STUDENT VISA GUIDELINES
We are a bona fide Ministry of Education Traditional Medicine Private School and as such our students are eligible for Thai Student Visas. On the other hand, very few foreigners are allowed to enter Thailand at the moment, and certainly no tourists at all. So the Visa situation is a little more strict and time-consuming than it usually is.
We used to be able to send a Student Visa letter directly to each student, and indeed we have issued many in the past. Now we have to make a Formal Application at the Ministry of Education here in Chiang Mai for each applicant before you can apply to the Thai Consulate nearest you in your own country.
So we ask you to read the instructions very carefully and to fill in the forms with a good strong pen and in BLUE INK. Also please be sure all your photo copies are as clear as possible, and that each document is carefully placed and signed as instructed.
The First Step is to e-mail us the following:
1.) A good photo copy (not a smart-phone snap shot) of the first page of your PASSPORT. The copy should be very clear and should be centered on the page and oriented so that the Passport can be read with the paper upright in Portrait Mode. You must then sign the copy carefully with a good pen in BLUE INK -- the MOE will place the stamp over your signature, so please put it low enough below the Passport so that the stamp does not encroach on the Passport page itself.
2.) We will also need your home address and a list of the courses you would like to join (this is not a contract and there is no obligation at this point -- indeed, it would be better to ask for too many courses at this point than too few.)
With that information in hand we will ask the Ministry of Education for an official Certificate giving you permission to apply for a Student Visa in your country, and we will forward it to you by attachment. All this should take just a few days.
Armed with the MOE Certificate in your name you can apply to your nearest Thai Consulate for a Student Visa. You will also need a basic MEDICAL CERTIFICATE from any hospital -- we do not need a copy but you will have to submit it with your application at the Thai Consulate.
Now for the potential deal breaker: the 14 Day Quarantine. In fact it's not as bad as it might seem at first, and we have a number of students who are going to do it because they want to get away so badly and do something significant in their lives so urgently. Also Thailand is one of the safest countries in the world at the moment, indeed we have not heard of a single case in Chiang Mai or anywhere in the north of Thailand.
The TWO BIG STEPS:
1.) Before you complete your Visa you must have arranged for the 14 day Quarantine in Thailand. There are State Approved Hotels starting from ₿ 32.000 ($1000.00) for full Room & Board and all hotel Services for the whole 15 day period. That includes twice daily temperature, medical checks and 2 full Covid 19 Tests. You should contact the hotel of your choice directly to make and pay for your booking. To do this you should search online for 14 Day Quarantine Hotels in Thailand and make your own choice.
2.) Finally, you must book your Flights to Bangkok and 16 days later on to Chiang Mai (a 1 hour flight). We will then meet you at the airport and bring you straight out to Baan Hom Samunphrai free of charge. You can use your hotel phone to talk to us anytime for support and encouragement. (You should aim to get here at least the day before the course begins, or two days earlier even better -- we will charge you ₿ 1100 ($35.00) per day for extra days – that includes everything, full room & board plus free herbal steam baths, bicycles, wifi, etc. And of course you can book Thai massages for yourself too!)
Everybody will have their own private room, and we will discourage anybody from going into town at any time, so nobody is likely to get re-infected after a course begins (there will be temperature tests twice a day). It's a beautiful place with lots of space in a big garden, and as we are in a rural area you can go for walks and bicycle rides in the rice paddies every day if you wish. There will be herbal steam baths every day as well and you can plunge into our cooling pool as often as you like. And of course there is wifi everywhere, practice spaces, yoga spaces, and a medition sala. And of course there will be the Rasidaton (Thai Yoga) every morning at 7am -- and indeed Homprang promises you you won't get bored!!!
Please read the instructions very carefully. And needless to say, if you get stuck we are always there to help you and to answer any of your questions.
Christopher & Homprang