Education Visa

[eek]

Sorry if covered a million times..did a search..but a minefield of different things came up

Ive just signed up to a course that covers the ed visa.

I will be going to Laos at the end of the month to apply.

They said they will give me some paperwork to take (which i collect in about a week), and will send a fax to the embassy on the day i apply.

Is that it??

Is it possible to get multiple entry too (so I can travel out if i wish)?

Anything useful/important i should be aware of before i go?

Dont want to mess up, especially after traveling that LONG bus journey to Laos!

Thank you kindly!

[thaiphoon]

Normal process is to obtain paperwork from the school and take that with you. You will not obtain multiple entry Non-ED visa at Vientiane. Single entry only, but can extend thereafter at Thai immigration with paperwork from the school confirming you are studying. If you were to travel outside the Kingdom you would need to obtain re-entry permit from local immigration office to keep your current permission to stay alive. Fee 1000 baht single entry, 3800 baht multiple entry.

[eek]

Thank you thaiphoon.

edit: sorry..so to clarify... I get the visa at Vientiane (single), then extend at imm here. I can then just extend it as a single, but then get a re-entry permit if i go out?..or do i need to pre-plan and pay the extra for a multi entry? (sorry if sounds like a dumb question!)

[sbk]

I am assuming the ED extension is the same as the marriage extension and you can get the re-entry permit whenever you want. Validity of the permit ends on the expiry date of your permission to stay.

[thaiphoon]

If you are studying at language school immigration will extend your permission to stay in 90 day blocks. If you obtain a re-entry permit it will only be valid for travelling during that 90 day period. A re-entry permit does not give you any more days. A new permission to stay from immigration will need new re-entry permit if you plan to travel in the new permission to stay period. There is no need to obtain a re-entry permit unless you plan on travelling, and can be obtained at any time.

[sbk]

so eek will have to do a border run every 90 days? yikes.

[lopburi3]

If he obtains extension of stay no border runs are required - but you have to extend at Immigration every 90 days for some language schools rather than yearly.

[thaiphoon]

Just before visa expires go to Thai immigration with papers from the school and obtain extension of stay. For language school that is usually 90 days. Some other schools are 12 months. Need to do 90 day reporting thereafter (and obtain new extension of stay if required). No need to leave country.

[eek]

Thanks all!

Its not a language course, but a course at Chiang Mai Uni that comes under the ed visa. They have told that i will need to do 90 day reporting, but thankfully no border run! I just was unsure of the options regarding travelling outside of Thailand during the year. Not that i particularly plan to, but its good to know that i may have the option without "breaking" my visa (ie: if any family emergency etc arises).

If there is anything else that might be worth knowing, then tips would be great. Otherwise, thanks so much to you all. Relieved to have my queries answered.

[thaiphoon]

You might choose to obtain single entry re-entry permit in case of family emergency once on 12 months permission to stay. Not usually possible to obtain at airport, and immigration offices are closed at weekend. And problems usually occur at the weekend! Otherwise exiting country without re-entry permit will cancel your permission to stay and you will have to start the whole process again.

[ignis]

Sorry no idea up there in CM

looked down here at both language course Schools and Uni, sent emails to lots of places, the replies were as follows....

If you Study at a Uni then the course is Full Time and you will get a 1 year ED Visa from outside of Thailand. then of course you will need to do 90 day reporting....

At a school it is 4 hours per week or about 200 hours per year you will get a ED Visa for 90 days from outside of Thailand. and this is extended every 90 days at your Immigration Office for 1,900 baht... with papers from the school...

Now the interesting bit....... One of the Uni's and 2 of the schools stated that you need only go outside of Thailand 1x and can do extension at you own Immigration for 3 years........ all the others say you need to go out of Thailand every year to get a new ED Visa. No idea which is correct ???? or maybe both are correct ? Again some of the places say you can do a course for years, any course for 10 or 15 years, but the same course for only 3 years, then change to a different course, so some Uni and schools say you can stay here for 15 years on a ED Visa, others say 3 or max 5 years is the limit. again No idea which is correct ??

I am only thinking of a 2 max 3 year Thai course, but the nearest Uni/school is over 100km round trip and with the cost of petrol + the driving time maybe is beyond me.

[eek]

Im trying to hunt out the Ed Visa application form to print out..but i cant seem to find it. Does it come under a specific name?? Anyone can help?

Thank you!

[eek]

Is it this form per chance?: http://vientiane.thaiembassy.org/upload/do...tion%20Form.pdf

Comes under non-imm?

[lopburi3]

Visa forms are provided by Consulates and normally one form is used for all types of visas.

[lopburi3]

I suspect that is the current form as it was modified 8/26/2009 and know form was recently changed.

[lapamita]

is there any chance if register with school to get an NON ED MULTI ENTRY visa, at other embassys than laos

maybe a school can answer per BM

[Mario2008]

is there any chance if register with school to get an NON ED MULTI ENTRY visa, at other embassys than laos

maybe a school can answer per BM

In Asia I would doubt they will give a multiple entry. They will expect you to get an extension of stay from immigration.