Refused entry ED visa

[apalink_thailand]

 

An education VISA is for learning Thai. After two education visas and presumably two years of tuition, your Thai should be good enough to cope with questions asked by Immigration. I am not saying you are one of the guilty ones but there are many staying in Thailand on education visas who are abusing the system. I personally know of two such people, both over 70, who openly boast that they are only required to attend a single one hour lesson per week and that there is no test of knowledge of the language. Second and subsequent education visas should be issued only after the student has demonstrated a knowledge of Thai comparative to the length of study. In addition the establishments offering these visas should be monitored very closely for performance.

There is no requirement to study Thai on an Ed Visa. Plenty of people are studying English, Japanese or another language, or cooking, Thai boxing etc. Some are taking a degree at a Thai university.
 
 

 

 

Erm...why then would the Immigration Official test his ability to speak Thai? 

[slipperylobster]

 

An education VISA is for learning Thai. After two education visas and presumably two years of tuition, your Thai should be good enough to cope with questions asked by Immigration. I am not saying you are one of the guilty ones but there are many staying in Thailand on education visas who are abusing the system. I personally know of two such people, both over 70, who openly boast that they are only required to attend a single one hour lesson per week and that there is no test of knowledge of the language. Second and subsequent education visas should be issued only after the student has demonstrated a knowledge of Thai comparative to the length of study. In addition the establishments offering these visas should be monitored very closely for performance.

There is no requirement to study Thai on an Ed Visa. Plenty of people are studying English, Japanese or another language, or cooking, Thai boxing etc. Some are taking a degree at a Thai university.
 
 

 

 

Yes, but imagine a Thai student in England/USA/Australia on a student visa.  Perhaps they are studying underwater basket weaving or advanced physics.  However, it would be hard for me to believe they are learning anything at all if they cannot speak/nor understand English.

 

Voila.
 

[96tehtarp]

 

 

An education VISA is for learning Thai. After two education visas and presumably two years of tuition, your Thai should be good enough to cope with questions asked by Immigration. I am not saying you are one of the guilty ones but there are many staying in Thailand on education visas who are abusing the system. I personally know of two such people, both over 70, who openly boast that they are only required to attend a single one hour lesson per week and that there is no test of knowledge of the language. Second and subsequent education visas should be issued only after the student has demonstrated a knowledge of Thai comparative to the length of study. In addition the establishments offering these visas should be monitored very closely for performance.

 

There is no requirement to study Thai on an Ed Visa. Plenty of people are studying English, Japanese or another language, or cooking, Thai boxing etc. Some are taking a degree at a Thai university.

 

Erm...why then would the Immigration Official test his ability to speak Thai? 

 

He would to have clearly told them he was studying Thai.

 

AFAIK The non-imm "ED" visa is available for study of many subjects. Not solely Thai language studies.

[brewsterbudgen]

 

An education VISA is for learning Thai. After two education visas and presumably two years of tuition, your Thai should be good enough to cope with questions asked by Immigration. I am not saying you are one of the guilty ones but there are many staying in Thailand on education visas who are abusing the system. I personally know of two such people, both over 70, who openly boast that they are only required to attend a single one hour lesson per week and that there is no test of knowledge of the language. Second and subsequent education visas should be issued only after the student has demonstrated a knowledge of Thai comparative to the length of study. In addition the establishments offering these visas should be monitored very closely for performance.

There is no requirement to study Thai on an Ed Visa. Plenty of people are studying English, Japanese or another language, or cooking, Thai boxing etc. Some are taking a degree at a Thai university.

 
Yes, but imagine a Thai student in England/USA/Australia on a student visa.  Perhaps they are studying underwater basket weaving or advanced physics.  However, it would be hard for me to believe they are learning anything at all if they cannot speak/nor understand English.
 
Voila.

I don't think many English/American/Australian universities have courses in Thai! However, many Thai universities have English language programs. A friend of mine has just completed a Linguistics Masters degree at a Thai university.
 
I realise that OP was studying Thai. I was just pointing out that it's inaccurate and ill-informed to say that all Ed. Visas are issued for studying Thai.

[JenniferSG]

 

What did they ask you in Thai? I'm curious how in depth the test was.

 

The OP admits he has been in Thailand for 4.5 years.

 

After all that time I would expect anyone to be able to respond to a pretty rigorous in-depth test ..... if he was really studying Thai for most of his time here!

 

Patrick

 

Students from all over Europe and the US go to Thai universities for both undergrad and graduate programs conducted completely in English.  My son is attending one.  You can study in Thailand without studying the Thai language.  Obviously one would hope that one would pick up Thai after 4 years, but there are whole degree programs, dozens of them, taught entirely in English.

[chrisinth]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

 

 

 

An education VISA is for learning Thai. After two education visas and presumably two years of tuition, your Thai should be good enough to cope with questions asked by Immigration. I am not saying you are one of the guilty ones but there are many staying in Thailand on education visas who are abusing the system. I personally know of two such people, both over 70, who openly boast that they are only required to attend a single one hour lesson per week and that there is no test of knowledge of the language. Second and subsequent education visas should be issued only after the student has demonstrated a knowledge of Thai comparative to the length of study. In addition the establishments offering these visas should be monitored very closely for performance.

There is no requirement to study Thai on an Ed Visa. Plenty of people are studying English, Japanese or another language, or cooking, Thai boxing etc. Some are taking a degree at a Thai university.
 
 

 

 

Yes, but imagine a Thai student in England/USA/Australia on a student visa.  Perhaps they are studying underwater basket weaving or advanced physics.  However, it would be hard for me to believe they are learning anything at all if they cannot speak/nor understand English.

 

Voila.
 

 

 

If underwater basket weaving was taught in the Thai language I could understand your point.

 

The standard basket weaving, level 3, is taught in English as far as I am aware.

 

[larsjohnsson]

 

What did they ask you in Thai? I'm curious how in depth the test was.

 
The OP admits he has been in Thailand for 4.5 years.
 
After all that time I would expect anyone to be able to respond to a pretty rigorous in-depth test ..... if he was really studying Thai for most of his time here!
 
Patrick
 

Students from all over Europe and the US go to Thai universities for both undergrad and graduate programs conducted completely in English.  My son is attending one.  You can study in Thailand without studying the Thai language.  Obviously one would hope that one would pick up Thai after 4 years, but there are whole degree programs, dozens of them, taught entirely in English.

But people that do undergrad and graduate programs in Thai Universities don't get a refused entry.

[brewsterbudgen]

What did they ask you in Thai? I'm curious how in depth the test was.

 
The OP admits he has been in Thailand for 4.5 years.
 
After all that time I would expect anyone to be able to respond to a pretty rigorous in-depth test ..... if he was really studying Thai for most of his time here!
 
Patrick

Students from all over Europe and the US go to Thai universities for both undergrad and graduate programs conducted completely in English.  My son is attending one.  You can study in Thailand without studying the Thai language.  Obviously one would hope that one would pick up Thai after 4 years, but there are whole degree programs, dozens of them, taught entirely in English.

But people that do undergrad and graduate programs in Thai Universities don't get a refused entry.

I would hope you're right. But there are already some reports suggesting it might not be the case.

"I came on to also report this, as a friend who is in KL just emailed me to say his ED visa was turned down too and he's studying at a university in Thailand. Same reason given. Now requires a university degree. No university degree, no ED visa for you."

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/747638-ed-visa-denied/

[bangkoklasse]

@ brewsterbudgen, look at your link and many of the other posts from people that got turned down. Or got stopped at the Immigration. Most are from an OP that just signed up and joined TV. And post this in their first or second day here. Do you belive it's a coincidence or.............

[slipperylobster]

 

 

What did they ask you in Thai? I'm curious how in depth the test was.

 

The OP admits he has been in Thailand for 4.5 years.

 

After all that time I would expect anyone to be able to respond to a pretty rigorous in-depth test ..... if he was really studying Thai for most of his time here!

 

Patrick

 

Students from all over Europe and the US go to Thai universities for both undergrad and graduate programs conducted completely in English.  My son is attending one.  You can study in Thailand without studying the Thai language.  Obviously one would hope that one would pick up Thai after 4 years, but there are whole degree programs, dozens of them, taught entirely in English.

 

 

Understood.  However, my point is.....anyone studying anything at all in a foreign country (Thailand) should at least pickup the basics of the language.  Just a few simple things....to get along in the community.  I am sure there are Thai speaking teachers and students and workers on campus.  For Cricket's sake....it's a no brainer.

 

[ColdSingha]

[quote name="brewsterbudgen" post="8181894" timestamp="1406865838"]

[quote name="larsjohnsson" post="8181862" timestamp="1406865477"][quote name="JenniferSG" post="8181774" timestamp="1406864430"][quote name="p_brownstone" post="8179734" timestamp="1406815650"][quote name="Metapod" post="8179450" timestamp="1406811180"]
What did they ask you in Thai? I'm curious how in depth the test was.[/quote] 
The OP admits he has been in Thailand for 4.5 years.
 
After all that time I would expect anyone to be able to respond to a pretty rigorous in-depth test ..... if he was really studying Thai for most of his time here!
 
Patrick[/quote]Students from all over Europe and the US go to Thai universities for both undergrad and graduate programs conducted completely in English.  My son is attending one.  You can study in Thailand without studying the Thai language.  Obviously one would hope that one would pick up Thai after 4 years, but there are whole degree programs, dozens of them, taught entirely in English.[/quote]
But people that do undergrad and graduate programs in Thai Universities don't get a refused entry.[/quote]
I would hope you're right. But there are already some reports suggesting it might not be the case.

"I came on to also report this, as a friend who is in KL just emailed me to say his ED visa was turned down too and he's studying at a university in Thailand. Same reason given. Now requires a university degree. No university degree, no ED visa for you."

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/747638-ed-visa-denied/[/quote]

so need to have a degree to study for a degree at a university (according to KL) or can only get an ED visa if studying a degree course?

presumably the latter but..

[hiso1956]

Why does everyone say that the ed visa is for learning thai? U can use it to learn anything. If you want to cheat yhe system learn something u already know. Lime for example i speak thai really well so i stay 6 years on an ed visa already.

[realenglish1]

I was on an Ed Visa about 2 years ago and the idea behind it is to learn Thai You did not so this is why they refused you.

 

My suggestion is get a new passport and start the process over again with a new Ed Visa and school and this time learn that is what it is for

 

With a new passport you should not have a problem

 

Good luck and learn Thai

[bangkoklasse]

Why does everyone say that the ed visa is for learning thai? U can use it to learn anything. If you want to cheat yhe system learn something u already know. Lime for example i speak thai really well so i stay 6 years on an ed visa already.

 

Because it's the most common thing people here study when getting the ED visa. 

[bangkoklasse]

Why does everyone say that the ed visa is for learning thai? U can use it to learn anything. If you want to cheat yhe system learn something u already know. Lime for example i speak thai really well so i stay 6 years on an ed visa already.

 

Because it's the most common thing people here study when getting the ED visa. 

[LivinLOS]

 

 

Understood.  However, my point is.....anyone studying anything at all in a foreign country (Thailand) should at least pickup the basics of the language.  Just a few simple things....to get along in the community.  I am sure there are Thai speaking teachers and students and workers on campus.  For Cricket's sake....it's a no brainer.
 

 

But it is not automatically a condition of having an ED visa and denying someone who is not on a Thai language course entry, because his Thai isnt good enough is another example of officer over reach and ass backward understanding of the very rules they are supposed to be policing. 

[greenchair]

Are you sure you are not on a blacklist. Maybe you did not understand the officer

[brewsterbudgen]

 

@ brewsterbudgen, look at your link and many of the other posts from people that got turned down. Or got stopped at the Immigration. Most are from an OP that just signed up and joined TV. And post this in their first or second day here. Do you belive it's a coincidence or.............

 
You may well be right!

[brewsterbudgen]

Why does everyone say that the ed visa is for learning thai? U can use it to learn anything. If you want to cheat yhe system learn something u already know. Lime for example i speak thai really well so i stay 6 years on an ed visa already.

 
Because it's the most common thing people here study when getting the ED visa.

And how do you know that? There must be thousands of students at all types of educational establishments studying everything from SATs, GMAT, IGCSE, plus Bachelor and Master degrees; not to mention practical courses. I would doubt that language schools teaching Thai make up the majority.

[verywierd]

I am not on an ED visa, but I have been studying Thai for several years. I can read Thai script and I know a fair amount of the language. However I freeze up whenever I need to use Thai in conversation and am often unable to retrieve the right words (or forget them). I am multilingual, but each language has taken me much longer than two or three years. That's just the way I am.

 

I think the success in learning a language should not be the benchmark for getting a visa. It should be based upon attendance at the school. As long as you are honestly putting in the effort, the degree of success should not matter. After all, the government's concern is that the person is actually working instead of studying.

[brewsterbudgen]

I am not on an ED visa, but I have been studying Thai for several years. I can read Thai script and I know a fair amount of the language. However I freeze up whenever I need to use Thai in conversation and am often unable to retrieve the right words (or forget them). I am multilingual, but each language has taken me much longer than two or three years. That's just the way I am.
 
I think the success in learning a language should not be the benchmark for getting a visa. It should be based upon attendance at the school. As long as you are honestly putting in the effort, the degree of success should not matter. After all, the government's concern is that the person is actually working instead of studying.

Exactly. If someone speaks and writes Thai fluently it seems obvious that they have no need to study!

[leggo]

Not really sure I understand a lot of the comments above. I have an Ed visa -it is not for  year -it is a visa that gives you permission to stay in Thailand to study Thai for a undetermined amount of time provided you get extensions of stay every ninety days on the discretion of the immigration officer and provided the school you attend provides the immigration with the right paperwork (i.e your class attendance, your address etc etc) There is at the moment no legal limit to how long you can stay as long as you are abiding by these points .Obviously after 3/4 year you would be expected to speak and understand Thai to a greater extent. At the school I attend we started to learn to write Thai after a year.

It doesnt sound like Deemak 9 fulfils the criterium - Two Ed visas? (did he leave the country and then come back and have to get another one? Several tourist Visas. Doesnt understand basic Thai.

iF YOU HAD BEEN THE IMMIGRATION OFFICER WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE THOUGHT?

[paz]

I am not on an ED visa, but I have been studying Thai for several years. I can read Thai script and I know a fair amount of the language. However I freeze up whenever I need to use Thai in conversation and am often unable to retrieve the right words (or forget them). I am multilingual, but each language has taken me much longer than two or three years. That's just the way I am.

 

I think the success in learning a language should not be the benchmark for getting a visa. It should be based upon attendance at the school. As long as you are honestly putting in the effort, the degree of success should not matter. After all, the government's concern is that the person is actually working instead of studying.

 

Absolutely correct. But immigration officers may not have your logical thinking, and the process can be kept simple.

 

At this time all they want is is a simple confirmation that a Thai student can talk a little and perhaps write some simple words or his name. It's not asking much really. 

Edited August 1, 2014 by paz

[smotherb]

Might be time to think about getting a fresh new passport.

 

Maybe he should have learned a little Thai on the ED visa
 

[Rumblecat]

 

 

The reason I got refused extension yesterday was that my thai was not good enough and I didnt have much cash on me

How much cash they did they expect you to have on you? 

I do wish sometimes when people post up about stuff like this they'd go into proper details- like how long you'd been on your current ED visa, was it mutltiple entry, how long you'd been out the country and so on. 

[Metapod]

 

I am not on an ED visa, but I have been studying Thai for several years. I can read Thai script and I know a fair amount of the language. However I freeze up whenever I need to use Thai in conversation and am often unable to retrieve the right words (or forget them). I am multilingual, but each language has taken me much longer than two or three years. That's just the way I am.

 

I think the success in learning a language should not be the benchmark for getting a visa. It should be based upon attendance at the school. As long as you are honestly putting in the effort, the degree of success should not matter. After all, the government's concern is that the person is actually working instead of studying.

 

Absolutely correct. But immigration officers may not have your logical thinking, and the process can be kept simple.

 

At this time all they want is is a simple confirmation that a Thai student can talk a little and perhaps write some simple words or his name. It's not asking much really. 

 

 

I think if you can't make small conversation and write your name in Thai after two years of studying, that you deserve to have your visa denied.

 

 

[Kitsune]

 

 

An education VISA is for learning Thai. After two education visas and presumably two years of tuition, your Thai should be good enough to cope with questions asked by Immigration. I am not saying you are one of the guilty ones but there are many staying in Thailand on education visas who are abusing the system. I personally know of two such people, both over 70, who openly boast that they are only required to attend a single one hour lesson per week and that there is no test of knowledge of the language. Second and subsequent education visas should be issued only after the student has demonstrated a knowledge of Thai comparative to the length of study. In addition the establishments offering these visas should be monitored very closely for performance.

There is no requirement to study Thai on an Ed Visa. Plenty of people are studying English, Japanese or another language, or cooking, Thai boxing etc. Some are taking a degree at a Thai university.
 
 

 

 

Erm...why then would the Immigration Official test his ability to speak Thai? 

 

 

Because they don't speak anything else.

I have studied Japanese, but my MOE interview test was in THAI.

They just do the same interview for everyone IN THAI regardless that you study Mandarin, cooking or French

 

[falang07]

Well, as for me, I really doubt one could be denied entry having a valid ED visa, paid language course + paid reentry permit, no matter how good student he/she was. Also, even if his/her visa would be canceled, he/she should still get the 30 days visa exempt entry.

 

 

 

[falang07]

Also, since the OP did not bother to reply, I consider this topic scaremongering. Have your papers ready + show the necessary funds, and I doubt one would have any problems.

 

 

 

[Phatcharanan]

 

Well, as for me, I really doubt one could be denied entry having a valid ED visa, paid language course + paid reentry permit, no matter how good student he/she was. Also, even if his/her visa would be canceled, he/she should still get the 30 days visa exempt entry.

 

 

 

 

 

Entry to the country is always at the ultimate discretion of the immigration office at the point of entry.

 

Having a visa or otherwise is no guarantee of entry