Education Visa In Thailand For Foreigners

[gk10002000]

A british fellow struck up a conversation with me the other day. He says he runs a language and education school with his Thai wife here. He says that for xxx amount, one can get a 12 - 15 month Education Visa to study here in Thailand. One has to take only four hours of Thai classes a week (included in his price), Take a very basic oral test periodically to show some progress, and report your whereabouts every 90 days as if you were living here. He also says that while on that Visa, one can work as a tutor and earn some money. He claims the visa allows that. He says the Visa is easy to get.

Anybody heard of this or done this sort of thing? It appeals to me as I am not yet ready to retire and move over here but would not mind spending a lot of time here.

[Meg_2003]

Pro Language on Pattaya Klang offer Education visa's if you study the language there for 1+ years..

I myself study Thai, however I do not need the ED visa, but a lot of other students have successfully got their visa's no problems.

[Jingthing]

I am happy that the ED visa exists. Its a good idea to encourage people to study and learn Thai. However, your comment that one of the visa requirements is that you ACTUALLY have to make real progress made me think of something amusing. My understanding is you can use this visa for as long as five years. Supposing you went into immigration during the fifth year and couldn't speak Thai well enough to get you out of a paper bag. Just a thought. A bit of pressure there ...

Edited November 14, 2008 by Jingthing

[gk10002000]

yes. the fellow told me his people get regularly "examined". I can't remember how often, but it was not monthly. he said the questions are simple, what is your name, how old are you etc. This is what he was telling me.

It makes sense. One has to put some controls to keep the program a bit on the up and up. Wouldn't it be some poor bloke's luck to run into a language and translation expert that was auditing the program because somebody got caught rubber stamping the ED visas! Get grilled and fail and get the boot home!

[chickenslegs]

A british fellow struck up a conversation with me the other day. He says he runs a language and education school with his Thai wife here. He says that for xxx amount, one can get a 12 - 15 month Education Visa to study here in Thailand. One has to take only four hours of Thai classes a week (included in his price), Take a very basic oral test periodically to show some progress, and report your whereabouts every 90 days as if you were living here. He also says that while on that Visa, one can work as a tutor and earn some money. He claims the visa allows that. He says the Visa is easy to get.

Anybody heard of this or done this sort of thing? It appeals to me as I am not yet ready to retire and move over here but would not mind spending a lot of time here.

Just for clarity.

There is no 'Education' visa - just as there is no 'retirement' or 'Thai wife' visa.

You need to enter the country with a 90-day non-immigrant category 'O' visa (obtained from a Thai Embassy or Consulate outside Thailand).

Near the end of the 90 days you apply for a 12 month extension. Extensions may be granted for 'retirement', 'settlement with a Thai Partner', 'education' ... etc.

So, a 90-day visa with a 12 month extension gets you the 15 months. I believe that further 'education' extensions can be added to the original visa, but I don't know how many.

Every 90 days you need to register your address with the immigration service - regardless of what visa extension you have.

I know this sounds pedantic, but sometimes it is helpful to know the difference.

[Kerryd]

I think the "ED" visa is the proper designation, as according to the Thai Consulate (Vancouver) website:

Non-Immigrant Visas

This type of visa is designed for applicants who wish to enter the Kingdom for the following purposes:

* to study, to come on a work study tour or observation tour , to participate in projects or seminars , to attend a conference or training course , to study as a foreign Buddhist monk (Category "ED")

(and further down the list of types)

* other activities (Category "O")

I looked into this a bit recently, and may again in the future (but right now, working for a living just pays too d@mn good) !

All going well, by the time I'm ready to stop working, I'll be eligible for a retirement visa any ways, but may still want to take the course (to actually learn the language, not just loop-hole a 1 year visa).

//grammatical spelling edit

Edited November 15, 2008 by Kerryd

[monty]

Just for clarity.

There is no 'Education' visa - just as there is no 'retirement' or 'Thai wife' visa.

You need to enter the country with a 90-day non-immigrant category 'O' visa (obtained from a Thai Embassy or Consulate outside Thailand).

Near the end of the 90 days you apply for a 12 month extension. Extensions may be granted for 'retirement', 'settlement with a Thai Partner', 'education' ... etc.

So, a 90-day visa with a 12 month extension gets you the 15 months. I believe that further 'education' extensions can be added to the original visa, but I don't know how many.

Every 90 days you need to register your address with the immigration service - regardless of what visa extension you have.

I know this sounds pedantic, but sometimes it is helpful to know the difference.

Entirely wrong!

There is a Non immigrant ED visa.

To apply for this visa you have to enroll in a legitimate school. The school will apply for paperwork from the ministry of education confirming that you are enrolled.

With this paperwork you can get the non immigrant ED visa at a Thai embassy or consulate abroad.

This visa will give you 90 days of stay when entering Thailand, but every 90 days you can extend for a new 90 day stay at an immgration office ( at a cost of 1900 Baht). No need to leave Thailand.

You can do this for a year (=the validity of the non immigrant ED visa).

After the year is over you can leave Thailand and apply for a new visa, as long as you are still enrolled at school and they supplied you again with the ministry of education paperwork.

Some schools say this can be done 3 times, others say up to 5 times.

As a side note, this visa does not allow you to teach.

ANY work done in Thailand, paid or not, needs a work permit.

And the ED visa does not allow you to apply for a work permit!

It seems the OP either misunderstood the explanation of his friend, or his friend does not know the exact details of this type of visa.

As a reference, most schools charge between 25,000 and 30,000 Baht for a 1 year course (which is indeed 4 hours/week) including the assistance needed for getting the ministry of education paperwork. Do check out our sponsors, we have at least one school offering this service (both Bangkok and Pattaya)

[MacWalen]

A british fellow struck up a conversation with me the other day. He says he runs a language and education school with his Thai wife here. He says that for xxx amount, one can get a 12 - 15 month Education Visa to study here in Thailand. One has to take only four hours of Thai classes a week (included in his price), Take a very basic oral test periodically to show some progress, and report your whereabouts every 90 days as if you were living here. He also says that while on that Visa, one can work as a tutor and earn some money. He claims the visa allows that. He says the Visa is easy to get.

Anybody heard of this or done this sort of thing? It appeals to me as I am not yet ready to retire and move over here but would not mind spending a lot of time here.

Just for clarity.

There is no 'Education' visa - just as there is no 'retirement' or 'Thai wife' visa.

You need to enter the country with a 90-day non-immigrant category 'O' visa (obtained from a Thai Embassy or Consulate outside Thailand).

Near the end of the 90 days you apply for a 12 month extension. Extensions may be granted for 'retirement', 'settlement with a Thai Partner', 'education' ... etc.

So, a 90-day visa with a 12 month extension gets you the 15 months. I believe that further 'education' extensions can be added to the original visa, but I don't know how many.

Every 90 days you need to register your address with the immigration service - regardless of what visa extension you have.

I know this sounds pedantic, but sometimes it is helpful to know the difference.

You are wrong, there is an ED (educational) visa. "just for clarity"

If you needed ED visa and also wanted to learn Thai please do not forget our school. You will get what you are looking for plus very good service. We are experts.

Walen School of Thai, Pattaya

[chickenslegs]

Humble apologies if I misled anyone.

I really should make sure of my facts before posting - lesson learned!

[Jingthing]

Humble apologies if I misled anyone.

I really should make sure of my facts before posting - lesson learned!

You actually did us a favor. I think a lot of us might have assumed what you said is true. Actually seeing those pictures of the ED visas really brings home the difference. Now have a cookie.

[anotheruser]

I am happy that the ED visa exists. Its a good idea to encourage people to study and learn Thai. However, your comment that one of the visa requirements is that you ACTUALLY have to make real progress made me think of something amusing. My understanding is you can use this visa for as long as five years. Supposing you went into immigration during the fifth year and couldn't speak Thai well enough to get you out of a paper bag. Just a thought. A bit of pressure there ...

Then at that point I guess you already milked it for your 5 years worth so what would it matter?

[hullmonkey1]

Just for clarity.

There is no 'Education' visa - just as there is no 'retirement' or 'Thai wife' visa.

You need to enter the country with a 90-day non-immigrant category 'O' visa (obtained from a Thai Embassy or Consulate outside Thailand).

Near the end of the 90 days you apply for a 12 month extension. Extensions may be granted for 'retirement', 'settlement with a Thai Partner', 'education' ... etc.

So, a 90-day visa with a 12 month extension gets you the 15 months. I believe that further 'education' extensions can be added to the original visa, but I don't know how many.

Every 90 days you need to register your address with the immigration service - regardless of what visa extension you have.

I know this sounds pedantic, but sometimes it is helpful to know the difference.

Entirely wrong!

There is a Non immigrant ED visa.

To apply for this visa you have to enroll in a legitimate school. The school will apply for paperwork from the ministry of education confirming that you are enrolled.

With this paperwork you can get the non immigrant ED visa at a Thai embassy or consulate abroad.

This visa will give you 90 days of stay when entering Thailand, but every 90 days you can extend for a new 90 day stay at an immgration office ( at a cost of 1900 Baht). No need to leave Thailand.

You can do this for a year (=the validity of the non immigrant ED visa).

After the year is over you can leave Thailand and apply for a new visa, as long as you are still enrolled at school and they supplied you again with the ministry of education paperwork.

Some schools say this can be done 3 times, others say up to 5 times.

As a side note, this visa does not allow you to teach.

ANY work done in Thailand, paid or not, needs a work permit.

And the ED visa does not allow you to apply for a work permit!

It seems the OP either misunderstood the explanation of his friend, or his friend does not know the exact details of this type of visa.

As a reference, most schools charge between 25,000 and 30,000 Baht for a 1 year course (which is indeed 4 hours/week) including the assistance needed for getting the ministry of education paperwork. Do check out our sponsors, we have at least one school offering this service (both Bangkok and Pattaya)

Monty

You now have me worried. My 2 sons are attending an international school in Pattaya. The school arranged a 1-year ed visa once they were in Pattaya. They will also arrange further 1 year visa’s without my sons having to leave the country BUT there was no mention of 90 day reporting. They have been in Thailand for 7 months now. Should they have reported to immigration ?

[thailandjunkie]

Does anyone know if the parents of a child attending an international school are entitled to ED visas in addition to the child? So, in effect a whole family can remain here in Thailand for a year if one of the members is attending a legitimate international school. Thanks.

[Rango]

i know this thread was kind of dead but does anyone know if the ED Visa is inherently multiple entry or can it be made so? I travel in and out of the country regularly on business.

[Maestro]

No, the non-ED visa is not inherently valid for multiple journeys to Thailand. The issuing consulate makes it valid for either a single journey or for multiple journeys depending on what you ask, qualify and pay for.

See here for an example of a multiple-entry non-ED visa:

--

Maestro

[WilliamIV]

Just for clarity.

There is no 'Education' visa - just as there is no 'retirement' or 'Thai wife' visa.

You need to enter the country with a 90-day non-immigrant category 'O' visa (obtained from a Thai Embassy or Consulate outside Thailand).

Near the end of the 90 days you apply for a 12 month extension. Extensions may be granted for 'retirement', 'settlement with a Thai Partner', 'education' ... etc.

So, a 90-day visa with a 12 month extension gets you the 15 months. I believe that further 'education' extensions can be added to the original visa, but I don't know how many.

Every 90 days you need to register your address with the immigration service - regardless of what visa extension you have.

I know this sounds pedantic, but sometimes it is helpful to know the difference.

Entirely wrong!

There is a Non immigrant ED visa.

To apply for this visa you have to enroll in a legitimate school. The school will apply for paperwork from the ministry of education confirming that you are enrolled.

With this paperwork you can get the non immigrant ED visa at a Thai embassy or consulate abroad.

This visa will give you 90 days of stay when entering Thailand, but every 90 days you can extend for a new 90 day stay at an immgration office ( at a cost of 1900 Baht). No need to leave Thailand.

You can do this for a year (=the validity of the non immigrant ED visa).

After the year is over you can leave Thailand and apply for a new visa, as long as you are still enrolled at school and they supplied you again with the ministry of education paperwork.

Some schools say this can be done 3 times, others say up to 5 times.

As a side note, this visa does not allow you to teach.

ANY work done in Thailand, paid or not, needs a work permit.

And the ED visa does not allow you to apply for a work permit!

It seems the OP either misunderstood the explanation of his friend, or his friend does not know the exact details of this type of visa.

As a reference, most schools charge between 25,000 and 30,000 Baht for a 1 year course (which is indeed 4 hours/week) including the assistance needed for getting the ministry of education paperwork. Do check out our sponsors, we have at least one school offering this service (both Bangkok and Pattaya)

It was originally thought students would have to leave the Kingdom after one year

to obtain a new visa ...

But experience has apparently shown that leaving is not neccassary

It seems Immigration is willing to continue the 90 day extensions beyond the one year

- whether up to as long as 5 years has not been tested yet !

Bill

[Maestro]

...You now have me worried. My 2 sons are attending an international school in Pattaya. The school arranged a 1-year ed visa once they were in Pattaya. They will also arrange further 1 year visa’s without my sons having to leave the country BUT there was no mention of 90 day reporting. They have been in Thailand for 7 months now. Should they have reported to immigration ?

From the context of your post it appears that your sons have an annual extension of stay, obtained at the immigration office. In this case, they should have made 90-day address reports to the immigration office. They do not have to make these reports personally; anybody can do it on their behalf or it can be done by mail.

If they continue their studies, after the first year they can get further annual extensions. (The limitation of 90-day extensions you see mentioned in other posts in this thread does not apply to them)

--

Maestro

[Rango]

No, the non-ED visa is not inherently valid for multiple journeys to Thailand. The issuing consulate makes it valid for either a single journey or for multiple journeys depending on what you ask, qualify and pay for.

See here for an example of a multiple-entry non-ED visa:

--

Maestro

The "Ask" and "Pay For" parts of your reply i can handle....Can you please give more detail as to what are the conditions to "Qualify"?

many thanks!

[ubonjoe]

The "Ask" and "Pay For" parts of your reply i can handle....Can you please give more detail as to what are the conditions to "Qualify"?

many thanks!

To get a multiple entry the letter from the school would need to show that you will be studying for a year or more.

It will also depend upon the emabassy/consulate you apply at whether you get the multiple entry or not.

Some will not issue multiple entry visas of any kind.

[syd barrett]

The only advantage that I see with an ED visa is that you don't have to leave the Kingdom every 90 days, but you still have to pay the 1900 baht. I expect that those people not on a non-O multiple from their home country, who rely on double entry tourist visas every six months will eventually go over to ED visas when the rules change concerning living in Thailand on continuous tourist visas.

We have seen the end of 30 day stamps at land borders: ie. Now 15 days. There was a scare over stamps in the passport such as 'No more tourist visas from this embassy' or ' Maybe refused tourist visas in the future'.

It is finely balanced now, and it would not surprise me if a limit will be placed on tourist-visa-runs at some stage.

That leaves just non O from home country and the ED visa for those under 50 years of age unmarried to a Thai.

The fee for the 'education' is around 30,000 baht and offers 15 months in Thailand. This might be a similar cost to returning back to the home country and getting a non O.

Maybe someday, these language schools will have waiting lists.

[madjbs]

The "Ask" and "Pay For" parts of your reply i can handle....Can you please give more detail as to what are the conditions to "Qualify"?

many thanks!

To get a multiple entry the letter from the school would need to show that you will be studying for a year or more.

It will also depend upon the emabassy/consulate you apply at whether you get the multiple entry or not.

Some will not issue multiple entry visas of any kind.

No, you don't have to show that you will be studying for a year or more. Many embassies/consulates will give you a Multi Entry ED visa even if you are studying for just a couple of months. Ones in SE Asia may be a little stricter.

[gleeglee]

yes. the fellow told me his people get regularly "examined". I can't remember how often, but it was not monthly. he said the questions are simple, what is your name, how old are you etc. This is what he was telling me.

It makes sense. One has to put some controls to keep the program a bit on the up and up. Wouldn't it be some poor bloke's luck to run into a language and translation expert that was auditing the program because somebody got caught rubber stamping the ED visas! Get grilled and fail and get the boot home!

Well government approved schools can be inspected at any time unlike language centres, on application for the 12 month extension, the school have to put a timetable of learning into the second application, so the government knows when you should be in class, and to extend the ED Visa into a second year there is a 20 question test taken at the education department. The result of this depends if you are allowed to do the second year. The questions should be simple if you attend a 1 year course of 200 hours.

[astral]

No, the non-ED visa is not inherently valid for multiple journeys to Thailand. The issuing consulate makes it valid for either a single journey or for multiple journeys depending on what you ask, qualify and pay for.

See here for an example of a multiple-entry non-ED visa:

--

Maestro

Even if the visa is for a single entry, you can obtain a re-entry permit, single or multiple.

Just apply at your local Immigration office.

[Polemi]

I want to go to Phuket w my family for 1 year. I am really keen to learn Thai and I want to enroll on a Thai language course for a year. If I get a Ed Visa will my husband and my two children (they have left school) get a 1 year non immigrant visa to stay with me? We are trying to work out the best way for all of us to stay in Phuket for a year and as I would learn Thai anyway we thought this would be the easiest thing for us to do.

[MacWalen]

I want to go to Phuket w my family for 1 year. I am really keen to learn Thai and I want to enroll on a Thai language course for a year. If I get a Ed Visa will my husband and my two children (they have left school) get a 1 year non immigrant visa to stay with me? We are trying to work out the best way for all of us to stay in Phuket for a year and as I would learn Thai anyway we thought this would be the easiest thing for us to do.

The answer is unfortunately not. If your kids are under 14 then they will not have a problem staying here and will be able to just make an overstay as children do not pay for overstay but if they are over 14 (but could be 16) I will check it, then they will need a different kind of visa, they can also get an ED visa. As regards your husband this is not possible at this time for him to stay based on your ED visa, he will need a different kind of visa or also an ED visa.

Hope this helps

Walen School - Learn Thai And Don't Worry About Your Visa.

www.thaiwalen.com

Edited July 17, 2009 by macwalen

[Stewart2010]

Not sure if this is a dumb question or not

Is this Education Visa only for studying the Thai language? (I want to study tourism in Thailand.)

Or can many different kinds of schools and universities get this ED Visa for you?

[lopburi3]

Not sure what "study tourism" means? Date tourists?

But yes the ED visa is issued for many schools other than language - but that fall under the Ministry of Education. I believe there are college level courses in hotel management and such.

[jazzbo]

To Stuart2010 and others:

Khon Kaen University offers three tracts of studies to international students: non-degree, undergraduate, and graduate. The non-degree programs include short-course training, continuing education courses, workshops, and other activities related to research or to Khon Kaen University’s activities.

International students who are interested in registering for a regular course at Khon Kaen University but do not intend to earn a degree, may also apply for a non-degree tract.

The application process and acceptance to a non-degree tract depends on the faculty, institution, or organization which is responsible for the particular non-degree course.

Bachelor of Business Administration Program in Global Business

Bachelor of Arts Program in International Affairs

[simon43]

I previously studied the Thai Studies (Culture, not language) MA at Chula and obtained a 1-year non-ED extension for that purpose. I was studying 2 days per week.

The ED classification does not have to be for studying Thai language - it is available if you are studying at either a private or government school , college or university. (The private schools normally are eligible for the 90-day stay ED visa, whilst the government institutions qualify for the 1-year version, (assuming your course requires more than 1 year of study).

Simon

[Maestro]

...You are not allowed to work on a ED visa...

The fact is that no visa of any type whatsoever allows you to work. The visa allows you to travel to Thailand. The permission to stay you get on arrival in Thailand allows you to stay in Thailand. To work, you must obtain a work permit.

--

Maestro