#  >  > Living And Legal Affairs In Thailand >  >  > Thai Visas and Visa Runs >  >  Cheap 1 Year Ed Visa - 12,500baht

## dirtydog

This aint a bad way to save money on visa runs, it's 12,500baht and even includes 200 hours of online Thai tuition, don't know if anybody bothers with that bit.

They give you all the paperwork you need so you can get your Non Immigrant Ed Visa, it's valid for a year and just needs renewing at your local immigration every 90 days, that costs 1,900baht per time, still works out cheap, maybe give the Thai tuition to someone as a gift and the visa for yourself  :Smile: 
olainter.ac.th/PRICE.html

The company is called OLA International and they also do that TEFL rubbish aswell.

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## sunsetter

thats not bad......
interesting..............

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## dirtydog

I thought a good deal, prices normally are around the 20k plus baht else where, most people I know are not interested in learning Thai, but it's a real cheap way for a one year visa if your young and out shagging a different bird every night..

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## Neo

That's a bloody good price and an ed visa too is a good deal... I always got a non imm b, renewed ad infinitum, but it certainly wasn't as cheap as that.  :Wink:

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## joepattaya

200 hours online course include an ED-visa ............
this CAN'T be legal!

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## 9999

Stuff the Ed visa. A whole bunch of people in Chiang Mai paid up front, think it was about 30K, a few months later the joint closed up, all the visas were revoked and everyone was suddenly on overstay. Still no word on getting their money back. Good luck. Perpetual tourists visas are the go. Alternate between Laos and Burma every 3 months, keeps you on your toes it does.

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## teddy

> Stuff the Ed visa. A whole bunch of people in Chiang Mai paid up front, think it was about 30K, a few months later the joint closed up, all the visas were revoked and everyone was suddenly on overstay. Still no word on getting their money back. Good luck. Perpetual tourists visas are the go. Alternate between Laos and Burma every 3 months, keeps you on your toes it does.


Chiang Mai University Language Institute

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## sabaii sabaii

> I thought a good deal, prices normally are around the 20k plus baht else where


I know someone who has just paid over 60,000 baht, inside bthe Emporium



> Stuff the Ed visa. A whole bunch of people in Chiang Mai paid up front, think it was about 30K, a few months later the joint closed up, all the visas were revoked and everyone was suddenly on overstay


I've heard of that also

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## 9999

^ Apparently it was farangs behind the scam, but I don't know the details. 

I know at least 3 people personally who got ripped off. They were always telling me I was mad doing these tourist visa runs.

Anyway, if anything is sold with 'cheap' and 'ed visa' in the spam, I'd personally stay as far away as possible.

Not your mates are they Dawg?

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## dirtydog

> Not your mates are they Dawg?


If they were don't you think I would have mentioned it? Also if they were would I have mentioned the TEFLer rubbish, or would I be telling you how great being a TEFLer is and sticking a referral link in where I could earn $200 per sign up?

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## dirtydog

If we were going to do referrals I would stick Bruces old Ban Phe school in there, he actually has a business degree so knows how to do business and also has a good reputation, bit different to some Koh Samui school I have never heard of and I should mention I have never been to Koh Samui, but hey, your a dick  :Smile:

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## 9999

> If they were don't you think I would have mentioned it? Also if they were would I have mentioned the TEFLer rubbish, or would I be telling you how great being a TEFLer is and sticking a referral link in where I could earn $200 per sign up?


Relax big fella I was just kiddin. We all know you don't roll that way, that's why this forum is still free and not whored out to advertisers. Cheers for that.

Obviously not much room for referral bonuses and such with the ultra low price.

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## joepattaya

The way it should be done, and probably Bruce is doing it that way:
- the school has to be accredited by the Thai MoE.
- the curriculum has to be approved by the same MoE
- the student enrolls for a whatever course and leaves all necessary documents in the office
- the school will go to the regional MoE-office in order to receive documents from them, stating that Mr. so an so is officially a student.
- with all documents the student has to apply for an ED-visa abroad
- the student has to study (in-class) for at least 180-200 hours per year!!
- after 90 days (the school got some new documents from the regional MoE-office), the student and the school go to the immigration for a 90-days extention (THB 1900). This has to be done every 90 days, but some schools (and immigrations) will extend up to 1 year immediately. 
- on a regular base the school has to send reports of progress and attendance to the regional MoE-office. 

This is official!!!!

There are many ways to do this un-official, but that only depends on the willingness of the Immigration people $$

Anyway, we stopped with our ED-visa program; we did do approx. 125 students in 3 years and during that time, Immigration people started to behave really greedy and started asking money although we did everything according the rules. 
We stayed open until our last student turned 50 and decided to go for a retirement visa.

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## JournalistsAreLiars

Hello, do you know where is the cheapest school for ED visa now ? Walen  costs more than 40000 for 6 months it seems ? Thank you.

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## toddaniels

AFAIK; right now no private thai language schools can get paperwork from the MOE to give a student to get their initial single entry 90 day Non-ED visa outside the country. 

Since about the middle of last month the OPEC (Office of the Private Education Commission) in conjunction with the MOE (Ministry of Education) changed a rule which stated ALL private thai language schools needed to re-submit and re-certify their curriculum before the MOE would issue paperwork to a school so student going out of the country to get a ED visa. 

AFAIK; no schools in Bangkok have been re-certified yet, although several have turned in their curriculum and have appointments booked for the MOE to come re-inspect the schools.

Most schools who'd turned in the paperwork for a student before the 30th of last month are going to still get the MOE paperwork like normal, but I was at 5 different schools last week and none of them were offering ED visas..

As far as the poster who asked for a cheap thai language school. I'd say they wouldn't hafta look hard to find a better school.

As an aside; I happened to have reviewed a bunch of thai language schools and they are posted on my friends website. Google; Tod Daniels Bangkok, you'll find the stuff I've written. I would also tell the poster to go to a few schools and sit a sample lesson rather than sign up for a school based solely on price..

IMHO the days of foreigner staying here on an ED visa under the guise of studying thai are fast comin' to a close.

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## birding

I am told by someone who has been here on an Ed visa that BKK (Chang Wattana) were only giving 6 month extentions if the application was in an envelope with 5000B.

If it was done in the normal (proper) way with 1900B they would only give 2 months at a time. 

Dont know if you have heard of that one Todd.

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## toddaniels

birding; 
The way it is now, is you can't extend an ED visa longer than a calendar year period. That means you go out get your first 90 day ED visa, then can extend that a total of 9 additional months. Before that meant three 90 day extensions
BUT
some schools (which will remain un-named) were crankin' out ED visas by the thousands! Chaengwattana began "punishing" students of those schools and indeed every school to some extent. Two schools in particular were locked down to 30 day extensions, no matter if the student had perfect attendance and could read thai inside, outside up-side down, in a box with a fox. Students at most "real" schools get 60 days now.

Last year one of the schools being "punished" found a "work around". If you went on your own for your extension you got 30 days and paid 1900 baht, BUT if you went on your own and paid 4900baht or paid the school 5K baht and they did the extension for you, you got 90 days.

That has since been done away with. Now schools have little i/d booklets with the students picture on it, an attendance chart (which most schools won't fudge on) and the students take the last lesson they studied so they can be "quizzed" on the material.

Here's a scan I did of that "other option" which was available last year for students of some schools.

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## JournalistsAreLiars

Seems so weird, I can't believe that thousand of people having an ED visa have problems to extend it ? Seems quite impossible actually. Thank you for the replies.

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## aging one

Could be that the authorities have determined that a great proportion of those with the visa's were not students.   :Smile:

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## toddaniels

UPDATE: It seems here in Bangkok at least, several of the private thai language schools have gotten their curriculum re-approved and are able to hawk ED visas again.

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## stickmansucks

It was so clear that the contrary was impossible.

Wallen has always been able to help getting an ED visa.

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## toddaniels

> It was so clear that the contrary was impossible.
> 
> Wallen has always been able to help getting an ED visa.


Umm, no at least here in Bangkok the Walen school (with one L  :Smile: ) was also "locked out" of being able to ED visas while both their curriculum and their school (now NOT on the 3rd floor of Times Square, but in their original location the 24th floor) was re-certified.

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