Ed Visa through Hand to Hand Combat School in Chiang Mai

[CangguSurfer]

Does anyone have actual 1st hand experience getting Ed Visa from Hand To Hand Combat School in Chiang Mai?  I know for a fact it is on the level; they have the approval of the Thai Education Ministry, and I see their students (in their black school t-shirts) often when I am at IMM office.  It sounds like a pretty good option for long term stay but I'd like to hear from someone who has actually done it.

 

I currently have a Extension for retirement but am not planning to renew it for various reasons but still need to stay in the Kingdom for 6-12 months after it expires.  My main reason to discontinue my present visa extension is that I want resume working (self-employed) and don't want to hassle with IMM over that

[OneEyedPie]

You’re not going to use this new found skill on uppity taxi drivers are you?

[jayjay2001]

Yes, I currently have an ED visa through Hand2Hand Combat.  I did an Ed visa some years ago studying Thai.  It's great there is the Hand2Hand Combat alternative in CM.  

 

If you pursue this, go to Hand2Hand Combat directly to sign up for the course.  DO NOT GO through any 3rd party entity.  Hand2Hand staff prepare the documents for you, and are very thorough.  They will explain to you the procedure of going to Vientiane to get the Ed visa. 

 

In my opinion, the staff at Hand2Hand are great... from the owner, to the course instructors, to the office staff.

 

 

[XenZen]

the course is 34,000 Baht.   

 

not sure the cost if studying Thai.  My guess would be 20 to 30,000.  

[CangguSurfer]

8 hours ago, OneEyedPie said:

You’re not going to use this new found skill on uppity taxi drivers are you?

LOL...there's a thought.  Thanks for bringing a smile to my face this morning.

[CangguSurfer]

1 hour ago, jayjay2001 said:

Yes, I currently have an ED visa through Hand2Hand Combat.  I did an Ed visa some years ago studying Thai.  It's great there is the Hand2Hand Combat alternative in CM.  

 

If you pursue this, go to Hand2Hand Combat directly to sign up for the course.  DO NOT GO through any 3rd party entity.  Hand2Hand staff prepare the documents for you, and are very thorough.  They will explain to you the procedure of going to Vientiane to get the Ed visa. 

 

In my opinion, the staff at Hand2Hand are great... from the owner, to the course instructors, to the office staff.

 

 

Thanks JayJay; just what I was hoping to hear!  How are their English language skills?  I have a slightly unusual visa situation (currently have a "retirement" visa (extension) I need to discuss.  I'm not sure if applying for a ED visa while currently holding a retirement visa will cause problems (i.e.: switching from one type of visa to another, as opposed to just applying without already holding a long-term stay type of visa...if that makes any sense. )  

[MickeyDelux]

I have a Thai wife so I'm constantly being shown hand to hand attack techniques and trying to learn hand to hand defensive strategies. I strongly believe this alone should qualify me for preferential visa consideration.

[jayjay2001]

5 hours ago, CangguSurfer said:

Thanks JayJay; just what I was hoping to hear!  How are their English language skills?  I have a slightly unusual visa situation (currently have a "retirement" visa (extension) I need to discuss.  I'm not sure if applying for a ED visa while currently holding a retirement visa will cause problems (i.e.: switching from one type of visa to another, as opposed to just applying without already holding a long-term stay type of visa...if that makes any sense. )  

Their English skills are fine.  About your visa: You'll need to ask them about your transition from retirement visa to Ed visa.  My guess is once you leave the country and go to Laos (without a re-entry permit for your retirement visa), you're retirement visa will become null and void.  Then, you just get the new Ed visa whilst in Vientiane.  But again, just speak with Hand2Hand staff.  It can take them up to about 3 weeks to get your paper work ready to go for Vientiane.  They started writing mine up when I had a Non-B visa (with work permit), and the papers were ready in about 3 weeks time.

 

By the way, hyku1147 posted above that the classes are on the weekend.  This is true,  but there are also weekday options.

Edited May 9, 2019 by jayjay2001
grammar

[CangguSurfer]

Thanks so much JayJay!  It’s nice to get well-informed and concise replies, which seems to be a rarity on this forum LOL!  MOST APPRECIATED ????

[geoffbezoz]

I expect that once the government discover that you attempting to get an ED visa for unarmed combat  courses, rather than anything educational, you will get the "chop"  ????

[CangguSurfer]

18 hours ago, jayjay2001 said:

... I had a Non-B visa (with work permit), ...

Was that a long term visa you had before switching to ED visa?  That’s my main concern; that IMM will frown on a situation where you have already been granted a long term visa, and now want to change to another type.  I have no fact-based reason to believe this would be so, but it just seems like something they might hassle me about.

[CangguSurfer]

13 minutes ago, geoffbezoz said:

I expect that once the government discover that you attempting to get an ED visa for unarmed combat  courses, rather than anything educational, you will get the "chop"  ????

Judging from all the black-shirted students I see at IMM every time I’m there, I doubt that is the case.  They have a very legit reputation, and the owner of the school, being a high ranking ex-military officer, is well-connected with the “powers that be” from what I understand.

 

Besides that, a course in Krav Mega martial arts hardly disqualifies the school as an educational venue, and they have received certification from the Thai Ministry of Education.

Edited May 10, 2019 by CangguSurfer

[geoffbezoz]

2 minutes ago, CangguSurfer said:

Judging from all the black-shirted students I see at IMM every time I’m there, I doubt that is the case.  They have a very legit reputation, and the owner of the school is well-connected with the “powers that be” from what I understand.

I think you missed the humour in my post. To many blows to the head perhaps ?

[CangguSurfer]

7 minutes ago, geoffbezoz said:

I think you missed the humour in my post. To many blows to the head perhaps ?

LOL...OK, fair enough. ????. I admit, I thought you were playing “devil’s advocate”.  Guess you’re right; too many blows to the head....hahaha!

[jayjay2001]

1 hour ago, CangguSurfer said:

Thanks so much JayJay!  It’s nice to get well-informed and concise replies, which seems to be a rarity on this forum LOL!  MOST APPRECIATED ????

You're welcome. Yes, it can be frustrating when you make an original post to get some specific information and then some wise-ass TV member posts something inane and irrelevant.  

[jayjay2001]

1 hour ago, CangguSurfer said:

Was that a long term visa you had before switching to ED visa?  That’s my main concern; that IMM will frown on a situation where you have already been granted a long term visa, and now want to change to another type.  I have no fact-based reason to believe this would be so, but it just seems like something they might hassle me about.

I had had my Non-B visa (with work permit) for two years before I resigned from my job and then got the ED visa.  I don't think you'll have any problem with imm switching from a retirement visa to an ED visa.

[EricTh]

11 hours ago, CangguSurfer said:

Thanks so much JayJay!  It’s nice to get well-informed and concise replies, which seems to be a rarity on this forum LOL!  MOST APPRECIATED ????

I heard from the staff there that the visa is only for 3 to 4 months, and that you have to renew it.

 

Why don't you get a 1 year learn Thai visa instead? Which is cheaper for 1 year?

[EricTh]

10 hours ago, jayjay2001 said:

I had had my Non-B visa (with work permit) for two years before I resigned from my job and then got the ED visa.  I don't think you'll have any problem with imm switching from a retirement visa to an ED visa.

Do you need to go out of Thailand to get  the ED visa or can  you just change without leaving eg. a few days before your non-B visa expire.

[jayjay2001]

10 hours ago, EricTh said:

I heard from the staff there that the visa is only for 3 to 4 months, and that you have to renew it.

 

Why don't you get a 1 year learn Thai visa instead? Which is cheaper for 1 year?

No, it's a one year visa.  You do have to go every 90 days to immigration to keep it going (extending it every three months).  Hand2Hand staff go with you to immigration to do this; and they do any paperwork for it. Immigration charges for this "extension," but Hand2Hand Combat pays the fee as it's included in the course fee.  I had to do the same thing before on an ED visa learning Thai, i.e., extend the visa every 90 days.

[jayjay2001]

10 hours ago, EricTh said:

Do you need to go out of Thailand to get  the ED visa or can  you just change without leaving eg. a few days before your non-B visa expire.

One needs to leave Thailand for the change of visa.  I went to Vientiane a few days before my non-B visa (for work) expired.

[EricTh]

11 minutes ago, jayjay2001 said:

No, it's a one year visa.  You do have to go every 90 days to immigration to keep it going (extending it every three months).  Hand2Hand staff go with you to immigration to do this; and they do any paperwork for it. Immigration charges for this "extension," but Hand2Hand Combat pays the fee as it's included in the course fee.  I had to do the same thing before on an ED visa learning Thai, i.e., extend the visa every 90 days.

If you have to go to immigration every 3 months to extend it, it's considered a 3 months and not a 1 year visa. 

 

A true 1 year visa (retirement, work permit)  require us to go there every one year to extend.

 

I didn't  know ED visa is also a 3 months visa and not true 1 year. Guess immigration was fed up with students in the past who didn't really study.

 

Edited May 11, 2019 by EricTh

[jayjay2001]

22 minutes ago, EricTh said:

If you have to go to immigration every 3 months to extend it, it's considered a 3 months and not a 1 year visa. 

 

A true 1 year visa (retirement, work permit)  require us to go there every one year to extend.

 

I didn't  know ED visa is also a 3 months visa and not true 1 year. Guess immigration was fed up with students in the past who didn't really study.

 

I hear you.  I guess the "one year" term comes in because it can be extended up to one year.

 

 

From http://www.thaiembassy.org/hochiminh/en/services/2911/35219-Non-Immigrant-Visa-"ED".html:

 

4. VALIDITY OF A VISA  

The validity of a visa is 3 months.
 

5. PERIOD OF STAY  

Holder of this type of visa is entitled to stay in Thailand for a maximum period of 90 days.  He or she may apply for an extension of stay at the Office of the Immigration Bureau and may be granted such extension for a period of one year from the date of first entry into Thailand.

[CangguSurfer]

23 hours ago, jayjay2001 said:

I had had my Non-B visa (with work permit) for two years before I resigned from my job and then got the ED visa.  I don't think you'll have any problem with imm switching from a retirement visa to an ED visa.

Thanks!  ThaiVisa is a wonderful resource but I wish there were more members like you that present relevant and reliable information, and less people who only seem interested in mean-spirited troll-like behavior and off-topic comments and what they believe to be witty remarks.  Sometimes you have to wade through dozens of pages of crap to get one kernel of useful information...but I guess that’s just a part of any forum.

 

My only real gripe with ThaiVisa is that their search engine really sucks!  A TIP I discovered:  if you search for something on ThaiVisa with Google instead of ThaiVisa’s search engine (I.e.: “search term” “ThaiVisa”), you get many hits that wont show up on ThiaVisa’s own search engine.  Strange but true!

 

Edited May 11, 2019 by CangguSurfer

[CangguSurfer]

3 hours ago, EricTh said:

If you have to go to immigration every 3 months to extend it, it's considered a 3 months and not a 1 year visa. 

 

A true 1 year visa (retirement, work permit)  require us to go there every one year to extend.

 

I didn't  know ED visa is also a 3 months visa and not true 1 year. Guess immigration was fed up with students in the past who didn't really study.

 

And yet, even a “one year” visa still requires reporting every 3 months.  Granted, it is easier than having to do a border run, but still, all the hassle of actually getting a 1 year visa can be pretty daunting, and having such a visa can be pretty restrictive in certain ways and under certain circumstances.

Edited May 11, 2019 by CangguSurfer

[Dante99]

6 minutes ago, CangguSurfer said:

And yet, even a “one year” visa still requires reporting every 3 months.  Granted, it is easier than having to do a border run, but still, all the hassle of actually getting a 1 year visa can be pretty daunting, and having such a visa can be pretty restrictive in certain ways and under certain circumstances.

such trash

 

daunting

hassle

restrictive

[EricTh]

10 hours ago, CangguSurfer said:

And yet, even a “one year” visa still requires reporting every 3 months.  Granted, it is easier than having to do a border run, but still, all the hassle of actually getting a 1 year visa can be pretty daunting, and having such a visa can be pretty restrictive in certain ways and under certain circumstances.

Reporting can be done online and you don't need to go there.

 

A one year visa don't need any 'extension every 3 months' like this ed visa.

 

They are not obliged to extend another 3 months if they think you're not really studying.

 

Yes, a 1 year visa is pretty daunting nowadays especially when people in the past just use affidavit which is an easy way.

Edited May 11, 2019 by EricTh

[EricTh]

13 hours ago, jayjay2001 said:

I hear you.  I guess the "one year" term comes in because it can be extended up to one year.

 

 

A retirement visa can be extended to 3 years (or more) if you have enough funds but we don't call that a 3-year visa but a 1-year visa.

[QPRFC]

I can second everything that jayjay has stated. I did the hand 2 hand combat ED visa last year.
They speak excellent English.
They prepare all the documents for you including 90 day renewals.
They sit at immigration from 6am on your behalf, they call you 1 hour before you need to be there.
The office girls are all friendly.
The 33k baht fee includes the 3 visa renewals (at 1900 baht each) but does not include the first visa.
You have to leave Thailand to get the ED (you can go anywhere, Hong Kong is great btw)

But, a Thai learning course is still cheaper at 22k plus 3x1900 baht visa renewals!
You will need to do your own renewals and 90 day reporting though.

[CangguSurfer]

On 5/11/2019 at 9:36 PM, EricTh said:

Reporting can be done online and you don't need to go there.

 

A one year visa don't need any 'extension every 3 months' like this ed visa.

 

They are not obliged to extend another 3 months if they think you're not really studying.

 

Yes, a 1 year visa is pretty daunting nowadays especially when people in the past just use affidavit which is an easy way.

I agree that online reporting is a blessing, but I just feel that a 1 year visa (retirement) is getting to be too much hassle.  Every day it seems IMM imposes a new requirement or change that is often poorly documented and confusing (as verified by all the posts on this forum), and the ED visa just sounds more straight-forward, and this school in particular seems to be well-connected with the government so have the whole process very stream-lined, with much of it being handled by the school itself!  I travel out of the country frequently so border runs are no big deal to me.  Finally, I actually have an interest in martial arts so, for me, it's a win-win. 

 

As for ED visa for learning languages, Thai IMM has (as usual) an arbitrary (IMHO) restriction that you now must be under 50 years old to get one, otherwise I'd consider it, as I'd like to learn to really speak the Thai language well. ????

 

Edited May 21, 2019 by CangguSurfer

[EricTh]

3 hours ago, CangguSurfer said:

 

As for ED visa for learning languages, Thai IMM has (as usual) an arbitrary (IMHO) restriction that you now must be under 50 years old to get one, otherwise I'd consider it, as I'd like to learn to really speak the Thai language well. ????

 

They have all sorts of illogical rules. I didn't know there's a restriction of age for having an ed visa.

 

Anyway, Hand to Hand combat seems good. The only downside is it is more expensive and it only works for one year. You cannot extend more than 1 or 2 years, I think.

 

 

Edited May 21, 2019 by EricTh