george Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 Royal Thai Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City refusing ED-visas to serial tourist visa holdersHO CHI MINH CITY: -- The Royal Thai Consulate-General in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam is today announcing stricter rules for the NON-Immigrant ED (Education visas). Applicants with several tourist visas may be refused ED visas at the Consulate. If the Consulate suspects the applicant are living or working in Thailand (have no intention of studying), an application for NON-Immigrant ED visa will be refused. No further information was supplied. -- 2013-11-13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazmlb Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 We would like to thank Walen School for providing Thaivisa with this information, it should also be noted that it may apply to other Consulates as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thaiexpat21 Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 Wonderful news ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubonjoe Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 As an added bit of info Kuala Lumpur is only doing ED visas for university studies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post thaiexpat21 Posted November 13, 2013 Popular Post Share Posted November 13, 2013 As an added bit of info Kuala Lumpur is only doing ED visas for university studies. Abuse of a service will result , eventually, in a withdrawal of the service. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazmlb Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 As an added bit of info Kuala Lumpur is only doing ED visas for university studies. Walen school have also confirmed this information for us as correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubonjoe Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 (edited) As an added bit of info Kuala Lumpur is only doing ED visas for university studies. Abuse of a service will result , eventually, in a withdrawal of the service. Abuse of a privilege always ends up making others doing it honestly suffer. Border crossings only giving 15 days is another example of abusing a privilege making others suffer. Part of the problem is some fly by night schools operating as a visa/extension mill. Edited November 13, 2013 by ubonjoe 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thaiexpat21 Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 As an added bit of info Kuala Lumpur is only doing ED visas for university studies. Abuse of a service will result , eventually, in a withdrawal of the service. Abuse of a privilege always ends up making others doing it honestly suffer.Border crossings only giving 15 days is another example of abusing a privilege making others suffer. Part of the problem is some fly by night schools operating as a visa/extension mill. Agree and I have sympathy for the genuine applicants. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maestro Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 Nonsensical post removed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impulse Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 (edited) As an added bit of info Kuala Lumpur is only doing ED visas for university studies. Abuse of a service will result , eventually, in a withdrawal of the service. Abuse of a privilege always ends up making others doing it honestly suffer. I don't know too many people who honestly have a bunch of tourist visas then apply for an Ed Visa in a bordering country. I'm sure that it happens a lot, but the percentage who are honestly getting the visa for the purpose of education is pretty small. Except those studying Thai so they can better assimilate into the society they're sneaking into... I think a more accurate statement in this case is that "idiots who brazenly abuse a privilege make it harder for the innovative people cleverly abusing that same privilege" My apologies to the few that are genuine. Edited November 13, 2013 by impulse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
little mary sunshine Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 It's about time this was reviewed. It's a joke, some people never attend class and laugh about what a cruse it is to get an Ed visa and what a joke this Visa is........so sad for the 'real student' few tho they are............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notmyself Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 Bit of a stinker for someone who has perhaps retired young and got bored sitting on the beach so decided to educate themselves in Thai language for example. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impulse Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 (edited) Bit of a stinker for someone who has perhaps retired young and got bored sitting on the beach so decided to educate themselves in Thai language for example. I do have sympathy for them. But that's a chance you take when your life plan revolves around a gaping loophole that can be slammed shut on a whim. 20 years ago, I decided to give up the oil business and sell gray market Beanie Babies on EBay to make my fortune. (Not really, but it's about the same level of wisdom) Edited November 13, 2013 by impulse 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
belg Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 crackdown on pseudo ED mills? about TIME Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucifer666 Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 When i studied Thai, my visa extension applications always had a copy of my attendance record. Surely those that are abusing the system, wouldn't have that record to show immigration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimSiam Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 When i studied Thai, my visa extension applications always had a copy of my attendance record. Surely those that are abusing the system, wouldn't have that record to show immigration. I guess they would not get an extension in that case if they don't have the papers to show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post pistachios Posted November 13, 2013 Popular Post Share Posted November 13, 2013 Wonderful news ! alt=clap2.gif width=31 height=25> crackdown on pseudo ED mills? about TIME Wow, you must have a pretty boring life if such news which doesn't concern you at all fills you with incommensurable joy. Back to the subject. When applying to an education program, the school makes copies of all passport pages and send them to the education ministry. A few weeks later the school receive the proper documentation to get the ED visa. If the Thai government doesn't want serial tourist visa holders to obtain an ED visa, wouldn't it be more logical to refuse the application at that time rather than when school fees have been paid, authorisation issued, and travel plans made to get the visa? 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maestro Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 Yes, it would be more logical, but that would be putting the horse before the cart. Sent from my Nexus 4 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CFC Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 When they say serial tourist visa holders, any idea of how they define "serial" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tygerstar Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 (edited) I'm not surprised this has happened. I used to study at supposedly one of the better language schools in Bangkok where we had three hours of lessons a day, five days a week. Each module/level lasted for approximately one month. The school arranged student visas for those who wanted them provided they paid tuition for a year in advance plus a hefty visa processing fee. At any one time, only half my class would attend, and these were usually people who were not on Ed visas. I was on a tourist visa as I only did one or two modules a year. Others were on retirement visas, spouse-dependent work visas, etc. The frequent absentees, mostly Ed visa students, were moonlighting as teachers, models, real estate agents, etc and I even had a Korean classmate who was working as a waitress/masseuse at one of those exclusive Korean-only establishments. She was really annoying and disruptive to the class when she did attend. I was told that all they had to do was give the school a call if they weren't going to show up and they could do this for weeks or months at a time. And all this was happening at a reputable school with a fairly rigorous curriculum. Can you imagine what it was like at a more 'relaxed' school where they only needed to attend classes for four hours a week to qualify for an Ed visa? Edited November 13, 2013 by tygerstar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubonjoe Posted November 14, 2013 Share Posted November 14, 2013 When they say serial tourist visa holders, any idea of how they define "serial"Several back to back visas by leaving Thailand to get the visa and then returning I would think. An occasional trip home or going a little further from Thailand than to a nearby country for a visa would be looked at differently. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rorri Posted November 14, 2013 Share Posted November 14, 2013 Wonderful news ! Why? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rorri Posted November 14, 2013 Share Posted November 14, 2013 As an added bit of info Kuala Lumpur is only doing ED visas for university studies. Abuse of a service will result , eventually, in a withdrawal of the service. Abuse of a privilege always ends up making others doing it honestly suffer.Border crossings only giving 15 days is another example of abusing a privilege making others suffer. Part of the problem is some fly by night schools operating as a visa/extension mill. Agree and I have sympathy for the genuine applicants. Does anyone really suffer, I don't see a problem with people "abusing" a system that Thais have known about for years, and have let it happen. My question is, why suddenly are they clamping down on it? Thailand owes so much to foreigners, though they'll never admit it, they should be a little more lenient on their visas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrendsd Posted November 14, 2013 Share Posted November 14, 2013 I'm not surprised this has happened. I used to study at supposedly one of the better language schools in Bangkok where we had three hours of lessons a day, five days a week. Each module/level lasted for approximately one month. The school arranged student visas for those who wanted them provided they paid tuition for a year in advance plus a hefty visa processing fee. At any one time, only half my class would attend, and these were usually people who were not on Ed visas. I was on a tourist visa as I only did one or two modules a year. Others were on retirement visas, spouse-dependent work visas, etc. The frequent absentees, mostly Ed visa students, were moonlighting as teachers, models, real estate agents, etc and I even had a Korean classmate who was working as a waitress/masseuse at one of those exclusive Korean-only establishments. She was really annoying and disruptive to the class when she did attend. I was told that all they had to do was give the school a call if they weren't going to show up and they could do this for weeks or months at a time. And all this was happening at a reputable school with a fairly rigorous curriculum. Can you imagine what it was like at a more 'relaxed' school where they only needed to attend classes for four hours a week to qualify for an Ed visa? If Immigration didn't know some people were abusing the system before they certainly do now Well done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacWalen Posted November 14, 2013 Share Posted November 14, 2013 (edited) The moral of the story is that if some serial visa runners and double entry tourist visa applicants want to apply for an ED visa it might be difficult as officers may not believe you are a real student. Also dont give your school a hard time if not because of them you are refused an ED visa. It is still subject to the discretion of the embassy. If they think you are a cheat you may not get your visa. Passport full of tourist visas may indeed look suspicious. Sent from my GT-I9190 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app Edited November 14, 2013 by MacWalen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacWalen Posted November 14, 2013 Share Posted November 14, 2013 (edited) Not easy to edit in this app but it is getting better. Edited November 14, 2013 by MacWalen 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CFC Posted November 15, 2013 Share Posted November 15, 2013 So if I had 2 Triple Entry Tourist Visa's with about 4 months gap between them where I was in my home country. Would I be classed as a serial tourist visa holder? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubonjoe Posted November 15, 2013 Share Posted November 15, 2013 No See my previous about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimSiam Posted November 15, 2013 Share Posted November 15, 2013 So if I had 2 Triple Entry Tourist Visa's with about 4 months gap between them where I was in my home country. Would I be classed as a serial tourist visa holder? I think there is no definite answer here, all the rules are at the officers discretion who is processing the application, as we all know, if you dress well, be polite and try to show you are genuine about your reason for the visa it increases your chances of obtaining it. Even then the visa may still be refused and the person behind you with a worse looking passport may get it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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