Non-Ed near end of semester - 90 day report or border run?

[labuda]

Hi everyone,

I'm currently an exchange student here in Thailand. My semester is coming to a close at the end of next month, but of course I do not plan to leave the land of smiles any time too soon.

My visa is a Non-ED multiple entry one and by itself valid for up to 365 days which would mean more than an extra half year from now (I do not even plan on using so much).
Currently I am admitted till middle of December.

For my next 90-days extension I could cross the border and get almost guaranteed fresh 90 days.
But what if I go to the Immigration Office in Bangkok (say Chaeng Wattana) instaed and do a 90-day report? I would need to show them the letter from the university which says my semester ends on Dec. 31. I heard there is a risk that I will then only be admitted till the end of the year rather than getting full 90 days.

Any experience and tips on this?
Leaving the country would be a bit of a pain for me, so I would prefer the 90 day report if its safe. However, if that means a significant risk of losing my visa and not getting 90 days, yeah, then I would be very willing to spend a precious day in vans and Cambodian casinos...

[ubonjoe]

A report of staying longer than 90 days would give you no more time.

You have to make a border run for a new 90 day entry.

With documents from the university you could apply for an extension of stay.

[labuda]

A report of staying longer than 90 days would give you no more time.

You have to make a border run for a new 90 day entry.

With documents from the university you could apply for an extension of stay.

Probably what I meant is an extension of stay then. I should really figure out the vocabulary one day, haha.

So basically my question is this:

If I apply for an extension of stay, what is the risk that I will get only 20 days until the end of the semester rather than full 90 days?

[Mario2008]

The question is if you plan to continue study or not. If not, and do not sign up for further study, you will only get till the end of your study and then have to leave the country.

Youc na get a double entry tourisy visa in Laos, giving you almost 6 months of stay with two extensions.

[ubonjoe]

How long the extension will be for will depend upon the paper work from the university. If you are enrolled for the next semester you should get one that long.

[labuda]

Thanks for the answers, guys.

Assuming this is my last semester and there are no further studies, that would mean the extension of stay at the immigration office would only cover the time till Dec. 31. Correct?

Regarding the tourist visa in Laos:

From my experience, when re-entering Thailand on my student visa I was never asked to show any documents at the airport or land crossing and would get additional 90 days with no questions asked. Actually pretty much all exchange students in my year hang around for a couple of months additionally and leave and re-enter on their non-ed M visas as they please. If the extension at the immigration office in Bangkok is limited to the semester times, I would probably just do the same thing.

[Mario2008]

if the visa itself is a multiple and still valid you cna simply leave and re-enter for another 90 days. Only for extensions is the rule that they end the day the reason for the extension no longer exists, in essence you are no longer studying. But a visa itself remains valid even if you no longer study so you can get a new 90 days on it without any problem for as long as the visa is not expired..

[bbi1]

Thanks for the answers, guys.

Assuming this is my last semester and there are no further studies, that would mean the extension of stay at the immigration office would only cover the time till Dec. 31. Correct?

Regarding the tourist visa in Laos:

From my experience, when re-entering Thailand on my student visa I was never asked to show any documents at the airport or land crossing and would get additional 90 days with no questions asked. Actually pretty much all exchange students in my year hang around for a couple of months additionally and leave and re-enter on their non-ed M visas as they please. If the extension at the immigration office in Bangkok is limited to the semester times, I would probably just do the same thing.

If this is your last semester of studies that means your course is finished. ED visas are meant to be for people to stay in the country if they are studying. Why should ex-university students be allowed to stay on for another 6 months or re-enter again on the same ED visa when they are not studying anymore while Language school students are now required to double the amount of study they are on & have a lot more stricter requirements enforced against them? I would assume leaving the country & re-entering on the appropriate visa again based on the changed circumstances should be appropriate. Eg. tourist visa if you want to stay for another 6 months after the mid-December extension is up.

Edited November 26, 2014 by bbi1

[maswov]

Will you be attending the same university next semester and beyond? If you enrolled for an extended program you can get a 1 year extension at immigration.

[bbi1]

Will you be attending the same university next semester and beyond? If you enrolled for an extended program you can get a 1 year extension at immigration.

He/She did say before Assuming this is my last semester and there are no further studies...... so I would say the answer would be a "no".