Thai language course with ED visa

[DanceAllNight]

Hello,

I am looking for a Thai language school in Chiang Mai that offers the ED visa. I am looking to study for 1 year. I found some places, but none were cheaper than 25,000 Baht and they told me I cannot apply for ED visa in Thailand, that I would need to leave the country and apply at a Thai embassy.

Basically, want to know some good schools in Chiang Mai (for good price) offering the ED visa and where I do not hav to leave country to get the visa.

[ubonjoe]

You will have to go out of the country to get the ED visa. From CM the best place to get the ED visa is Vientiane Laos.

Prices for schools have gone up because the Ministry of Education has doubled the number of hours needed to get the paper work for visas and extensions of stay.

[DanceAllNight]

You will have to go out of the country to get the ED visa. From CM the best place to get the ED visa is Vientiane Laos.

Prices for schools have gone up because the Ministry of Education has doubled the number of hours needed to get the paper work for visas and extensions of stay.

I am currently on a tourist visa with three previous stamps of 30 days in 2014... will i encounter problems if i apply for ED visa?

[ubonjoe]

You will not have any problem getting your visa. Your previous visa and entries will not be taken into consideration when you apply for it.

[nzexpat]

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You will have to go out of the country to get the ED visa. From CM the best place to get the ED visa is Vientiane Laos.

Prices for schools have gone up because the Ministry of Education has doubled the number of hours needed to get the paper work for visas and extensions of stay.

I am currently on a tourist visa with three previous stamps of 30 days in 2014... will i encounter problems if i apply for ED visa?

No !

But be aware you are not going to be able to secure a one year ED visa and it is becoming difficult to secure extensions of stay beyond 6 months.

[DanceAllNight]

Thanks everyone for the replies.

Another question: How many tourist visa with extensions can I get in a row? Like I said, I visited 3 times for 30 days in 2014 and then got my tourist visa and arrived here in early March.... if i extend another 30 days and then go to Laos for another visa, will I be able to get another tourist visa or be denied?

I am just trying to figure out the best way to stay in Thailand for the girlfriend i met while traveling. I want to work here eventunally and maybe get married, but in the meantime, i want to stay here with my girlfriend.

By the way, is there a tourist visa option in Laos for longer than 60 days? I met some lads in Laos getting visas for 6 months and 1 year.... as a tourist. Didn't know it was possible, but they claimed otherwise.

[puukao]

I did the ED visa through Laos. It was an additional $400 USD for everything (travel, hotel, etc..) and i learned thai for 6-months. after 3 months you pay 1900 baht.

even without ED visa, if you can spend about $1000 USD a month then you can stay for quite some time. living cheap is still $10,000 USD a year....with gf and some traveling, it might be $20,000 USD for just one year. and normal jobs are almost impossible to find.....very, very hard to save money by working in thailand. i didn't work there, no jobs and i was only there maybe a year in 2 trips.

I only bring this up since you are looking for the cheapest option and I just wanted to give you my thoughts. i wish you well. if you love her, i say take the risk!!!

[paz]

Another question: How many tourist visa with extensions can I get in a row? Like I said, I visited 3 times for 30 days in 2014 and then got my tourist visa and arrived here in early March.... if i extend another 30 days and then go to Laos for another visa, will I be able to get another tourist visa or be denied?

I am just trying to figure out the best way to stay in Thailand for the girlfriend i met while traveling. I want to work here eventunally and maybe get married, but in the meantime, i want to stay here with my girlfriend.

By the way, is there a tourist visa option in Laos for longer than 60 days? I met some lads in Laos getting visas for 6 months and 1 year.... as a tourist. Didn't know it was possible, but they claimed otherwise.

You can get double entry tourist visa in Vientane or Savannakhet Laos. Each entry is for 60 days extendable for 30 more, that is almost 6 months. If you can prove you have funds coming from abroad there is no definitive limit on how many you can get.

[ubonjoe]

You can get at least two 2 (3 is common) entry tourist visas back to back in Laos without a problem. They do not count your previous tourist visas unless you got them there or visa exempt entries.

You can go to school to learn Thai on a tourist visa. You will find the cost of the school will be much less if you don't need the paperwork to get a ED visa.

[DanceAllNight]

This has all been very helpful. Thanks for all the replies.

I wish I had known about the double entry visa. I thought 60 days was all you could get. I got my tourist visa in Vietnam and I asked about double entry, but they said they only have single. I assume maybe it's just Laos that offers it, or maybe Cambodia/Malaysia?

[ubonjoe]

Hanoi will do a 2 entry visa but you need tickets out of the country for each entry.

Vientiane and Savannakhet Laos will do 2 entry tourist visas without tickets needed.

The nearest after those is Bali where you can get a 3 entry by showing tickets out. Manila is possible for a 2 entry with tickets out of the country.