Ed-visa, from Thai lnguage school

[michael67]

Hi, I've been visiting Thailand off and on for the last few years and decided to move there or a year. I am retired and am eligible for the ''retirement'' visa . But I thought it would be a very good idea to seriously study the language. I heard Walen school in Chiang Mai gives a one year visa for their full time course. I've heard good things about them , and not so good.For example one thing I read is that after you sign on with them they start hitting their students with alot of other fees that were not talked about when the students sign up. And if you don't pay these fees ,(these are aside from the initial cost), that they threaten to have your visa cancelled. I've read that Thaivisa is a pretty bid advocate of Walen , but I'm hoping for some honest and unbiased feedback.

thanks

[wayned]

Since Waien is a sponsor it is in violation of rule 25 to give honest and unbiased feedback!

25) No comments or discussion allowed with regard to advertisements or sponsors, or methods to block advertisements.

[bobroper]

Thai language schools in Thailand, understand and read the small print before you sign up. There are several excellent schools here.

I have been studying Thai now for approx 10 months and only paid the initial cost of the course plus ED visa. I've never heard of these so called 'hidden costs'.

If you require further information, please let me know.

Good morning and enjoy.

[ubonjoe]

Since Waien is a sponsor it is in violation of rule 25 to give honest and unbiased feedback!

25) No comments or discussion allowed with regard to advertisements or sponsors, or methods to block advertisements.

There is also this from the Forum Rules that prohibits naming and shaming.

6) Do not post comments that could be reasonably construed as defamation or libel. Defamation is the issuance of a statement about another person or business which causes that person to suffer harm. Libel is when the defamatory statement is published either in a drawing, painting, cinematography, film, picture or letters made visible by any means, or any other recording instruments, recording picture or letters, or by broadcasting or spreading picture, or by propagation by any other means. Defamation is both a civil and criminal charge in Thailand.

No school gives you a visa or extension of stay. They only provide the paperwork needed to obtain a non-ed visa from an embassy or consulate or an extension of stay from immigration.

If you want info that could break the rules you can ask people to contact you by PM.

I suspect the info you got about additional fees might of been incomplete. People often complain but many times it is just a misunderstanding.

You can attend school on an extension of stay based upon retirement or any visa entry or extension of stay. There is no requirement that you obtain a ED visa or have an extension of stay based upon education to do it.

[Thonson]

Schools do not issue a visa nor extensions , you have to do it by yourself and pay for it.(immigration fees )

They just provide you the documents needed such as proof of study and that they are legal registered schools.

On top of annual fees (180-200 Hrs) you might be asked to pay for books,

Serious legal schools have no hidden fees , no surprises.

[MacWalen]

It is easy to check, go to Walen in Chiang Mai and you will see a very busy school, you can sit in a lesson and talk to other students. Ask their opinions. We have a second branch @curve and it is getting busier and busier. Wayned missed the point. Walen has been discussed hundreds of times in this forum.

[wayned]

I didn't miss the point, I just quoted rule #25! I've had posts removed in the past where I disagreed with a sponsor's comments! It seems to depend on the "Mod of the day"!

But if the OP is currently in Thailand I would agree that his best option is to audit a class at any school and fully understand the school's teaching methods before plopping down the bucks. Some schools will put you in a class that is in the "middle of the book" and some will not start you until a new class is formed and you start at the beginning. And also discuss and fully understand the process and costs of obtaining the visa and doing the extensions necessary every 90 days to obtain the permission to stay over the length of the course.

[granuaile]

I attended Walen in late 2009 and never had any issues with extra fees. Except for the book there was nothing more to pay. I have a friend attending Walen, at my suggestion, now and have not heard any comments from her about an issue with this. She was attending both AUA and Walen, now is just attending Walen. I am not sure about a one-year visa, as at that time it required 90-day extensions and that is what my friend has to do as well... My understanding is that only state university students are entitled to a one-year extension, but I might be wrong.

[jarrcbb]

Probably the fees people are referring to are the costs for a visa extension. With an ED visa every 90 days you will have to go to immigration and spend about 2000 baht (plus the time to get there and wait around) to extend your visa. If you don't do that your visa will be cancelled.