atlbravosfan Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 My girlfriend is trying to go to school in Thailand to study at a University. Unfortunately, she won't know if she got in until it is too close to when she needs to register for classes. If we wait for the acceptance letter from the University, we will not get her Non-Imm ED visa before she needs to be in Thailand to register for her classes. We were wondering if it would be possible to convert a Tourist visa into a Non0Imm ED visa once we were in Thailand? We heard that the only way to get a Non-Imm ED visa if we arrived in Thailand with tourist visas would be to leave and return to our home country (USA) and apply from there, something which is highly illogical and not going to happen. Anyone got anything good to tell me? Hope to get some help soon!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moe666 Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 (edited) Call Portland Consulate and talk to the woman who takes care of the visas.It will be probably be easier to get a tourist visa for 60 days extendable for 30 days giving you 90 days this will give you enough time to take care of your business,after you find out about status. 30 days comes very fast when you are busy. After she gets the approiate paper work she should be able to go to Laos and get the Ed-visa from the Embassy there Edited May 25, 2011 by moe666 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atlbravosfan Posted May 25, 2011 Author Share Posted May 25, 2011 Call Portland Consulate and talk to the woman who takes care of the visas.It will be probably be easier to get a tourist visa for 60 days extendable for 30 days giving you 90 days this will give you enough time to take care of your business,after you find out about status. 30 days comes very fast when you are busy. After she gets the approiate paper work she should be able to go to Laos and get the Ed-visa from the Embassy there So if we go to Thailand with tourist visas, get all the paperwork required for the non-imm ED visa, and then go to Laos, how long will it take to process the visa in Vientienne? Are visa prices the same in Laos as they are in America? And as an American, she is allowed to apply for the non-imm ED visa from Laos? Also, why do you recommend that we call Portland Consulate? Do they offer a service that the Embassy in DC cannot provide? Thanks for the quick reply and for being helpful, I hope to get some more good news from you soon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 If all the paperwork is in order then the non-imm ED visa should be read the next day in Vientiane. She is allowed to apply for the non-imm ED visa in Laos or at other Thai consulates and embassies in the region. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mario2008 Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 Given that it is a real university study, it might be possible to change to a ED-visa in country instead of going all the way to Laos. Try this route first, especially when it is a big university. She could also try to get a Ed-visa from Portland, if she explains the situation and shows some proof that she registered with the school. (Embassies are much more strict than a cosulate like Portland). Note that you yourself will not qualify for anything but a tourist visa, as you apperently are not studying with her and are also not married to her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atlbravosfan Posted May 26, 2011 Author Share Posted May 26, 2011 Given that it is a real university study, it might be possible to change to a ED-visa in country instead of going all the way to Laos. Try this route first, especially when it is a big university. She could also try to get a Ed-visa from Portland, if she explains the situation and shows some proof that she registered with the school. (Embassies are much more strict than a cosulate like Portland). Note that you yourself will not qualify for anything but a tourist visa, as you apperently are not studying with her and are also not married to her. I'm just curious but why would the guy at the consulate in the embassy here in Washington DC would say that we couldn't apply for a non-imm ED visa from anywhere but our home country? Does he just not know what he is talking about? Because I have heard of people going to Laos for some visas, I just didn't hear of what kind. Is there somewhere online that I can look at the visa information once I'm in Laos? Thanks again everyone for the help. This is crunch time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mario2008 Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 Apperently he does indeed not know what he is talking about. Only the nationals of a very few countries must apply for a visa in their home country or country of residence. A US national can apply anywhere. Edit: There are many threads abut applying for a (ED) visa in the neighbourhood. Look here for a few of them: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/189375-latest-reports-of-getting-a-visa-in-the-region/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.png.3b3332cc2256ad0edbc2fe9404feeef0.png)
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now