MacWalen Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 We are the Walen School of Thai and we are considering opening a branch in Pattaya however we are not sure if there is any demand for learning Thai and obtaining ED visas that are extendable for the duration of the course which is one year but renewable for at least 3 years. Any thoughts on that? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meg_2003 Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 Many of my friends and I would definately be joining your school if you opened a branch in Pattaya, and I am sure a very lot of other people would join your school, especially if you are able to help your students get education Visa's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jingthing Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 Big demand I would think, but don't start the classes too early in the morning ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelMF Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 This would be a good solution for everybody in Pattaya that plans to retire in Thailand but is still a below the 50 years! They learn the language and cover the years until they get the retirement visa with the ED visa. My questions: 1) Can the initial ED visa obtained in neighboring countries or only in the home country? 2) How many hours per week must be attended to meet the visa requirements? 3) How many weeks per year are the lessons? MichaelMF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneMikeInBangkok Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 I myself stayed a year on a student (education) Visa in the early 90's when I was studying at a Thai University. I think this scheme sounds good - the website is informative - but..... I worry about the emphasis on Visa more than education. Seeing the recent anti farang attitude of the Thai authorities I can certainly envisage that this type of scheme to get around the visa regs would certainly attract scrutiny sooner rather than later. In addition I hope that their "method" of teaching is relevant to the students. I visited many schools in Bangkok over the years posing as a prospective student. I had my own Thai course for teaching expat executives. The number of times I was shown course books with a k-kai chicken and a Thai teacher who spent hours teaching the alphabet - absolutely useless for an adult learner. I wish this company well - they certainly look professional in their aproach - just please dump the chickens and put more emphasis on the academic rather than the visademic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasabi Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 I have to agree there's a bit too much emphases on visa vs learning by your school. I happen to genuinely enjoy studying Thai and if that gets me a visa to stay longer so be it but if a bunch of dunces start getting the visa and don't take the school seriously both the quality of the schooling and the legitimacy of the visa could go down. I just wouldn't want to see this route eliminated for those who need it. That said your school is one I'm considering but maybe tone it down a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piker Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 If you apply to study and then drop out and/or forfeit your fees, do you have to forfeit your visa too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonnieB Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 (edited) Are there not already many language schools in pattaya (legit ones licensed by the ministry of ed) that provide thai language courses and if one did become a student at such a school one would be entitled to obtain the requisite ed visa or an extension of a non-imm o visa for the purposes of attending school in los? Edited October 25, 2007 by JonnieB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
innovator Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 The concept is a good one. However, we have read the earlier posts about Walen school taking the tuition fees and then NOT obtaining the VISA extension for their paid students. I would warn anyone on this forum to stay clear of this 'scheme', as it is not a real solution and simply a way for this school to get more money from potential students. If they could provide the One Year stamp in the passport, prior to paying the educational fees, then I would go for it, both for the Visa and to learn Thai language. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevemiddie Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 If they could provide the One Year stamp in the passport, prior to paying the educational fees, then I would go for it, both for the Visa and to learn Thai language. No establishment is EVER going to do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
innovator Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 Yes, no establishment would ever do that....and this is the exact reason why I would not register and pay for Thai language training in an effort to obtain a Visa to stay in the country. If you wish to study Thai, then pay the fees and study. However, don't believe the small print that the school will give a one year Visa if you attend the program. Pay the money and Study at your own risk, if you are in it for the Visa because there is a very good chance that you won't get the Visa!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacWalen Posted October 25, 2007 Author Share Posted October 25, 2007 The concept is a good one. However, we have read the earlier posts about Walen school taking the tuition fees and then NOT obtaining the VISA extension for their paid students. I would warn anyone on this forum to stay clear of this 'scheme', as it is not a real solution and simply a way for this school to get more money from potential students. If they could provide the One Year stamp in the passport, prior to paying the educational fees, then I would go for it, both for the Visa and to learn Thai language. Before you post such misinforming comments you should read those early posts more carefully as you simply write things which are not true. Nobody has written that they did not obtain the visa extension, it was the issue of receiving 90 day extensions as opposed to longer ones , sometimes at long as 11 months before the 1st of September 2007. There is not even one student who did not obtain an extension based on studying Thai at our school. These extensions are given for the duration of the course, so if a student is enrolled in a one year course they will obtain extensions for one year. No need to do visa runs however those extenisons are given every 90 days and cost 1,900 Baht. We process all the work through the Ministry of Education, it is not a 'scheme' as you said it. Everything is legal, the school is real, providing real quality Thai courses, the license from the ministry of Education is real obtained over 6 years ago. There is a difference between writing rubbish and having a genuine case of wrong doing on the part of our school. If you indeed know even one person who did not obtain either the ED visa or the extenison through our school please let us all know. Walen School Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacWalen Posted October 25, 2007 Author Share Posted October 25, 2007 This would be a good solution for everybody in Pattaya that plans to retire in Thailand but is still a below the 50 years!They learn the language and cover the years until they get the retirement visa with the ED visa. My questions: 1) Can the initial ED visa obtained in neighboring countries or only in the home country? 2) How many hours per week must be attended to meet the visa requirements? 3) How many weeks per year are the lessons? MichaelMF Question 1 It depends on the nationality, most students can go to a neighbouring country but some nationalities need to go back to their home country. Question 2 It depends on the school, with our school you would need to attend 4 lessons a week, there is also a self-study element which you can do either at our school or at your home. Question 3 It will be 45 weeks of lessons but you will get breaks for Sonkran and New Year as well as for other public holidays so overall it will be a year. It is important to remember that we are not selling visas, we are just assisting with obtaining it for the purpose of study. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacWalen Posted October 25, 2007 Author Share Posted October 25, 2007 If you apply to study and then drop out and/or forfeit your fees, do you have to forfeit your visa too? The study requirements are that you need to attend our school to study Thai, so if you dropped completely then when your next extension is due the school would not write a letter confirming that you are still one of our students, thus making the next extension very difficult. If you missed some lessons because of sickness or travel we would still consider you as our student as long as it is within reasonable limits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneMikeInBangkok Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 Thanks MacWalen for your positive answers I for one raised an eybrow to a previous coment that I thought was out of order - you seemed to have put that straight with a straight answer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violatedm3 Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 Hi is this school offered in Pattaya ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meg_2003 Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 (edited) We are the Walen School of Thai and we are considering opening a branch in Pattaya Not yet but soon we hope! Edited November 6, 2007 by Meg_ken2003 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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