volstateguy

To update my situation....

I've spoken to Pro Language (locally and headquarters in Bangkok) and with them have made inquiries into their status with immigration.    They ARE NOT blacklisted as I was informed in Savannakhet.   So I don't know the reason I was told this there, other than the immigration officer taking it upon himself to not process the Visa.  I've also been told that the best places to get an education Visa currently is either Penang or Ho Chi Min.   So I think I'll give Penang a try.   

I do believe pro language is a good school, I used them previously several years ago and I enjoyed their classes.  They have also been extremely helpful throughout this situation. 

3 minutes ago, steven100 said:

Oh well, either look at other legitimate schools or apply for an appropriate visa that represents your circumstance and requirements.

I wish I was 50 already so I could get a retirement Visa 

I'm currently in Savannakhet to get a Non-O ED Visa for thai language and was denied because I'm told that my school and 12 others have just been blacklisted for issuing ED Visa.   I was enrolled at pro language pattaya.  Seems the crackdown on language schools is getting even tougher.  Now I gotta figure out what I'm going to do.   

I have two PayPal accounts to transfer US dollars from my bank account here? If you use the PayPal link "send money to family or friends" the charge is .5% so $5 on $1000. The exchange rate is automatic once it hits the PayPal account linked to my thai bank account and is about .9 baht lower than the rate I shown on XE. When I transfer funds they are immediately available in the PayPal account linked to my Thai account and normally takes about a week to withdraw to my account.

OK perfect. Thanks for the info Ubonjoe!

I have one 90 day extension left on my current ED visa which I will do the beginning of August and takes me till the beginning of November when I will have to leave the country and apply for my second year for Thai language.

My question is how early can I apply for the second year? As I stated the end of my first year will be the beginning of November. Will it be possible to do it the beginning of October? My daughter is coming for a visit the middle of October thru middle of November and I'd like to get it taken care of before she arrives.

I initially entered the county without a visa and received a visa exemption at the airport. My return ticket was 7 months later and I was not questioned at the airport about leaving within 30 days.

The weather, the food, the culture, the people, the experience of living in a completely different part of the world, the challenge of learning a new language and adapting to a new lifestyle, the ease with which one can travel to a whole host of cool places, the fact that people don't take life too seriously, the way things are simpler than they were back where I'm from, the lower cost of living, the craziness of it all, beer with ice outdoors on a warm evening, weekends at the beach etc. etc.

Everything you said plus how cheaply you can live. I retired here at age 42 with a military pension and it's more than enough to live on doing what I want and still put money into savings every month.

You can join the US military. While active duty myself I was personally assigned with guys who did not have a US citizenship. They were required to get their citizenship before reenlisting for a second time. If you are interested in school the military is a great option because of the GI bill. Maybe you will not finish your degree while active duty but earning the GI bill will allow you to go to school afterward and get paid for it.....even in Thailand! The GI bill not only pays for the school but also pays you a living allowance while in school.

Maybe if he's lucky he will get sent to Iraq to fight ISIS.

FYI: He's already a USC.

I know he's already a citizen, I was just pointing out that being not being a citizen or dual citizen will not block him from military service.

Also not all career fields in the military are on the front lines fighting.

You can join the US military. While active duty myself I was personally assigned with guys who did not have a US citizenship. They were required to get their citizenship before reenlisting for a second time. If you are interested in school the military is a great option because of the GI bill. Maybe you will not finish your degree while active duty but earning the GI bill will allow you to go to school afterward and get paid for it.....even in Thailand! The GI bill not only pays for the school but also pays you a living allowance while in school.

I dropped my passport off at my school along with 5000 baht last Wednesday for my 90 day extension. I went today to immigration to pick my passport up. I took all of about 10 minutes. Didn't get a queue number as instructed by front desk. Went straight to station 5 who took me after they where finished with the people currently seated since I was only there to pick up my passport. They took my pic gave me my passport and I was out the door. Sure it sucks that it costs an extra 5000 baht but only being at immigration 10 minutes almost makes it worth it.

Where in the airport do you go to get a reentry permit?

One question: What do I need at immigration to get the Residency Letter from them

Copy of your lease agreement, 2 passport size photos, copies of your passport signature page, visa, entrance stamp and exit paperwork. 300B

Where you there 9/11/14, when the place has over 500 people applying that day!

I was there that day applying for my education visa, my number in queue was 313. I was finished at the embassy by noon or so if memory serves.....I used a visa service and was on the mini bus all night so the morning is almost a blur haha.

This was my first visa run so I was assuming the embassy is always that busy with visa applications. Is it not always that busy? Perhaps it was a little extra busy do to the holiday earlier in the week.

Thanks for the replies! I'm going to have about $3000 to exchange, so I want the best rate I can find.

I'm arriving in BKK in a few days and will be going to Pattaya, but this is the first time I will be bringing US dollars into exchange. I normally just withdraw from the ATM. I've seen the currency exchange stations in the baggage claim area at the airport but I'm wondering where I will get the best exchange rate. In the airport or at one of the many exchange places in Pattaya. Anyone know where I'll get the best rate?

Thank you

Thanks everyone for the advice! I think I will take wayned's advice and sit in a couple schools first to see which schools teaching methods will suit me best.

I will be moving to Pattaya next month and want to enroll in a Thai language course. In part because it will allow me to stay in Thailand with an education Visa, (I am too young for a retirement visa) but also because I do want to learn Thai as I want to retire there. I think as long as I'm living there it will be good to know the language. I've read through the topic here regarding Walen and it seems everyone has there own opinion of the school. I think with any company or business people are going to have mixed reviews. Walen is still one of the schools I'm considering but also Pro Language.

Am fairly confused.....From what I gather from the Walen topic.... Walen is good for learning the Thai alphabet and correct pronunciations and pro language is steered more toward conversational Thai. So I'm not sure which school would be best. It seems that both would be good to study.....alphabet and conversational Thai. So My question is.....Will conversational Thai be more useful? Especially with now having to pass a test before applying for your 2nd or 3rd education Visa, or with the possibility of being quizzed or questioned by the IO when going for your 90 day report? Or is my reading of the Walen topic of base? Will Walen also teach me conversational Thai? If not, is it feasible to learn the alphabet and beginner Thai from Walen for a year and the enroll in pro language the second year to learn conversational Thai? Or would it be best to reverse that?

Thanks in advance for any guidance/opinions!