Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing ED Visas. Now some people may think I kind of have it out for ED Visas or something like this probably because some of the coverage we do of ED Visas, I am always saying kind of be wary of it, be careful, it's sometimes not the most optimal Visa. Well I say those things based on long experience here of watching the Immigration System especially during the time period when Surachate "Big Joke" Hakparn took over Immigration. ED Visas and the "language schools" that were primarily utilized as a pretext for issuance of ED Visas were targeted heavily and we have seen reverberations of that since that time. ED Visas, I think many foreigners who don't otherwise fit into a category view, it as a sort of means to an end, an expedient if you will in their mind but it can have negative consequences on your Visa, if you want to call it your file here in Thailand in terms of as a foreigner what type of status you have. If you have had an ED Visa in the past it can cause problems later. I have seen this happen as a practical matter. 

To give some more insight, I thought of making this video after reading a recent article from the Pattaya News, that is thepattayanews.com, the article is titled: Over 100 Tourists Allegedly Duped in Passport Scam, Agent in Pattaya Faces Legal Action. Quoting directly: "Over 100 foreign tourists in Pattaya were allegedly scammed by a Visa Agent who promised to handle their passport extensions. However, the agent reportedly kept the passports far past agreed upon dates, without processing the extensions, leading to some of the tourists overstaying their stays in Thailand and keeping money paid by the tourists." Quoting further: "However the tourists alleged that Miss (and I'm redacting the name here) took their passports and never returned the documents, nor processed their extensions, which were for a variety of reasons but mostly, excuse me, were for a variety of reasons but mostly Education Visas." Not really surprised there. You often times will see when you see a high volume of Education Visas, it's kind of a "where there is smoke there is fire" kind of thing. You have got to wonder a little bit if you are dealing with a reputable agent, a reputable person to assist with immigration needs. And unfortunately as noted in this video, and I urge those who are watching this channel, go check out that article in detail but as also noted in there, at the end of the day, this agent has caused people a great deal of problems, many problems. Folks need to be aware that look overstay at the end of the day, is the foreigners responsibility regardless of if they seek assistance from someone. I am sure if somebody unintentionally overstayed as a result of detrimentally relying on this individual, I am hoping Immigration will take that into consideration and they will sort of rectify the overall problem. 

But the issue with regard to Education Visas, yes there are circumstances where they are very warranted for use but under a great many circumstances, I oftentimes find that many people seem to think of them as a pretextual type of Visa. It's the type of Visa, "oh, I am going to say I'm going to school just to get the visa and then I might not actually do it!" You need to be very, very careful and you need to be very truthful and you need to adhere to the terms of your Visa here in the Kingdom of Thailand.