September 9, 20205 yr 2 hours ago, warcy said: It's amazing how people can get all types of non-essential visa with the primary purpose of staying in Thailand. Ed visa muay thai, study thai, volunteer, even though half of the time nothing was learned. Is Thailand really heaven where people don't want to leave the country? Where else should we go? I am not going back to the US, that's for sure!
September 9, 20205 yr 9 hours ago, stephen tracy said: Hey OP, sorry to hear that. It sounds like the lawyer has gone AWOL. Yesterday I met with a visa agent, filled out some immigration forms and submitted pics and paid 11000 baht for a 'Volunteer' visa, which is supposed to be good for 3 months once granted. There was me and another guy there at the time, and after dealing with paper work and paying we were told that the next step will be to go to immigration on either 22, 23 or 24 September. They said they will be taking people up in batched on those days. I have no idea if the whole thing is just a scam or what but I was willing to give it a shot. After reading the OP's post, I'm now even more doubtful. If no one contacts us to go to immigration or if they do but the immigration rejects the visa applications for whatever reason, it doesn't leave a lot of wiggle room with regards to the 26-September deadline. Considering the three month volunteer is usually around 25k, sounds too good to be true.
September 9, 20205 yr 2 minutes ago, andy246 said: Considering the three month volunteer is usually around 25k, sounds too good to be true. Agree, I would be very wary. Lowest price i saw for 3 month volunteer was 19,000 THB, but they wanted 46,000 THB for the yearly extension. So 11,000 is very unbelievable
September 9, 20205 yr 3 minutes ago, patient37 said: Agree, I would be very wary. Lowest price i saw for 3 month volunteer was 19,000 THB, but they wanted 46,000 THB for the yearly extension. So 11,000 is very unbelievable The 11 000 B may just have been the immigration fee and there may have been the agency fee as well
September 9, 20205 yr On 9/8/2020 at 4:35 PM, Jack1988 said: This visa amnesty can always be extended lol and this foreigners can stay in Thailand for free but there is who had to pay a lot for get an Ed visa, sounds not fair 9 hours ago, stephen tracy said: Hey OP, sorry to hear that. It sounds like the lawyer has gone AWOL. Yesterday I met with a visa agent, filled out some immigration forms and submitted pics and paid 11000 baht for a 'Volunteer' visa, which is supposed to be good for 3 months once granted. There was me and another guy there at the time, and after dealing with paper work and paying we were told that the next step will be to go to immigration on either 22, 23 or 24 September. They said they will be taking people up in batched on those days. I have no idea if the whole thing is just a scam or what but I was willing to give it a shot. After reading the OP's post, I'm now even more doubtful. If no one contacts us to go to immigration or if they do but the immigration rejects the visa applications for whatever reason, it doesn't leave a lot of wiggle room with regards to the 26-September deadline. Where did you find a volunteer visa for 11,000?that's super cheap for 3 months.starting price seems to be 20,000 and up to 35,000..that price sounds way to good.
September 9, 20205 yr If it looks like a scam, smells like a scam..... would a lawyer destroy his propitiation for 20,000 baht?? contact the Thai Visa Centre urgently!
September 9, 20205 yr On 9/8/2020 at 11:36 AM, Yahem said: He will pay it from his pocket ,it’s also in the contract but he is doing whatever to help trying to contact other gyms etc who offer the visa ,can everyone apply for the muang thang thani extension ? im looking for a legit company if no other way as I’ve got scammed twice now once before amnesty which still cost me 1000€ they didn’t refund... I think for this part the gym owner is doing everything in his power to get everyone the visa they need even if it’s not in his gym ,I think he takes great pride in their reputation and this will be fatal for business Why dont the gym owner speak to immigration and find out what they require and do it himself?
September 9, 20205 yr 1 hour ago, ericthai said: Why dont the gym owner speak to immigration and find out what they require and do it himself? you obviously have no experience in doing that kind of procedure all by yourself. the list of documents required is HUGE and the requirements are always changing. this procedure is a major headache, and I am someone that's otherwise used to red tape. I too pay a lawyer to do the paperwork, it's worth every penny.
September 9, 20205 yr 3 hours ago, tgw said: you obviously have no experience in doing that kind of procedure all by yourself. the list of documents required is HUGE and the requirements are always changing. this procedure is a major headache, and I am someone that's otherwise used to red tape. I too pay a lawyer to do the paperwork, it's worth every penny. My staff has been doing visa extensions and work permits ourselves for the last 15 years, never an issue.
September 9, 20205 yr 1 hour ago, ericthai said: My staff has been doing visa extensions and work permits ourselves for the last 15 years, never an issue. How much you charge for a visa extension?
September 10, 20205 yr 8 hours ago, ericthai said: Why dont the gym owner speak to immigration and find out what they require and do it himself? 2 hours ago, ericthai said: My staff has been doing visa extensions and work permits ourselves for the last 15 years, never an issue. This is not a simple case of a normal visa extension or wp. The OP needed to convert from a tourist visa or visa exempt entry to a non-o ed visa. Before covid this was not generally allowed for informal school, but now some exceptions are being made. However, this can only be done using an agent, lawyer or school that has close connections with immigration. Edited September 10, 20205 yr by Phillip9
September 10, 20205 yr 4 hours ago, ericthai said: My staff has been doing visa extensions and work permits ourselves for the last 15 years, never an issue. yes, well, if you have staff that is skilled enough and can spend the hours, then it can be done. you just have your own in-house visa agent,
September 10, 20205 yr Author Popular Post Well the gym has another meeting with the police today I got all my money refunded tho and applied for a volunteer visa in a visa company fingers crossed this one is legit
September 10, 20205 yr On 9/8/2020 at 10:49 PM, Yahem said: They 100% are innocent and doing their best when it’s solved I will name them because this gym really cares about their members Really cares ????????.. Kiss goodbye to your cash. You have zero chance of ever seeing that again. Edited September 10, 20205 yr by Bell1234 spelling mistake
September 10, 20205 yr 14 minutes ago, Yahem said: Well the gym has another meeting with the police today I got all my money refunded tho and applied for a volunteer visa in a visa company fingers crossed this one is legit Did you find out where the problem was ? Was it deliberate deception or was there a procedure issue ?
September 10, 20205 yr You can get a NONO and then a volunteer visa. Will cost you about 53k for 15 months. This will be done by an agent. I know many who have done it over the past weeks. Let me know if your interested and I'll hook you up with the agent
September 10, 20205 yr 1 hour ago, Yahem said: Well the gym has another meeting with the police today I got all my money refunded tho and applied for a volunteer visa in a visa company fingers crossed this one is legit Very happy to hear they actually refunded you! Wish you luck on your visa ????
September 10, 20205 yr Author 3 hours ago, CorpusChristie said: Did you find out where the problem was ? Was it deliberate deception or was there a procedure issue ? It’s the agent or lawyer whatever who just disappeared with the cash for immigration he worked with them a few years and then did this so no clue myself but the owners are foreigners themselves
September 10, 20205 yr Author 3 hours ago, Bell1234 said: Really cares ????????.. Kiss goodbye to your cash. You have zero chance of ever seeing that again. Well it got refunded today without me having to ask them even
September 10, 20205 yr 5 minutes ago, Yahem said: It’s the agent or lawyer whatever who just disappeared with the cash for immigration he worked with them a few years and then did this so no clue myself but the owners are foreigners themselves Why did you need a lawyer , theres usually no need to gat a lawyer involved in visa applications ? Now you have got your money back, why dont you now pay the immigration for the visa you were applying for and get that same visa ?
September 10, 20205 yr 23 hours ago, BritTim said: In some cases, simple procrastination. In others, people managing to convince themselves that the amnesty will be indefinitely extended as long they want it to be (and who knows, maybe they will be lucky though I do not think so). I can't think of a single country I've visited/worked (and there has been many) where even with covid or no covid would they permit people to be in country without proper authorization. It seems some folks are so addled (naturally or otherwise) to think this is the land of Oz and they're all named Dorthy - come on folks, fairy tales are for kids and there are whole rivers in other countries formed from the tears of those who violated visa laws and were forced to leave to go home..
September 10, 20205 yr 18 minutes ago, CorpusChristie said: Why did you need a lawyer , theres usually no need to gat a lawyer involved in visa applications ? Now you have got your money back, why dont you now pay the immigration for the visa you were applying for and get that same visa ? It may never have been possible to do at all in bangkok. I don't think any of the informal schools there were able to convert to an ed visa. People who wanted to do this had to go to pattaya or hua hin to get the visa there, and it could only be done via and agent or school with good connections to immigration with a substantial extra "fee". You can't just walk into immigration yourself with a brown envelope full of cash and ask for this.
September 10, 20205 yr Author 2 hours ago, CorpusChristie said: Why did you need a lawyer , theres usually no need to gat a lawyer involved in visa applications ? Now you have got your money back, why dont you now pay the immigration for the visa you were applying for and get that same visa ? It’s to late for an Ed visa now so I had to get a volunteer or medical its the first time this gym made the Ed visas they had about 20 applicants
September 10, 20205 yr Author 2 hours ago, Phillip9 said: It may never have been possible to do at all in bangkok. I don't think any of the informal schools there were able to convert to an ed visa. People who wanted to do this had to go to pattaya or hua hin to get the visa there, and it could only be done via and agent or school with good connections to immigration with a substantial extra "fee". You can't just walk into immigration yourself with a brown envelope full of cash and ask for this. One gym is able to in bkk for 20 000 under tabel money they call it
September 10, 20205 yr 2 hours ago, Phillip9 said: It may never have been possible to do at all in bangkok. I don't think any of the informal schools there were able to convert to an ed visa. People who wanted to do this had to go to pattaya or hua hin to get the visa there, and it could only be done via and agent or school with good connections to immigration with a substantial extra "fee". You can't just walk into immigration yourself with a brown envelope full of cash and ask for this. An agency can do that though, no need for a Lawyer . (it been explained that this was the first time the gym had applied for ed visas , maybe thats why they got a lawyer involved )
September 10, 20205 yr 20 minutes ago, Yahem said: One gym is able to in bkk for 20 000 under tabel money they call it Oh that's pretty expensive. Maybe it turned out to be more difficult and expensive than your gyms lawyer thought. I'm very happy to hear you got your money back.
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