Hi everybody,

I currently have a ED visa for Thai language (it's my 1st one). My visa is about to end soon and so I already started the process to enroll for a 2nd one (for English language that time and in another school). The school don't really know which embassy is the most likely to issue me a visa.

I hold a French passport. Does anyone have a feedback or recommendation?

Thanking you for any help and advice.

 

When and where was your non-ed visa issued.

It was issued early March 2019 at the Embassy of Vientiane. This visa is 'valid' until the end of November.

Wow you really want to be educated dont you? lol

just curiosity whats your next plan after finishing all of your education? How will you manage to stay and live in thailand? Also with all respect, you know these kind of things are the reason for the immigration to become more strict, right?

@problemfarang I plan to open my own company in a few months.

Just now, fred4272 said:

@problemfarang I plan to open my own company in a few months.

 

good luck ???? i hope it will be good for you, cheers

Thanks @problemfarang ????

28 minutes ago, fred4272 said:

It was issued early March 2019 at the Embassy of Vientiane. This visa is 'valid' until the end of November.

You will not be able to get another one there. The will only issue one year.

Perhaps the consulate in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam would be worth a try.

Thank you for the information @ubonjoe, I will check the requirements for HCMC.

i always thought ED visas were valid for one year Fred - are you sure yours wont expire end of March 2020, a year after you received it?

 

13 minutes ago, UKJASE said:

i always thought ED visas were valid for one year Fred - are you sure yours wont expire end of March 2020, a year after you received it?

A non-ed visa only allows a 90 day entry. He apparently only had a single entry visa.

It is possible to get extensions that will allow a total stay of one year.

@UKJASE Yes I'm quite sure. It's a 8 months visa. I went to gather informations at several school to make the 2nd visa and all of them have either 6 or 8 months for study Thai Language. English is up to 1 year, Japanese up to 10 months and Chinese up to 9 months.

11 hours ago, fred4272 said:

@UKJASE Yes I'm quite sure. It's a 8 months visa. I went to gather informations at several school to make the 2nd visa and all of them have either 6 or 8 months for study Thai Language. English is up to 1 year, Japanese up to 10 months and Chinese up to 9 months.

There is no 8 month non-ed visa. 

You apply for a single  entry non-ed visa that allows one 90 days entry and then near the end of the 90 days you can apply for a 90 day extension with supporting documents from the school you are attending.

It is possible to get a total stay of 1 year by getting the 90 day extension and it includes the 90 day entry from the visa.

How long you can stay on extensions depends upon the number of hours of study you pay for when you enroll in a school.

 

@ubonjoe Extensions for ED visa are every 60 days now.

On 11/11/2019 at 5:41 PM, problemfarang said:

Wow you really want to be educated dont you? lol

just curiosity whats your next plan after finishing all of your education? How will you manage to stay and live in thailand? Also with all respect, you know these kind of things are the reason for the immigration to become more strict, right?

 

I imagine a lot of people are going to switch to education visa now that the retirement visa are getting tougher to meet.

 

They will be learning Thai and even learning Chinese when they will never actually used it or has already learnt it like English.

 

6 minutes ago, fred4272 said:

@ubonjoe Extensions for ED visa are every 60 days now.

That depends upon the office where you apply for it. 

There has been no change to the police order for the extension that states it is 90 days.

3 hours ago, EricTh said:

 

I imagine a lot of people are going to switch to education visa now that the retirement visa are getting tougher to meet.

 

They will be learning Thai and even learning Chinese when they will never actually used it or has already learnt it like English.

 

 

They certainly won't. Or if they do, they're stupid.

 

I had been on ED visas for several years, bought course #1, then course #2, then flew to my home country and got myself a clean passport, and repeat the whole thing. It worked. But the rules have become a lot tougher this year. I recently talked to the owner of the language school I had attended and she said that's quite difficult now to obtain an ED visa. Malaysia and Vientiane even go as far as to only hand out a single ED visa if you had no prior non-immigrant via in your passport. Oh right, and if you happen to get an ED visa and fly in through Don Mueang, it's gamble if they let you in or not, despite meeting all necessary requirements.

 

God, am I relieved that I now have a smart business visa and work permit lasting 2 years.

Don't forget about the interview, you will pass it if you really used this visa for learning Thai. But if you used ED visa just for living here, you have no chances to get thru interview. Also they asking about funds and want bank statement and they want to see that your bank account is "live", embassy in HCMC asked for list of transactions for last year. And yes, ED visa is 8 months max now, you got 90 days on first entry, then you can extend it for 90 days again, and last extension is only 60 days. Even if course is 9 months or 1 year, they only give you 8 months.

5 hours ago, fred4272 said:

@ubonjoe Extensions for ED visa are every 60 days now.

Maybe dependant in where you are but Phuket is still 90 days

@kandi I'm also looking to do a SMART business visa in a near future.

I was able to recently get a one year ED visa at a school in Pattaya without having to leave the country. 

It costs more but I think worth it because I didn’t have the hassle of leaving the country and also possibly being denied by the consulate or at the airport coming back in.

I don’t think this option is available everywhere.

2 hours ago, clearance said:

 And yes, ED visa is 8 months max now, you got 90 days on first entry, then you can extend it for 90 days again, and last extension is only 60 days. Even if course is 9 months or 1 year, they only give you 8 months.

This is disinformation, have a look at post #13 by UJ.

24 minutes ago, yuiop said:

This is disinformation, have a look at post #13 by UJ.

Do you know someone who stayed more than 8 months on single entry ED visa (after summer 2018)? Maybe it is only in Bangkok?

For example, from here - https://dukelanguage.com/what-you-need-to-know-after-your-ed-visa-is-approved/ (delete link if it looks like ad):

"The ED visa for students enrolled in a Thai course from a language school is a 90 DAY VISA which can be extended to a maximum of 8 months. Therefore, even if you enrol in a 14 month program, you are still required to apply for a new ED visa after 8 months to continue the remaining 6 months."

Edited November 13, 20196 yr by clearance

3 hours ago, LiamB80 said:

I was able to recently get a one year ED visa at a school in Pattaya without having to leave the country. 

It costs more but I think worth it because I didn’t have the hassle of leaving the country and also possibly being denied by the consulate or at the airport coming back in.

I don’t think this option is available everywhere.

I agree, this seems like a wonderful option to those with "special needs" who can't travel easily in/out/through the entire country with ease.

Would you mind telling us which school in Pattaya arranges such things and what the fees are?

Thanks.

 

Also if sensitive information you can always privately send me a message in my inbox, thanks.