Education Visa in Chiang Mai

[Chesterpot]

Posted about this in the main visas forum, but would make sense to post here too.

I am currently living in CM on a Tourist Visa which will expire soon but I can extend for another 30 days. After this I am considering enrolling at a school and obtaining a 1 year Education Visa if possible.

I am open to studying Thai language, Thai cooking and many other things.

Ideally it would just be for 4 hours a week or so if possible.

If people have some ideas/recommendations that would be great.

[JepSoDii]

I heard that since 2014, the minimum has been 8.

[Dante99]

No worries, you can get anything you want in CM, if you have enough money. Education visa, study 30 minutes a week, ok.

[Chesterpot]

I heard that since 2014, the minimum has been 8.

Sorry for late reply first of all.

I did hear that too but I've come across a couple - Chiang Mai University and Lanna Language School where that doesn't seem to be the case. 6 hours per week with CMU and 4 per week with LLS.

Speaking of which, would love to hear feedback from anybody who has been to enrolled at either of those:

http://learnthaicmu.com/1-year-thai

http://lannalanguage.com/

Edited February 17, 2016 by Chesterpot

[Chesterpot]

No worries, you can get anything you want in CM, if you have enough money. Education visa, study 30 minutes a week, ok.

Can you tell me what options you are aware of please?

[sunnyjim5]

"After this I am considering enrolling at a school and obtaining a 1 year Education Visa if possible."

A one year Education Visa is not available anywhere in the region, only single entry visas can be obtained, with the correct paperwork supplied by the school you sign up with.

The visa only provides an initial 90 day stay, Thereafter you are dependent on "extensions of stay" obtained from the immigration office with supporting documentation from the school. You will not be able to secure "extensions" of stay if you only intend to "study" for four hours a week.

If I remember correctly all this was explained to you, in great detail, in a previous topic you started.

edit

Note what Lanna says about their course

"If you choose to study the Thai language on a full time basis, you may be eligible for a visa of up to 1 year.

The process works as follows;

Sign up to the 1 year course at Lanna Language school

Receive paperwork for a 3 month nonimmigrant education visa.

Apply at a Thai consul such as Laos Vientiane or in your home country

Enter in on a 90day visa.

After 90days the visa will be extended at Chiang Mai immigration - the cost is the government fee of 1900 baht. If you wish to have a visa service do the work this can be purchased for an additional cost.

Please remember that the school is for those people who wish to study Thai. It allows you to obtain the visa whilst you are enrolled. If you receive the visa and do not attend the class’s they will not give the paperwork for extending your visa. When you pay for the school you are paying to learn Thai language not to obtain a visa, if you only want a visa this will not be the right course for you."

Edited February 17, 2016 by sunnyjim5

[Chesterpot]

"After this I am considering enrolling at a school and obtaining a 1 year Education Visa if possible."

A one year Education Visa is not available anywhere in the region, only single entry visas can be obtained, with the correct paperwork supplied by the school you sign up with.

The visa only provides an initial 90 day stay, Thereafter you are dependent on "extensions of stay" obtained from the immigration office with supporting documentation from the school. You will not be able to secure "extensions" of stay if you only intend to "study" for four hours a week.

If I remember correctly all this was explained to you, in great detail, in a previous topic you started.

Hi sunnyjim5,

I understand that caveat yes - I will need to report to Immigration every 90 days and extend each time for 1900 baht. But if I attend all the classes then it should be OK? I was told it is just 6 hours per week with CMU and 4 hours per week with with LLS.

I apologise as it was all explained to me before. I am just a bit confused I guess.

Edited February 17, 2016 by Chesterpot

[JepSoDii]

"After this I am considering enrolling at a school and obtaining a 1 year Education Visa if possible."

A one year Education Visa is not available anywhere in the region, only single entry visas can be obtained, with the correct paperwork supplied by the school you sign up with.

The visa only provides an initial 90 day stay, Thereafter you are dependent on "extensions of stay" obtained from the immigration office with supporting documentation from the school. You will not be able to secure "extensions" of stay if you only intend to "study" for four hours a week.

If I remember correctly all this was explained to you, in great detail, in a previous topic you started.

Hi sunnyjim5,

I understand that caveat yes - I will need to report to Immigration every 90 days and extend each time for 1900 baht. But if I attend all the classes then it should be OK? I was told it is just 6 hours per week with CMU and 4 hours per week with with LLS.

I apologise as it was all explained to me before. I am just a bit confused I guess.

I don't see how they could claim it was for full-time study and then only require 4 hours per week.

[Dante99]

No worries, you can get anything you want in CM, if you have enough money. Education visa, study 30 minutes a week, ok.

Can you tell me what options you are aware of please?

Take your big bag of money to any school to get fixed up.

[fey]

tried that route years ago

to make a long story short, it's not worth the trouble, unless you absolutely have to be in the area daily for some reason / can take trips out etc

it's easier, more enjoyable and less expensive to fly out and get another visa in a neighboring country. plus you don't have to get up early and show up at the school every few days

[Chesterpot]

"After this I am considering enrolling at a school and obtaining a 1 year Education Visa if possible."

A one year Education Visa is not available anywhere in the region, only single entry visas can be obtained, with the correct paperwork supplied by the school you sign up with.

The visa only provides an initial 90 day stay, Thereafter you are dependent on "extensions of stay" obtained from the immigration office with supporting documentation from the school. You will not be able to secure "extensions" of stay if you only intend to "study" for four hours a week.

If I remember correctly all this was explained to you, in great detail, in a previous topic you started.

Hi sunnyjim5,

I understand that caveat yes - I will need to report to Immigration every 90 days and extend each time for 1900 baht. But if I attend all the classes then it should be OK? I was told it is just 6 hours per week with CMU and 4 hours per week with with LLS.

I apologise as it was all explained to me before. I am just a bit confused I guess.

I don't see how they could claim it was for full-time study and then only require 4 hours per week.

I see where you're coming from but even CMU is just 6 hours per week. The self defense class run by the guy from Thai Military Police is just 4 hours a week too.

Edited February 19, 2016 by Chesterpot

[Chesterpot]

tried that route years ago

to make a long story short, it's not worth the trouble, unless you absolutely have to be in the area daily for some reason / can take trips out etc

it's easier, more enjoyable and less expensive to fly out and get another visa in a neighboring country. plus you don't have to get up early and show up at the school every few days

Thanks for the feedback.

I don't have to be here daily but I do wish to learn Thai language and am happy to attend classes a few times a week. If the DETV was still available I might well have opted for that again but with just the SETV available now I am leaning strongly towards enrolling with CMU.

[JepSoDii]

"After this I am considering enrolling at a school and obtaining a 1 year Education Visa if possible."

A one year Education Visa is not available anywhere in the region, only single entry visas can be obtained, with the correct paperwork supplied by the school you sign up with.

The visa only provides an initial 90 day stay, Thereafter you are dependent on "extensions of stay" obtained from the immigration office with supporting documentation from the school. You will not be able to secure "extensions" of stay if you only intend to "study" for four hours a week.

If I remember correctly all this was explained to you, in great detail, in a previous topic you started.

Hi sunnyjim5,

I understand that caveat yes - I will need to report to Immigration every 90 days and extend each time for 1900 baht. But if I attend all the classes then it should be OK? I was told it is just 6 hours per week with CMU and 4 hours per week with with LLS.

I apologise as it was all explained to me before. I am just a bit confused I guess.

I don't see how they could claim it was for full-time study and then only require 4 hours per week.

I see where you're coming from but even CMU is just 6 hours per week. The self defense class run by the guy from Thai Military Police is just 4 hours a week too.

Does that course qualify for a student visa, as far as you know?

[luke000]

I see where you're coming from but even CMU is just 6 hours per week. The self defense class run by the guy from Thai Military Police is just 4 hours a week too.

Although doing the self defence course would cost about 50 000 Baht per year for the course and Visa

[JepSoDii]

I see where you're coming from but even CMU is just 6 hours per week. The self defense class run by the guy from Thai Military Police is just 4 hours a week too.

Although doing the self defence course would cost about 50 000 Baht per year for the course and Visa

50k for a year, not really prohibitive considering it would give you a year (if it does).

[Lizard2010]

"After this I am considering enrolling at a school and obtaining a 1 year Education Visa if possible."

A one year Education Visa is not available anywhere in the region, only single entry visas can be obtained, with the correct paperwork supplied by the school you sign up with.

The visa only provides an initial 90 day stay, Thereafter you are dependent on "extensions of stay" obtained from the immigration office with supporting documentation from the school. You will not be able to secure "extensions" of stay if you only intend to "study" for four hours a week.

If I remember correctly all this was explained to you, in great detail, in a previous topic you started.

Hi sunnyjim5,

I understand that caveat yes - I will need to report to Immigration every 90 days and extend each time for 1900 baht. But if I attend all the classes then it should be OK? I was told it is just 6 hours per week with CMU and 4 hours per week with with LLS.

I apologise as it was all explained to me before. I am just a bit confused I guess.

I don't see how they could claim it was for full-time study and then only require 4 hours per week.

Does anyone know much about this course . The self defence class run by the guy from Thai Military Police is just 4 hours a week

As a a friend is interested in doing it

They have a Educating visa for a language course

But want to have more time to do other tings

Any information or feed back would be gratefully appreciated

[fey]

Does anyone know much about this course . The self defence class run by the guy from Thai Military Police is just 4 hours a week

As a a friend is interested in doing it

They have a Educating visa for a language course

But want to have more time to do other tings

Any information or feed back would be gratefully appreciated

nothings just 4 hours, there are regulations saying you must attend classes several times a week for a certain number of hours. if your looking to just go in one day a week and get it over with it probably aint gonna happen fme.

an example, the language schools i looked into required you go in every other day, three times a week for morning classes. that just about makes it a full time gig with some break days in between, no side trips or vacations, thus was not at all interested.

[freedomnow]

The funny thing about a good thing, is it becomes a bad thing when people stick it on a public forum for anyone to see.....100% herd destruction. I learned that trying to get good coffee shop leads from the inner circle cabal of coffee fanatics.

If anyone can help this OP gent, send him a PM (personal message) vs hanging your laundry out for all to see.

[krey]

the days of I am going to school , for a visa but never go, or the school will manipulate my attendance type schedules are pretty much over after the crackdowns last year, which resulted in many schools closing and surely a lot of foreigners left trying to find other options

If you want a visa through a school these days you pretty much have to go and it will certainly be more then 4 hours in most cases, still might be some rare schools where you can get around it or other things like cooking or martial arts or something but it is not very easy to barely go to school and still get a visa anymore

[sunnyjim5]

the days of I am going to school , for a visa but never go, or the school will manipulate my attendance type schedules are pretty much over after the crackdowns last year, which resulted in many schools closing and surely a lot of foreigners left trying to find other options

If you want a visa through a school these days you pretty much have to go and it will certainly be more then 4 hours in most cases, still might be some rare schools where you can get around it or other things like cooking or martial arts or something but it is not very easy to barely go to school and still get a visa anymore

Much truth written in that comment.

Maybe some intelligent person can explain why "things" associated with Ed visas have become more "difficult"

It is interesting to note that there are still those who seek to manipulate the system.

[krey]

the days of I am going to school , for a visa but never go, or the school will manipulate my attendance type schedules are pretty much over after the crackdowns last year, which resulted in many schools closing and surely a lot of foreigners left trying to find other options

If you want a visa through a school these days you pretty much have to go and it will certainly be more then 4 hours in most cases, still might be some rare schools where you can get around it or other things like cooking or martial arts or something but it is not very easy to barely go to school and still get a visa anymore

Much truth written in that comment.

Maybe some intelligent person can explain why "things" associated with Ed visas have become more "difficult"

It is interesting to note that there are still those who seek to manipulate the system.

well from my personal experience in the past. I used to be on the school visa and actually went to school. However, I knew several people that were also on an ED visa and did not. Usually, you would pay an visa agent more money and they would take your passport and get the school stamp, do all the immigration check ins and so forth. I had a friend that had a student visa for a nursing school of some sort and I can assure you he was not studying nursing..

When they started to crack down on Tourist visas and find people using them to stay long term in Thailand I knew then and there that most of these people that were manipulating those tourist visa many of them started to see the school visa as an attractive option so many jumped on board the visa mill school train. You surely saw many signs that would say get a 10 year visa in big bold letters and then learn thai in tiny little letters. So the next step after the tourist visa crack down was to crack down on the student.. too many long stay people staying here and not being able to say a word in Thai. They pushed it to four days a week I heard in order to deter those that were working here illegally, harder to go to school four times a week while your working.

In any case it got really frustrating even for those of us that were going to school. New rules coming out it seemed like every two weeks and personally I finally had enough and went home, back on a tourist now but I come and go so it is not so bad. I feel for those that want to actually use the visa for school.. though the chaos of the last year or two seems to be settling down for the ed visa but the stricter rules are surely present and visa agents selling "student Visas" well that has certainly dropped as well, people I know that used to use this option say they have not been able to get this option anymore.