FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Student Visa (ED Visa)

Yes, you can ! The tourist visa and visa exemption can be converted domestically at the immigration office at Chaengwattana, Thailand.
It can take from 2 weeks – 6 weeks.
  • Original passport
  • Departure card (TM.6 card)
  • E tourist visa approval letter ( if available )
  • Photo with white background ( size 3.5 cm. x 4.5 cm) with formal dress code.
  • Criminal report ( only for listed nationalities)
  • Tuition and documentation fee
No, you cannot ( according to Ministry of Foreign Affairs as of 2019). Thai embassies oversea cannot issue ED visa under a non formal school.
Yes. According to the immigration policy, the applicants must extend the ED visa by themselves.
No. ALA language school is located in Bangkok and your ED visa is issued by Bangkok immigration. So Any other immigration offices have no authorization to extend or cancel you ED visa
  • 3.5 months ( Beginner course ) 2 times
  • 8 months ( Beginner and Intermediate course) 5 times, depending on the immigration consideration.
  • 11.5 months ( Beginner course to Advance course ) 7 times, depending on the immigration consideration.
  • 14 months ( Beginner course to Advance course ) 8 times in total.

However, you must leave Thailand after your 5th extension/ completed your intermediate course .

No. As a student, you are prohibited to work while studying and holding an ED Visa. To work in Thailand, you will need to convert your ED Visa to a Non-Immigrant Type ‘B’ (Work Permit).
Yes , you do. You can either report every 90 days in person at a Thai Immigration office, by mail, or through an agent who has the Power of Attorney to report your status. Otherwise, you will be fined 2,000 THB.
Yes, you can. You are allowed to create a bank account 2 weeks after your ED visa is approved. Just inform ALA staff 2 days in advance. ALA will prepare documents for you.
Yes, you can. You will first need to get a re-entry permit in order to not lose your current ED Visa when you leave Thailand by informing the Thai Immigration office at the airport. The fees are 1,000THB for single re-entry, and 3,800 THB for multiple re-entry permit. When re-entering Thailand, please make sure to note the number of your re-entry permit on your immigration arrival form in order for your visa to be reactivated. You must come back to Thailand before your valid visa is expired.
This is because the Thai government allows foreign students to live in Thailand for no longer than 12 months. Although you have enrolled in a 14-month Thai language course, you will still need to leave Thailand and apply for a new ED Visa after completing the 8-month Beginner and Intermediate courses, in order to continue the remaining 6-month Advanced course . You can, however, enroll in a new Beginner English course (3.5 months) if you are a non-English speaker.

Course

  • 3.5 months ( Beginner course )
  • 8 months ( Beginner and Intermediate course)
  • 11.5 months ( Beginner course to Advance course )
  • 14 months ( Beginner course to Advance course )

If you do not need an ED Visa, you can take an hourly program which will be 2-4 weeks per level.

If you have no Thai language background, it is recommended that you start with our “Icebreaker” course which focuses on the fundamentals of Thai. If you have some Thai language experience, you can meet with our ALA staff for a FREE 1-hour trial class to check which course(s) will suit you the most.
If you continue studying every course as per our Thai language program and practice diligently, you will be able to communicate with Thai people within 6 months.
It depends on your focus. If you need to learn Thai language for communication with local Thais, you can start with speaking courses which will cover basic spoken Thai as well as shortcuts to survive living in Thailand. If you need to master Thai language with a deep level of writing and reading to better understand Thai culture, it is still recommended you start with speaking for 2-3 courses so that you can pick up the vocabulary, how to pronounce the correct tones, and how to form a sentence. Once you start writing, you can then utilize the knowledge derived from the speaking course and progress in writing faster.
The course requires a minimum of 5 days per week according to the program. If you are unable to attend on any day, you can either take the online classes to attend our live teaching course or choose from the make-up class from our flexible offline schedule at our school premises.
The offline and online schedules will be announced regularly on our Facebook and Line Official Account. However, you need to register for the online class with our administrator in advance as the teachers will not allow access from strangers for safety issues.
Yes, we do teach Thai language with Chinese-speaking teachers and Chinese textbooks.
Our group classes will have around 7- 8 students only.
Yes, there are classes from 9am – 9pm. Each class will be 2 hours. You can enroll in the evening classes from our monthly schedule.
Yes, we provide certificates for each level of your achievement upon your request.
We also offer 12-month English language courses that come with an ED Visa.

SCHOOL

There are no other branches for now, but if there are any changes in the future, ALA will make an announcement to the public. The school is located at 10/32, 1A Floor at Trendy Tower.
You can pay by money remittance, TransferWise or PayPal.
Yes you can. There will be a 3% extra charge.
Yes. You can contact ALA staff for our refund policy. We will consider on a case by case basis.
After you have registered and made payment, we will send alls textbooks via courier or any available delivery service for those based in Thailand . The student need to pay for the delivery fee themselves. However, we will email you the E-textbook if you live abroad.
Yes. There are parking spaces on the 3A, 4th and 5th floors. 2 hours free parking with the school stamp.
Yes. There are canteens, restaurants, coffee shops and convenience stores, and we are close to many street food vendors.
It’s a short walk from BTS Nana skytrain station or MRT Sukhumvit subway station.
ALA is located in downtown Bangkok. Nearby are Terminal 21 and Robinson’s. Just a few stations away are Emporium, EmQuartier, Central Embassy, Central World, Mercury Mall, Central Grand Rama 9 and IT Mall.