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Ed visa without leaving Thailand


apluspls

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I'm currently in Thailand on the visa amnesty and thinking about my visa options for after 31 July. One online visa agent in Pattaya say they can get me an ed visa without leaving the country. Obviously there are fees involved so I'm not talking about the official rules but whether anyone has had any experiences with this kind of agent in Pattaya. Do you think they can deliver?

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I don't know if they can deliver, but first you might want to go talk to a school yourself and ask them if they can get you a visa? 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 27/06/2020 at 13:04, apluspls said:

I'm currently in Thailand on the visa amnesty and thinking about my visa options for after 31 July. One online visa agent in Pattaya say they can get me an ed visa without leaving the country. Obviously there are fees involved so I'm not talking about the official RULES but whether anyone has had any experiences with this kind of agent in Pattaya. Do you think they can deliver?

Which agent say they they can get that? I've had an offer of a transfer to a volunter visa with leaving the country for 52,000THB but my school says they need the borders to open for an ed visa.

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On 10/07/2020 at 03:46, Dave Hedgehog said:

Which agent say they they can get that? I've had an offer of a transfer to a volunter visa with leaving the country for 52,000THB but my school says they need the borders to open for an ed visa.

The Online Pattaya website.

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On 09/07/2020 at 21:46, Dave Hedgehog said:

Which agent say they they can get that? I've had an offer of a transfer to a volunter visa with leaving the country for 52,000THB but my school says they need the borders to open for an ed visa.

Anyone know if the volunteer visa is legit? A friend was quoted 55,000THB for this today.

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1 hour ago, bestmate said:

Anyone know if the volunteer visa is legit? A friend was quoted 55,000THB for this today.

Depends what you mean by legit. It's obviously illegal corruption if you're given a volunteer visa but you're not doing any volunteer work. But you do get a visa. There's always the chance with these things of the people you're bribing getting busted and everything going tits up for you.

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@bestmate @Dave Hedgehog

Any chance you guys could PM me or post the name/contact info of the agents who provided these quotes? I've been told 65k and 70k so far for the same visa from a couple of popular Pattaya agents.

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It would appear that at this time an Education visa is somewhat difficult to get. The Volunteer visa is being offered by several visa  agencies, some of them very reputable, for a average price of between 65k and 75k inclusive. This usually takes about 2/3 weeks and requires  your passport and two  passport photos  

You may PM me if you want information on one that I know personally who has done such visas successfully.

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I was warned by my school not to do this transfer to a volunteer visa as it's highly illegal, unlike some of the other "special services" that they provide which are merely a grey area. The school has a contact in BKK immigration who can do transfers onto an ed visa if you are on a 30 day stamp but she won't touch this volunteer visa.

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  • 1 month later...

Any updates on this? Agents etc?  I was going to get the Volunteer for 55k but decided maybe learning Thai would be a good idea.  Any schools in Pats that can help sort the visa?

 

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5 hours ago, DaveStarl said:

Any updates on this? Agents etc?  I was going to get the Volunteer for 55k but decided maybe learning Thai would be a good idea.  Any schools in Pats that can help sort the visa?

 

I'm in the process of getting mine with Pro Language Pattaya, they failed to inform me or I guess I didn't ask that they want 18 passport photos, picture of me in front of my condo and room, copy of room owner's ID CARD, House book, TM30, copy of the lease.

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On 18/08/2020 at 07:00, Ohyesuare said:

I'm in the process of getting mine with Pro Language Pattaya, they failed to inform me or I guess I didn't ask that they want 18 passport photos, picture of me in front of my condo and room, copy of room owner's ID CARD, House book, TM30, copy of the lease.

Serious? What if the owner is not a Thai, and not in the country? 

I have been told that this 1 year education visa starts from the day you entered Thailand. For me that would be March 2020, so the visa is good until March 2021. Question : can you convert an education visa to a retirement visa (yes, I will be 50 by then)? Without having to leave Thailand obviously. 

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2 hours ago, wadman said:

Serious? What if the owner is not a Thai, and not in the country? 

I have been told that this 1 year education visa starts from the day you entered Thailand. For me that would be March 2020, so the visa is good until March 2021. Question : can you convert an education visa to a retirement visa (yes, I will be 50 by then)? Without having to leave Thailand obviously. 

Most things are possible through an agent right now but not sure if that will still be the case in March.

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Definitely a volunteer visa is the way to go. It seems the ed visa won't last the full of year but only 12 months since you entered Thailand so for me that would only be up until next March. I've been offered all-in prices of 60,000-65,000 in Bangkok for 15 months (3 month visa for 20-25,000 then 12 month extension for 35-45,000). I'm surprised it's more expensive in Pattaya. Anyone seen cheaper?

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On 18/08/2020 at 01:42, DaveStarl said:

Any updates on this? Agents etc?  I was going to get the Volunteer for 55k but decided maybe learning Thai would be a good idea.  Any schools in Pats that can help sort the visa?

 

Is that 55k all in (3 months visa + 12 month extension)? If so it's a good deal. If so, care to share the name of the agent? Pm if you prefer.

The other thing to bear in mind is that you can get another 12 month extension with the volunteer visas without leaving the country and without having to pay for a new visa i.e you would just have to pay 35-45k for the extension for another
12 months.

 

 

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1 minute ago, apluspls said:

Is that 55k all in (3 months visa + 12 month extension)? If so it's a good deal. If so, care to share the name of the agent? Pm if you prefer.

The other thing to bear in mind is that you can get another 12 month extension with the volunteer visas without leaving the country and without having to pay for a new visa i.e you would just have to pay 35-45k for the extension for another
12 months.

 

 

I can't decide whether to go for an education visa, or the volunteer.  @DaveStarl, if you can share the information on where to get a volunteer for 55k please.

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Yeah its VIP Visa over in Jomtien. Find them on FB.  I'm heading there when I get back early next week to sort it out.  I should make a post to see if anyone on the board can recommend them.  They've been doing visas and DL's and bank accounts for awhile presumably.  

Just found a language school in Phuket (Bamboo Oriental Phuket)  offering 8000/12000+12000 for a 6-mo/12mo ED visa. Gotta pay 5000 per 90 days on top but works out to 40,000 for 12 months and you get Thai classes which I'd like anyway.  I'd have to get to Phuket for my 90-day renewals tho, but I go often to visit friends anyway.  

Decisions! Leaning towards the Vol-visa.

EDIT: Check the thread to see if anyone recommends VIP: https://forum.pattaya-addicts.com/topic/346355-vip-visa-pattayajomtien-has-anyone-used/

Edited by DaveStarl
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26 minutes ago, apluspls said:

That 55k from VIP Visa is for 15 months so a good deal.

Does the 55k include all fees?  How complicated is the 90 day reporting?  Is that a simple process that can be done online (i.e. no questions asked). 

My understanding with the education visa is that the 90 day reporting for it may be a lot more complicated, where an immigration officer may grill you on actual studies and the progress thereof.  Which is why you probably want to fork out another 5k to have the agent do the ED 90 day reporting for you.

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5 hours ago, wadman said:

Does the 55k include all fees?  How complicated is the 90 day reporting?  Is that a simple process that can be done online (i.e. no questions asked). 

My understanding with the education visa is that the 90 day reporting for it may be a lot more complicated, where an immigration officer may grill you on actual studies and the progress thereof.  Which is why you probably want to fork out another 5k to have the agent do the ED 90 day reporting for you.

Yes the 90-day reporting is easy and you can do it online for free with a volunteer visa. For the ed visa there is no 90-day reporting - it's something completely different. You have to actually go into the immigration office and have an interview and they'll give you an extra 90 days. The normal fee is 1,900 but is 5000 including bribes.

 

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4 minutes ago, apluspls said:

Yes the 90-day reporting is easy and you can do it online for free with a volunteer visa. For the ed visa there is no 90-day reporting - it's something completely different. You have to actually go into the immigration office and have an interview and they'll give you an extra 90 days. The normal fee is 1,900 but is 5000 including bribes.

I have just done my ED 90day visa extension today. This is my third extension in total, and everytime the process was the same. You absolutely don't need to use the agent or pay any bribes. Your school prepares paperwork for you beforehand - it's around 1cm thick stack of papers, and includes things like copies of your relevant passport pages, your school attendance chart, class rooster, lesson plan, copy of blue book for your place of residence, rental contract (if applicable), photos of yourself inside your house, and some other documents in Thai that I don't know purpose of (I assume it's school's license from Ministry of Education). Some schools charge extra for preparing those, while for others it's included in tuition fee - shop around before you sign up for particular school. You take those papers and your passport and drop them off at counter 6/6A in immigration office. This is when you pay 1900 THB fee - you will receive receipt of payment and small, blue laminated card with number on it (This is similar system to how residence certificates are handled, needed for driving licenses etc, just different colour of cards - blue instead of pink). They also take a photo of you inside of immigration office (I'm curious how agents handle this one), need to take off corona mask. Next day, or same day later (you will be told when) you show up with this blue card to pick up your passport, which now has stamp that says your visa extension request is under consideration, and you are permitted to stay inside Thailand for extra 2-3 weeks (there's exact date stamped in) and what day you need to come for final 3-month stamp. I didn't have to pass any interview/test during my previous 2 extensions - just drop documents, pay the fee, collect stamps, but I suspect this is highly dependant on nationality and one's history of border runs/suspected employment.

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12 minutes ago, Ivanow said:

I have just done my ED 90day visa extension today. This is my third extension in total, and everytime the process was the same. You absolutely don't need to use the agent or pay any bribes. Your school prepares paperwork for you beforehand - it's around 1cm thick stack of papers, and includes things like copies of your relevant passport pages, your school attendance chart, class rooster, lesson plan, copy of blue book for your place of residence, rental contract (if applicable), photos of yourself inside your house, and some other documents in Thai that I don't know purpose of (I assume it's school's license from Ministry of Education). Some schools charge extra for preparing those, while for others it's included in tuition fee - shop around before you sign up for particular school. You take those papers and your passport and drop them off at counter 6/6A in immigration office. This is when you pay 1900 THB fee - you will receive receipt of payment and small, blue laminated card with number on it (This is similar system to how residence certificates are handled, needed for driving licenses etc, just different colour of cards - blue instead of pink). They also take a photo of you inside of immigration office (I'm curious how agents handle this one), need to take off corona mask. Next day, or same day later (you will be told when) you show up with this blue card to pick up your passport, which now has stamp that says your visa extension request is under consideration, and you are permitted to stay inside Thailand for extra 2-3 weeks (there's exact date stamped in) and what day you need to come for final 3-month stamp. I didn't have to pass any interview/test during my previous 2 extensions - just drop documents, pay the fee, collect stamps, but I suspect this is highly dependant on nationality and one's history of border runs/suspected employment.

Did you actually take any lessons though? Could the immigration officer do a quick test of one's Thai language skill (if that's the study) if they wanted to put the screws on you? 

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35 minutes ago, wadman said:

Did you actually take any lessons though? Could the immigration officer do a quick test of one's Thai language skill (if that's the study) if they wanted to put the screws on you? 

Yes. I have classes two times/week. 2 hours each. If agents want to screw with you/extract tea money, they have numerous tools at their disposal anyway, but like I said, I never had to pass any test until now.

Also, I'm pretty sure you can get ED visa for signing up for English course, instead of Thai one, but I'm not certain (I recall reading something like this in school's leaflets, but it was 9 months ago, so don't quote me on this one - better ask school directly).

 

My total cost was 17k for year of lessons (It was promotion, standard price is, I think 22k) + 15k for visa (Before corona, it was optional - I could go to Vientiane to get it myself, but school staff gave me like 50% chance of success, since I had some previous stamps from visa runs to Cambodia, while if I paid it, I could stay in Pattaya and have guarantee. Now that Laos has borders locked, I'm pretty sure you will need to pay it) + 1900 + 1900 + 1900 = 37,7k THB (Total yearly cost will be 39600, since I have 1 more 90 day extension to go).

THE Language School on Jomtien 2nd Road, near that golden statue, where baht buses turn from Thappraya road to Beach road.

 

 

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51 minutes ago, Ivanow said:

Yes. I have classes two times/week. 2 hours each. If agents want to screw with you/extract tea money, they have numerous tools at their disposal anyway, but like I said, I never had to pass any test until now.

Also, I'm pretty sure you can get ED visa for signing up for English course, instead of Thai one, but I'm not certain (I recall reading something like this in school's leaflets, but it was 9 months ago, so don't quote me on this one - better ask school directly).

 

My total cost was 17k for year of lessons (It was promotion, standard price is, I think 22k) + 15k for visa (Before corona, it was optional - I could go to Vientiane to get it myself, but school staff gave me like 50% chance of success, since I had some previous stamps from visa runs to Cambodia, while if I paid it, I could stay in Pattaya and have guarantee. Now that Laos has borders locked, I'm pretty sure you will need to pay it) + 1900 + 1900 + 1900 = 37,7k THB (Total yearly cost will be 39600, since I have 1 more 90 day extension to go).

THE Language School on Jomtien 2nd Road, near that golden statue, where baht buses turn from Thappraya road to Beach road.

 

 

Sounds like your situation is a bit different from mine.  You are actually taking classes.  The education visas I am looking at is just the visa.  So in your case, it makes perfect sense to do the 90 day reporting yourself.  In my case it would be taking quite a chance though.

 

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I just dropped by both PLC and Pro Language school (both near big C extra). They quoted me 33k and 34k. It breaks down to something like this: 13k for the visa itself, 15k for the school, 5k for 90 reporting. 

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