Thread: Educational Visa new arrangements

Todd, I am personally glad you have the patience to sit in immigration the entire day and absorb more information on such a distorted system. I also appreciate reading what you have to say on many of the questions asked about the pitfalls of the Thai immigration/visa process. Without your input, many would spend hours trying to figure things out, myself included. Too bad you can not collect some monetary compensation from all the members on this site, but that would be illegal would it not?

For those of you who give Todd a hard time, you are the ones needing a hobby. Why he comes back after some try to discredit him is beyond me. I understand it is the TD way at times, but Todd has given plenty of good information on this site and I would like to thank him for that.

Hopefully this does not make it appear that I have a love affair going since I have never met Todd, but I do think he has a lot to offer with regard to immigration information.

I think the Prime Minister should look into the legalities of Option 2. It looks suspiciously like corruption to me.

Originally Posted by rickschoppers

Hopefully this does not make it appear that I have a love affair going

Too late, we all have this down as a budding bromance.

Originally Posted by rickschoppers

but I do think he has a lot to offer with regard to immigration information.

True that, innit.

^
OK, I did leave myself vulnerable to you lot of twisted wankers.

I don't know if this is of use to ED Visa people.

Bizarre ED Visa Extension Fees At Pattaya Immigration
Published by Stickboy BKK



BANGKOK: -- This notice was allegedly taken at Pattaya Immigration by Twitter user @anelianeB and shows some very unusual options and pricing for holders of ED Visas if it is genuine.

The cost of extending an ED Visa in Thailand is 1900 baht for 90 days but according to this notice, those using the Pattaya immigration office, 1900 baht only gets you a 15 days that can be extended by 75 days for a further 1900 baht once an officer has come to check on you at class and the visa holder has obtained further documents from the school. That is option 1.

Option 2 gives the visa holder the choice to pay 4900 baht at immigration, or 5k via the school, to receive a 90 day stamp.

The additional 3000 baht charge is for what and are receipts for these inflated fees being issued?

It all sounds like a scam, or should that be misunderstanding, to me as there have been no announcements or press releases of fee increases or alternative options for 15 or 90 day extension from any official immigration source or outlet.

Source: http://www.stickboyb...ya-immigration/

In Option 1, do you really think an officer will take his time to come check any classrooms? Sounds very similar to officers checking on marriage extensions by coming to the married couples home.

They've been known to come from the Kap Choeng office to check on Marriage visa/extentions abodes. In addition they've been known to ask for the petrol costs on visit.

Originally Posted by Pragmatic

They've been known to come from the Kap Choeng office to check on Marriage visa/extentions abodes. In addition they've been known to ask for the petrol costs on visit.

For every marriage extension, or just a few to show they are doing what they are supposed to do?

I can only assume a few. I've never been visited in over nine years but another farang in the village got visited in his first year of marriage.

So I will revise my statement above to read, do you really think an officer will visit classrooms for every ED visa?

here in phuket they hired like 25 new immigration officials and they are going to be checking..
Schools, dive companies, business's
there's a new boss in town :-)

Damn, 25 more thieves to split the tea money with does not bode well for Phuket foreigners.

There were some good reports where people in Pattaya who didn't pick Option 2, and instead paid 1900baht for a 15 day under consideration stamp WERE visited at their school by immigrations officers and indeed were able to get the remaining 75 days on their extension without paying anything more..

There were also reports where people who got 15 days and weren't in school when the immigrations officer showed up had their extensions canceled..

Who knows, maybe the system can work...

Anecdotally, I'm still tryin' to find out who to report "option 2" to, in the chain of command. I tried to call the "corruption in government hotline", which I thought was a logical place to start. Unfortunately I got stone walled when they wanted my name, passport number, type of visa, my address and a piece of my foreskin. So much for anonymous whistle blowing... I asked them if a thai called did they have to give their name, thai I/D number and was told yes.. No wonder no one's calling the number...

New rules regarding Educational Visas .
If you leave the Country overland , you must first go to your school and get a letter cancelling your Visa and then either take the letter along with your passport to immigration or some land borders can also cancel your visa .
Your Ed Visa expiring or just leaving the Country doesnt camcel the visa out . If you leave Thailand without cancelling your Ed Visa, you will be viewed as having overstayed and if you return to Thailand you will have to pay the overstay fine...........even though you wasnt in the Country

^ Think Todd is gonna chew you a new arsehole with this post!

How on Earth can you overstay if you leave the country before your visa expires?

Can you give a source Fluke?

I went to a Visa shop today and they told me about it .
I then went to my School and they confirmed it .
The school said that some other pupils on Ed Visas were not allowed to leave the Country , they turned them back at the border and they had to go back to the School to get the right documents to cancel the visa .
If you do manage to leave the country without cancelling your visa , they will view that as overstaying and fine you 500 B a day .
People who fly out do not have to pay the overstay fine .
If someone left Thailand and didnt cancel their Ed Visa , went abroad ans then came back two months later, they will be subjected to a 20 000 Baht fine .
It doesnt even matter if your ed visa is about to expire , the only way to cancel it is to go to your school get the cancellation documents and take them down to immigration to get a cancellation stamp in your passport

^
Cheers for the reply.

So basically, people flying out don't have to cancel their visas, but people do land crossings do?

What? Sounds very strange. What about if you have a re-entry permit?

Originally Posted by Bogon

^
Cheers for the reply.

So basically, people flying out don't have to cancel their visas, but people do land crossings do?

I spoke to two different people :
The Visa company said that people who fly out from the Country do not need to get their Ed Visa cancelled, whilst the School said that they DO need to get their Visa cancelled, but they will be allowed to fly from the Country and they can cancel the Visa when they get back and they wont have to pay the 500 B a day fine . Although they cannot apply for another Visa until the Ed one is cancelled

How Can A School Cancel A Visa??

Fluke is correct. In fact I was a Chaengwattana the other day talkin' about this exact situation with the people who run the ed visa section.

The way it works is;
When leaving the country via a land border while on an extension of stay for education purposes you must get letter from your school saying you are no longer studying as of such and such date and present it at the border crossing when you leave.

I personally know of someone on an ED visa extension of stay who was going to Mukdahan to get a year long, multi-entry Non-O based on being married to a thai national. He travels regularly and it wasn't cost effective going to Chaengwattana payin' 1900baht for the extension every 90 days, then buying a 1000baht re-entry permit so he could leave/come back and still keep his extension of stay alive. He got knocked back at the border, had to contact the school have them email him a letter that he printed at a copy shop sayin' he wasn't continuing his studies. Funny thing is, he is still going to study thai, just he isn't going to be on an ED visa extension.. Still they let him leave as soon as he showed back up at the border with the letter.

Now honestly, it doesn't make a bit of sense (then again why should it?). Leaving the country whilst on ANY extension of stay without a re-entry permit cancels your extension on the spot. I am unable to work out why you'd need a letter saying you're not studying to cancel your own extension of stay when leaving.. Still that is how it is. . .

Right now there is a grey area about flying out;
At this time you don't need the letter, just check in for your flight, go thru passport control, stamp out (canceling your extension) and wing your way outta here.. They don't even ask for the letter from your school that you're not going to study further.

I too 'heard' about the show you stopped studying on a canceled ED visa before you can get another one. However, at present I haven't found a single school who had to issue a letter saying a student previously canceled their ED extension when they flew out and now wanted a new ED visa.. There just aren't enough people doin' it to really check and see if it's true or not..

FWIW: not a single thai consulate or embassy which issues 90 day ED visas cares about previous ED visas in your passport. They want the information packet you got from the school, the Ministry of Education letter, the money and Bob's your uncle you get a 90 day single entry ED visa..

So despite Bogon saying;

^Think Todd is gonna chew you a new arsehole with this post!

Fluke is 110% correct, that's what they're doing right now as we speak...

Todd, I must be missing something. So, I am here studying, got a family problem back home and need to go back for a few days - so MUST cancel the visa?

Originally Posted by nidhogg

Todd, I must be missing something. So, I am here studying, got a family problem back home and need to go back for a few days - so MUST cancel the visa?

Okay, first let's parse out what it is you're exactly 'studying' seeing as you can hold an ED visa and garner extensions of stay for a variety of inane things here like; thai cooking, muay-thai, buddhism, diving, studying a language that isn't your mother tongue at a school approved by the MOE, and a couple other totally b/s thingz, I believe.

Or for shitz and gigglez let's just say you're studying thai, and getting 90 day extensions at your local immigrations office. IF you're not intending to stop studying, but you want to leave and come back while keeping your remaining extension of stay alive, you buy a re-entry permit BEFORE you leave and when you come back you'll be stamped in for what ever is left on your current extension.

However, with that in mind, IF you're leaving and you will NOT be returning before your current extension of stay runs out, in essence you are 'canceling' the extension, because a re-entry permit is ONLY good for however long your extension is.

Tell me what you're studying, when your current extension expires when you're leaving and when you're comin' back, that way I could be more specific.

Indeed it could be as simple as buying a re-entry permit either at immigrations or at the airport before you leave, OR it could be a more convoluted process.