Which Visa Do I Require?

[wilson1]

Im from the UK. I plan to sign up for a 1 year language course after arrival. I will obviously need to keep extending an ED visa.

However Chiang Mai Uni says "International Study Centre (ISC) can provide visa support documentation for a 90-day Non-Immigrant Education visa. However, please note that if you have already enter the Kingdom of Thailand on a tourist free visa or another category type visa (not a Non-Immigrant Education visa), you will be required to lodge your application in a Thai embassy or consulate outside the country. If you have already entered Thailand on a Non-Immigrant Education visa you can extend within Thailand."

So without having started the course already, which visa will i be eligable for?

[lopburi3]

Depends on where your at and the Consulate used. If you have paperwork from school they may issue a non immigrant ED visa.

[Colabamumbai]

The Ed Visas are issued outside of Thailand. Get yours before you come, or you will need to take the paperwork from the school outside of Thailand to a neighboring country to get the Ed. Visa. You will be eligible for a tourist visa if you arrive at the airport unless for some reason you are able to get another type of visa from your Embassy. Apply with and pay the school now and they will send you the documents to get you the visa in your home country, Start with the Ed. visa and save running around later.

[wilson1]

The Ed Visas are issued outside of Thailand. Get yours before you come, or you will need to take the paperwork from the school outside of Thailand to a neighboring country to get the Ed. Visa. You will be eligible for a tourist visa if you arrive at the airport unless for some reason you are able to get another type of visa from your Embassy. Apply with and pay the school now and they will send you the documents to get you the visa in your home country, Start with the Ed. visa and save running around later.

Okay, i understand. I think i may have left it a little late to request the documents, to be sent to the UK. Im leaving in 2 weeks. Think i'll just go with the Tourist visa, then apply for the ED visa after i've sorted things with the school. Wouldn't mind a trip to Vientiane again anyway.

Thanks for your help

[Lite Beer]

Why not apply for a Multi Entry Non Imm O Visa at the Thai Consulate in Hull?

This would give you up to 15 months but would need a border run every 90 days.

If you are planning on traveling without a Visa the airline may not let you on the flight.

Give Hull a ring.

Hull Consulate

[Tod Daniels]

FWIW the thai consulate in Hull is far and away one of the most 'user friendly' thai consulates in the frickin' world. It blows ALL the consulates in the US and Canada away as far as ease of use, and friendly staff.

I'd call Hull tell 'em you're planning on enrolling in a thai language school, and see if they'll give you a single entry Non Immigrant Type ED visa based solely on your intention of enrolling in a school when you hit thailand. That’d be good for 90 days once you enter.

The worst they can say is no. Which if they did, you could simply apply for and receive without problem a One year, Multi entry, Non Immigrant, Type O visa for the purpose of visiting friends in thailand. While as another poster pointed out, you would hafta ‘run for the border’ every 90 days, that type of visa is good for almost 15 months in the kingdom if you work it right. (Plus Chiang Mai has a plethora of visa run services which lug you to the Burma border and back in less than a day.)

I'm sure the single entry Non-O type ED visa is cheaper than the year long multi entry, and the 90 days should give you enough time to enroll in school, and have them provide the documentation so you can extend your visa another 90 days in country.

I disagree wholeheartedly with the poster known as “Colabamumbai”;

I’d NEVER EVER pay a single baht sight unseen to ANY thai language school in this country BEFORE having sat a free class or looked at their methodology in teaching thai to foreigners. After sales customer service/satisfaction is nearly non existent here and if you pay for a school whose method sucks, you’re out plain and simple.

Give Hull a call, they are flexible in their interpretation of the visa rules, and you’re likely to get the single entry Non-Immigrant Type ED visa just with a letter of intent to study. They are NOT like consulates in the US or Canada as far as sticklers to the letter of the visa laws, but more open to your intent once you get here.

Conversely, unless I am mistaken tourist visas are still 'free' so apply for one of them in the worst case. Hull is also very fast as far as turn around for visas too.

[TerryLH]

"You will be eligible for a tourist visa if you arrive at the airport..."

You don't get tourist visas at the airport.

He would get a visa exempt entry, but might have a problem getting on the flight in the first place if he doesn't have a flight out of the country within the 30 days.