English Language Test Centres In Bangkok

[tomcreeduk]

My wife will be under taking the test required for her settlement visa next week. I wondered if anyone could direct me to the list of test providers in Bangkok. I have found a list on the website but it seems to only direct me to the test providers in the UK.

Thank you for your help.

[7by7]

I am saddened, but not at all surprised, to find that the UKBA do not feel it necessary to provide a list of approved English test providers in Thailand.

Until someone who has booked a test in Thailand posts, all I can do is provide you with the full list of approved test providers and suggest that you contact each of them in turn until one confirms they offer their test in Thailand and who to contact to book one.

I understand that most of the providers in Thailand offer only the BULATS test, which is business orientated. They also insist on applicants taking the reading and writing parts as well as the speaking and listening ones.

However, only speaking and listening are required for a visa, and the entry clearance section at the embassy have confirmed that it does not matter if someone has failed reading and writing as long as they have scored the required minimum in speaking and listening.

[tomcreeduk]

Thank you 7by7.

[thaigirllondon]

Maybe you coul make a call tonthe British council for list of centres or maybe one of the Cambridge exams that they sell could be fitting for purposes?

You can try

Examinations Services Monday - Friday 0830-1800

Address:

254 Chulalongkorn Soi 64

Siam Square, Phyathai Road

Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330

Telephone: +66 (0)2 657 5678

Fax: +66 (0) 2 253 5312

[thaigirllondon]

PS better to call than to email. The BC staff are sometimes too slow on email but all staff speak english so calling will be better.

Good luck.

[kendevitt]

I am in this situation too - unable to find a test centre in Thailand having spent hours trauling through websites. I sent an email to VFS but have not had a reply.

Please there must be somebody out there who has helped their girlfriend/wife and knows a Test Centre?

We have everything else ready to go - just need this English Test.

Sounds like a business opportunity for an entreproneaur.

I would really appreciate any help in locating a Test Centre.

[tomcreeduk]

My wife has successfully completed her English test send me a private message and I'll forward all the info to you.

[7by7]

My wife has successfully completed her English test send me a private message and I'll forward all the info to you.

Why not post publicly for the benefit of others?

[hotwinter]

http://vantage-siam.com/bulats.php

i used these, rang on the tuesday and they got her in on the friday. took about 4 hours and the speaking and listening was only 15 minutes!

[7by7]

Just point out that most, I think all, test providers in Thailand insist on candidates taking, and paying for, the full test including reading and writing. You will not get a certificate unless you pass all 4 elements.

However, the embassy has confirmed that as long as the applicant has a test report showing that they scored the equivalent of A1 or better in speaking and listening then it does not matter what they scored in the reading and writing elements. Even if they failed these and so did not receive a test pass certificate.

See this post from Visa Plus.

Visa Plus also posted in that topic

I have now received further clarification from the British Embassy in Bangkok............

...........Just to clarify, the list of test providers in Thailand changed from 18th July and we currently have the following test centres in Thailand:

PEARSON Pearson Professional Center Bangkok Business Building Level 10, Unit 10-10 54, Thanon Sukhumvit Soi 21, Bangkok Thailand, 10110

TOEIC Center for Professional Assessment - Bangkok Suite 1907, Bangkok Business Building 54 Asoke Road, Sukhumvit 21 Bangkok 10110 Thailand +66 (0) 2260 7061 +66 (0) 22664 3122 Center for Professional Assessment - Chiang Mai Nawarat Building 3rd Floor Kaeo Nawarat Soi 3 Amphur Muang Chiangmai 50000 Thailand

BULATS Vantage Siam Co. Ltd. 65/213 Chamnan Phenjati Building, 25th Floor, Rama 9 Road, Huay Kwang, Bangkok. 10310

That was posted in August 2011, so may not be up to date.

I cannot understand why the UKBA in Thailand website does not provide a list of test providers in Thailand and expects applicants to search through the full list I linked to earlier.

[hotwinter]

they explained at the the test centre (the one i posted above) that they have to do it all but not to worry about the other elements. the guy there was really friendly and took his time to show all the girls there taking the test exactly what was gonna happen and how they should approach it all.

my gf passed them all with b1 and higher (b2 for speaking part) she was stupid happy because she gets some gold certificate! easy pleased lol i dont think there was a person she didnt tell lol

[Eff1n2ret]

I cannot understand why the UKBA in Thailand website does not provide a list of test providers in Thailand and expects applicants to search through the full list I linked to earlier.

I suspect it is just covering their backs by sticking to the letter of the Rule which says "the applicant provides an original English language test certificate in speaking and listening from an English language test provider approved by the Secretary of State for these purposes". The companies approved are those 5 main companies on the UKBA list, and whilst some of the operators in Thailand may be direct subsidiaries, others are independent companies acting as agents. Were one of those latter to decide to issue a certificate of their own, and were listed as a test provider by the Bangkok embassy or VFS, there could be a legal challenge some way down the line. A bit picky, I know, but stranger things have happened.

Another reason may be that if the list doesn't include absolutely every possible local test provider, they are open to charges of unfairness, and establishing a comprehensive up-to-date list may be a hassle they do not want. I seem to remember some post on this or another forum where someone had been told by VFS that a certain company providing one of the Cambridge tests wasn't approved because it wasn't on their list, but it was listed on the Cambridge website.

What I can't understand is why none of these test providers have responded to the market and provided a test which meets the customers' requirements. It's absolute nonsense to make candidates take reading and writing tests that they don't need because that is the only exam on offer. They could easily create a "speaking and listening" qualification if they wanted. At the time the new list was created I had some discussions with one of the companies (who don't offer tests in Thailand), and their attitudes and practices seemed to be stuck in the 1960s. It certainly wasn't a practical business opportunity.

[dracos]

My wife went to the TOEIC center on Sukhumvit 21 as listed by 7by7.

She also had to take all 4 elements but staff explained that the writing & reading were not necessary to pass. They are combined into 2 seperate tests - Reading & Listening as 1 exam and Speaking & Writing as another exam. There is some link between the combination of the 2 such that if you sit reading & listening test but do not put anything for the reading section you will get a lower mark for istening so just do your best on all the sections.

TOEIC is very business orientated and some of the test questions I saw confused me as well. My wife has always worked in theatre (traditional Thai dance) so has no idea about business language or appropriate solutions to business problems (which is what some of the questions are based around) but passed the test with no problems to the required level.

The actual level required is quite low - if your wife/GF can converse with you in every day English she should have no problem with meeting the required standard. Just make sure she doesn't stress or worry about the questions she doesn't understand. There is only a single test for all levels of English so it is natural that there will be some questions not understood by all.

We managed to find a TOEIC test book in a Thai bookshop somewhere which was good practice of the type of questions asked.

If you take TOEIC the result you get back is an overall score, total A points out of a total of B. You then need to search the web again to convert the TOEIC score to level A etc as defined by UKBA - can't remember where I found the info but that only took 15 minutes to search for that.

There is only 1 session per month for listening & reading at the Asok test center (first saturday of the month from memory) but the speaking & writing I think was daily. Bookings and payment need to be made in advance of the test day.

Also by taking all 4 elements she will have a certificate from an international body that will be recognised in the UK when seeking employment, further education etc so it can also have some additional use when in the UK not just for getting to the UK.

[GUANO]

My wife and I just came back from doing her KET test in Bangkok. All went well but we are a little confused about how soon we can apply for her settlement visa.

We are hoping to leave around the second week of October and want to apply for the visa asap. The earliest we could apply (3 months before leaving) would be around the 14th of July. We were told we would get the results on the 13th of July but that the certificate wouldn't arrive until around the 14th of August.

I'm wondering if anyone has any experience of submitting a signed screen shot of the results and the confirmation letter (with username/password) instead of the certificate.

On the confirmation letter from Cambrige it said:

Your results will be available on 13 July 2012 at 10:00(UK time) .

To access your results you can register now at

https://cambridgeesol-results.org/ with the following information:

ID Number :XXXXXXXXXX Secret Number :XXXXXX

For verification purposes, you can pass these details on to

organisations that use or accept Cambridge ESOL exams

Here it states that for verification purposes we can pass the ID number and secret number on to organisations the use or accept Cambrige ESOL exams. The UKBA uses and accepts Cambrige ESOL exams so this should be ok, right?

Any ideas or suggestions greatly appriciated.

Cheers

[kamenrider]

Greetings all, the first post from a long term visitor............

The worldwide nature of the list of centres opens up the possibility of taking the test outside of Thailand, eg if you intend to visit the UK or Malaysia then with a bit of planning the test could be slotted into the trip; an alternative for those who don't want to be inconvenienced by making an otherwise unnecessary journey to Bangkok with attendant hotel and travel costs. Not an option for everyone, of course, but something I am mulling over.

This observation is my subtle way of asking if the Border Agency in Thailand insists the test must be taken in Thailand? I have not seen any evidence of such a restriction in my searches, but don't want to make such a fundamental mistake.

Thanks for any advice on this.

[7by7]

As long as the test is from an approved provider, it does not matter which country it is taken in.

[Kadafi]

Anyone know the up to date fee from Vantage for the Bulats test? also how long it is valid for as ive heard it expires in 2 years? If my wife passes at B1 grade we would hope to use if for her ILR which would be more than 2 years from now.

[tomcreeduk]

My wife did it in May and it was 7000 bht. Not sure in how long it lasts tho sorry.