am i able to apply for a volunteer visa

[freesudani 64]

They already told me i cant apply for ED visa to a thai school because im african , i wonder if they would say the same thing about the volunteer visa?

[BritTim 9,607]

Who told you? Was it immigration, a school or an agent?

 

For a volunteer visa, you will almost certainly need to use an agent, if it is possible at all. Ask them.

[freesudani 64]

1 hour ago, BritTim said:

Who told you? Was it immigration, a school or an agent?

The school..... basically they told me i need to get out of Thailand to apply for the ED visa at a thai consulate 

[BritTim 9,607]

42 minutes ago, freesudani said:

For the agent  i asked three ... none of them made an issue about my nationality , they just gave me the visa fees , i just fear they might take the money then say at the end "sorry we couldnt do it for you"

Good agents will not steal from you. They care about their reputation. Just use a well established agent, and do not focus too much on price. Be suspicious of agents who have not been around long offering prices that are suspiciously cheap.

[Myran 2,096]

On 9/27/2020 at 11:07 PM, freesudani said:

The school..... basically they told me i need to get out of Thailand to apply for the ED visa at a thai consulate 

So it had absolutely nothing to do with you being African and everything to do with you having to follow the exact same procedure as every other foreigner?

[freesudani 64]

5 hours ago, Myran said:

So it had absolutely nothing to do with you being African and everything to do with you having to follow the exact same procedure as every other foreigner?

No , other foreigners dont need to exit Thailand  to get an ED visa for a thai school .... atleast Europeans and Americans 

[4evermaat 1,349]

@freesudani which country specifically is your passport from?

[micmichd 1,575]

On 9/27/2020 at 9:53 PM, BritTim said:

Who told you? Was it immigration, a school or an agent?

 

For a volunteer visa, you will almost certainly need to use an agent, if it is possible at all. Ask them.

You will certainly need to prove that either you or an NGO will pay for all your costs in Thailand. 

Maybe a clerical Western institution if you're a member. But remember, foreign missionaries are not really welcome. 

 

[PatOngo 41,423]

6 hours ago, 4evermaat said:

@freesudani which country specifically is your passport from?

Take a punt.....I would say Sudan!

[KarenBravo 10,047]

7 hours ago, 4evermaat said:

@freesudani which country specifically is your passport from?

The clue is in their name.

[Myran 2,096]

10 hours ago, freesudani said:

No , other foreigners dont need to exit Thailand  to get an ED visa for a thai school .... atleast Europeans and Americans 

I'm European and I've studied at a Thai university and at a Thai language school – for both I had to apply for the initial visa outside of Thailand, and for the language school I had to leave the country once every year to apply for a new visa.

[freesudani 64]

11 minutes ago, Myran said:

I'm European and I've studied at a Thai university and at a Thai language school – for both I had to apply for the initial visa outside of Thailand, and for the language school I had to leave the country once every year to apply for a new visa.

i see  , but i see ads all over facebook and the internet pages claiming that you dont need to leave the country , and when i asked the school  they told me it doesnt apply to certain nationalities , previously , when i was studying at a thai university they told me if i need to renew my ED visa i have to re-apply at the thai consulate at my home country.

[Myran 2,096]

1 minute ago, freesudani said:

i see  , but i see ads all over facebook and the internet pages claiming that you dont need to leave the country , and when i asked the school  they told me it doesnt apply to certain nationalities , previously , when i was studying at a thai university they told me if i need to renew my ED visa i have to re-apply at the thai consulate at my home country.

Might have something to do with agents who have contacts at the immigration office.

[freesudani 64]

12 minutes ago, Myran said:

Might have something to do with agents who have contacts at the immigration office.

Well... if it was gonna be done under the table and through contacts  then my nationality shouldnt matter .

[BritTim 9,607]

1 hour ago, freesudani said:

Well... if it was gonna be done under the table and through contacts  then my nationality shouldnt matter .

I speculate that the reason is that visas and extensions of stay for certain nationalities are automatically reviewed at higher levels in the hierarchy. There are most likely highly connected lawyers that could get you the required conversion visas or extensions of stay through high level officials, but such lawyers are very expensive.

 

For Western nationalities, there are minimum levels at which applications are scrutinised, but not levels where bribes become astronomical. Also there are many officials at that level, and agents (and sometimes schools independently) can play officials off against each other to keep prices down.