social visa or student for kids?

FRONSEY

Hi, Thanks for this valuable info its a great help- we will be moving to Bali in July for about a year or so and trying to work out the best visa's. My husband will leaving monthly so he has no visa problems. We have 2 kids going to school would it be better for them to be on social or student visas? The visa agent in Bali advised me that if I leave within 6 months the social visa would be cancelled- I probably will fly out before 6 months so maybe a VOA is better for me- can I extend that? BTW she has quoted 600,000 for each monthly extension per person and 500,000 for the sponsor letter is this a fair price? thanks in advance

Tvashtar

We're arriving next month with three kids and the visa sponsor at the school told us the same thing, with the same fees.

mat

I pay 400,000 to my agent for each extension and 450,000 for the more complicated 3rd extension. however I live about 1 kilometer from the immigration office and I have been using the same agent for 4 years and she has not put her prices up in that time. Also being in the North may make a difference. Better to get the 2 month holiday visa before you arrive. I know that can be extended up to 180 days/6 months. I'm not sure if the visa on arrival can be extended more than 1 month. Someone here will let you know if it can soon. I'm sure it has been mentioned in previous posts. Try a search.

ronb

mat wrote..............Also being in the North may make a difference. .........

I think you are right Mat and that agents in the north may be a bit cheaper than agents in the south. With a social visa, since you are paying for each extension as it happens, if you leave early after say 3 months, you are not wasting much money. So to me it seems a good way to go even if you are unsure how long your stay will be.

phil170258

600,000 is about standard but you can get cheaper, even down south (Canggu). We paid our agent up front for the 4 extensions so were able to get a better price. She also keeps our passports so we don't have to keep picking them up/dropping them off. 500,000 for the sponsor letter is a bit too much, I think. Ours was 200,000 (one letter for the 4 of us!). phil

Tvashtar

Hi Phil Our school is charging 500,000 per person for the sponsor letter. Did you get yours through a school or an agency? Thanks Craig

spicyayam

Why not ask a friend to sponsor you for the visa? There is a sample visa letter you can use here. Just fill in the blanks, print it off and get your sponsor to sign it. https://balipod.com/forum/threads/sos-bud-visa-invitation-letter.3418/ According to reports from other forum members, you can use one letter for your whole family.

Tvashtar

Thanks for this.

gilbert de jong

just don't forget to ask for a copy of the sponsors KTP ;)

phil170258

Sorry for the late reply. My first few sponsor letters I did myself adapting a template I found on here and using balinese friends as sponsors. But our new (cheaper!) agent wanted us to do the new sosbud in her name (which seemed fair enough) and she's charging 200,000 for the sponsorship letter for the 4 of us. 500,000 each sounds a bit cheeky. phil

spicyayam

I would be a bit suspicious of an agent wanting to be your sponsor for the social visa. Why would they request to be your sponsor? Perhaps they are just trying to lock you in to using their services. Another warning is not to leave it up to your agent to remember to do the extensions. I have heard of some agents "forgetting" to do the extension and before you know it you have overstayed your visa and then they want money to get you out of the problem they created.

Pakman

spicyayam wroteI would be a bit suspicious of an agent wanting to be your sponsor for the social visa. Why would they request to be your sponsor? Perhaps they are just trying to lock you in to using their services. Ya same,be wary,though my sponsor has been my agent for a long time, free of charge also, I guess it is to keep me with them though they are competively priced and nice to deal with, agree with spiceyayam about being up to you to remind them, a week or two before every extention due and a month if renewing visa.

phil170258

thanks, that is good advice. But so far so good with this agent (and she came highly recommended). She sends a text a week before she renews the visa so we haven't had to remind her yet. But I have all the renewal dates in google calendar just in case! cheers, phil

gilitea

Hi Phil, Which agency are you using? Cheers.