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ED Visa PROBLEMS in Laos! Any recent experiences / advice?


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So, I am applying for a ED Visa at end of this month, and have been told by my school that there is now a serious problem getting them approved by the Laos Consulates.  In the last few weeks, many students are being rejected according to the school.  They say they will be trying to figure out alternative consulates that are being more receptive, and will be back in touch with me next week.

 

Apparently, the problem is that the Laos consulates are being overwhelmed with ED VIsa requests, and all visa requests in general simply because it is the closest and most popular location for foreigners who are already in Thailand and wish to extend their stay here.  So, my understanding is that it is not anything related specifically to a general crackdown on ED Visas themselves.

 

They did tell me that Hong Kong and Myanmar consulates are no longer viable options.  Even if I were to return to my home country (USA), their experience has been that certain consulates are very difficult (like Washington DC), so I'm really in a quandary on what to do.

 

I'm beginning to think that the ED Visa may not have been the wisest choice for extending my stay here for the next 9 months, and may go back to my original idea of just applying for a 60 day Tourist VIsa (extending it locally to 90 days), and repeating that a few times once my "retirement" visa expires at the end of this month.

 

It would really be helpful if any recent applicants for ED Visas at ANY consulates could share their experience, or if some of the wiser ThaiVisa members (like @ubonjoe) might offer some advice on how to deal with all of this in the most efficient and least problematic way.  I'm sure I'm not the only one who would benefit from this advice.

 

Edited by CangguSurfer
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If it's your first ever Ed visa and you've been in Thailand less than 6 months in the last 12 you might be ok in Laos. But yes there are lots of threads recently about people denied especially if they don't meet those criteria, you can probably find with a search. Some were even denied with less of a visa history than that and / or told their school has been blacklisted completely. Some people are now applying in Vietnam instead. 

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1 hour ago, CangguSurfer said:

It's all very hard to understand.  I mean, I can appreciate them denying a visa if they think the applicant might be secretly seeking to work in Thailand, or that they don't have the financial means to live here, but that doesn't seem to be the case.  It's just arbitrary, and there are no unified criteria among the different Consulates.  Each seems to have their own set of rules, and they are constantly changing from one day to the next.

 

They are apparently seeking to reduce the number of long-staying foreigners by all means without explicitly saying so. This is the general policy at the moment, and it is understandable.

 

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33 minutes ago, FredGallaher said:

An Elite or Marriage visas are other options. 

I don't see marriage of convenience as a valid option and don't have funds for the Elite. Have been to Vietnam many times and loving it, but I'm sure it will eventually go the same way as Thailand. Won't consider it as a long-term solution.

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1 hour ago, Hackney35 said:

Why anyone would want to pay that amount of money to live in Thailand is beyond me!

All these type threads have too many old people with retirement visas getting on the morale high ground cos they are old and can get an easy visa if they have small income (pension) from home every month flowing in.

 We should be trying to help each other against the ridiculous ever changing immigration system not turning against each other. 

Finally!  A voice of reason.  Thanks for making a positive comment, and not an unfounded snarky remark.

 

To set the record straight, I am applying for an ED Visa for an accredited school.  The school has a stellar record of getting approval letters from the Ministry of Education for all applicants.  If they approve an applicant, that should be reason enough for the Consulate to grant the Visa IMO. 

 

I am NOT applying for the ED Visa simply to stay in the Kingdom but without it, I will need to find another way to stay here.  

 

So again, I’d really appreciate some constructive advice.

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1 hour ago, kanook said:

Why don't you go back on a retirement extension?

Fact is, I was going back and forth on whether or not to renew it for the last several months, decided not to, and planned to leave the Kingdom when it expires next month.

 

I had a change of heart a few weeks ago but it's too late to get funds back into my Thai bank account and get them "seasoned" in time. 

 

I was thinking of getting an SETV to allow enough time for this to occur (and still am considering it) but there's a school that interests me greatly that offers an ED Visa and that sounded more appealing.

 

I thought the real challenge was going to be getting an approval from the Thai Ministry of Education (which I got the other day), not realizing the real challenge would be with a Consulate.

 

Even if I end up getting denied the ED visa by a consulate (which would really suck), I still want to attend the school and so I may try for the SETV until I can get the bank account seasoned for a new Non-O extension, or maybe just try and get back to back SETV's.

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13 hours ago, Hackney35 said:

We should be trying to help each other against the ridiculous ever changing immigration system not turning against each other. 

Or perhaps people should abide by the terms and conditions of the Visa or Entry they utilize. If they come in on an ED Visa, they should be attending school. If they use Visa Exempt or Tourist Visas, they should really be tourists, not residing. 

We do help each other, very much so, in this forum. Pointing people towards various ways to remain in Thailand and answering questions. What is an issue, is people playing/ gaming the system, irritating Thai immigration, and causing them to modify rules and become ever stricter. That is NOT helping each other much at all.

No non Thai has a right to live in Thailand. 

Edited by jacko45k
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20 hours ago, CangguSurfer said:

I'm beginning to think that the ED Visa may not have been the wisest choice for extending my stay here for the next 9 months, and may go back to my original idea of just applying for a 60 day Tourist VIsa (extending it locally to 90 days), and repeating that a few times once my "retirement" visa expires at the end of this month.

Your post mentions nothing about studying Thai. Seems you are just trying to circumvent the system. Which is why these visa's are now hard to get..

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17 hours ago, Los Luver said:

It seems that some people just don't get the message. Thailand just doesn't want people live in the country on TV.  It's simple as that. Get the right visa or leave

:slow clap: The guys was asking about an Ed visa.

 

Mind you, I have to agree with you. I had a non-o and I started to study a BA at a college here in Thailand, it was obvious that even this was a visa mill for people working illegally (on their Ed-visas) in Bangkok.

 

It’s a small wonder why immigration are toughening up on these Thai language / Thai boxing / dubious degree loopholes.

 

 

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"'m beginning to think that the ED Visa may not have been the wisest choice for extending my stay here for the next 9 months, and may go back to my original idea of just applying for a 60 day Tourist VIsa (extending it locally to 90 days), and repeating that a few times once my "retirement" visa expires at the end of this month."

Why not extend your "retirement visa" NO FUNDS? So you are just another one who wants advise to escape the rules by ED visa.... thank you, you just make  it better for honest and correct people.

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