ALMOST The beginning - Wish me luck!

The last few weeks have left me feeling a bit unhinged. For those who have not read the preceding posts, this is a VERY brief summary.

I enrolled in a One Year Thai Language course, at the Language Institute at Chiang Mai University, in May 2010 and have spent the last several months, along with my husband (he'll be doing a TEFL course), packing up our lives.

My course and the Cultural Exchange program were cancelled. Time will tell if I receive a refund for the 15,000 ฿ I paid as a deposit. There are various explanations as to why the two programs were wiped, some of which you can read in the earlier posts.

About four weeks prior to travelling I received the email breaking the bad news and didn't want to rush into parting with any more money while still in Australia, organising another course. So, I'm arriving on a 60 tourist visa and will take it from there. I've made a short list of language schools who offer visa support and will investigate their cirriculums, then make a decision while in Chiang Mai. Because I am arranging this in Thailand, I'll have to fly to Laos or similar and apply for my Non Immigration ED visa.

I was tempted to delete the old posts and start from here, but that wouldn't tell the whole story and they'll remain here for prosperity.

I'll be arriving in Chiang Mai fairly late on the 21st October 2010 and probably won't be posting on this blog until after then...unless something goes terribly wrong on Monday when Stray and I visit the Thai Consulate in Brisbane to apply for our visas.

Wish me luck!

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)

New web sites and progress

Thanks to a comment on my previous post, I did a bit of digging around.

The Language Institue now has new web sites, which are largely copy and pastes of the old (still existing) sites. A TEFL site at http://tefl-feu.com/ and Thai One Year Course site at http://www.studythai-feu.com/. The address still remains as is and has not been updated to FEU's location...perhaps just an over sight in the early reconstruction of the website?

I received a request for information so my visa document could be organised, late last night and am waiting for my copy.

And here we go again...

14th September

By this evening, I couldn't stand the suspense any longer. I phoned my 'person at the top' and got straight through. Although giving me a completely different explanation to what I have been told or read, said he thought that my visa docs had been sent and that I had been contacted by CMULI. No!!!!

He called me straight back saying that he had spoken to the over worked girls at the office and asked them to fax the Thai Consulate in Brisbane, ASAP, and that I would be forwarded a copy.

He also offered me a discount and a bit of a deal on our accommodation. A very nice bloke and fellow Aussie...but, I have worked with salesmen before. I do empathise with his situation... somewhere between a rock and a hard place, but I have five weeks to secure an ED visa or make alternate plans and have to be selfish at this stage.

Speaking of alternate plans, I had emailed the Walen school an enquiry asking:

I understand that I have to organize my ED visa from outside of Thailand and would be prepared to do so. But, If I arrive on a 30 day tourist (exempt) visa from Australia, the Thai Consulate states I must have an outbound flight booked. If I were (really) planning on staying for one year, how would I explain no outbound flight?

Also, the banner on your site says 'free ED visa', does Walen pay for my visa?

This was there response...two days later:

Normally, if you have non-immigrant visa such as ED, you will be able to travel abroad with a one-way ticket. If you are afraid that the immigration officer will reject that, I would recommend you to buy a promotion return-ticket (short-period ticket) to save your cost.


If you enroll for a 180-lesson Thai Group Course with our school, we will provide the authorized paperwork (official letters) for you @ free of charge. For any other government fees, you would need to pay by yourself.

No disrespect to the Walen school (I may end up there) but I wish ALL language schools would stop this false advertising...none of them pay for your ED Visa.

At about 2.00 am (I couldn't sleep!) I emailed the girl at the CMULI office, requesting confirmation of the above.

15th September

It's 5.30 pm here and still not a peep. I have just sent a polite (จ่ายเย็นเย็น ) text to the person at the top. Within a few seconds I recieved a reply asking for my date of birth...promising?

Now two hours later, I'm publishing this post...oh, and learning how to say Far Eastern University in Thai, because the Language Institute is definitely moving there, from the CMU campus.

The view from the highest point in Thailand

Unsettling course (of) events

Late 13th September

Having not received a reply from 'the top' of CMULI, I resent an email asking for confirmation that my visa document has indeed been forwarded to the Thai Consulate in Brisbane, as advised on the 8th. That email gave me a list of items to send to the consulate, it made no mention of the official visa application form. Since I am still waiting for the police check to be returned, I have not bothered to clarify this.

On Thai Visa, where this blog has been quoted, theories and suggestions are being posted, but the most interesting one is from the originator (who is there right now, facing these visa issues) of the forum topic:

"My source also "at the top" of CMU LI told me a slightly different version of the story. The reason (which was never made public) Thai Immigration was suddenly all over CMU LI was some farang students have committed (or have been accused of committing) some hideous crime, which I would not specify. Because the "farang criminals" got their visas through CMU LI, Thai Immigration, justifiably or not, views the program and its remaining farangs in the LI with suspicion (to say the least). I was told that even if the LI director signs the support letters, Thai Immigration would not accept them right now if we take them to do our visa renewal. To me, Thai Immigration could do their inspection of paperwork and investigation and whatnot, but suspending visa renewal for students in good standing (like myself) and causing all these problems of overstaying... seems to be an overreaction.
... I suppose we just had the misfortune of choosing this school in this country at this time."

I tend to agree. If Thai Immigration has put a head lock on CMU visa approvals, what are they to do?

Sitting (well not really) but, waiting, waiting....