Dart44 Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 I am 44 years old and have been offered a 15 month ED visa that cost between 34k and 55k baht depending on what visa office is selling it. This ED, 15 month visa is processed in Thailand in Bangkok I am told. The user only has to checkin with immagration every 90 days (there is no 1,900 baht fee). All of these different offices in Pattaya claim that classes don't need to be attended. No trip outside Thailand to have the visa processed - just a very high fee. . It takes about a week to process the visa and I believe one initially needs a tourist visa to transfer it over to a non immagrant ED. Is this legal? Seems that the boys in the Education ministry want some extra cash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vtjforyou Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 It's just the usual ED Visa, nothing special. But 100% sure that you will have to apply abroad, you misunderstood or they lied to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarangBuddha Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 No, it is illegal to reside in Thailand on an education visa with no intention of taking an approved course of study. They also lied to you in that you have to report every 90-days and pay the B1900 "extension" fee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saengsureeya Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 Typical.........it's totally illegal!! There is no office "selling" ED-visas and any other visa can't be converted into an ED-visa. The only 'legal' ED-visas on offer are from Thai consulates and Embassies abroad and only registered educational institutes (like Walen, ECC, Siam, TLSC, etc) are able to help you in obtaining and extending it. As soon as someone is selling an ED-visa.......turn around and walk away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJCM Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 (edited) The "Famous" "The Big Fish eat the little fish" post New, Major Visa Requirements - Education “Ed” Visas Holders Must Attend Classes By VISITH PINPAWONG According to the Deputy Director, the Thailand Ministry of Education is warning all schools who offer Education Visas to foreigners to be legitimate and make sure students adhere to attendance and testing requirements. At the Pattaya City Expats Club meeting on Sunday, Immigration Volunteer and former British Consul Barry Kenyan stated the problem with Education visas as he observed it first-hand in the local Immigration office on Jomtien Beach Road, Soi 5. “A guy came in and wanted to renew his Education visa for a 7th straight year. He waited in the queue and when it was his turn he sat at the Immigration officer’s desk in charge of Education Visas. He had all of his documents from the school. His application was completed and he had the two photos now required for any visa. So the officer looked at him and said, ‘You have been learning Thai for six years already. Is that right?’ The answer was yes so the officer looked at a nearby fish tank and said in Thai, ‘The big fish eat the little fish.” The foreigner looked at him without a clue. The officer smiled and picked up a big red stamp and stamped “CANCELLED” on the remaining portion of the current visa and told the fellow he would not again receive an Education visa,” Barry reported. The Deputy Director of the Thailand Ministry of Education recently summoned all language schools’ owners in Pattaya along with senior Chonburi Immigration Police Investigators to address this issue and notify the schools of the crackdown. “Now any school found to be selling the Education visa simply to allow the foreigner to stay in Thailand and not attending the school will be closed down and lose their license. All of the school’s students, whether attending or not, will have their visas cancelled,” the representative of the Ministry of Education stated. Going to school and learning Thai is one option for people to "long stay" in the Kingdom without having to constantly do "border runs." It is especially popular with those who can self-fund themselves living here and do not need to work but are not yet 50 years of age thus not being able to qualify for a Retirement Visa. A Pattaya Times undercover investigation has discovered that some schools are selling discounted "courses" where the "student" pays a reduced fee that gets them a visa but they have no intention of ever attending a class. Every school in Pattaya has a maximum allocated student base dependent on classroom availability. One school in particular was named and shamed. The school in question has a maximum capacity of 160 students based on if the classrooms were full every minute of every day. Most schools have 40% of students sign up for second and third years, thus reducing the capacity of the school of new students in the second year by 40%. In the case of the capacity of the school above reducing the intake of new students to 96. The education department in very strong language asked the particular school if they thought the education department was foolish and if they do not keep records. In the last three months this school had new sign ups of 80 students and was asked where they sit their students and where are the three extra classrooms they would require to cope with this over capacity. Even if the school opened all night they still would not be able to facilitate all the students. It has also come to the notice of the Education Department that a lot of schools are using teachers to teach Thai who are not educated to Degree standard and they have warned this must stop. Pol. Capt. Samruai Sa-Mann from Chonburi Immigration police then told all the schools that five foreign nationals are now working undercover on behalf of immigration trying to buy the visa from schools without attending classes. He added, the schools will be prosecuted if the undercover investigators gather evidence of such practices. They are also to investigate visa shops who are offering the Ed Visa and law firms who offer the Ed Visa as it is only registered schools who can offer these visas, Deputy Inspector Samruai said. The Police Captain also added that it had also come to his attention that some schools were using foreign nationals teaching without work permits. Recently two Pattaya schools have been raided by his officers. "If we catch teachers working in schools without a work permit, we will recommend to the Education Department that these offending schools should be closed. We will also be calling all people who advertise language lessons with a visa. We will book some lessons and on arrival we will be asking for work permits of people who we believe are working without work permits," said Pol. Capt. Samruai Sa-Mann from Chonburi Immigration. Link to Post: http://www.thaivisa....s/#entry4540669 Edited May 29, 2012 by MJCM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rimmer Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 Discussion of illegal activities is against forum rules, I suggest you have a look at our Visa forum in order to find the best way forward. //CLOSED// Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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