Ed' Visa the Easy Option........or not?

[The Sly Fox]

I am not saying that the ED visa is not still a viable option, but it is more of a pain in the ass than it was, and if you are dodgy about going to school you will be more likely to have a problem, or kick in that extra few thousand baht for VIP treatment.

 

I have said and I will say again that I don't think I have much room to complain about jumping through some visa hoops, considering how hard my home country makes it for Thai people to get a visa into the US for any reason.

Comparing apples with pears. Thais and other foreigners go to our home countries and get into the welfare system, the medical system, they get citizenship and purchase property and vote in elections. We get SFA here, so there's really zero for the Thais to be concerned about with us. What's it matter to them how many of us are here? We cost them nothing and our mickey mouse visas can be cancelled at a moments notice and out we go.

[furryman]

Comparing apples with pears. Thais and other foreigners go to our home countries and get into the welfare system, the medical system, they get citizenship and purchase property and vote in elections. We get SFA here, so there's really zero for the Thais to be concerned about with us. What's it matter to them how many of us are here? We cost them nothing and our mickey mouse visas can be cancelled at a moments notice and out we go.

I think it is a fair comparison even when not talking about Thai people moving to America, just getting a tourist visa is impossible for most Thais.

 

I totally embrace the fact that I am a guest here in Thailand and have no right to be here, merely permission. I'm lucky enough to be one of the people who can stay here, and I am grateful for that, which is why you won't hear more than minor grumbling from me about the ever shifting visa rules.

[Edge]

.............Thais ............. go to our home countries and get into the welfare system, the medical system, they get citizenship and purchase property and vote in elections. .............

 

....................our mickey mouse visas can be cancelled at a moments notice and out we go.

 

 

 

I don't know where you're from, but not all that easy for Thais to become 'Brits'.

[Edge]

...

[Edge]

...

[The Sly Fox]

mickey.jpg

 

 

I don't know where you're from, but not all that easy for Thais to become 'Brits'.

3 times Edge? Do you really need to ram your point home like that?

[Edge]

3 times Edge? Do you really need to ram your point home like that?

 

No idea what happened there.

[The Sly Fox]

No idea what happened there.

OK you're forgiven...

[furryman]

Another FWIW: I got the second stamp for my last 90 days today and dropped in at school for them to make a photocopy. They told me one of the students there just converted the ED visa into an O visa at Jomtien. /shrug

[Shawn80]

All the hassle to get a visa! I love Thailand. I just want to live here in peace for the short time of my life left. 
But.. I am to young to get a retirement visa.

 

I payed 25K for Thai school + 1 year VISA.  Most of this money goes to the person who approves these papers in government. A ton of tea.

 

I take 30 papers to the Thai embassy in Sweden. I have to provide bank statements with 60Kx12 money. Contract apartment. Health insurance. Denied. 

 

Another 9K going to Laos and get the visa approved there with the same papers.

 

After 3 months its time to renew the visa. 1) Either accept that immigration will visit me at my home each week and other fun stuff. 2) Or pay extra 3.1K (total 5K) for "VIP" treatment. 

 

I get my passport back after paying for VIP. Guess what? "You have to leave the country in 3 month". 
Yes. Without telling me, immigration changed the rules. My 1 year visa suddenly was a 6 month visa without any appeal processes.

 

Would I recommend EDU visa? Nope. 

Today minimum cost is 45K + visa run Laos + 2-5K THB each 90 days.  And they can change the rules anytime they want voiding the money you already spent.

 

For me the main reasons to get EDU visa (instead of Tourist visa)

1) You can legally open bank account.

2) You can have real thai driving license. 

3) You can learn Thai (something we should do if we live in the country)

4) Best case scenario: no visa runs for a year.

 

---

(Compare this to immigration to Sweden/EU. Each year 120000 person immigrate to Sweden. Over 95% of them throw away their passports. They seek "asylum". = Free food, housing, money, get out of jail card, free school, healthcare.  Compare that how its for us trying to stay in TH. 

Funniest thing with Sweden is: I can NEVER get away paying taxes there, even if I don't live there. If I stay outside sweden over 6 month I loose right to for example health care even if I have to pay taxes there. Compare it again to immigration. Illegals in Sweden get free health care. I who pay taxes don't get it. This is true racism that exist in all western countries.)  

[furryman]

I have heard a couple stories about ED visas getting shortened to less than the 1 year originally contracted with the school, but I have never heard of the immigration cops coming to someone's home for an inspection. They DO drop in at the schools now and then.

 

All I can say is that I'm glad I am done with the process, I'm trying to squeeze in as much learning as I can during this last month and half of school I have left, and then I'm on to the much mellower O visa, thank Buddha.

[furryman]

Yet another FYI update on my ED visa experience:

 

As of today my school has officially started holding classes 4 days a week. I'm glad I have about 1.5 months left to go. Big learning push to wrap up my Thai school career.

[bhang22]

All the hassle to get a visa! I love Thailand. I just want to live here in peace for the short time of my life left. 

But.. I am to young to get a retirement visa.

 

I payed 25K for Thai school + 1 year VISA.  Most of this money goes to the person who approves these papers in government. A ton of tea.

 

I take 30 papers to the Thai embassy in Sweden. I have to provide bank statements with 60Kx12 money. Contract apartment. Health insurance. Denied. 

 

Another 9K going to Laos and get the visa approved there with the same papers.

 

 

Yikes, you did all that (bank statement, insurance etc) and you still got denied?

 

I've been planning to move to Thailand for awhile and want to live there for at least 6 months. I thought the ED visa looks like the best bet, but this is giving me second thoughts.

 

I've read that you can technically get up to 6 months on just a tourist visa, but you have to go on visa runs and you're at the mercy of immigration - I'm planning on getting an apartment in BKK and I don't want to be denied entry back into the country with all of my stuff still in Thailand. I feel like the ED visa would give me a lot more peace of mind and I don't mind attending classes. 

 

Would you still recommend against the ED visa if you're only staying in the country for 6 months? 

 

Also, do you guys have any BKK schools that you'd recommend? I've been searching online and haven't found much so I'm just leaning towards Walen. 

[Just Browsing]

Easier to get a double (or triple) entry Tourist Visa in your own country & you should have no problems leaving/Re-Entering Thailand by air, currently a clamp down on the Cambodian Land borders but even this is not supposed to impact people with Tourist Visas.

 

- 60 days on 1st Entry

- Go to immigration & get a 30 day extension

- Exit Thailand & re-enter (either a "Border Run" or a short visit to a neighboring country)

- "Activate" 2nd Entry (make sure you do this before the Visa Expires, some Double Entry visas only have a 3 month validity)

- Get another 60 days on Entry

- Extend for a further 30 Days

- Rinse & Repeat if you get a Triple Entry giving you almost 9 months.

 

Can still study Thai if you like... Up To You

[furryman]

I would agree that when coming here from home, a triple entry tourist visa is the way to go. That will give you close to 9 months in Thailand. It's what I did.

 

It also seems that, for now at least, back to back to back tourist visas are not a problem. Mostly.

 

It seems to be rare, but some folks have been told by the Thai consulate up in Vientiane that they had gotten too many tourist visas in a row. Some were just warned to go to another consulate for the next one, some were simply refused a new visa.

 

So if you are doing a string of tourist visas, I'd say shake it up and get them from different consulates just to avoid that issue.

 

Despite the ED visa being more of a hassle than it was when I first signed up, I still think it is a good option if you need a visa to help cover a couple years before you turn 50.

 

Having to go to Vientiane once a year, Jomtien immigration 3 times a year for extensions, and go to class, still seems like less hassle than 2 trips to Vientiane, 2 out/in stamp runs, and 2 extensions from Jomtien that you would need in the same year.

[furryman]

Today I took another step closer to being done with the ED visa saga.

 

Yesterday I got the letter from school officially stating that I am done with my course, and plan to exit Thailand on the 6th. Today I took the letter to immigration and got my stamp (yay another half page used up) that gives me permission to leave Thailand.

 

When the office girl/English teacher gave me the letter she advised me to double check the date they put on that stamp to be sure it's the one stated in the letter. They had a student recently who got a mis-dated stamp, stamped for the day she was in the immigration office, not her planned departure date, which was 10 days later. When she got to the border, she was on 10 days of overstay. Ouch. No one likes surprise 5k baht fines.