Hello!

 

Looking for some advice... My one year ED visa is about to end, and although last year, when I initially made the visa, the school said that "we can extend this visa for at least 5 years", now when one year is full they are saying something like "oh, it is so difficult to extend the visa in Penang, you must extend in Phuket and pay 15000 more"... And I am kind of reluctant to do that.

 

Can anyone suggest any reasonable alternatives for long-term stay? I don't need a work permit, have online work from home country.

How long you can stay on extensions of stay (not a visa) depends upon the school you are attending. If you are attending a informal school such a language school you can only stay for a total of one year on 90 day extensions and the 90 day entry form a non-ed visa.

If attending a formal school such as a university you can get one year extension for a long as you are able to attend classes.

It sounds like they are saying it is difficult to get another non-ed visa in Penang now.

Not sure what the 15k baht would be for other than for a bribe to get additional extensions since you cannot get a new non-ed visa in Phuket.