aldriglikvid Posted December 9, 2020 Share Posted December 9, 2020 Hi guys, I'm looking for a Education Visa option to enter Thailand, as it would be a excellent way to learn Thai (that I've put on my To-do list). Google returns many, many results on the subject in matter and since it's a grey area of a lot of scams, I would like to ask some of you: any schools/websites to recommend, that you know are legit? Thanks! ???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tropposurfer Posted December 10, 2020 Share Posted December 10, 2020 19 hours ago, aldriglikvid said: Hi guys, I'm looking for a Education Visa option to enter Thailand, as it would be a excellent way to learn Thai (that I've put on my To-do list). Google returns many, many results on the subject in matter and since it's a grey area of a lot of scams, I would like to ask some of you: any schools/websites to recommend, that you know are legit? Thanks! ???? I came as my initial set-up for retirement in 2018 on a multiple entry 1 year ED visa. I too didn't want t just come here and wander around but have a plan and direction to support my retirement (not financially support but myself socially, psychologically, new friends, and to integrate (as much as one can) through language learning etc. I live in Phuket as I'm a waterman. I applied for my 1 year ED visa in my home country. I attend BKK Language School in Patong 2 to 3 times a week. One to one teaching of great quality. One can arrange as many classes as one needs or wants so if you wanna study really hard daily classes can be arranged. Khun Gag, the CEO, is a nice and very well English speaking Thai man who will answer any and all questions you might have in the south of the country appeals to you. I find 2-3 hours of class a week great as I study for an hour every day between class times, which makes for a busy fulfilling week. BKK Language school is half the price of the other schools on the island (or close to half) and great value. They also do/help/submit/go with you on all your 90 day reporting so that's a breeze. This 90 day extension stamp process takes about 5-10 minutes tops in Phuket Town IO. The only issue is here in Phuket in order to NOT get a possible 90 stamp REFUSED you're obliged to pay 5,000 a pop direct to the officers at Immigration not the 1900. A nice racket, and of course not uncommon in LOS in some areas of endeavour and commerce. I know a fair few folks here now that go to language schools all over the island and they all pay this 'fee'. So it'll cost you 750 AUD a year to get the 3 90 day stamps for each years calendar, apart from the initial 1 year visa fee for the embassy in your country. It may indeed be different in other parts of Thailand on ED Visa's but I can't comment of these locales and their 'fees'. I did a bit of Google searching like you and looked at a solid selection of reviews before deciding. I deposited for the course got the papers all set up while still in Australia, receiving letters and all formal documents to attach to my Visa App here at home and bingo it came back in about a month all stamped and ok. I paid the balance of the course on my first day at class ... easy peasy ???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricTh Posted December 10, 2020 Share Posted December 10, 2020 You might want to try this school here that I recently found out. Most Thai schools regrettably focus on spoken formal Thai and Thai writing which aren't really practical for foreigners trying to speak to common Thai people. I wasted quite a lot of money attending these useless courses. This school seem to teach practical Thai. https://dukelanguage.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aldriglikvid Posted December 10, 2020 Author Share Posted December 10, 2020 Excellent, thank you the both of you @EricTh and @Tropposurfer At the moment, I'm looking for a school in Pattaya. And why I'm asking is, reading the news there is alot of fraud going around - even some cases immigration deciding to cancel the visa "mid-year" because of the school not having things in order - that's why I'm looking for recommendations first hand ???? Perhaps a stupid question, can I learn anything/any class as long it's located in Thailand - or is the visa only for Thai Language? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asiacurious Posted December 10, 2020 Share Posted December 10, 2020 The visa will be tied to the school, and after the first 90 days you'll have to go to extend it and Immigration will test you a bit to see if you can actually speak some Thai by that point. If you can't, they could deny the extension. That said, you do not have to come on an education visa to learn Thai. You could learn a different language if you wanted to. Or you could come to study Muay Thai. Or cooking. Of course, it's hard for immigration to test you on these things, though I suppose if you're learning cooking, you could always make them something to eat! Seriously though, a Thai language course is the best way to get an extension to your initial visa because they can clearly see that you're legitimately studying when you impress them with all that you've learned in the first 90 days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricTh Posted December 11, 2020 Share Posted December 11, 2020 10 hours ago, aldriglikvid said: Perhaps a stupid question, can I learn anything/any class as long it's located in Thailand - or is the visa only for Thai Language? If you are only here for the visa, I suggest not to study Thai language because it is a tough language for most foreigners. I know of a few people who couldn't pass the Thai test when they went for their extension after 3 months. You can go for education in other languages or skills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hanuman2547 Posted December 11, 2020 Share Posted December 11, 2020 On 12/10/2020 at 12:13 PM, asiacurious said: The visa will be tied to the school, and after the first 90 days you'll have to go to extend it and Immigration will test you a bit to see if you can actually speak some Thai by that point. If you can't, they could deny the extension. That said, you do not have to come on an education visa to learn Thai. You could learn a different language if you wanted to. Or you could come to study Muay Thai. Or cooking. Of course, it's hard for immigration to test you on these things, though I suppose if you're learning cooking, you could always make them something to eat! Seriously though, a Thai language course is the best way to get an extension to your initial visa because they can clearly see that you're legitimately studying when you impress them with all that you've learned in the first 90 days. Perhaps get an education visa to study Muay Thai. If the immigration officer asks for a demonstration you could clearly show him what you have learned. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricTh Posted December 15, 2020 Share Posted December 15, 2020 (edited) On 12/12/2020 at 4:00 AM, Hanuman2547 said: Perhaps get an education visa to study Muay Thai. If the immigration officer asks for a demonstration you could clearly show him what you have learned. Muay Thai techniques can be learnt in a week. I doubt there are so many things to learn for one whole year. It's a scam if immigration give education visa just for that. Edited December 15, 2020 by EricTh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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