Cheapest language school that offers ED visa, just visa, don't want to attend classes.

[nithisa78]

VISA by the path of least resistance. No disrecpect to any school, implied or intended. Lord, halo us, All.

Edited March 2, 2014 by nithisa78

[MeowBundit]

Things are incredible simple. Their (Thais) way of goal for longstayer is a Thai Elite or Investment Visa. 2M THB payment OR 10M investment. This is a way for not retired, not married to Thai, young Westerner, who not intend to work in the Kingdom.

Anything else is abuse and play.

Just to compare, not so long time ago, to be able to obtain US Green Card, foreigner must to invest $0.5 M into US economy. This is 16M THB.

Kingdom had it's own 63M citizens and don't need more.

[MJCM]

^^ Thai Elite ????

Isn't that scheme almost bankrupt and people having great difficulty to get any of the promised advantages ??


Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

[uptheos]

If a person wants to stay here, then they should use any means they like as long as it hurts no one and good luck to them.

It has absolutely nothing to do with anyone else.

My guess is that most people who object to the ed visa thing, are probably on 15/30 day runs and couldn't afford the fee required.

The objection is more along the line of "if too many people are abusing the system, they'll discontinue the Ed visa and a lot of people who properly want to come and get a Thai language education will be screwed." I can see that as a legitimate concern. Personally I if I paid for the course/visa I would take the lessons, couldn't hurt.

Sure, I agree with you 100% and the requirements for the amount of hours put in are great.

MacWalen certainly seems to have stood the test of time, regardless of anyone's view of him.

Edited March 3, 2014 by uptheos

[ubonjoe]

Removed a quote of and reply to a previously removed post that suggested illegal activity.

[brit1984]

To the OP. What is wrong with trying to find the cheapest deal?

that's like asking Miuccia Prada what's wrong with buying clothes from GAP

[MJCM]

To the OP. What is wrong with trying to find the cheapest deal?

There is nothing wrong with that, but the problem lies in this part. "just visa, don't want to attend classes"

[falang07]

MacWalen, what abusing are you speaking about? Who is abusing whom? How can a young man who is not willing to marry just for the visa and who does not want to work or invest in Thailand (simply because you are not allowed to own your company!) stay in here? Do you have a solution for these people?

[JLCrab]

MacWalen, what abusing are you speaking about? Who is abusing whom? How can a young man who is not willing to marry just for the visa and who does not want to work or invest in Thailand (simply because you are not allowed to own your company!) stay in here? Do you have a solution for these people?

It would seem to me by virtue of its visa/immigration policies that the Thai government is not inclined to make it readily possible for a young person as described above to stay in Thailand long time at all.

[thepool]

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MacWalen, what abusing are you speaking about? Who is abusing whom? How can a young man who is not willing to marry just for the visa and who does not want to work or invest in Thailand (simply because you are not allowed to own your company!) stay in here? Do you have a solution for these people?

It would seem to me by virtue of its visa/immigration policies that the Thai government is not inclined to make it readily possible for a young person as described above to stay in Thailand long time at all.

Why can I as a UK passport holder, not just rock up to the USA, Canada, Australia or New Zealand and stay (legally) ?

[thailandbeachisland]

I'm conflicted on the issue.

On one hand, I agree that people gaming the system hurts genuine students who wish to study.

On the other, there is a severe predicament for many people who are not of retirement age, nor work for a company inside Thaland. The labour laws are antiquated and many 'fake students' would love nothing more than to have a legitimate visa and pay taxes to Thailand.

I agree with Walen... You choose to live here, well do it by the letter of the law so go speak. You want to live in Thailand, then you should be interested in learning Thai and its culture and pay the 25,000 baht that a reputable school normally charges. Any advice to the contrary or illegal as is this poster suggesting should be removed. The people of Thailand want a Democratic country free from corruption. Posts and people who help this poster don't help. Walen Schools are well known I would say by the majority to be one of the best facilitators of learning Thai and a very well known and long established company. If you don't want to play by the rules don't stuff it up for everyone else. A shameful thread indeed IMO.

Ridiculous, yes you should keep learning because until now you know nothing !

[thailandbeachisland]

I'm conflicted on the issue.

On one hand, I agree that people gaming the system hurts genuine students who wish to study.

On the other, there is a severe predicament for many people who are not of retirement age, nor work for a company inside Thaland. The labour laws are antiquated and many 'fake students' would love nothing more than to have a legitimate visa and pay taxes to Thailand.

The Thai laws are made by Thais! Each country as its own legal oddities especially where immigration is required,

Education visas to the UK and other EU countries are considerable harder to get, more rigorously enforced and policed tighter. Just ask London Metropolitan University!

The Education is not a "loophole" for those who can't meet other visa category requirements and should not be used as such. This has been abused too long and there will likely be a backlash affecting genuine students.

My post went right over your head... Thai laws written by Thais? Amazing insight there. Then you go on to attack me by saying the same thing I said (that it is being abused and will negatively effect legitimate students).

I'm not even on an eD visa.

The point you missed is there is a defined demographic of expats that live in Thailand that the current immigration laws don't accommodate. This is why the eD visa is being abused. People that do not meet retirement age and are not working inside Thailand have no other visa options. Sure you could marry a thai national, setup a shoddy thai company (which costs more money), or frequent border runs, yet people will continue to take the path of least resistance which is the eD visa. People aren't going to magically stop abusing it until one of two things happens.

1) eD visa restrictions get tighter and make it a more difficult option than the other options.

2) more accommodating visa options are created.

The most logically thing to do would be to extend work permits/visas to those who derive their income from outside Thailand. It is win/win. Thailand can then collect tax and extra income on more people, and those people could stay legally in thailand, and those studying legitimately would not have their visa system ruined by fake students and fake schools.

But hey, this is Thailand and as you said 'thai laws are made by thais'

Why does any country need to have immigration laws that "accommodate" all or particular 'defined demographic' groups? Most of our home countries make it difficult for Thais just to visit for holiday, much less immigrate. I don't know we're you're from, but I suspect I couldn't move there that easily even if I had overseas income. And it would probably be even harder for a Thai.

Seems like you don't know that life is unfair right ?

Because of my 2 passports and my money I go and live anywhere I want, jealous ?

[Docno]

The Thai laws are made by Thais! Each country as its own legal oddities especially where immigration is required,

Education visas to the UK and other EU countries are considerable harder to get, more rigorously enforced and policed tighter. Just ask London Metropolitan University!

The Education is not a "loophole" for those who can't meet other visa category requirements and should not be used as such. This has been abused too long and there will likely be a backlash affecting genuine students.

My post went right over your head... Thai laws written by Thais? Amazing insight there. Then you go on to attack me by saying the same thing I said (that it is being abused and will negatively effect legitimate students).

I'm not even on an eD visa.

The point you missed is there is a defined demographic of expats that live in Thailand that the current immigration laws don't accommodate. This is why the eD visa is being abused. People that do not meet retirement age and are not working inside Thailand have no other visa options. Sure you could marry a thai national, setup a shoddy thai company (which costs more money), or frequent border runs, yet people will continue to take the path of least resistance which is the eD visa. People aren't going to magically stop abusing it until one of two things happens.

1) eD visa restrictions get tighter and make it a more difficult option than the other options.

2) more accommodating visa options are created.

The most logically thing to do would be to extend work permits/visas to those who derive their income from outside Thailand. It is win/win. Thailand can then collect tax and extra income on more people, and those people could stay legally in thailand, and those studying legitimately would not have their visa system ruined by fake students and fake schools.

But hey, this is Thailand and as you said 'thai laws are made by thais'

Why does any country need to have immigration laws that "accommodate" all or particular 'defined demographic' groups? Most of our home countries make it difficult for Thais just to visit for holiday, much less immigrate. I don't know we're you're from, but I suspect I couldn't move there that easily even if I had overseas income. And it would probably be even harder for a Thai.

Seems like you don't know that life is unfair right ?

Because of my 2 passports and my money I go and live anywhere I want, jealous ?

Geez... Why would I be jealous? I also have two passports, a PhD, a good profession, and plenty of savings, so crossing borders is not a problem for me. But that's not the point. It's about hypocrisy, a word that doesn't seem to be in your lexicon. It's about people feeling entitled and thinking that the immigration system of another country should accommodate them. And it's about these same people having no problem with their own country's immigration barriers ('hey, life's unfair ... live with it', they say) ... I'm sure that some even rail against the flood of immigrants back home and 'all those illegals' in their midst.

Yeah, "life is unfair", but if you think that's a good thing on those occasions when it works in your favour, we call that hypocrisy...

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

I go to one of the discount schools in CM which is about 5k baht cheaper than Walen.

Haven't seen any tolerance for people skipping classes or falsifying attendance records.

I think OP is inventing a problem and offering a solution.

What's wrong with competition and efficiency?

[ronthai]

I have been on an ED Visa for the past 3 years (stopped now since I am 50 now and got a reitrement visa) and YES with classes.

The main reason for me was I needed the visa, but learning some Thai does not hurt.

School was only 4 hours a week, so what is the problem attending?

It was actually fun to do.

You also get a chance to meet new people/farangs outside of the bar scene.

Even though I do not use Thai in my daily life and therefore forget much quickly, I always learned something new.

I am happy I did this for 3 years, even if the Visa was the main reason I started

[Baerboxer]

I'm conflicted on the issue.

On one hand, I agree that people gaming the system hurts genuine students who wish to study.

On the other, there is a severe predicament for many people who are not of retirement age, nor work for a company inside Thaland. The labour laws are antiquated and many 'fake students' would love nothing more than to have a legitimate visa and pay taxes to Thailand.

The Thai laws are made by Thais! Each country as its own legal oddities especially where immigration is required,

Education visas to the UK and other EU countries are considerable harder to get, more rigorously enforced and policed tighter. Just ask London Metropolitan University!

The Education is not a "loophole" for those who can't meet other visa category requirements and should not be used as such. This has been abused too long and there will likely be a backlash affecting genuine students.

My post went right over your head... Thai laws written by Thais? Amazing insight there. Then you go on to attack me by saying the same thing I said (that it is being abused and will negatively effect legitimate students).

I'm not even on an eD visa.

The point you missed is there is a defined demographic of expats that live in Thailand that the current immigration laws don't accommodate. This is why the eD visa is being abused. People that do not meet retirement age and are not working inside Thailand have no other visa options. Sure you could marry a thai national, setup a shoddy thai company (which costs more money), or frequent border runs, yet people will continue to take the path of least resistance which is the eD visa. People aren't going to magically stop abusing it until one of two things happens.

1) eD visa restrictions get tighter and make it a more difficult option than the other options.

2) more accommodating visa options are created.

The most logically thing to do would be to extend work permits/visas to those who derive their income from outside Thailand. It is win/win. Thailand can then collect tax and extra income on more people, and those people could stay legally in thailand, and those studying legitimately would not have their visa system ruined by fake students and fake schools.

But hey, this is Thailand and as you said 'thai laws are made by thais'

Your post was "so clever" it went right over my head and the 13 other people who liked my response.

I couldn't care less what visa you're on or whether you are indeed bright enough to understand that most countries immigration laws are full of peculiarities.

There are some very good posts on here explaining why its morally and ethically wrong as well as illegal to abuse an education visa,. Why should Thailand legislate to accommodate " a defined demographic of expats" who fancy living in Thailand? Do you really think the US or an EU country will change their laws to accommodate the demographics of some group who fancy living there?

Thailand should clamp down on fake students, fake education establishments and bona fide establishment that allow lapse controls of foreign students, The UK has and is continuing to look at this area,

But hey, as you say, they could always marry a national or set up a shoddy company as alternative ways of gaining or extending a visa.

[BradinAsia]

I'm conflicted on the issue.

On one hand, I agree that people gaming the system hurts genuine students who wish to study.

On the other, there is a severe predicament for many people who are not of retirement age, nor work for a company inside Thaland. The labour laws are antiquated and many 'fake students' would love nothing more than to have a legitimate visa and pay taxes to Thailand.

I think advocating illegal activities (e.g., violating Thai immigration law) is a violation of TV forum rules, is it not?

A lot of TV members like to portray Thailand as a backward country full of ignorant people. Don't Thais have just as

much right to be backward and ignorant as Westerners? It's their country after all, not ours. We have a choice if we

want to live here or not.

Life is full of opportunities and choices. No one points a gun to your head and forces you to live here. Personally,

I've lived in many countries and now I live in Thailand. Sure, there are problems here (name one country that has

no problems), but there is nowhere else I'd rather live. If there was, I would go there.

Speaking of antiquated laws, the U.S., the U.K and many other countries have antiquated laws -- and even worse.

Why do so many TV members come to live in Thailand if their main focus is derogating Thai people and how they

run their country? Looking at the many problems in the U.K. and in the U.S. (how about Europe?) all the extreme,

overboard criticisms of Thailand seems very disingenuous.

[ubonjoe]

I have removed a off topic post about UK immigration policies.

[BradinAsia]

I'm conflicted on the issue.

On one hand, I agree that people gaming the system hurts genuine students who wish to study.

On the other, there is a severe predicament for many people who are not of retirement age, nor work for a company inside Thaland. The labour laws are antiquated and many 'fake students' would love nothing more than to have a legitimate visa and pay taxes to Thailand.

Let me be totally and brutally honest. BIG F***ING DEAL! If you want to come to Thailand and live, you play by the rules - THEIR RULES and live with it or get out. What would you say if someone came to your country and tried the same shit?

In other countries that are not the third world like Thailand, students are allowed to work legally (part time at least).

Note: On Thai Visa, the term "third world" is a code-word. It indicates the speaker has a superiority attitude toward non-Western countries and people.

After living 27 years in so-called third world countries, I say thank heaven for third-world countries. The people have far more "civility" than those in many

of the advanced countries.

Edited March 4, 2014 by BradinAsia

[Metapod]

I'm conflicted on the issue.

On one hand, I agree that people gaming the system hurts genuine students who wish to study.

On the other, there is a severe predicament for many people who are not of retirement age, nor work for a company inside Thaland. The labour laws are antiquated and many 'fake students' would love nothing more than to have a legitimate visa and pay taxes to Thailand.

I think advocating illegal activities (e.g., violating Thai immigration law) is a violation of TV forum rules, is it not?

Where did I advocate illegal activities? Jeez. You guys are not the brightest bunch.

[BradinAsia]

Would the moderator please delete all the posts about visas in western countries. It is off topic.

With so many posters whining and complaining endlessly about visas in Thailand, posts about visas in other countries

(such as U.K.) are very pertinent to this topic, are they not?

[ekamaihouse]

Does anyone know of any reasonable schools/classes in Bangkok around Sukhumvit that offer ED visas. Maybe even home/work schooling as I'm limited on time.

I already have a choice of marriage or business visa but this would be a good way to force myself into learning more Thai...

[JLCrab]

I'm conflicted on the issue.

On one hand, I agree that people gaming the system hurts genuine students who wish to study.

On the other, there is a severe predicament for many people who are not of retirement age, nor work for a company inside Thaland. The labour laws are antiquated and many 'fake students' would love nothing more than to have a legitimate visa and pay taxes to Thailand.

I think advocating illegal activities (e.g., violating Thai immigration law) is a violation of TV forum rules, is it not?

Where did I advocate illegal activities? Jeez. You guys are not the brightest bunch.

I do not believe that you have advocated illegal activities. It may be that the Thai authorities are aware of the severe predicament of persons that would fit into the category you have described in the 01 MAR quote above and have made an explicit decision that they do wish to offer long-term stay alternatives to persons described in that category.

[BradinAsia]

I'm conflicted on the issue.

On one hand, I agree that people gaming the system hurts genuine students who wish to study.

On the other, there is a severe predicament for many people who are not of retirement age, nor work for a company inside Thaland. The labour laws are antiquated and many 'fake students' would love nothing more than to have a legitimate visa and pay taxes to Thailand.

I think advocating illegal activities (e.g., violating Thai immigration law) is a violation of TV forum rules, is it not?

Where did I advocate illegal activities? Jeez. You guys are not the brightest bunch.

Metapod,

My apologies. I did not intend to address that remark to you.

[Pii Kate]

When I first arrived in Thailand I was told that if I applied for an ED visa I could count on the immigration folk speaking to me in Thai and expecting me to respond in kind. Think about that. A short cut to deportation. It's an interesting language and teaches you a lot about the people who live here.

[EASYDOGG]

Mods, why have you let this blatant disregard for the Thai visa system stay up on the forum?

[johninbkk71]

I live here on an Ed visa as I am too young for a retirement visa.The negative comments I have read here show what is wrong with Thailand the Westerners- that hate to to give anybody a chance and think they are superior. I worked legally in education for many years in Thailand and every year the western teachers with their degree and certificates in teaching English got dumber and dumber.

Haters get out of the Farang enclaves and see the real Thailand. Education is a circus. The best teachers I have ever worked with didn't have degrees for f**ks sake their teaching kids something that many have spoken their entire lives. The reason why is they understood what it was not to be given a chance to continue their education.So take your accounting and engineering degrees and shove them where the Sun doesn't shine.

[Rorri]

Cricketnut, on 02 Mar 2014 - 14:09, said:

Rorri, on 02 Mar 2014 - 14:07, said:

Who really cares if people "scam" a system full of scams, if it doesn't affect you then mind your own bloody business. NB, I am not on an ED visa, or for that matter, "scamming" any other visas.

really mature post.

At least I said something, how about debating it with a "mature" person, or is "childish" comments the only ones you can make. As for your "mature" use of the word "mature" think again, it doesn't fit or relate to my comment. You simply chose the word for you own reasons.

[Rorri]

Cricketnut, on 02 Mar 2014 - 14:08, said:

Metapod, on 01 Mar 2014 - 15:23, said:

I'm conflicted on the issue.

On one hand, I agree that people gaming the system hurts genuine students who wish to study.

On the other, there is a severe predicament for many people who are not of retirement age, nor work for a company inside Thaland. The labour laws are antiquated and many 'fake students' would love nothing more than to have a legitimate visa and pay taxes to Thailand.

I agree with Walen... You choose to live here, well do it by the letter of the law so go speak. You want to live in Thailand, then you should be interested in learning Thai and its culture and pay the 25,000 baht that a reputable school normally charges. Any advice to the contrary or illegal as is this poster suggesting should be removed. The people of Thailand want a Democratic country free from corruption. Posts and people who help this poster don't help. Walen Schools are well known I would say by the majority to be one of the best facilitators of learning Thai and a very well known and long established company. If you don't want to play by the rules don't stuff it up for everyone else. A shameful thread indeed IMO.

More a shameful reply from you, your reply has little, if anything, to do with Metapod's comment, you simply chose to read things into a comment that are not there. Show me where he asked for "help." Fool.

[Rorri]

Johnnie99, on 02 Mar 2014 - 15:16, said:

Rorri, on 02 Mar 2014 - 14:07, said:

Who really cares if people "scam" a system full of scams, if it doesn't affect you then mind your own bloody business. NB, I am not on an ED visa, or for that matter, "scamming" any other visas.

... because breaking the law to suit one's own ends is totally justified, right?

Turn a blind eye?

Learn from history

Does it affect you, if not, why worry. This is an issue for Thailand, not us expats.