I am in Europe just now but want to go to Thailand when it reopens. Normally I would spend a couple of months there, then go to Vietnam for another couple and head back to Thailand for three, ending Feb/Mar. Obviously a lot of things are up in the air at the moment. If that kind of itinerary turns out to be possible at all, it might well mean 6 weeks in quarantine, so it would be much better to enter Thailand once and stay until the end of the "cool" season.

 

I have plenty of free time and put quite a bit of it into learning Thai, so an ed visa would be a reasonable fit. I normally study by myself and check in with a teacher once a week, but I could go the classroom route. Does anyone know what the score is with ed visas at the moment - have they been suspended / restricted? Are there any particular schools in Chiang Mai that are known for offering solid / genuine visa study programmes?

A non-ed visa and extensions for attending a school are still available. 

Some school have canceled classes due to the lockdowns and etc.

5 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

A non-ed visa and extensions for attending a school are still available. 

Some school have canceled classes due to the lockdowns and etc.

Do you happen to know if a visa exempt stay that has been prolonged by the automatic COVID-19 "amnesty" can be converted to a non immigrant visa entry for university studies? I mean at the local immigration office, without having to leave the country.

 

5 minutes ago, Caldera said:

Do you happen to know if a visa exempt stay that has been prolonged by the automatic COVID-19 "amnesty" can be converted to a non immigrant visa entry for university studies? I mean at the local immigration office, without having to leave the country.

 

Probably not.

I am aware of person that had to get a letter from their embassy to apply for a 30 day extension in order to do the non immigrant visa application. Immigration refused to accept the application with a "automatic extension".

I am currently on an ED Visa which will be up in July. My school as I imagine all is currently closed. I am attending lessons via Skype. I was able to get a total of 1 year. I had to activate outside of Thailand (Laos) & renew at 6 months outside of Thailand (Saigon). Not sure what the current situation is regarding being granted an ED visa. I can ask my school if you'd like?

10 hours ago, Hardgraf said:

I am currently on an ED Visa which will be up in July. My school as I imagine all is currently closed. I am attending lessons via Skype. I was able to get a total of 1 year. I had to activate outside of Thailand (Laos) & renew at 6 months outside of Thailand (Saigon). Not sure what the current situation is regarding being granted an ED visa. I can ask my school if you'd like?

That's OK. I have a recommendation now so will contact the school. Thanks for the info.