Phronesis Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 I am retired and living in Phuket. However, I am not old enough to qualify for a retirement visa. To solve my visa problem, I am currently enrolled to study Thai at a language school in Patong. About 4 months ago I did a visa run down to Penang and then came back on a 3 month ED visa. A month or so ago, I went to immigration in Phuket Town (with the extension paperwork supplied by my school) and received a 9 month extension. Everything was good and I am also making steady progress with my Thai language skills. I planned to enroll again next year and apply for another 12 month extension. However, on Monday when I arrived at my language school to attend class, the Thai owner of the school advised me that she had just been telephoned by the head of immigration and advised that there is a pending change to policy to do away with 12 month ED visas. Of course this was of great concern to the Thai owner of the school. It would probably mean bankruptcy (or business closure) for her school and most others. However it is also of great concern to someone like myself who is relying upon the ED visa to maintain some normality in my life (free from 30 day visa runs) for a few years until I turn 50. I just joined TV, so that I can share this information and maybe others can shed some light on the situation after speaking to the managers of their language schools. Hopefully together, we can find out what is going to happen. If there is no further 12 months ED Visa available next year, I may need to sell up and move to Cambodia or another country. I imagine there will be many other "mature aged" students out there that will have to do the same. Please let me know if you have any further information on this pending policy change and I will also provide any updates that I receive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Darrel Posted July 17, 2012 Popular Post Share Posted July 17, 2012 "...there is a pending change to policy to do away with 12 month ED visas...." Given the current wholesale abuse of these ED visas that is of no great surprise to me. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crille30 Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 I get similare information at my school yesterday and there is a meeting on this Friday with immigration,ministery of Education and the schools.There is a new team in Immigration in Phuket so they want to show there power and it sure in the end will be something that cost students more money to immigrations pocket We will know on Friday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jingthing Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 Is this a Phuket thing or a national thing? Either way, this sounds like potential big news. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post maprao Posted July 17, 2012 Popular Post Share Posted July 17, 2012 Does not surprise me. People on here and other forums openly talk about how they use this type of visa in Thailand to either study legitimately or to just have an extended stay in Thailand. Immigration have long used websites and forums as research to close perceived “loop holes” 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maestro Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 For language and other studies at private schools, immigration offices generally grant extensions of stay for only 90 days at a time, unless it is a degree-earning course, usually at a government university. The Phuket immigration office appears to have made exceptions and it may have been instructed to follow the general immigration guidelines now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jingthing Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 For language and other studies at private schools, immigration offices generally grant extensions of stay for only 90 days at a time, unless it is a degree-earning course, usually at a government university. The Phuket immigration office appears to have made exceptions and it may have been instructed to follow the general immigration guidelines now. I certainly hope that your interpretation is true. In which case, it sounds like actually a trivial impact on ED visa users and schools. I think it's a fantastic program and option for foreigners to stay long term in Thailand while studying something, quite often the Thai language. Good for the foreigners and good for Thailand. It would be a shame to see a major "crackdown" that might gut this appealing program. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post PattayaPhom Posted July 17, 2012 Popular Post Share Posted July 17, 2012 Because of the mass abuse of this visa, they really should stop it altogether. Given up counting the amount of people that talk about having an ED Visa and never attending a college. Its a money spinner for the schools and its unfair to those of us that have gone through he correct channels to process our appropriate visas. Get rid of it! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Jingthing Posted July 17, 2012 Popular Post Share Posted July 17, 2012 Because of the mass abuse of this visa, they really should stop it altogether. Given up counting the amount of people that talk about having an ED Visa and never attending a college. Its a money spinner for the schools and its unfair to those of us that have gone through he correct channels to process our appropriate visas. Get rid of it! It's amazing the degree of mean-spiritedness coming mostly by foreigners against other foreigners on this forum. Happily, the wonderful Thai immigration authorities are in practice MUCH more reasonable. The ED visa used according the rules IS a totally proper, totally legitimate visa. It's very offensive to suggest otherwise. 23 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post MYKTHEMIN Posted July 17, 2012 Popular Post Share Posted July 17, 2012 Because of the mass abuse of this visa, they really should stop it altogether. Given up counting the amount of people that talk about having an ED Visa and never attending a college. Its a money spinner for the schools and its unfair to those of us that have gone through he correct channels to process our appropriate visas. Get rid of it! Totally agree with above comments, so many people abuse this option, so checks need to be put in place to weed out the ones who abuse this option. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jingthing Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 Because of the mass abuse of this visa, they really should stop it altogether. Given up counting the amount of people that talk about having an ED Visa and never attending a college. Its a money spinner for the schools and its unfair to those of us that have gone through he correct channels to process our appropriate visas. Get rid of it! Totally agree with above comments, so many people abuse this option, so checks need to be put in place to weed out the ones who abuse this option. Actually, you clearly don't totally agree. The guy said he wants to TRASH the entire ED visa! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckyLew Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 I do not think it has anything to do with the Immigration departments checking web forums and noticing that people are abusing this. If this was the case, getting tourist visa would not be so easy in so many neighbouring countries. IMO it is one of two things, they want to make more money from this type of visa or they want to implement a way to ensure those on an ED visa actually go to school and learn Thai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4evermaat Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 just to be clear, is this for the ed visa, or in-country extensions? people often confuse the two. looks like op was referring to extensions, and only in phuket. "The second best time to plant a tree is today" sent from TV android app (Galaxy Cooper). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lopburi3 Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 As said Phuket was 'odd man out' by providing one year extensions for part time study - they now seem to be conforming to standard immigration policy of 3 months for this type of extension. As language, and other schools, are operating nationwide under that policy do not see any major effect on them (but perhaps more attention by students who may be subject to more frequent checks on attendance and learning). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lifer Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 Does not surprise me. People on here and other forums openly talk about how they use this type of visa in Thailand to either study legitimately or to just have an extended stay in Thailand. Immigration have long used websites and forums as research to close perceived “loop holes” Totally agree. Seems posters do some crazy thing to avoid legality and then talk and sometimes brag about it on TV about how they got away with it. If you don't think someone in Immigration or Thai Government is not reading these open forems from time to time, I have some resort property to sell you in the Louisiana swamps. A few spoil it for the ones trying to do the right thing. Could care less if you agree or not. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lopburi3 Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 A number of off-topic posts removed - this appears to be Phuket observing national immigration policy of 3 month extensions for part time study. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PattayaPhom Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 Because of the mass abuse of this visa, they really should stop it altogether. Given up counting the amount of people that talk about having an ED Visa and never attending a college. Its a money spinner for the schools and its unfair to those of us that have gone through he correct channels to process our appropriate visas. Get rid of it! It's amazing the degree of mean-spiritedness coming mostly by foreigners against other foreigners on this forum. Happily, the wonderful Thai immigration authorities are in practice MUCH more reasonable. The ED visa used according the rules IS a totally proper, totally legitimate visa. It's very offensive to suggest otherwise. Its not mean, thousands of people abuse the system, many working ilegally in boiler rooms. Education visas are abused in many countries, the UK for example, again there it is a sham and money spinner. The time effort etc involved for me and thousands others to keep within immigration/labour laws, this just makes a mockery of us. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transam Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 Perhaps they have found out that many ''students ladies'' own bars eh. Perhaps trying to teach Ruskies Thai is getting nowhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post RabC Posted July 18, 2012 Popular Post Share Posted July 18, 2012 Because of the mass abuse of this visa, they really should stop it altogether. Given up counting the amount of people that talk about having an ED Visa and never attending a college. Its a money spinner for the schools and its unfair to those of us that have gone through he correct channels to process our appropriate visas. Get rid of it! It's amazing the degree of mean-spiritedness coming mostly by foreigners against other foreigners on this forum. Happily, the wonderful Thai immigration authorities are in practice MUCH more reasonable. The ED visa used according the rules IS a totally proper, totally legitimate visa. It's very offensive to suggest otherwise. Its not mean, thousands of people abuse the system, many working ilegally in boiler rooms. Education visas are abused in many countries, the UK for example, again there it is a sham and money spinner. The time effort etc involved for me and thousands others to keep within immigration/labour laws, this just makes a mockery of us. I, like the OP am under 50 so what you are saying is that you are entitled to some form of long stay visa but we shouldn't be? A rather ignorant case of "I'm all right Jack" 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transam Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 Because of the mass abuse of this visa, they really should stop it altogether. Given up counting the amount of people that talk about having an ED Visa and never attending a college. Its a money spinner for the schools and its unfair to those of us that have gone through he correct channels to process our appropriate visas. Get rid of it! It's amazing the degree of mean-spiritedness coming mostly by foreigners against other foreigners on this forum. Happily, the wonderful Thai immigration authorities are in practice MUCH more reasonable. The ED visa used according the rules IS a totally proper, totally legitimate visa. It's very offensive to suggest otherwise. Its not mean, thousands of people abuse the system, many working ilegally in boiler rooms. Education visas are abused in many countries, the UK for example, again there it is a sham and money spinner. The time effort etc involved for me and thousands others to keep within immigration/labour laws, this just makes a mockery of us. I, like the OP am under 50 so what you are saying is that you are entitled to some form of long stay visa but we shouldn't be? A rather ignorant case of "I'm all right Jack" Are you saying you should be able to ''fiddle'' stuff so you can reside here ? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RabC Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 Because of the mass abuse of this visa, they really should stop it altogether. Given up counting the amount of people that talk about having an ED Visa and never attending a college. Its a money spinner for the schools and its unfair to those of us that have gone through he correct channels to process our appropriate visas. Get rid of it! Its not mean, thousands of people abuse the system, many working ilegally in boiler rooms. Education visas are abused in many countries, the UK for example, again there it is a sham and money spinner. The time effort etc involved for me and thousands others to keep within immigration/labour laws, this just makes a mockery of us. I, like the OP am under 50 so what you are saying is that you are entitled to some form of long stay visa but we shouldn't be? A rather ignorant case of "I'm all right Jack" Are you saying you should be able to ''fiddle'' stuff so you can reside here ? I am not saying I should be able to fiddle things but if followed correctly why shouldn't I be allowed an Education Visa? Please don't tell me that all retirement and marriage visas are legit, falsified financial statements, scam marriages............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post TommoPhysicist Posted July 18, 2012 Popular Post Share Posted July 18, 2012 (edited) Because of the mass abuse of this visa, they really should stop it altogether. Given up counting the amount of people that talk about having an ED Visa and never attending a college. Its a money spinner for the schools and its unfair to those of us that have gone through he correct channels to process our appropriate visas. Get rid of it! Why would you care about other peoples VISA or how they got it? dam_n! you just made me 'like' a post by JT. Mean-spirited describes it exactly. Edited July 18, 2012 by TommoPhysicist 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transam Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 Of course there are loop holes in anything, BUT it is plainly obvious to me and l think immigration that farangs are using the visa for their own ends. Read here in the past that farangs pay the school dosh, get the visa and don't attend. It's a farang scam. BUT, very easy for immigration to control it by telling the schools they must have attendance registers, and if the school falsifies the register they will be prosecuted. I say this cos l don't understand how farangs are running farang girly bars and getting away with it, perhaps this loop hole is one reason how. For sure l don't know but something is making immigration look at the ED visa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phronesis Posted July 18, 2012 Author Share Posted July 18, 2012 Oh dear...my very first post on TV, and it has been met with a barrage of poisonous replies that add nothing to clarify the issue raised. Good Lord, some people have dreadful little lives. If you have nothing more to contribute than hateful piffle, turn off your computer and go for a walk in the night air. For the handful of members that sought add something positive to the discussion, here is my update as promised: At present the ED visa is good for 3 years. The current curriculum approved by the MOE is comprised of a beginner, intermediate and advanced level. One year is permitted to complete each level. New staff at Phuket immigration, have suggested to owners and managers of the island's language schools, that the curriculum should be condensed to six months for each level, with a maximum time on a student visa of eighteen months. The schools have expressed their collective concerns to the new immigration staff and, as a result, a brainstorming meeting has been scheduled for this coming Friday. It would seem that the mooted policy change has originated specifically from Phuket. When I spoke with the owner of my language school today I was told that the following points will no doubt be raised during the discussions on Friday: The significant contribution to the economy made by long stay students The significant impact the mooted policy change would have on the commercial viability of most schools The difficulty in trying to squeeze 3 years worth of curriculum into 18 months. The fact that other provinces have not expressed any concern with the current ED visa regime I will endeavor to provide a further update in the wake of the impending meeting. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transam Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 Oh dear...my very first post on TV, and it has been met with a barrage of poisonous replies that add nothing to clarify the issue raised. Good Lord, some people have dreadful little lives. If you have nothing more to contribute than hateful piffle, turn off your computer and go for a walk in the night air. For the handful of members that sought add something positive to the discussion, here is my update as promised: At present the ED visa is good for 3 years. The current curriculum approved by the MOE is comprised of a beginner, intermediate and advanced level. One year is permitted to complete each level. New staff at Phuket immigration, have suggested to owners and managers of the island's language schools, that the curriculum should be condensed to six months for each level, with a maximum time on a student visa of eighteen months. The schools have expressed their collective concerns to the new immigration staff and, as a result, a brainstorming meeting has been scheduled for this coming Friday. It would seem that the mooted policy change has originated specifically from Phuket. When I spoke with the owner of my language school today I was told that the following points will no doubt be raised during the discussions on Friday: The significant contribution to the economy made by long stay students The significant impact the mooted policy change would have on the commercial viability of most schools The difficulty in trying to squeeze 3 years worth of curriculum into 18 months. The fact that other provinces have not expressed any concern with the current ED visa regime I will endeavor to provide a further update in the wake of the impending meeting. Who are your ''poisonous replies'' aimed at ? Me ? Immigration is weeding out the scammers, Yes/No. Your school WANTS the cash, they don't care the students reason for being there, the CASH flow counts. And thats cool, a business, BUT, if lowlifes are using it to set up dodgy girlie businesses then why shouldn't the authorities do their stuff. ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murf Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 if lowlifes are using it to set up dodgy girlie businesses then why shouldn't the authorities do their stuff. ? They don't seem to be too bothered with closing Thai owned girly bars, which i am sure some of which are just as illegitimate... So don't make it into something it is not. Or someone will pull the racist card out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transam Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 if lowlifes are using it to set up dodgy girlie businesses then why shouldn't the authorities do their stuff. ? They don't seem to be too bothered with closing Thai owned girly bars, which i am sure some of which are just as illegitimate... So don't make it into something it is not. Or someone will pull the racist card out. But, do you not see, they are THAI girly bars, and there are many Thai fingers in the pie. BUT, suddenly, Eastern Europeans are getting a foothold and that will not do, eh. Soooooooooooooooo, it is being sorted. Nothing to do with discrimination, it's about folk from other countries taking advantage of a system. Think UK is finally finding this stuff out there, at looooooooooooooooooooooooooooong last. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jelopi Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 (edited) I'm very curious as to know if this same rule has been applied to all of Thailand, where would one go to find out these things online? Edited July 19, 2012 by Jelopi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lopburi3 Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 This forum and various immigration web sites, such as http://www.immigration.go.th/ The police order is 777/2551 if you want to download and the section for education extension is 2.9 In the case of enrollment in a private educational institution: Permission will be granted for a period as confirmed by the institution but shall not be more than 1 year at a time. And general requirements are found in 305/2551 1. Application form 2. Copy of applicant’s passport 3. Copy of evidence of permission to establish the educational institution issued by the relevant government agency 4. Letter of confirmation and request for a temporary stay, issued by the educational institution, which shows detailed information about the applicant’s years of education, level of curriculum, and educational achievement 5. Confirmation letter issued by a government agency at the departmental level or by the Provincia Governor in charge of that particular institution (except in the case of enrollment in an international chool or in the case of higher education) Specific policy and local office requirements are discussed on this forum by those who have done them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveb1 Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 (edited) Because of the mass abuse of this visa, they really should stop it altogether. Given up counting the amount of people that talk about having an ED Visa and never attending a college. Its a money spinner for the schools and its unfair to those of us that have gone through he correct channels to process our appropriate visas. Get rid of it! It's amazing the degree of mean-spiritedness coming mostly by foreigners against other foreigners on this forum. Happily, the wonderful Thai immigration authorities are in practice MUCH more reasonable. The ED visa used according the rules IS a totally proper, totally legitimate visa. It's very offensive to suggest otherwise. . I agree stop being so mean spirited. And it's about time thailand made it fairer for people to stay here and stopped all the silly rules, often people have no other choice because of the way the system works. I hate to agree with a view that I have often seen on here but sometimes you do feel that the country wants our money and investment but really does not want to give us anything in return. In the end it will be bad news for Thailand which would be a shame. I should add that I am not on an education visa myself. Edited July 22, 2012 by daveb1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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