Cancellation of Education Visa

[steph641]

Hi all,

I have a non-immigrant multiple entry 1 year education visa for studying at a University in Thailand. However, I have studied for 4 months out of 9 and I will be dropping out of my course. I am aware that my University will send a letter notifying immigration that I am no longer attending and that they will cancel my visa.

My question is this.. In my passport, the last 90 days I was stamped into Thailand for will expire on 2nd Feb. I have just obtained a job with a school that will provide me with a work visa. They say that they should have the documents ready so I can go to laos to apply for the visa before the 2nd Feb. Thus, my employee have told me that I can simply stay in Thailand until the 2nd Feb and then leave for Laos. However, I was under the impression that as soon as my school cancel my Visa (perhaps this week) that I would technically be 'overstaying' in Thailand. I thought I may have to go to a border and come back in on a tourist visa on arrival in the meantime. I do not want to get fined/ into trouble with immigration.

Secondly, how does the cancellation process happen? I think I would need a physical stamp on my student visa to say it has been cancelled else, when I go to laos to apply for a work visa it will still seem as though my student visa is valid will it not? How will they be aware at the border of Thailand/laos that my visa has been cancelled by immigration?

Hope that is clear, I appreciate the help.

[bbi1]

Do you also need to cancel an ED visa if you went to swap to a multiple entry tourist visa?

[ubonjoe]

Immigration cannot cancel your visa if you truly have a multiple entry visa from an embassy or consulate that gives you a 90 day entry when you leave and re-enter the country. They can only cancel extensions of stay.

​Your visa will be valid until it expires because it is not tied to you attending a school.

If you have a visa you can use it to do another entry before you make your trip to Laos.

[Mario2008]

Do you also need to cancel an ED visa if you went to swap to a multiple entry tourist visa?

A visa entry not, an extension of stay you would need to cancel.

[steph641]

I think that is the problem though, my visa is tied to me studying at a school. I was granted that visa as I was supposed to be an exchange student for a year. I have now dropped out so no longer have rights to the visa.

What I would be grateful if you could clarify is, after my visa is cancelled (by my school sending a letter to immigration), can I stay in Thailand until 2nd Feb (which is the next date stamped in my passport showing the end of my second 90 days), without being fined an overstay charge (as my visa may be cancelled anytime after today) or getting into trouble/ some risk?

How will immigration cancel my visa? Do I need to cancel my student visa myself if they do not before getting a work visa?

Sorry for the confusion, I just want to be clear.

[Mario2008]

Immigration will not cancel your visa. You are not on an extension of stay thus your stay is not linked to your study. You can stay until your current permission to stay ends.

[bbi1]

Do you also need to cancel an ED visa if you went to swap to a multiple entry tourist visa?

A visa entry not, an extension of stay you would need to cancel.

So usually people would cancel their ED visa before leaving Thailand so they can apply for a multiple entry tourist visa in another country, correct?

And what would be the process to cancel the ED visa?

[ubonjoe]

Do you also need to cancel an ED visa if you went to swap to a multiple entry tourist visa?

A visa entry not, an extension of stay you would need to cancel.

So usually people would cancel their ED visa before leaving Thailand so they can apply for a multiple entry tourist visa in another country, correct?

And what would be the process to cancel the ED visa?

As said a visa or an entry from it cannot be cancelled by immigration.

If you have extended a permit to stay you got from a ED visa entry immigration can cancel it. In this case you would need a letter from the school stating you are no longer attending classes effective on a certain date to cancel it on that date.

[Mario2008]

The consulate where you apply will juts issue a new visa, cancelling your current one.

[KimRoberts108]

Very helpful thanks for this. I"m in a similar situation....have a year long Edu Visa, and am no longer studying but want to stay a few more months. I need to either "sign in" or cross a border for my 90 day mark, and wondering if I simply cross the border at Mae Sai if I will have problems. It's easier for me to do a quick half day border run...but if the situation there is still heavily controlled, I'll buy a plane ticket somewhere to cross a border. Any advice? many thanks.

[paz]

Very helpful thanks for this. I"m in a similar situation....have a year long Edu Visa, and am no longer studying but want to stay a few more months. I need to either "sign in" or cross a border for my 90 day mark, and wondering if I simply cross the border at Mae Sai if I will have problems. It's easier for me to do a quick half day border run...but if the situation there is still heavily controlled, I'll buy a plane ticket somewhere to cross a border. Any advice? many thanks.

Seems like you have a multi-entry non-imm ED visa. With it you cannot "sign in", you must leave country and re-enter. You can do that at land border if you want, there is no "situation" that prevents you from doing that. At land borders if there is an issue with you re-entering they will actually not let you leave.

[TerryLH]

"Do you also need to cancel an ED visa if you went to swap to a multiple entry tourist visa?"

There is not currently a multiple entry tourist visa available.

"Multiple entry' in immigration vocab refers to a visa that gives unlimited entries while it is valid, each for a specific number of days.

[KimRoberts108]

Many thanks Paz for your help. Saves me a plane ticket!

[steph641]

Immigration will not cancel your visa. You are not on an extension of stay thus your stay is not linked to your study. You can stay until your current permission to stay ends.

Oh I see. Thank you so much! I've had so many conflicting opinions on this. That saves me a lot of hassle.

[steph641]

I now have a follow up question to this to which may be a rather long one but I would really appreciate some help.

After Chiang mai university told me they had notified immigration and they would cancel my visa, I was still stamped in to Thailand to stay until 2nd Feb. Therefore, I have still been on my ED visa without a problem as I believe. Now however I am waiting for documents to get a non-b visa and work permit from the school I will teach at. Unfortunately these won't be ready by 2nd Feb so I have been told to go to Mae Sai to do a border run.

My concern is when I get to Mae Sai, should I return to Thailand on an exemption stamp or allow them to use my ED visa and give me another 3 months (even though it MAY have been cancelled by the immigration office in CM). I am not entirely sure if it has been cancelled or if my school was bluffing. However, if it has been cancelled I do not have a physical stamp in my passport to say that ED visa is no longer valid so I am sure at the border that they will use that visa. However, I'm worried that if I use that visa now and it has been cancelled that I will be in trouble later down the line. (perhaps when my new school send a copy of my passport to the immigration office for work permit/non-b related reasons, they may see that I have come back into thailand on an expired/void visa).

Is there any way to use that multi entry ED visa again and not be in trouble? If there is then my question ends there and I will simply go to Mae Sai and get another 3 months stamped in on my ED visa.

If that is not the case, and you advise me to not use the visa anymore as it may have been cancelled, do I need to take my passport somewhere first to get a VOID stamp on that visa? The headteacher at the new school I will be working at told me that even if I go to mae sai border crossing and say to the immigration officer that my ED visa has been cancelled because I dropped out, he will simply look at what is in my passport and still stamp another 3months from my multi entry ED visa anyway.

Thanks in advance, I hope it is clear what my situation is.

[ubonjoe]

As said more than once in this topic. You have a visa issued by an embassy that immigration cannot cancel.

Every time you enter the country until it expires you will get a 90 day entry.

[steph641]

As said more than once in this topic. You have a visa issued by an embassy that immigration cannot cancel.

Every time you enter the country until it expires you will get a 90 day entry.

Sorry for my ignorance, I thought previously what had been said was that it would only apply until my current period of stay expired on 2nd Feb.

So I will go to Mae Sai and continue to use my ED visa.

Thank you

[ubonjoe]

You will get a 90 day entry until your visa expires (enter before date on visa).

Having a ED visa entry may create problems for you to apply for a work permit. Most work permit offices will not accept an application if you have a ED visa entry.

You may have to go out to apply for a tourist visa in order to get your ED visa canceled.