Education Visa info please.

[truthfix]

Hi Guys

Can I get info regarding making the jump from visa exempt to an Education Visa please.

I don’t really know anything about them other than they last for 12 months & you can or don’t have to learn the language etc.

 

During those 12 months do you have to check in or do visa runs or?

 

Also what is the going rate for this visa?

 

I’m currently on a visa exempt entry, now 30 day extension and considering a Satun (I’m based in Bang Tao, Phuket) visa run, of which I’ve done years ago & also know they are not without their own issues…

 

Can anybody recommend a reputable company that doesn’t have Dominic Turreto at the steering wheel and is 4k the going rate?

 

Many thanks!

[simon43]

The concept of an education visa is that you actually attend lessons ????.  That could be in Thai language, Chinese or even Muay Thai.  If you obtain such a visa, and don't attend your lessons as per the required schedule, then don't be surprised if immigration makes a surprise visit....

[ubonjoe]

You will need to be enrolled in school to get the non-ed visa and then a extension of stay based upon  attending a school.

For a language school you would have to apply for 90 day extension and provide proof you are attending classes.

[Phnom Penh Trader]

1 hour ago, truthfix said:

I don’t really know anything about them other than they last for 12 months & you can or don’t have to learn the language etc.

I’m pretty sure that you absolutely do have to learn the language as I did one?

[Phnom Penh Trader]

57 minutes ago, simon43 said:

The concept of an education visa is that you actually attend lessons ????.  That could be in Thai language, Chinese or even Muay Thai.  If you obtain such a visa, and don't attend your lessons as per the required schedule, then don't be surprised if immigration makes a surprise visit....

When you do a visa run also the immigration officers will ask you ‘Ah,poot Thai dai?’ as they did with me,I just didn’t answer and took it as a rhetorical question there was no follow up?

[Donoff]

FYI - your school is going to need at least three weeks to process your new Ed visa. The school I went to wouldn't accept my application unless I had that much time still left on my current visa.

 

If you're going to the typical language school, you will need to renew/get an extension every 3 months. It's not convenient at all. There is paperwork involved. When I got my extension, I had to pay a fee to the school's visa agent (maybe 7000 baht?) to handle everything. I don't know what other schools do for an extension. This was just my experience.

[truthfix]

20 hours ago, Phnom Penh Trader said:

I’m pretty sure that you absolutely do have to learn the language as I did one?

That’s not the case as I know of people who’ve not had to but that’s not my querie here as I would use the opportunity to learn the language. 

[truthfix]

21 hours ago, simon43 said:

The concept of an education visa is that you actually attend lessons ????.  That could be in Thai language, Chinese or even Muay Thai.  If you obtain such a visa, and don't attend your lessons as per the required schedule, then don't be surprised if immigration makes a surprise visit....

People are getting side tracked with this issue. I’ve not stated I wouldn’t attend as I would use the opportunity to learn, why waste such an opportunity.

[truthfix]

42 minutes ago, Donoff said:

FYI - your school is going to need at least three weeks to process your new Ed visa. The school I went to wouldn't accept my application unless I had that much time still left on my current visa.

 

If you're going to the typical language school, you will need to renew/get an extension every 3 months. It's not convenient at all. There is paperwork involved. When I got my extension, I had to pay a fee to the school's visa agent (maybe 7000 baht?) to handle everything. I don't know what other schools do for an extension. This was just my experience.

It hardly seems worth it getting an education visa if there’s an additional expense to get an extension every 3 months. 

[BritTim]

9 minutes ago, truthfix said:

It hardly seems worth it getting an education visa if there’s an additional expense to get an extension every 3 months. 

I tend to agree, though long term stay when under age 50 can be difficult otherwise.

 

It is worth mentioning that really serious students may be able to sign up for university courses that can run several years with only an extension every 12 months.

[Liverpool Lou]

22 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

For a language school you would have to apply for 90 day extension and provide proof you are attending classes.

"...provide proof you are attending classes".

 

...allegedly attending classes, but that's very naughty and is what agents are for!

[Liverpool Lou]

21 hours ago, Phnom Penh Trader said:

I’m pretty sure that you absolutely do have to learn the language as I did one?

Unless an agent is used.

[truthfix]

4 hours ago, BritTim said:

I tend to agree, though long term stay when under age 50 can be difficult otherwise.

 

It is worth mentioning that really serious students may be able to sign up for university courses that can run several years with only an extension every 12 months.

Thanks for mentioning as that’s interesting. I’ve also been told by a company, as I’m 50, that when at this age you cannot apply for an education visa but have to apply for a retirement visa!

 

Has anybody heard of that or just a company’s shenanigans?

[BritTim]

38 minutes ago, truthfix said:

Thanks for mentioning as that’s interesting. I’ve also been told by a company, as I’m 50, that when at this age you cannot apply for an education visa but have to apply for a retirement visa!

 

Has anybody heard of that or just a company’s shenanigans?

There are no age limits for Non Ed visa applications. Some universities might have their own restrictions. None of the informal schools will care one bit about your age. If over 50, be aware that you can get a Non O visa and subsequent one-year extensions on the basis of retirement, and this in no way prevents you studying. The Non Ed visa is not a requirement for studying, just a way to facilitate staying in Thailand while you are studying.

[recom273]

On 12/6/2022 at 1:50 PM, simon43 said:

The concept of an education visa is that you actually attend lessons ????.  That could be in Thai language, Chinese or even Muay Thai.  If you obtain such a visa, and don't attend your lessons as per the required schedule, then don't be surprised if immigration makes a surprise visit....

If the OP uses Google, he will find a couple of agencies in Phuket and Chiang Mai that I found without any problem which advertise themselves as language schools, they clearly state on their website that there is no need to attend class. Unbelievable really. (well, it’s totally believable but ..) - These places operate with impunity, I don’t think he needs to worry at all about a surprise visit. 

[Crazy Noobie]

When my son came over to stay with me in Thailand, we looked at obtaining an Education Visa for learning to speak Thai. We found that overall it was a less hassle to learn Thai through the local University then going to a local Language School. It seemed like you always have some type of issue with immigration when attending a private language school, with school checks and paperwork. So my son went with attending the local University to learn Thai. They did all of the paperwork and immigration accepted it with no issues at all. He did this for 4 years. Each extension was for a full year, which was nice. Now he can speak, read and write Thai, just like a Thai person with no foreign accent. The Thais say he sounds just like a Thai. So if you really want to learn Thai, I would recommend go through your local University. 

[truthfix]

2 hours ago, Crazy Noobie said:

When my son came over to stay with me in Thailand, we looked at obtaining an Education Visa for learning to speak Thai. We found that overall it was a less hassle to learn Thai through the local University then going to a local Language School. It seemed like you always have some type of issue with immigration when attending a private language school, with school checks and paperwork. So my son went with attending the local University to learn Thai. They did all of the paperwork and immigration accepted it with no issues at all. He did this for 4 years. Each extension was for a full year, which was nice. Now he can speak, read and write Thai, just like a Thai person with no foreign accent. The Thais say he sounds just like a Thai. So if you really want to learn Thai, I would recommend go through your local University. 

Thank you for the info, that sounds very good, you’ve mentioned 1 year extensions. Just so I’m clear was this a 1 year visa and then repeated? As people suggest it’s a 1 year visa with 3 month extensions?

[truthfix]

Just now, truthfix said:

Thank you for the info, that sounds very good, you’ve mentioned 1 year extensions. Just so I’m clear was this a 1 year visa and then repeated? As people suggest it’s a 1 year visa with 3 month extensions?

Do you recall the yearly cost? Many thanks for your advice.

[ubonjoe]

3 minutes ago, truthfix said:

Thank you for the info, that sounds very good, you’ve mentioned 1 year extensions. Just so I’m clear was this a 1 year visa and then repeated? As people suggest it’s a 1 year visa with 3 month extensions?

It is not a visa. It is a extension of the permit to stay the non-ed visa will allow,

If attending a informal school such as a language school it will only be for 90 days. If attending a formal school such as univercity it would be a one year year extension.

[Crazy Noobie]

6 minutes ago, truthfix said:

Thank you for the info, that sounds very good, you’ve mentioned 1 year extensions. Just so I’m clear was this a 1 year visa and then repeated? As people suggest it’s a 1 year visa with 3 month extensions?

Attending the University, all of their courses are one year long, therefore their Education Visa is for a year at a time. I used the term extension, because that is term the University used when it was time for obtaining his second year. But I think you are right they really are not an extension, but a new Education Visa. For his second year, they gave him only a few papers, less then what he had for the first year. Took it all to immigration and everything was done in minutes. Smooth & fast. He didn't have to leave the country and re-enter. And the best part, no fee is paid for the University to put your paperwork together. However, you do have to pay tuition for the school year. Of course you have to pay the immigration fee, which I Bellevue is 1,900 baht. 

[BritTim]

29 minutes ago, Crazy Noobie said:

But I think you are right they really are not an extension, but a new Education Visa. For his second year,

No! It is indeed an "extension of permission to stay". There is no application for a visa. The 1,900 baht you pay is for an extension of your permission to stay. If a visa application was involved, the application fee would be different.

 

To summarise:

A Non Ed visa gives an initial 90-day permission to stay. Following this,

• if attending an informal school, you can receive 90-day extensions, but only up until the one-year anniversary of your arrival on the Non Ed visa.
• if attending a university, you can receive one-year extensions for as long as your university course runs, potentially many years.

 

[novster]

If you are in Bang Tao I can highly recommend the Genius Language school in Cherngtalay. 
 

They offered to obtain the educational visa for myself without needing to leave (albeit I was leaving for a few weeks anyway so obtained the educational visa myself from embassy in the Uk with supporting documents that they provided.)
 

We do 4 hours of classes per week which are really well done and at the end of the 3 month period the school’s agent helps with the renewal (I only spent 10 mins at immigration signing forms and having picture taken last time). 
 

Some students miss more classes than they go to but don’t know if there are any who don’t attend at all. 
 

 

[bbi1]

On 12/8/2022 at 10:21 AM, Crazy Noobie said:

When my son came over to stay with me in Thailand, we looked at obtaining an Education Visa for learning to speak Thai. We found that overall it was a less hassle to learn Thai through the local University then going to a local Language School. It seemed like you always have some type of issue with immigration when attending a private language school, with school checks and paperwork. So my son went with attending the local University to learn Thai. They did all of the paperwork and immigration accepted it with no issues at all. He did this for 4 years. Each extension was for a full year, which was nice. Now he can speak, read and write Thai, just like a Thai person with no foreign accent. The Thais say he sounds just like a Thai. So if you really want to learn Thai, I would recommend go through your local University. 

How was it possible to be on an ED visa for 4 years learning Thai? The max they've been giving was 1 year per language. You can't learn the same language for 4 years on an ED visa.

Edited December 11, 2022 by bbi1

[Caldera]

9 minutes ago, bbi1 said:

How was it possible to be on an ED visa for 4 years learning Thai? The max they've been giving was 1 year per language. You can't learn the same language for 4 years on an ED visa.

You could study Thai at college level, to get a bachelor degree. That typically takes 4 years and is perfectly acceptable. 

[Crazy Noobie]

6 hours ago, bbi1 said:

How was it possible to be on an ED visa for 4 years learning Thai? The max they've been giving was 1 year per language. You can't learn the same language for 4 years on an ED visa.

I hate to tell you, but you are 100% wrong. I know a lot of people in Chiang Mai that has been on a Ed Visa studying Thai for more then one year. Once my son finished his 4th year of learning how to speak, read & write Thai, he was informed that was it. As there were no more classes to be taken. I also have two expat friends that just finished their 2nd year of learning Thai, but they have stopped now and have entered into a Retirement Visa. Now my son still has an Ed Visa, but he's working on a Bachelor of Science degree.