I arrived from the USA in July on a visa exemption and am currently on a Covid extension. My extension of stay expires on 11 April. I turn 50 on 02 August 2022 and will convert to a retirement visa at that time. My Thai language skills aren’t progressing as quickly as I would like so I can fill the gap with an education visa. 

 

My question is about timing for classes required for an education visa. Do I have to begin taking classes from the first day of my education visa (12 April), or can I begin classes three weeks later? 

That would depend upon the school you are attending.

When you apply for a non-ed visa you will get a 90 day stay from it. Then you would apply for a 90 day or one year extension dependent upon the type of the school your attending. When you apply for the extension is when you will need proof of attendance.

My experience of an ED visa in 2018-2019 was (from my school in Patong) that I needed to come to class within a week or two max. The reason being that I.O. make (did pre covid) random as well as programmed calls on schools to check who's at class that day, and school attendance records. If you delay starting and fall foul of an I.O. check and aren't making classes you can get you visa cancelled.