g. past posts, etc.

Normally most others interested in staying a while (the visa subject), are actually surprised to learn that if you just commit to studying, there's not much stopping you on Phuket from staying in excess of 3-5 years just on the ED Visa extensions.

Honestly, you are going to need that time to really get a grasp on this language, especially if you aren't already married to a Thai. Class is OK, but you really need the genuine exposure of daily immersion. Expect that in 2 years you have enough to go on, where someone worth taking seriously, takes you seriously.

My feeling is that throughout Thailand, private language study and it's relationship to visa extensions is not very limited. It's only a few high-profit business owners out there that might be attempting to control the market by way of curtailing the packages down to smaller sizes, for higher profits. It's against their interests to offer year-round language study because good teachers are hard to find, especially advanced teachers. It's more in their interest to have lots of "short timers" who will buy in to a "limited course", and then abandon it after a while and move on.

Most people don't have the cash to last very long here anyhow, so even if language school owners don't intentionally structure things to profit from their market/ niche position, human nature of students (missing home, partying, romance, driving on wild roads), financial circumstances do indeed make it wiser to just offer 3 month course packages to students, and focus on "group only, strictly-scheduled" packages. If you sell a year of courses for 35K baht, the legal requirement for the visa is 4 hours a week. That's 35,000 baht divided by 208 hours (52 weeks at 4 hours per week. That's 168 baht per hour @ 4 hours a week. It's not much profit for committing to teach someone every week for 4 hours. Just running the aircon in high season's gonna blow that away. Etc. Etc. So the school I go to is probably running on volume of students being high.

The biggest school (the one in BKK and Pattaya) sees it better to charge 24K for 180 lessons. But that same school's owner has been the source of the information noting you probably can't get more than 3 months extension. It probably means that won't provide a latter asking for a year, or that Immigration in BKK and/or Pattaya won't accept one. They might have a deal with Immigration, they might not. These are big cities with their own expat dynamics, and what flies on Phuket, might not fly there. So essentially the picture is different depending on where you are.

In Phuket, Immigration's not going to hassle you if their manager is in regular contact with your school (e.g. she sees students coming in all the time from the school, all with well arranged papers and in full compliance). Ask your school outright, -do they work with the ED Ministry and Immigration regularly? They might lie, but it's a smart question to ask. You'll find out the truth when you go to extend, they usually call the school as they xerox *and* scan your paperwork into the database PC right next to the copier. When she calls, the school had better pick up the phone, and someone with a clue had better be on the phone with the school's ED Ministry credentials handy. The senior staff member doing these phone calls to the school is a pretty serious lady, your visa extension depends on what she thinks of your school and how it's staff behave, regardless of whatever the ED Ministry accepted/recommended to her in extending your stay. If there's a hassle, it's because the school isn't savvy on the ED Visa side.

It's a defining element of the long-stay principle behind this visa type, -so ask other students before you enroll. A good school should have students coming & going, and it'll be free & open for you to speak with them. Half the time the owner/teacher would rather you speak to existing students because it makes their job easy, the students will make the sale for them. That's how it is in my school, usually people all see someone new and have only excellent things to say, lots of advice, etc.

In reference to what I pay, it's 35-45K a year in installments of about 8-10K baht per every 3-4 months. I pay the higher amount of 45k a year because I get one-on-one study, which is a really good way to go, that's only 10-15k more baht, and I don't have to deal with a group. Every time there's a group, there's someone in the group who's going to interrupt progress, either by being late, hung over, justifiably mystified, unjustifiably rude, or just downright lame. It's usually offset by the teacher or someone else being amazing. But no matter what, it eats a lot of time you could be focused and really absorb something rather tedious. 45K is sort of the affordable version of one-on-one study. I expect the price will go up, but I also expect to be glad to pay it. Even if it was 60K baht, -that's a lot of knowledge for a pretty good price.

Often times throughout the year, another advanced student and I will decide on the same schedule during rainy season, high season, whatever, so that we can take a load off the teacher that day or somehow allow us to collaborate on a specific aspect of speaking, reading, writing or listening.

The reason I don't request the full 365 days extension is more to do with just matching what a college, university or even high school does. A normal school year doesn't run 365 days a year. Private language schools do in fact go year round, but i always try to keep things arranged in an academic logic for this extension type. I'm sure if I extend 365 they aren't going to reject it either. But sometimes your approach means something. On the first one the guy actually asked why I didn't ask for a year, and I just replied in Thai that "maybe I would need a break from school, all year is a bit much, 275 days is fine, we will be done with adjectives, etc. in Book #2 by then anyways". It's just being realistic. I keep my textbooks handy anyhow, they like to check them out, just being curious. When they see how good my teacher's books are, they sort of wave them around to one another saying "did you see this one, it's all on Thai, she doesn't give them a break at all".

On more than one occasion I hear them say stuff like "look at this, he writes better than I do" or "he speaks in the polite way", "so when are you going to get married?".

Anyhow, another thing to consider is the aspect of Permanent Residence. Not many people know much about it, but it's out there. It's not to say that you can or can't get it. But if you approach your long term presence in this country with an eye toward something like that, you can see how Phuket and it's habit of allowing long stays based on Education is well suited toward the goal of obtaining Permanent Residence.

As far as 90-day reporting in Nong Khai, that was a"no-go" when we called Bangkok about it, same as Phuket. They both maintained I'd better show up in person, so I flew down and spent a few weeks and checked out the advance version of the year #3 textbook before it went out to print. Cool stuff. Tedious, but cool.

Everyone used to go to Don's cafe but he's closed up and moved on after many years of being the main spot.

Any word on where else will be showing the game?

-saanya

Very irregular from all reports I have seen. Normal extension of stay for part time language study is only 90 days per application and new paperwork is required to obtain a new one every 90 days for most people.

Based on the reports you have seen, -are you referring to Phuket though? It's not irregular at all, it's within the law and very very very very very very normal. : )

Is this information coming from the Thaivisa commercial advertising relationship with Walen language school on the site?, -the info you have provided, in the past, you noted you were referencing his post on the matter and furnished his link and stated it was likely the authoritative information on the matter. (which I disagreed with then and now). So Mac, if you are reading this, it's OK, I've read all your inputs and you can pass on this one. : )

-I can point you to about 400 people in the last 3 years that have attended the two schools I have, as well as all the students at the other major school. ALL of us on Phuket are doing it this way. We pay on average 35-45K baht in installments for year-round classes, minimum 4 hours per week. Some of us pay about 65-70K or more a year for one-on-one home classes with the same schedule frequency. We do our 90-day reports and we are fine.

It's not to say you are wrong or using bad information or your statements are in error. But how is it irregluar? Can you show me where it is within the current Thai legal definitions at both the Education Ministry and Thai Immigration?

- I hate to differ with you Lopburi, -you have been a moderator for quite some time and have quite a bit of information exposure, and I've had the benefit of your advice countless times.

But I can't help but to ask, -other than the 'reports you have seen' is there a difference in the Thai laws on this? I'd like us to resolve this difference of experience because if I hadn't known this many people on Phuket while being in school for so long, I would not bother to debate what you define as "irregular".

We've had once a year "school anniversaries" at Central Festival's bowling alley, countless birthdays and welcome/farewell parties, sometimes with entire families enrolling for the year, -we can't have learned this much about the Thai language, our visa procedures and the overall picture and be told that what we and the other two schools are experiencing is irregular.

I would rather settle on the fact that perhaps things are done differently on Phuket, and that the lucrative and highly competitive business of running language schools might be informing some of why things are different on Phuket.

In my conversations with the staff at the Ed Ministry (I had to change schools and the previous school had lost all it's records), that they are the ones who define how long you are to be accepted to be enrolled in a Thai language course.

Immigration simply concurs with their acceptance of your application, and do their own due diligence where relevant laws apply, e.g. checking their own computers for flags on your passport, information you submit on your forms, and if the paperwork from the ED Ministry and the language school is complete when presented at the time you present it, and they then electronically scan & file their copies and physically store them.

If they need to, they will call the ED Ministry and/or the language school if it's not too crowded. I've seen her get quite upset at some students who present paperwork that's not complete, -even demanding that "if the proper papers are not here in 30 minutes we will deny your extension".

My fellow students deal with staff at Phuket Immigration, sometimes the ranking chief has to be summoned for a decision on this or that issue -she really seems to know her stuff, and I highly doubt she'd be doing anything "irregular". Long stays based on education are the norm and outside the "packaged courses for x amount of baht per 90 days" I have seen in the marketing materials of some schools.

What would you recommend as far as finding out the logic here? Is there some other reference aside from Mac's post?

-saanya

I believe he is talking about 90 day extensions of stay.

Edit: but I appear to be wrong from what he says about having an extension until middle of next year. But suspect he may be wrong on that as it appears to be a normal study of Thai language so 90 day extensions would be normal.

Hi Lopburi,

I divided my response in two sections for future readers:

A. 90 Day reports/ TM-47 http://www.thaivisa.com/tm47-example.html

-in this case I am filling out Form TM-47 as per usual every 90 days. It's not an extension of stay and happens to say so in the stamp they apply.

"This is not an extension of stay, Please notify your address again on ____________, signed _______, Date _________."

It appears my best option is to now call Phuket Immigration and ask if they'll accept the mail-in Form TM-47 and on what basis, e.g. will they mail me back the bottom section or just keep it on file or maybe do nothing and wait for my next report and say I overstayed and they don't have any records of my mail-in even though it was registered mail. : ) Guess this all dpends on how much fun I want to have with two government institutions (Post Office *and* Immigration).

B. Extensions of Stay - TM-7: Education Visa

At the two schools I attended, we all get 1 year extensions using TM-7.

I am not sure what the "norm" is and being here a while I know there's no such thing as a "norm" and there never will be, -but my experience is that once a year I renew the ED Visa by way of completing a TM-7 Extension Of Stay http://www.thailandvisaguide.com/forms-downloads/tm7-form-for-extension-of-stay-in-thailand/ after my language school procures the necessary documents for/from the Thai Education Ministry.

I supply Immigration the documents from my school, the ED Ministry, and the TM-7. The TM-7 allows you to state the amount of days you wish to request. I normally request about 280-310 days but never the full 365.