Callan/walen Ed Visa

[ubonjoe]

Yes confusing because they talk about a visa in on line and extension next.

What they are talking is if you were able to get a one year extension which is not likely. You would have to get a new extenison after one year not a visa.

As long as you pay for another year of study you would be able to get another 90 day extension.

[TCA]

Yes confusing because they talk about a visa in one line and extension next.

What they are talking is if you were able to get a one year extension which is not likely. You would have to get a new extension after one year not a visa. As long as you pay for another year of study you would be able to get another 90 day extension.

Are you sure? Reads to me like a new visa per year, then an application for a 1 year extension after the 3 years are up? Check the section I mentioned in the second link, which says:

"You can study at least 3 years, but you will be required to have a new visa for every year. Once this visa runs out and you are still interested in continuing your studies we will repeat the same procedure and you will be able to extend your study period for another year."

Either way, it's better than a multiple entry ED visa, so this would be my preferred route. Thanks for taking the time to reply Joe. I'm a lot clearer now on my options.

[ubonjoe]

They are calling an extension a visa which it is not. Thats why you are getting confused.

An ED visa is either a single entry good for one entry of 90 days or a multiple entry that can be used for year leaving and entering every 90 days for a year. There is no ED visa that allows you to stay for one year.

[goofie]

No way around leaving every 90 days with a multiple entry.

Once you enter the country what happens with your visa does not matter it only gives you permission to enter the country. After you are in the country it is your permit to stay that counts. You can keep extending a permit to stay for infinity as long as you can meet the requirements to get an extension.

Thanks for you great information,

I was told by a staff member that if I choose the multiple entry visa, that instead of a visa run every 90 days, I can pay 1900bht and report to the local visa office instead. It's my choice.

With a single entry, I understand the 1000bht re-entry fee, is there a fee every 90 days for extension of stay?

Thanks for wonderfull information.

[ubonjoe]

You pay 1900 baht for each extension. There is no other charge unlees you want a re-enty permit because you plan on leaving the country during thoae 90 days or as a just in case measure.

[goofie]

"No way around leaving every 90 days with a multiple entry." I quoted Ubonjoe

I am trying to get to the bottom of the MULTI ENTRY ED Visa, so I can pay 1900bht every 3 months to the local visa office instead of doing a visa run to another country every 90 days?

[TCA]

No, with a multiple entry ED visa you have to leave the country every 90 days but no fees are payable to the Thai authorities. With a single entry ED visa, you can keep extending for 90 days without leaving Thailand by paying 1,900 baht every time. You only pay for a re-entry permit (1,000 baht) if you leave the country when on a single entry ED visa but have to make sure your visa has been extended to cover the period of absence.

[ubonjoe]

"No way around leaving every 90 days with a multiple entry." I quoted Ubonjoe

I am trying to get to the bottom of the MULTI ENTRY ED Visa, so I can pay 1900bht every 3 months to the local visa office instead of doing a visa run to another country every 90 days?

You can get either a single entry or a multiple entry visa.

With a single entry you will have to get the extension at the end of 90 days and every 90 days there after.

With a multiple entry it is out of the country every 90 days.

The best opition is to get a single entry and then do the extensions every 90 days.

You could get a multiple entry and extend one of your entries but that would be a waste of money.

[MacWalen]

Do you have a Barter Card?

We would like to inform all the readers that we are now accepting 100% Barter Card payments, both in Bangkok and in Pattaya. Group lessons and private lessons included. Also one year courses with ED visa assistance can be paid for with a Barter Card.

Hope this is good news, always here to serve you.

Walen school

Edited March 11, 2009 by macwalen

[MacWalen]

I noticed there was no response to the Barter Card announcement. Any Barter Card holders on TV?

[MacWalen]

At our Bangkok school we have a new beginners class on Saturday and Sunday at 10 am till 11.50 am, 2 lessons a day, for those interested in weekend learning. Anybody interested please contact our school.

Walen School of Thai, www.thaiwalen.com

[MacWalen]

These are the drawings of the school in Chiang Mai, it took some time to complete the design but the actual construction will start next week. The cost will be lower than in Pattaya as the place is a little smaller, 260 square meters, should not be more than 2 million Baht.

We have here a ground floor view, first floor view as well as the side view. At the moment the place is a total ruin.

Hope this is good news for all Chiang Mai residents who are waiting for the Walen School of Thai in their city.

Walen School

www.thaiwalen.com

[neilrob]

Hi Mac,

Glad to hear that construction is in progress. Whereabouts is the school in CM?

Neil

[MacWalen]

The Walen school is located in 12 Huay Kaew right opposite the Kad Suan Keaw Shopping center. There is a lot of parking in both locations which is one of the reasons we chose that location.

Will keep you posted on the progress.

Walen School of Thai - Bangkok - Pattaya - Chaing Mai

www.thaiwalen.com

[Maestro]

This has given me the idea of adding the location of ThaiVisa’s sponsors to the ThaiVisa map.

Mac, please check if I put the placemark for the Walen school in Chiang Mai in the correct spot. If not, you can give me the exact coordinates as follows:

-- On the map, right-click on the correct spot

-- Click on “Center map here”

-- At the top right of the screen, click on “Link”

-- Copy the URL (press Ctrl+C)

-- Paste the URL into your post (Ctrl+V)

--

Maestro

P.S. Added link to placemark on the map.

Edited June 27, 2009 by Maestro
Added postscript - Maestro

[Oneman]

Today I went to have a look at the new Walen school in Chiangmai.

It is still under construction (not yet open for business), but I wanted to 1) find the exact location, and 2) get an idea how close to opening it really is.

I am not connected with the Walen company, and I've never so much as even attended a free class there.

But I will, having read through this thread.

All the provocateurs who goaded Mr. Walen for months, have enabled me to get a clear picture of his way of thinking, his courtesy, and his thoroughness.

If he applies those traits to operating his language school, then that's the school for me.

The school is directly across the street from Central Department Store, "gad-suan-gaeow" shopping center, on "huay-gaeow" road.

From in front of that shopping center, go cross the street, and you are in front of the building.

At street level, left side, you will see a 7-Eleven.

Right side, there is an "M-K" suki restaurant.

Wide flight of stairs right in the middle.

Go up those stairs.

At the top, look to your 11 o'clock position, and you will see a narrow stairway going up to the second level.

Walen is at the stop of that stairway, on the second floor.

Parking entrance is along the side of the 7-Eleven.

Lots of parking under the building.

As of today, 27 June, the remodel is in the finishing stages.

Rooms are divided; glazing and wiring seem finished.

No air con or light fixtures yet.

I know nothing about construction, but working at Thai speed, looks about 1-2 months until completion; so sometime in August, as Mr. Walen posted recently on this thread.

One aspect of Walen's approach is already apparent in the construction: thrifty, but functional.

Several years ago I had a look in at Wall Street language school in Bangkok.

It amazed me to see a huge lobby/reception area: designed to impress.

The rental cost of all that empty floor space is certainly wrapped into the student fees at Wall Street.

None of that at the Walen school: the floor plan is compact and functional, with no space wasted on impressions.

I liked that.

The building itself is less than impressive.

It is a typical, second-class, Thai shopping mall, built in the mid-90's.

In this one, most of the stores are vacant, and maintenance has been long neglected, as in so many similar places in Thailand.

I don't care about the externals, just mentioning this so others won't expect a big, impressive, structure.

Problems for students/customers?

None that I could see in a 20 minute walk-about.

Well, it could be said there is no nearby skytrain station.

All those stairs might be a serious problem for crippled people.

Maybe there's a lift somewhere in the complex, but I didn't see one, and I didn't go looking.

Couldn't tell if one of the rooms will be a student lounge.

Would be nice to have an A/C room for breaks.

If not, a few benches outside on the balcony/walkway will have to suffice.

I don't fancy the thought of breaks in the open air during hot season and burning season, but that shouldn't be fatal.

7-Eleven is convenient for between-class breaks: cold beverages, crunchy snacks, cigarettes, etc.

And lots of restaurants over over at Central for lunch or supper after classes.

After my walk-about today, I went in to the MK for lunch. (The rice plate combo with roast duck and red pork is very tasty).

Location will be easy to get to on a red truck.

The actual building name is "sip-song-huay-gaeow", but who ever heard of that?

And no beginner can even pronounce it with the correct tones to be understood.

So, if you take a red truck, simply ask for "Cen-trahn-de-paht-men-stow" and you will get to the right place.

Easy to get back home, too, as many red trucks are always passing by.

Plus, several flocks of tuk-tuks waiting right in front.

I'm interested in Walen for an uncommon reason.

I've been studying Thai for almost five years, with private tutors.

At this point, can read, write, and type in Thai.

When I tell a taxi driver where I want to go, no confusion, just a direct, "kah-pohm" and off we go.

So, I assume my tones and vowel lengths are somewhat correct.

But I have one problem with the language where I hope the Walen method can help.

When Thais talk, I can't comprehend fast enough to keep up.

The Walen method apparently focuses on listening to faster than normal speech, in order to train listening skills.

Sounds like a perfect solution.

My plan is to start at the beginner level, and only move up when I am confident of a solid foundation in listening ability.

If this plan is faulty, or is a poor fit for Walen's method, I hope somebody will alert me about that.

-- Oneman

Chiangmai

Edited June 27, 2009 by Oneman

[Maestro]

Today I went to have a look at the new Walen school in Chiangmai...

So it looks like I put the placemark in the wrong place, that it should be on the other side of Huai Kaeo Road. Which building exactly?

--

Maestro

[Burgernev]

They are calling an extension a visa which it is not. Thats why you are getting confused.

An ED visa is either a single entry good for one entry of 90 days or a multiple entry that can be used for year leaving and entering every 90 days for a year. There is no ED visa that allows you to stay for one year.

Not sure if the following is correct or not, but was reported elsewhere ............

This is now the situation with Hua Hin area. Cannot speak for other areas... When arriving in Thailand on a Single Entry ED Visa, you are granted a 90 day Permission to Stay. About 20 days before the expiration of this Permission to Stay, with documents provided by the Ministry of Education and 'x' local school certifying that you are undertaking 12 months of study, the immigration office will grant 12 months Permission to Stay. 90 day reporting of address is still in force, as with all visas. There is only one payment of Baht 1,900 (to immigration) for the year.

Burgernev

PS: I edited out the name of the school for obvious reasons.

Edited June 27, 2009 by Burgernev

[Maestro]

A member has kindly PMed me details of the correct location of the Walen school in Chiang Mai and I have now updated the map.

--

Maestro

[Maestro]

…This is now the situation with Hua Hin area. Cannot speak for other areas... When arriving in Thailand on a Single Entry ED Visa, you are granted a 90 day Permission to Stay. About 20 days before the expiration of this Permission to Stay, with documents provided by the Ministry of Education and 'x' local school certifying that you are undertaking 12 months of study, the immigration office will grant 12 months Permission to Stay. 90 day reporting of address is still in force, as with all visas. There is only one payment of Baht 1,900 (to immigration) for the year.

…

The period of extension you get at a time, either 90 days or one year, depends on

– what you study

– the school or university where you study

– the immigration office where you apply

--

Maestro

[ubonjoe]

They are calling an extension a visa which it is not. Thats why you are getting confused.

An ED visa is either a single entry good for one entry of 90 days or a multiple entry that can be used for year leaving and entering every 90 days for a year. There is no ED visa that allows you to stay for one year.

Not sure if the following is correct or not, but was reported elsewhere ............

This is now the situation with Hua Hin area. Cannot speak for other areas... When arriving in Thailand on a Single Entry ED Visa, you are granted a 90 day Permission to Stay. About 20 days before the expiration of this Permission to Stay, with documents provided by the Ministry of Education and 'x' local school certifying that you are undertaking 12 months of study, the immigration office will grant 12 months Permission to Stay. 90 day reporting of address is still in force, as with all visas. There is only one payment of Baht 1,900 (to immigration) for the year.

Burgernev

PS: I edited out the name of the school for obvious reasons.

You need to note in my post I said visa an extension of stay is not a visa is the point I was trying to make. You can get a visa valid for one year but it only gives you 90 days each entry.

The length of extension you get will depend upon the school you attend and your course of study plus the documentation given by the education ministry.

[Tod Daniels]

FWIW: It is also useful for people to know IF you have a Non-Immigrant Type-ED Multiple Entry visa good for one year; yet you apply for a 90 day extension at Immigrations instead of leaving/reentering the country for an additional 90 days, your visa is CANCELED. Your ONLY choice is to continue doing 90 day extensions.

You cannot have it both ways with that specific type of visa, either you "run for the border" or your visa is canceled and you get the extensions inside the country at your immigrations office.

It may also be useful for people to know that once you're on 90 day 'in country' extensions, your re-entry permit is tied to the date your current extension expires, and a new re-entry permit is needed once another extension is granted.

[lopburi3]

Above post is helpful information for those using the ED extension of stay for 90 days procedure. You can not leave the country without a re-entry permit first (or you loose your extension of stay - you have already lost your visa by going this route). All re-entry permits are valid until permitted to stay date - so a new one would be required for each 90 day stay (a multi re-entry permit probably would not be a good investment for most people) and you would have to return before that date to enter using it or to obtain a new extension of stay.

So if you plan frequent travel perhaps using a multi entry visa is your best choice. If you plan to hibernate then the 90 day extension of stay would fit.

[ubonjoe]

FWIW: It is also useful for people to know IF you have a Non-Immigrant Type-ED Multiple Entry visa good for one year; yet you apply for a 90 day extension at Immigrations instead of leaving/reentering the country for an additional 90 days, your visa is CANCELED. Your ONLY choice is to continue doing 90 day extensions.

You cannot have it both ways with that specific type of visa, either you "run for the border" or your visa is canceled and you get the extensions inside the country at your immigrations office.

It may also be useful for people to know that once you're on 90 day 'in country' extensions, your re-entry permit is tied to the date your current extension expires, and a new re-entry permit is needed once another extension is granted.

Immigration will not cancel the visa if you get an extension of stay. Immigration cannot cancel visas except for those that they beleive were obtained illegaly.

You would not want to use it though unless your extension has run out and you do not plan on getting another.

[Burgernev]

You need to note in my post I said visa an extension of stay is not a visa is the point I was trying to make. You can get a visa valid for one year but it only gives you 90 days each entry. The length of extension you get will depend upon the school you attend and your course of study plus the documentation given by the education ministry.

Sorry, I understand that visas and extensions are different I should have clarified that when quoting your comments. The point I wanted to make is that 'apparently' some Immigration offices will give, after the initial 90 days, a year's extension/permission to stay with only reporting required every 90 days as opposed to 1,900 Baht extensions every 90 days.

I hadn't heard of this before for the private schools, and thought it something new ? The 'ED' is not relevant to me, so haven't read all the posts on this thread, but a friend is planning on enrolling, so apologies if already been covered.

Cheers,

Burgernev

Edited June 28, 2009 by Burgernev

[MacWalen]

There is a recording of the lesson 1 of the Walen Method in the Thai Language forum if anybody is interested in listening to it.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Thai-Languag...25#entry2868333

Walen School

Edited July 13, 2009 by macwalen

[MacWalen]

I would like to inform about the opening date of our Chiang Mai school. It will be the 1st of September 2009.

We are at a very final stage of construction. We are also looking for competent Thai staff for our Chiang Mai branch. If interested let us know.

Walen School - Chiang Mai Branch Almost Ready!

www.thaiwalen.com

[granuaile]

First of all, this is supposed to be a Thai language school. It is not. It is a Thai national standing in front of a bunch of begiinners in a cramped room with no whiteboard reading thai text from a worthless book. The Thai national just reads exactly what is in the book and you answer what is in the book. No improvisation, or extra questions, PLEASE! That only throws an unnecessary wrench into the mix! Learning is not the objective. Getting through 20 pages of text is.

Now about the "one year visa" that is promised and that you pay 29,500 Baht up front for. I was there not even 3 weeks and I was toldW that I would have to pay an additional sum every three months. That would be 1900 baht. When I signed on, my understanding was that

Walen would cover any costs for one year. Who knows what will change next?

Be careful with this option of visa extension. The jury is still out,but I can tell you the learning method sucks and school seems a bit fishy with all the rule changes and extra fees that keep popping up.

Hi hope this is not true. I considered Walen and Srinakharinwirot University, but chose Walen because it was all they seem to do and they offered flexibility in scheduling (4-9 hours a week, Monday to Sunday). University's tend to be pretty locked into a schedule, though I would certainly not rule it out. Dealing with Walen's staff via email has not presented any problems.

Regarding the fee I always understood that there would be a fee every 90 days for the visa extension but that is to the Thai government not to Walen. At least that is how I understand it. Perhaps someone will correct me if I am wrong. It says on their website:

...with a paperwork provided by our school you will be able to extend your stay every 90 days at the local immigration office for the duration of the course. At present extensions cost 1,900 Baht.

If it is a fee to immigration they have little control over that, and it coresponds to roughly the cost of a 90-day visa. I would be more concerned if the quality of the teaching is as described, but I will wait and I will have to make up any slack on my own if so. But it is not the impression I gleaned from my dealings with them.

Granuaile

[Maestro]

granuaile, all your questions and/or uncertainties have been answered a number of times since the post from which you quoted was made on 2007-10-08 until your post on 2009-07-22. It is never a good idea to reply to a two-year-old post without reading the earlier replies to it.

--

Maestro

[leonn]

We are not selling visas, we are only assisting in obtaining ED type of visa and only for our students.

short to say :

* im intent to learn the thai language at your school AND i want have a guarentee to get 1 year visa for sure too.. costs also no problem

(2 birds with one stone, sounds good)

now : easy question : do you give guarentee % 100 to get 1 year ED visa? YES or NO ?

* waiting for the papers 3 weeks or a month and then have to go abroad apply for ED visa with, and and and .. many think to do..

it will be really bullsh.... if refuse after that too many job..

p.s. if happy end % 100 , Non problem