Pros And Cons Of The Ed Visa

[nattydread]

I am over 50 and can stay in Thailand on my Non immigrant O visa until february

I dont want the hassle and cost of going back to the UK to renew it

I dont have the cash to get a retirement visa

I was thinking of going to Vientaine in Feb and then August to get 2 x tourist visas back to back with a month extension at 1900 baht

until I saw this Ed Visa advertised

LEARN ONE Year THAI LANGUAGE and culture (One year Ed. Visa)

At EasystudyThai language School at Pantip Plaza Mall 3 floor.ChangKlaan road

• Learn intensive Thai (listening, speaking , reading,writing )

• 180 hours Thai language (get 1 year Ed.Visa)

• Our teachers are highly experienced teaching Thai as a foreign language.

• This course will cover many different aspects of Thai culture related to everydaylife in cluding: buddhism, history, art, music, etc.

• Comfortable & convenient school location (1 min from Night Baazaar)

• Daytime or Evening class

• Small group class and reasonable rates

• The course fees is 19,950 Bhat for 180 hours of instruction including textbook, hand-outs, refreshments and One Year Ed.Visa.

Its the one year Ed Visa that interests me although 180 hours tuition over one year workd out less than 4 hours a week which would be easy and fun to do

are there any pitfalls to this?

can I leave the country for a holiday and re enter on the same visa?

the price is way cheaper than a trip/stay/visa to UK and only marginally more expensive than a couple of trips for tourist visas to Vientainne

can anyone give me some advice please......thanks

[Maestro]

• The course fees is 19,950 Bhat for 180 hours of instruction including textbook, hand-outs, refreshments and One Year Ed.Visa.

The pitfall with that advertisement is that, contrary to what it may have led you to believe, the cost of getting the non-ED visa (from a Thai consulate) and subsequently getting an extension of stay every 90 days (from your local immigration office) is not included in the course fee but will have to be shouldered by you. What Thai language schools provide at no extra cost is the paperwork you need from the school and the Ministry of Education to apply for the visa and extensions of stay. At least this is how all schools that have been mentioned on ThaiVisa are handling it, although they advertise with slogans like "free one year visa"

Incidentally, the non-ED visa the student gets is not a one year visa, ie not a visa valid for multiple entries into Thailand within one year from its date of issue, but a single-entry visa with which he receives permission to stay only for 90 days, hence the need for extensions of stay every 90 days.

[noob7]

You are over 50 and on a Non-Imm O

You are willing, to pay 20.000 for a ED Visa

plus extensions 1900/every 90 days

Look around, that is in the price range (20-30k) of the cost for the 'extension of stay for over 50 years with showing the money for you' fee, some accounting/visa services are offering.

No leaving needed, only a one year extension, done!

If you were on Phuket, you could find the offer online, google phuket visa (30k with 800k transfer. And yes, it's Somjet)

Anyway, this services are only useful, in case you don't have the money (800k).

I assume, every service, offering to do this for you, for ~20k, in case you have everything needed, to do it alone, easily, is offering for 5-10k extra the service, with 'show the immigration the money'

Good luck

Edited October 15, 2012 by noob7

[4evermaat]

.......

Incidentally, the non-ED visa the student gets is not a one year visa, ie not a visa valid for multiple entries into Thailand within one year from its date of issue, but a single-entry visa with which he receives permission to stay only for 90 days, hence the need for extensions of stay every 90 days.

Why can't the OP get a multiple ED visa with the invite letter from his home country consulate? If he does not want to travel back home, use some of the strategies laid out here and you'll have your visa in no time.

Or do the single entry at a border country and then do the 90 day extensions. Whichever one is easier.

[Mario2008]

In the UK it is unlikely to get a multiple Ed-visa. Most consulates now only issue single ED-visas.