American (in China) seeking tourist / ED visa in Thailand

[alexmerwin]

Hello,

 

I'm 26 and from the USA. I'm currently living in China and plan to go to Thailand in August. 

In October I'm planning to attend the ITM Thai massage school in Chiang Mai. http://www.itmthaimassage.com/

 

The complication is that I'm living in China so I cannot get the 60 -day tourist visa from my home country. It seems like my only option from August - October is to get the 30 day visa-on-arrival and try to extend it at the immigration office. Ideally I would get the 60 day tourist visa and extend it to 90 days if I needed to.

I am not sure about this but I'm hoping I can get an Ed visa via the massage school (they have a 400-hr 11 week Thai massage program) that would allow me to stay October - December.

 

I plan to travel around Thailand from August to October, mainly around the Chiang Mai area and possibly to the southwest as well, staying in workaways and hostels. 

 

Can anyone give me some perspective on this?

Is there a way I can get the tourist visa without being in my home country? Maybe I could have gotten it from the Thai Consulate in Beijing but that would be pretty expensive and possibly take more time than I have (I am going to India for the month of July). Possibly the Thai Consulate in New Delhi?

 

If not, what is the likelihood they will extend my 30 day visa on arrival to 60 days?

Also, has anyone heard about people getting Ed visas for massage schools? The school is registered with the govt so I was hoping it is official enough to get that type of visa.

Would I have to leave the country to get the Ed visa?

 

If I cannot get the Ed visa, and I have to go to Laos or somewhere nearby to get a tourist visa (after my initial visa-on-arrival expires), would I be able to do that as many times as I need to stay until December?

Is there a 90 day limit on staying in a 6-month period on the tourist visas?

 

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks,

Alex

[ubonjoe]

You can get a tourist visa at most Thai embassies and consulates anywhere. You are not restricted getting one in the US.

Do you have residency in China? If yes you could get one from embassy in Beijing or one of the 8 consulates there. Links for the embassy and consulate websites can be found here. http://www.thaiembassy.org/main/

You could also get one while in India at the embassy in Delhi or one of the consulates (link posted shows them as well). 

If you don't get a tourist visa you would get a 30 day visa exempt entry (not a visa on arrival) that can be extended for 30 days at a immigration office. Then if you needed you could do a border run to a neighboring country and re-enter for a new 30 day visa exempt entry.

Or you could get a tourist visa at a embassy or consulate in a neighboring country.

You will have to leave the country to get the non-ed visa. FYI you do not have to have a non-ed visa to attend the class You could do it with a 60 day tourist visa entry that can be extended for 30 days.

[alexmerwin]

Thank you for the detailed response!! 

It seems like the best option is to get my tourist visa in Delhi since I will already be going through there. 

Is this something that can be done in a day or does it typically take more time, like a week?

 

Also, about the tourist visa, is it easy to get the 30-day extension? Do they typically give it to anyone who asks? 

 

And, is there a limit to how many times I can get/extend the tourist visa in a six-month period? Essentially I want to stay August - January, so in theory I could do this by getting the tourist visa twice and getting an extension on the first one.

[ubonjoe]

You will apply the visa at the VFS visa center. See: http://www.vfs-thailand.co.in/Delhi/index.html

After finding the above link I checked the requirements and they now are wanting proof of residence in India to apply for a tourist visa. Previously that was not a requirement.

It seems your best option is to get a 30 day visa exempt entry to start your trip. Then get a single entry tourist visa.

No problem to get a the 30 day extension of the visa exempt or tourist visa entry. They rountinley issued

 

[alexmerwin]

Thank you!!

[Tanoshi]

A Tourist Visa is valid for 3 months from the date of issue.

You could obtain it in China before your visit to India.

 

The validity of the Visa and the validity of your permission to stay are separate.

As long as you entered Thailand within the validity of the Visa, you will be given permission to stay for 60 days from the date of entry.

Edited June 13, 2018 by Tanoshi