I'm getting dizzy

I had stopped visiting Thai Visa's forum 'CMU fails to provide visa documents' (this forum is up to page five at present), because 1. I  have received my visa support document and 2. it was stressing me out big time.

Read the whole page or forum for that matter. I don't want to get into a quote fest here, but the proverbial is still hitting the fan!

This morning I received an email from Friend (click to read older posts relating to Friend). Even though Friend has their visa stamped in their passport, they asked for an update from the director of IUS, the same 'person at the top' (PATT) I spoke to a few days ago. IUS is a subcontractor, working for CMULI. It appears that the new director of CMULI does not want foreign students attending their campus anymore and merrily refused to stop signing any visa support documents. This has left many students hanging precariously, without visas and are now overstaying.

Not a funny predicament to find yourself in, especially since the penalties have been changed or rearranged. It seems that Thai Immigration will be imposing jail sentences for those who are in the Kingdom, illegally, for 42 days or more. All overstayers will be fined 20,000 Baht as usual.

Even if Friend's visa is stamped snuggly in their passport, that doesn't secure them for the whole year.

Now the Youtube video I found two weeks ago, makes complete sense, as there is no evidence of farang students.

Stray's TEFL course is in the same boat. I have emailed the 'PATT' for a please explain. Even though he assured Friend that our One Year Thai Language courses are still being held, I am feeling very uneasy about the whole situation. I pointed out that combined we have already invested AU$1300.00. If we submit our visa applications to the Thai Consulate we could lose our fees of $450.00, because they're NON refundable.

Again, on Thai Visa, one comment states that IUS is honouring any refunds of 40%, however, CMULI is not dishing out their share of the remaining 60%.

The 'PATT' appears to be an OK sort of guy and if he had any hair at the beginning of this debacle, I'm sure he doesn't have a skerrick left now.

Plan B is looking more and more likely. Apply for a 60 day tourist visa with an outbound flight to Laos. That will give me ample time to find and arrange my course, then apply for our visas outside of Thailand.

Why? Because I flatly refuse to part with any more money from the comfort of my lounge chair (sign up for a course at a different language school) and I have always wanted to go to Laos....or back to Vietnam, or China.

(I wish this was all over, I'm running out of pretty pictures of Chiang Mai)