Education visas for primary school children.

[cbahadur]

Hi,

Looking for some information regarding Education visas for my 3 primary school children. I have heard the children can get this type of visa and then my husband and I can live in Thailand on Guardian visas. Has anyone done this or know of this type of arrangement? Can someone tell me the process, cost can we arrive on tourist visa and apply in Thailand? Would we have to do a visa run every 3 months and do the children have to do this too? Thanks

[zeichen]

I know that it is possible. I have had students in which their parents have done this. However if the kids get kicked out of school or transfer schools, you will need a new visa. As for the specific details I don't know but the schools would need to do some paperwork for you. You should also get the visas ahead of time, unless you are coming to look for a school and then apply for the visas in a neighboring country. You will still need to prove money to support them.

[Rakai1]

Your school should help with paperwork. The following is downloaded from here: http://phuket.qsischool.org/downloads/school/visa2.pdf

My kids have been on ED visas for the past 5 years. The school supplies the paperwork that the Immigration Office needs. You can then get annual one year extensions as guardians. However, you have to show money in the bank.

The instructions below are fairly accurate. Substitute "BIS" for the name of your school.

Good luck. It will seem very complicated and confusing, and there are a lot of steps, but you'll figure it out. It's actually quite straightforward. However, it is a lot of work.

Instructions about Visas to Thailand

Before traveling to Thailand, you will need to get a Non-Immigrant Visa type “ED” for your child

and type Non-Immigrant “O” for parents. To help apply for a Non-Immigrant Visa at the Thai Embassy or

Consulate in your country, the school will issue you a letter to confirm that your child is a student at

BIS.

Non-Immigrant visas from a Thai Embassy or Consulate

You have 2 options when applying for a Non-Immigration visa.

1. Multiple Non-Immigrant Visas – this visa allows you to come in and out of Thailand many

times; each time you will be granted a stay of 90 days. This visa suits people who travel regularly.

The Visa is valid for 1 year. People who hold this type of visa have to leave Thailand every 90

days.

2. Single Non-Immigrant Visa – this visa allows you to come into Thailand once only and lasts for

90 days visa from the day of arrival. If you leave Thailand without a Re-Entry permit, this visa is

automatically cancelled.

If you arrive with a Single Non-Immigrant visa, you will need to apply for a one-year extension.

Documents required for pupils to apply for a 1 ED visa.

1. Application Form (T.M.7)

2. Passport with copies of:

2.1 Passport photo page

2.2 Page with Non-Immigrant visa stamp or sticker

2.3 Page with stamp of last arrival in Thailand

and white card (T.M.6)

3. A letter from school confirming the student’s status at BIS

4. One passport size photograph

5. Fee 1,900 THB

Documents required for parents to apply 1 year (Guardian) extension.

1. Application Form (T.M. 7)

2. Passport with copies of:

2.1 Passport photo page

2.2 Page with Non-Immigrant visa stamp or

sticker

2.3 Page with stamp of last arrival in Thailand and white card (T.M.6)

3. Copy of each child’s passport:

3.2 Passport photo page

3.3 Page with one-year visa stamp

4. Letter from school confirming the student’s status

5. Child’s Birth Certificate showing name of parents (Thai or English: other languages have to

be translated)

6. Bank letter confirming a deposit in a Thai bank of 500,000 THB

7. Bank statements for the last 3 months.

8. Copy of bankbook updated for the last 3 months.

9. 1 passport size photograph

10. Fee 1,900 THB N.B. The amount of money shown in the bank book must be the same as that

shown in the letter from the bank.

** Only one parent per one child can apply for a Guardian Visa.

Parents with 2 children or more who would like to apply for a

Guardian Visa require two accounts of 500,000 Baht each or a joint

account of 1 million Baht with a Marriage Certificate. Note that a letter from the embassy attesting to your income does not apply for guardian extensions. For a guardian extension you have to show money in the bank**

After getting a one-year visa, it is advisable that you get the re-entry permit at the same time. If the

pupils have to leave Thailand more than once before the visa expires, it is advisable that they get a

‘multiple re-entry’ permit. A re-entry permit allows them to re-enter and use the time remaining

on their visa. If you go out of Thailand without a re-entry permit, your visa will be cancelled

automatically.

Re-Entry Permit Requirements:

1. Application Form (T.M.8) 2. Copy of passport (page with photo) 3. Copy of current one-year visa

4. 1 passport size photograph

5. Fee of 2,200 THB for a ‘single re-entry’ application

Fee of 5,500 THB for a ‘multiple re-entries’ application

***Re-Entry Permit can apply only at The Immigration Office in

town.***

The School’s Role in the Issuance of Visas

The Visa officer in the Admission Office will assist with students’ visas by issuing the necessary

documentation, although parents are responsible for all applications for student visas and visa

extensions. Letters and documents for parents can be issued upon request under the rules and

regulations of Thai Immigration.

[KayCee]

It's certainly possible, but you will need a letter from the school. Our kids are on ED visas at an int'l school (and yes they are specific to the school, so if you change you have to start over), and we are on "caretaker visas" as their parents. We had to show 500k THB each in a Thai bank (and it had to be aged for 90 or 60 days (forget which now but I had thought it was 60 since we got it all done before our 90 day visa expired). We came initially on a 90 day visa we obtained in the US, opened a bank account, then got the 1 year non-immigrant O visa for the purpose of education or caretaker, which can then be renewable.

Two almost snags- First, we had an initial problem in Chiang Mai because the school's letter said they were students from Aug xx to June xx - so the immigration authorities balked at a 1 year visa in Oct. when our money was aged and we tried to apply. After some discussion we got the school to show a year-to-year duration of time, and that solved the problem. That might just have been that officer at that location though, perhaps other places it wouldn't have mattered. And, now that our daughter is graduating in June, her visa expires right away, even though she won't go to college until September, so we'll have to leave with her, and either come back, or wait in the US for 3 months until she starts univ., but it's a reasonable way of seeing it from their perspective and obviously we could just run to a neighboring country and do a visa run once for her and leave a bit later I suppose.

Second, we got caught in a catch-22 situation where we were having a problem opening the bank account to deposit the 500k baht each into without having a work permit or the non-immigrant O visa (which requires the money in the bank). We finally used the school to help us convince a bank to let us open the account, but that can be a little frustrating. I think lots of forum members can advise on which banks will be more accommodating, and it certainly can be done.

[cbahadur]

Thanks for the responses, to the two people who have done this, once you all get the visas do you have to do visa runs every 90 days or are you permitted to stay for the whole year and do you then have to report to an immigration office?

[zeichen]

As Rakai posted. It depends. you can get a multiple entry visa and leave every 90 days. This option does not require getting an extension.

The most common though is to get the paperwork from the school, the money in the bank and apply for a 1 year extension. That will not require you to leave every 90 days. You do have to report your stay every 90 days though at immigration which can be done via mail.

[Rakai1]

As zeichan says, it depends. I have the one year extension, with a multiple re-entry permit. All I need to do is report every 90 days, but I do not need to leave the country. Neither do the kids with their 1 year ED extensions. However, everyone always has to do the 90 day report, even the kids. Mark your calendar.

[KayCee]

Yes, as the others said, with the one year extension, you don't have to do visa runs. You do have to do the 90 day report at immigration. When we were in Chiang Mai they didn't make the kids come for that (may have changed). In Bangkok where we are now, they do have to appear in person. We didn't get them multiple re-entry permits the first year, and just got the one-time reentry permit when we went out briefly at Christmas, but this year for various reasons including more possible travel (an elderly ill parent, college visits, etc.) we paid for the more expensive multiple re-entry permit at the time we did the 1 year extension.

[cbahadur]

Again, thank you for the information. With so much hear say and misinformation out there it's nice to hear from people actually doing it. Happy Christmas to you all!