Hi,

I'm planning to come to Thailand to study my distance learning masters degree and wondering if there is any chance to get an ED-visa for this purpose. I'm pretty certain the answer will be no due to all the new stricter requirements, but I wanted to check if anyone has done this before.

So basically the course is 100% for a UK university, but the exams are held in Bangkok. I assume the UK uni has some sort of an agreement with a Bangkok-based university/entity who organises the exams.

Anyone here think / know whether it would be possible to obtain an ED-visa for this purpose? Perhaps via the partner the UK university has in Thailand..

Thanks

Normally to get a visa from an embassy or consulate it requires you to enrolled in a Thai University to get the visa. You might be able to get a visa with paperwork from the institution here and the UK one. If you were very lucky you might be able to get a multiple entry non-ed visa. You should contact the embassy in London to find out what they will do.

To obtain an extension of stay from immigration it must be a University here and there are attendance requirements.

Which UK University has these arrangements ?

I am sure there are others who would be interested in the detail being shared.

depends on the entity. For my country there is an arrangement that you can take exams at the embassy. You do pay for this service from the embassy.

The UK might have similar arrangements with the embassy or the British Council for instance, while it can also be an arrangement with a BKK-based university. If it is an arrangement with a Thai university, it might open the door to an ED-visa. Although I doubt it, as it is distance learning so no attendance records. But doing enough exams might qualify.

I did something similar a few years ago, in that I did the last year of my distance learning Open University degree in Thailand. I could of arranged to take my exams in Bangkok too, but I flew home instead.

I just got a triple entry tourist visa, which gave me almost 9 months. This matched the duration of my studies perfectly. Would that not be an easier option?

Thanks all it's probably worth a try at least then! Actually I'm not sure whether the arrangements are via the embassy or with a Thai University - I will find this out as soon as I get confirmed on the course.

Which UK University has these arrangements ?

I am sure there are others who would be interested in the detail being shared.

There are actually plenty of UK universities that do distance learning masters degrees, where you can take the exams normally in the capital city of any "stable" country including Thailand.

For instance, the following uni's offer DL courses:

-University of Essex
-University of Leicester
-Univercity of Liverpool
-SOAS University

And there are more! The ones above offer business/marketing degrees which I'm after. The good thing with these is that you often get a discount with the tuition fees if you live in Thailand, as it qualifies as a less wealthy country by their standards.

I did something similar a few years ago, in that I did the last year of my distance learning Open University degree in Thailand. I could of arranged to take my exams in Bangkok too, but I flew home instead.

I just got a triple entry tourist visa, which gave me almost 9 months. This matched the duration of my studies perfectly. Would that not be an easier option?

Yeah this is my first option actually, but the duration of the course is 2-5 years (you can decide your own speed if you are e.g. busy with work simultaneously). I'm aiming to do it in the minimum time of 2 years. Also there are some benefits with the non-immigrant visas as you can get e.g. the Thai driving licence which can make life easier.