ED visa after multiple tourists ? Any issues ?

[Pepper9187]

Has anyone recently applied for an ED visa after several tourists visa ?

I intend to stay (again) permanently here, ED seems a good option, no worries i intend to pick up a real school and really attend the courses.

Got nothing to do here for now anyway.

 

How is the application process, after some tourists visa in the passport, can they void the visa ? kick you out at the border ? I agree it would look really suspicious for an IO to let go without question someone that has already stayed 6 months in the country and is now crossing the border with an ED visa.

 

I know that it wasn't an issue before, know some people who did it, but that was 4-5 years ago and things were way more smooth.

 

What's the worst ? Visa declined ? Deported at the immigration ? I'm not talking about what the laws says, i'm talking about what can actually happens, anyone has some recent valuable feedback about this ?

 

I don't mind flying out to other countries than Laos or Cambodia if it's getting too hard over there.

 

PS : That would be my first ED visa ever.
Tx

Edited March 21, 2019 by Pepper9187

[ExpatDraco]

I wouldn't worry. ED visa's are back in good standing with immigration now they can collect every few months. ;-)

 

Worst case you would be flown back to the country you came from. So in that case better choose a departing country that doesn't require a visa for your nationality to re-enter.

 

Another edit: your school will know what the best consulate/embassies are to go to. They will do the paperwork. The consulates/embassies will not care about your previous exempt/tourist visa's because an ED is a different kind of visa. I am talking about the consulates/embassies in the region, not sure about your home (if Western) country.

[JackThompson]

Past Tourist Visas have not been reported to affect applications for ED at Vientiane, which is where most schools seem to prefer.  Some reports indicate the paperwork is tailored to a specific consulate.

 

If you re-enter the country with your ED Visa by land, across the bridge to Nong Khai, you should not have any issue entering the country.  Fly onward from Udon Thanni (~45 mins away) if you want to avoid a bus-trip to where ever in Thailand.

 

The whole issue with "the law" vs "what really happens" centers around avoiding entry-points that don't follow the law.